Salifert Question

[nigebeer]

Hi,
Can the Salifert total Alkalinity test be carried out with hot water around 45C and still have accurate results? or has it got to be around 22C, also can the AMS/CRS adjustment be carried out at around 45C.

The reason for asking is that I want to use hot domestic water as my liquor, to save time heating up etc.

Regards

nigebeer

[JackA]

I believe the salifert kit uses some kind of pH indicator, to determine when the KH (acid) you add to your water (alkali) has caused the pH to drop to some defined level, allowing alkalinity to be calculated. Temperature will have little effect on the reaction between the KH and your water (except speed it up, a good thing!), but may have an effect on the pH indicator. From wikipedia (a general comment on all pH indicators):

The transition range may shift slightly depending on the concentration of the indicator in the solution and on the temperature at which it is used.

Make of it what you will. I'm not sure what indicator the kit actually uses, but the increased temperature will probably shift the end point slightly. I'd imagine this will actually be fairly negligible though. Your best bet is to heat some tap water up to 45C (without boiling it, which will reduce alkalinity!) and measure the alkalinity. Do the same test on some tap water at room temperature. If the results are close, you're good to go. If they're not, you'll have to cool your sample before testing it. Adding CRS to 45C water wont be a problem at all (again, it will speed up the reaction, equalising the alkalinity of all your water quicker than with cooler water).

One final thing, is your hot water from a combi boiler? If your house uses the old fashioned hot water tank system you really shouldn't be drinking the hot water... dead animals floating in your tank can cause problems!

[nigebeer]

Hi JackA,

Thanks for the information, You are right, I am not now going to use the water from the hot tank, I will be using water from the cold tap.

Regards
nigebeer

[kfm]

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