KCl, or Potassium Chloride, is a storage and hydration solution for pH pens and probes
Our Bluelab pH Probe KCl Storage Solution is a storage solution designed specifically for use with Bluelab pH Pens or pH Probes.
Storage solution is used to ensure a pH probe is kept in ideal conditions during storage, while the probe is not in use.
Typically, most storage solutions for pH probes contain a mixture of potassium chloride (KCl) and water. Some brands may contain small amounts of other ingredients. For this reason, we try to suggest using Bluelab pH Probe KCl Storage Solutions with all pH probes to avoid contamination from these other ingredients.
Our Bluelab KCl solution only contains pure KCl, which is also at the same mix strength as the gel that is inside our pH probes.
- For this reason, when you hydrate or store your pH probe in our KCl solution, this helps to re-vitalise the KCl reference solution that is inside your pH probe. This is because some of the gel that inside your pH probe can flush out during use - if this happens in storage however, it means that fresh new KCl solution (from your storage cap of your pH probe) will then replace the solution that has flushed out of the probe. This means that the probe is almost 're-vitalised' while it is stored in the KCl solution.
With this in mind, if you are storing your pH probe in tap water or any other solution, then, during storage instead of contaminated KCl flushing out and fresh KCl going in, instead what you'll find is your storage solution (be it tap water or maybe pH4 solution) will be going into your probe instead. This will then worsen the contamination of the internal reference solution!
- Ideally, if fresh KCl is used in storage, then this ensures fresh KCl solution is also what will make it's way into your pH probe, assisting the probe rather than affecting it poorly.
De-ionized, distilled, Pure or RO (reverse osmosis) water should never be used to store or hydrate a pH probe or pen. Pure water will affect the chemistry of your reference solution inside of your pH probe, and this will cause the probe or pen to fail prematurely.
We recommend daily use of the pH probe storage solution - fresh application is recommended once per week (a few drops in your probe storage cap at the end of every week should be sufficient).