Shelf life of calcium chloride and lactic acid 88%

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h22lude

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What is the shelf life or calcium chloride and lactic acid 88%? The calcium is probably 2 years old and the lactic acid may be 2 or even 3 years old. I have a good amount of each. I don't mind throwing it out and buying new ones but if they are still good, I'll use them. TIA
 
if you keep them sealed i would have a hard time thinking they would ever go bad honestly.
 
I usually get CaCl2 in 1 oz. sizes from my LHBS. Even though I keep it in a ziplock with an O2 absorber, during the summer it does tend to absorb water from the atmosphere and get soggy. 2 months ago I got a 1lb. bag of it from NB. Doled out my 1oz. supply and double bagged the rest and stuck it in the freezer, hoping that will keep out moisture.
I've kept and used lactic acid, in it's original bottle, for over a year without noticing any changes.
 
The calcium chloride doesn't seem to be soggy at all. It seems to be just as dry as it was when I bought it.

How could I test the lactic acid? This next batch I will be brewing to test my system for this odd off flavor so I want to eliminate any possible variable. I guess to be safe I could just buy more.
 
The CaCl2 will not go bad unless you get it wet. For the liquid acid, the only thing you have to worry about is evaporation. Whenever I use mine, I make a mark on the bottle where the fill line is, to see if it's evaporated significantly the next time. Hasn't been an issue yet, and I only use acid about twice a year.
 
The CaCl2 will not go bad unless you get it wet. For the liquid acid, the only thing you have to worry about is evaporation. Whenever I use mine, I make a mark on the bottle where the fill line is, to see if it's evaporated significantly the next time. Hasn't been an issue yet, and I only use acid about twice a year.

Great, thanks. CaCl2 seems to be just as dry as when I bought it. Lactic acid doesn't seem like anything evaporated. Same level as it has always been
 
Ive read where the CaCl can absorb water from the atmosphere. Martin B and AJ spoke about it in a thread or two. I keep mine sealed in two containers and have no issues. As for lactic acid, Ive had the same bottle for 1.5 yrs (probably 4oz total) and have hit my pH per Bru'n Water on my brews since I have had the bottle, per it's given additions. For 10 gal batches, the most I use is a few mL. Stuff goes a long way...
 
Here is more than you ever wanted to know on the topic of calcium chloride absorbing water.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=501377

I can't even beginning to imagine how they learn all that. Great info in there, though most of it is over my head. I will be measuring the sg of mine to see where it is at. Mine has not turned into a big block so I'm hoping I'm still close to the original %.
 
The nice thing about making a solution of CaCl2 is that you won't have to worry about it for a while. I made up a 15% solution a year ago and it has the same SG today (well, yesterday when I brewed) as it did when I made it. BrunWater has an option for using a solution of CaCl2 which makes using it a breeze.
 
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