Ethanol, again

[HPLC_Help]

HI, all -

This isn't an LC question per se, but it is relevant to my standard preparations.

Will a bottle of 190 proof ethanol take on water over the span of a couple years due to repeated opening and closing the lid? References?

There is a debate here in the lab.

Thanks!

H_H

[tom jupille]

From Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethanol):

Mixtures of ethanol and water form an azeotrope at about 89 mole-% ethanol and 11 mole-% water[15] or a mixture of about 96 volume percent ethanol and 4% water at normal pressure and T = 351 K. This azeotropic composition is strongly temperature- and pressure-dependent and vanishes at temperatures below 303 K[16].