R0012 Too Old or Is This Normal?

[mickey4paws]

I bought my refill kit in March of 2015. Since I have a vinyl pool, I haven't been testing my CH very much. Last test was about a month ago with reading of 140. Yesterday I decided to test again and I noticed that the R0012 is a light lavendar purple color. I don't recall if it's supposed to be that color, or if it's supposed to be clear. Anyway, yesterday's test results:

FC - 7
CC - 0
TC - 7
pH - 7.5
TA - 80
CH - 100
CYA- 50 (had been 70 for most of summer)
Salt - 3100

I have a 20k vinyl lined inground pool with SWG and natural gas heater. If the R0012 is accurate and my CH is 100, isn't that too low? I know I've heard if you have a vinyl lined pool, you don't need to worry about CH, but that seems awfully low to me.

My other question regards my CYA. During this past summer it's been very dry here, plus now we have a small leak in the pump (hoping it holds out till next spring) so we've had to add more than usual fill water. We are closing Sept. 20th. At this point I've had no problems holding FC in my pool. I even had to dial back the SWG to 15% (running pump 9 hours/day). So do you guys think it would be okay to finish out the next 3 weeks with CYA where it's at?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Mickey. If your CH reagents were stored inside or in a controlled environment, they should still be fine. Not sure why the R-0012 changed color on you. One of our other experts might have a theory. But not to worry. A low CH is not an issue for your vinyl pool. CH is only an issue when it gets really high.

Your CYA should fine where it's at. It seems that the leak and subsequent water replacement is slowly removing some stabilizer, but a CYA of 50 going into Sept should be just fine. You might test it once more just before winterizing your pool to ensure it doesn't drop below 30 though. Hope that helps. Have a good day.

 

[OTPirate]

Hi Mickey! No, your R-0012 should not be a light lavender color. If it has been stored properly, and away from interference with other chemicals, then it should stay clear and last at least 18 months. Please send me an email at [email protected] and I can send you some new R-0012.

 

[mickey4paws]

Hello Mickey. If your CH reagents were stored inside or in a controlled environment, they should still be fine. Not sure why the R-0012 changed color on you. One of our other experts might have a theory. But not to worry. A low CH is not an issue for your vinyl pool. CH is only an issue when it gets really high.

Your CYA should fine where it's at. It seems that the leak and subsequent water replacement is slowly removing some stabilizer, but a CYA of 50 going into Sept should be just fine. You might test it once more just before winterizing your pool to ensure it doesn't drop below 30 though. Hope that helps. Have a good day.

Thanks so much for the reply, Texas Splash. I store my kit in a corner cabinet in my kitchen, away from the cooking area. I've stored my kit there ever since I got my first kit, maybe back in 2010 or so. I'm also very OCD about torquing the caps on the reagents so they're nice and tight.

Good to hear the low CH isn't a problem (at least I don't have to worry about scaling). Interesting how on the SWG door where it has recommended levels, it has 200 for CH, but I'm assuming they mean for people that don't have vinyl pools. Oh well, at least one thing less to worry about

I'm sure you're right and that pump leak and all the refilling we've had to do this season really lowered my CYA. I probably have a couple pounds left of CYA if I need it and I think I have enough CYA reagent for 1 or 2 more tests. I have the worst luck with the CYA test. I'll get the test all ready to go, it will be sunny out and without a doubt as soon as I walk out of the house to do the test, it's suddenly cloudy.

Thanks again for your help, it is very much appreciated.

 

[mickey4paws]

Hi Mickey! No, your R-0012 should not be a light lavender color. If it has been stored properly, and away from interference with other chemicals, then it should stay clear and last at least 18 months. Please send me an email at [email protected] and I can send you some new R-0012.

That's really nice of you. But I honestly don't want you to go to the trouble, since I probably won't test it again before I close. I do want to send you a pic of it just so you can see it. It's very odd, just can't figure out what would cause it.