Shelf Life of Reagents?

[crokett]

I was running out of Taylor R-0001 and R-0002 reagents so I bought some refills. The ones I already have are at least 2 seasons old, probably older. In the summer they sit in a storage box with a lid under the pool deck. In the winter they are stored in my conditioned crawlspace. last week the refills arrived so I decided to run a chlorine test with them. I have a K-2005 kit. The new reagents tested higher levels of chlorine than the old ones did.
pH is at 7.4 - my pool always starts very low in the spring, then doesn't move much once I get the pH up.
Chlorine (old reagent) 5-10
Chlorine (new reagent) 15 or higher

Should I be replacing the reagents every season? I think I have been over-chlorinating the pool.

 

[mknauss]

In the summer they sit in a storage box with a lid under the pool deck.

Best to keep in a climate controlled area. Most reagents should last two seasons, but yearly replacement is best.

Those are DPD reagents. You might consider getting FAS-DPD so you can measure your FC accurately.