Had a phone call with Hanna

[Cory]

I got a bad batch of reagent for the Hanna alkalinity checker. It was confirmed bad with others too on another site.

So i called Hanna in the US and he promptly said he will send another one. All was good until I told him im from Canada... He said ill have to deal with Hanna Canada and gave me the number.

So after talking to the Hanna rep in Canada he told me "he cannot send me a new one because it will freeze and cause problems with the test". He said i should contact Big Als (where i got it) and exchange it there. The problem for me is they are 5 hours drive away. So i couldnt do that. So now im stuck with a reagent that reads 1dkh lower.

The big als rep told me thats funny about it freezing because they receive frozen reagents all the time without any problems...

Would freezing effect the Hanna alk reagent?

 

[Taservices]

I am no chemist, but looking at the MSDS for the reagent I only see issues with heating. I'm in the same confused boat as the Big Al's rep. Maybe they are worried that if it freezes in transit that it could break the bottle (it's predominately water)

PS: here is the link with the MSDS if you are curious
http://hannainst.com/hi775-26-alkalinity-checker-reagents.html#downloads

 

[Sabellafella]

Oh i hope not i just got 10 hannah alk reagents in the mail yesterday and they were freezing cold to the touch, also hannahd customer service is awesome, i had an issue with a 3rd ulr checker and they send me 100 pack of reagents, a new checker, calibration and extra corvettes

 

[Sabellafella]

I got a bad batch of reagent for the Hanna alkalinity checker. It was confirmed bad with others too on another site.

So i called Hanna in the US and he promptly said he will send another one. All was good until I told him im from Canada... He said ill have to deal with Hanna Canada and gave me the number.

So after talking to the Hanna rep in Canada he told me "he cannot send me a new one because it will freeze and cause problems with the test". He said i should contact Big Als (where i got it) and exchange it there. The problem for me is they are 5 hours drive away. So i couldnt do that. So now im stuck with a reagent that reads 1dkh lower.

The big als rep told me thats funny about it freezing because they receive frozen reagents all the time without any problems...

Would freezing effect the Hanna alk reagent?

If you could supply me with lot and exp. Also now that you brought this up i tested from one and its onpoint with my latest reagent so maybe not?

 

[Cory]

I am no chemist, but looking at the MSDS for the reagent I only see issues with heating. I'm in the same confused boat as the Big Al's rep. Maybe they are worried that if it freezes in transit that it could break the bottle (it's predominately water)

PS: here is the link with the MSDS if you are curious
http://hannainst.com/hi775-26-alkalinity-checker-reagents.html#downloads

Its possible, however the bottle is plastic. I suspect someone is being sly and doesnt care.

 

[Cory]

If you could supply me with lot and exp. Also now that you brought this up i tested from one and its onpoint with my latest reagent so maybe not?

The lot number of the reagent is 5462 and the expiration is 9/16.

The thread where people were having problems was from 9/27/2015, so its not an expired issue.

Yes always double check your reagents.

Fwiw 1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh

 

[Sabellafella]

The lot number of the reagent is 5462 and the expiration is 9/16.

The thread where people were having problems was from 9/27/2015, so its not an expired issue.

Yes always double check your reagents.

Fwiw 1.1350 grams of baking soda in 1gallon of distilled water=10dkh

Its crazy because majority of the threads of bad alk reagent issues, theres not one about them being frozen. There has to be hundreds of people getting frozen reagents during the winter time also. Hopefully randy will chime in ,also want to hear about it and future test kits if the cold weather effects them or not

 

[Taservices]

I'm thinking you are probably right Cory, unfortunately when it comes to aquarium stuff in general it's like they will be saints in the US but the Canadian detachment of the companies is the anti-christ for service....

 

[Cory]

Yeah lets see what Randy says at 5am my time lol (working nights)

Taservices, yeah the US definitely has way better customer service than here in Canada. However Big Als was very good and honest. But they wouldnt spend on shipping a new one to me...

 

[Taservices]

Have a good shift Cory, I'm heading to bed (the joy of making your own hours XD)

 

[Cory]

Lucky you lol

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

While we do not know exactly what is in the Hanna alk checker reagent (the MSDS list no ingredients), I expect it is an acid and a dye. Neither of these is likely "damaged" by freezing (IMO), A(so I'd still try to use it), but it is possible that the dye may not adequately redissolve in the acid after melting of the frozen water. Like freezing seawater may not give back seawater after melting.

 

[Cory]

Randy, all i can say is it turns greenish when used with tank water and bluish when tap water rinses it out. Seems like a normal titration reagent.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy, all i can say is it turns greenish when used with tank water and bluish when tap water rinses it out. Seems like a normal titration reagent.

Yes, I think it works by adding a fixed amount of acid and then measures the pH to get alkalinity. I'm not sure how accurate that is when tanks at the same alk can start at very different pH values, but I've seen no data on it. It may also contain multiple dyes. They claimed it would even work on CaCO3/CO2 reactor effluent, which surprises me, but perhaps the starting pH is not that critical.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Just for fun, I wanted to see if another person would say the same thing...

Hello Renee,

Freezing usually deteriorate reagent liquids, I would not suggest using as it may affect the results.

If you have another reagent in reference, you could compare and see if the frozen one has good results or not.


But I would consider the frozen reagent as unreliable.


Regards
François Coulombe
Spécialiste au support technique / Technical support specialist
Hanna Instruments Canada Inc.

1-800-842-6629

www.hannacan.com