Is there a Tablet replacement for Taylor R0870 DPD Powder?

Daves4us

Member
Mar 13, 2021
6
Connecticut
Been using FAS-DPD taylor testing for years; the R0870 powder, with R0871 and R0003 reagents. Powder is easy contaminated by moisture no matter how hard I try not to and I want to use DPD tablets instead. Taylor said they don't make any tablets for use with those reagents (they do sell tablets marked R0843 by Lovibond but may be for use with their system). Does anyone know if those, or any of DPD #1, or # 3 tablets available will work as a replacement for the R0870 powder?.
 
You can try these -


But if you want to do the 25mL test (0.2ppm per drop of R-0871) then you will need to use about 3 packets. I would also not use these in a high FC situation, like a SLAM, because excessive FC can cause bleaching of the DPD indicator.

The Taylor powder reagent is specially formulate to handle high FC levels so you need to stick with that if your FC is much above 10ppm.

“Try as you might” … well, what have you been trying to do to keep the powder dry? The R-0870 bottle from Taylor is actually a specially made desiccating container. As long as it is kept in a cool and dry space, it should be fine. Many users will store their powder in a secondary Tupperware container with a bunch of desiccating packets in it. That helps to keep the bottle dry.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mdragger88
It's a problem we all deal with. Exposed to humidity or moisture, the powder turns grey and, eventually black.

Keep in mind that as long as it turns the test sample pink(red), the test is still valid despite the darker powder
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mdragger88
Thanks guys and gal - Good info! I have always thought that the powder might be good as long as it turns the sample pink, thanks for confirming that !
And Joyful - you are pretty confident that the Hach powder packs can be used in place of the 0870 for accurate results under 10ppm?
 
Thanks guys and gal - Good info! I have always thought that the powder might be good as long as it turns the sample pink, thanks for confirming that !
And Joyful - you are pretty confident that the Hach powder packs can be used in place of the 0870 for accurate results under 10ppm?

I have a bunch of them and have run side-by-side comparisons with the same pool water sample. They yield similar results. The only difference I noted is that the Taylor R-0870 turns my water samples cloudy pink/red while the Hach powder turns it clear pink/red with a slightly less intense color. But the titration results were within the margin of error (+/- 1 drop). I did not test over 10ppm FC.
 
If you have a hard time keeping the powder dry, I suggest you store in a secondary container filled with silica gel like this -

Wisesorb Silica Gel 2 LBS, Indicating Silica Beads (Blue to Pink), Reusable Silica Gel Desiccant Dehumidifier https://a.co/d/hTrbOfw

The indicating silica changes color when it has absorbed water and can be recharged with a simple oven bake. The molecular sieve materials can absorb lots of moisture.
 
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.