Wiping Tip of Bottle After Each Drop on TA Test

[kikiganz]

I just got the TF-100 testing kit. When testing Alkalinity is says to "add R-0009 one drop at a time, swirling between each drop. Wipe the tip of the bottle after every drop with a damp cloth."

I am curious why this is done as it is not specified in any other test and how important it is to do?

It's pretty annoying when you are trying to add a drop and swirl after each drop.

I know...first world problems. But it's bugging me so I thought I would ask.

Thanks,
KG

 

[Richard320]

Sometimes a static electric charge can build up on the R-0009 dropper bottle tip, causing the drops to be smaller than usual and making the test read higher than actual. This is usually only a problem for the first couple tests, when the bottle is new. Don't ask me why. If ever you see your TA jump from where you think it should be, go back to the wiping.

As an aside, a speedstir does the swirling for you, so wiping the tip would be no hardship at all. Ask for one for Father's Day or something.

 

[cowboycasey]

when you first receive your kit, for some reason the R-0009 has some static electricity going on and if not wiped off it can give you a false high reading, after a few weeks it should be good to not wipe the tip.. if you look really close you can see the drop is just slightly smaller than other drops..

 

[JamieP]

I was having so much trouble with the static buildup on my bottle giving me quick, small drops that I started wiping the whole top half of the bottle with a wet paper towel between drops. Otherwise, by just wiping the tip I could tell the drops were smaller than they should be, but for the life of me, I couldn't get them to change by just wiping the tip. I'm just glad I found a way to do the test more accurately now, so the wiping doesn't bother me. But I do have the speedstir, so that helps.