I was curious as to the true life expectancy of the reagents in a good quality kit like the TF-100.
Assuming they're kept in a dark, closed cupboard, inside the house /w no extreme, but just gradual temperature changes, what sort of lifetime can one expect out of the reagents?
Please note, I don't have AC, but we keep it a good 10-15deg. below the outside air temp during the hotter parts of the summer.
I'm a little confused, as many kits, and even on TFTestkits.com, it says to replace your reagents every season. That seems a little excessive to me, IE. highly expensive and seemingly unnecessary. Seeing as the chemistry should contain stabilizers if needed and the mix is tightly sealed and not exposed to the sun, except for brief periods in daylight when testing, but I do bring my samples into the shade for testing anyway.
What are your thoughts on this?
I'd sure hate to have to spend nearly the price of the kit each year, just to replace the reagents.
Note: I did see JasonLion's post on each of the tests/chemicals and how to tell if they're bad, like say /w the phenol red, or abstract color changes.
Assuming they're kept in a dark, closed cupboard, inside the house /w no extreme, but just gradual temperature changes, what sort of lifetime can one expect out of the reagents?
Please note, I don't have AC, but we keep it a good 10-15deg. below the outside air temp during the hotter parts of the summer.
I'm a little confused, as many kits, and even on TFTestkits.com, it says to replace your reagents every season. That seems a little excessive to me, IE. highly expensive and seemingly unnecessary. Seeing as the chemistry should contain stabilizers if needed and the mix is tightly sealed and not exposed to the sun, except for brief periods in daylight when testing, but I do bring my samples into the shade for testing anyway.
What are your thoughts on this?
I'd sure hate to have to spend nearly the price of the kit each year, just to replace the reagents.
Note: I did see JasonLion's post on each of the tests/chemicals and how to tell if they're bad, like say /w the phenol red, or abstract color changes.