Is anyone else having trouble finding 31.45% muriatic acid?

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kevinskii

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Aug 6, 2019
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Los Angeles, CA
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Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I live in southern CA, and a couple months ago I had to drive to a nearby town to get 31.45% muriatic acid when my local Ace Hardware store was out of stock. I thought there was maybe a a temporary COVID-related supply shortage like with everything else these days. Now I need to purchase some more, but I just can't find it anywhere. Some of the local big box stores have 14.5% MYA for the same price. I might just have to settle for that for a while.

Is anyone else experiencing this?
 
mas985 said:
The price here for a 2 gallon box of 15% is not much different than 1 gallon of 30%. So about the same price per %MA. Is it that different in LA?


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It varies by store and area. Around here, adjusting for count and %age:

- Home Depot 2 gallons of 31.45% are $17.98 ($8.99/gal)
- Home Depot 2 gallons of 14.5% are $16.98 (equivalent to $18.41/gal of 31.45%)
- Lowes 2 gallons of 14.5% are $13.98 (equivalent to $15.16/gal of 31.45%
- Lowes 1 gallon Kleen-Strip 31.45% is $12.48/gal

So the 14.5% is more expensive at both stores. Some Home Depots here always have both (the one nearest me has 84 of the 2-gal 31.45% right now), but a few only carry 14.5%. And in a search for another thread, there are regions in Southern California where none of the Home Depot stores carry 31.45%. May be a distribution/volume decision, or possibly local ordinances?
 
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mas985 said:
The price here for a 2 gallon box of 15% is not much different than 1 gallon of 30%. So about the same price per %MA. Is it that different in LA?


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Thanks for the reply. According to the SDS sheet for your 2nd link, it's actually 10%-30% MYA with the exact amount "withheld as a trade secret," so not really 31.45%. I think we can assume it's closer to 10% than 30%.
 
kevinskii said:
Thanks for the reply. According to the SDS sheet for your 2nd link, it's actually 10%-30% MYA with the exact amount "withheld as a trade secret," so not really 31.45%. I think we can assume it's closer to 10% than 30%.
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I think you are looking at the wrong SDS sheet. There are two versions, one is safer that is the lower concentration in the green bottle. The one in red bottle is higher concentration and the label says 20 Baume.

I have used both in the links and need twice as much Kemtec as red bottle Klean strip so I know for fact it is 31.5%.
 
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mas985 said:
I think you are looking at the wrong MDS sheet. There are two versions, one is safer that is the lower concentration in the green bottle. The one in red bottle is higher concentration and the label says 20 Baume.

I have used both in the links and need twice as much Kemtec as red bottle Klean strip so I know for fact it is 31.5%.
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Yup, the Lowes in my area of NC have the "Green" low fume or "safe" MA and the Red full strength stuff.

When we lived in SC our city passed a local "green" ordance and the Lowes stopped carrying the red stuff as it was considered unsafe for the environment. I guess the locals who passed the law didn't understand folks will just use twicce as much or drive across the line to get the good stuff. That's what I did, drove across the line.....
 
What is really criminal is that they charge about the same for the two products so the "Green" one is effectively costing you twice as much. At least with KemTek it isn't that much different.
 
I had a little trouble finding some locally (Portland area) but last week it was back in stock. I may get the green stuff next time just because it’s weaker. My new hot tub is only 250 gal so the full strength acid has to be measured very carefully.
 
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