Hot Tub Forum
Original => Hot Tub Forum => Topic started by: Robrob on November 09, 2015, 04:33:58 pm
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Hey guys- New spa owner here.
I *DO* own a taylor test kit, but running the full battery of tests takes me a while, and i don't have good/natural lighting for use in the evenings (which start at approximately 4pm in chicago these days, sigh. While I have made it a point to get out and do water work in the morning before work, I would love to be able to take quick readings at night just for a gut check.
Are there any particular brands that stand out, strip wise?
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I used both. Strips for a quick PH/Sanitizer check. Then got out the big guns for bi-weekly/monthly close checks. Never really saw to much difference in strips. I suppose there are better/fresher ones you can get. They are cheap, buy 2 different kinds the first time. If you find yourself adjusting more after you changed strip brands then yes, stick with one. Big discount centers could have older stock, sold at a discount. Might matter?
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Generally, the test strips are OK for pH unless the disinfectant level is higher. For FC, some test strips do better than others but it's mostly about the technique since dipping into the water and removing can produce inconsistent results particularly if the water is swirling a lot. It's best to test the water when it is more calm. The other tests can be much worse because they make assumptions about the water chemistry. TA is not as good, you usually can't test CH (most tests are Total Hardness only), and CYA is usually the worst. So for pH and FC testing only, the test strips can be OK if you aren't needing a lot of accuracy.
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So what is the best (somewhat affordable) test kit to buy, that would cover everything you'd potentially need for a hot tub?
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Taylor test kit. But be sure and get the appropriate one for the sanitizer you are using.
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So what is the best (somewhat affordable) test kit to buy, that would cover everything you'd potentially need for a hot tub?
The standards I was referred to are:
Taylor K2006 for Chlorine
Taylor K2106 for Bromine
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Has anyone had any luck getting the Taylor kit in Canada? Amazon, et won't ship them to Canada. The few ebay sellers that will want $60 for postage....right....
Thx
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In Canada, a company called "Lowry and Associates" have the exclusive distribution rights to the Taylor products. It is an absolute rip off as their prices are crazy - much, much more expensive than if you purchase in the U.S.
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Has anyone had any luck getting the Taylor kit in Canada? Amazon, et won't ship them to Canada. The few ebay sellers that will want $60 for postage....right....
Thx
cannuks....sheeesh. But maybe the re-agents cause a border problem for Amazon and others? Do online spa accessories companies not ship cross border either? Like www.poolsupplyworld.com ?
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Do online spa accessories companies not ship cross border either? Like www.poolsupplyworld.com ?
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Some of them will, but if they do it's by mistake. They are not supposed to because of the exclusive deal Lowry and Associates has with Taylor. I have had one company ship to me (sorry, don't remember who it was) and I've had others who confirmed my order, but then later came back and cancelled it and said they were not able to ship to Canada. There is a way around all this if you're creative, but that is not for an internet chat board.
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I shipped these things to Canada all the time...no problem. Other than shipping costs.
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I shipped these things to Canada all the time...no problem. Other than shipping costs.
Good for you for doing that, because what Lowry and Associates charges Canadians is just outrageous. It's about a year ago, maybe longer, that I phoned Taylor directly and asked about getting them to ship to me. They were the ones that told me that Canadians must purchase from Lowry and Associates, as Lowry and Associates have the exclusive rights to sell in Canada. You can get these products from other pool supply shops, etc. in Canada, but as I understand it those supply shops must purchase from Lowry and Associates. I get my reagent refills from my local supply shop, and they have apologized to me for the prices they charge, and have told me it is because they must purchase from Lowry and Associates.
My experience with buying from the U.S. has been very similar. As I said earlier, I had one supplier from the U.S. ship to me, but I've had others who initially said they would fill the order, and then come back and tell me they were not allowed to ship Taylor products outside the U.S. Nice gig Lowry and Associates has going for them. And shame on Taylor for entering into this kind of agreement that sees us Canadians getting screwed.
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Anyone have any experience with the TFT Test Kit? How does it compare to the Taylor?
http://tftestkits.net/TF-100-Test-Kit-p4.html
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The TFTestkits TF-100 uses Taylor reagents. It is repackaged with different volumes of test chemicals that make more sense since you usually test chlorine and pH much more frequently that TA, CH and CYA. See Test Kits Compared (http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/124-pool-test-kits-comparison). Note that the TF-100 uses the K-1000 pH test so is a smaller vial with a wider but more spaced out range of pH comparisons: 6.8, 7.2, 7.5, 7.8, 8.2 (see this image (http://www.taylortechnologies.com/images/JPEG500x375/9781_6_500x375.jpg)) whereas the K-2006 has 7.0, 7.2, 7.4, 7.6, 7.8, 8.0 (see this image (http://www.taylortechnologies.com/images/JPEG500x375/9058_500x375.jpg)).
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Ok thanks .....
Are any of the sub $200 electronic digital test readers any good?
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Why waste money in a Taylor test kit. I just go and get my dealer to test my water weekly
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So you waste money on gas, tires, oil and wear and tear on your car?...plus your time.
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Why waste money in a Taylor test kit. I just go and get my dealer to test my water weekly
What does your dealer use to do the test? My dealer has some kind of computer program that does the test, and when I asked about the Taylor test kits, they told me I would get more accurate results with the Taylor test kit than I would with their fancy equipment.
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Why waste money in a Taylor test kit. I just go and get my dealer to test my water weekly
What does your dealer use to do the test? My dealer has some kind of computer program that does the test, and when I asked about the Taylor test kits, they told me I would get more accurate results with the Taylor test kit than I would with their fancy equipment.
I use the 2 largest dealers in town to test my water. Both use a fancy computer based system. My Taylor test results are always within a very close margin of their equipment.
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They aren't as good for some of the tests, but are OK for others. The LaMotte ColorQ (http://www.lamotte.com/en/pool-spa/digital-testing/colorq) is OK for pH and FC so long as FC isn't too high (DPD bleaches out at high FC). It's usually OK for TA, but doesn't do well when CH is higher (above 300 ppm) and the CYA test is hit and miss. Nevertheless, for a less expensive electronics test kit, the LaMotte ColorQ Pro 7 is a decent kit.
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My dealer uses a bioguard machine. I am using bio guard chemicals so figure this would be more accurate
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It doesn't work that way. You can't assume that pool stores are using the best equipment. After all, their incentive is to sell you as many chemical products as possible. That's why in addition to chlorine they sell clarifiers, flocculants, enzymes, and many other products. As for the BioGuard system, you can read what a disaster it is in this thread (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php/6753-Cloudy-water-in-freshly-re-filled-pool) where the BioGuard computerized system had no clue about how its individual chemical recommendations conflicted with each other and with chemicals already in the pool.
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I compared the bio guard test with another dealer in my area and there machine was very close to the bioguard. They also used the drops which I believe was the Taylor and got similar results.
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I compared the bio guard test with another dealer in my area and there machine was very close to the bioguard. They also used the drops which I believe was the Taylor and got similar results.
So then why not just get your own test kit? I can't imagine having to run to a dealer every time I wanted to test my water. And what do you do when you've changed your water? How do you properly balance your water without having a way to do your own test?
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So then why not just get your own test kit? I can't imagine having to run to a dealer every time I wanted to test my water. And what do you do when you've changed your water? How do you properly balance your water without having a way to do your own test?
I am also on the fence about the test kit vs free water tests at the dealer. Does the test kit have instructions on what to do to adjust the water once you get the readings on PH, TA and chlorine?
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You all have talked me into getting the K-2006. Was going to order it from Taylor so I get a fresh/new kit. Price is $88.15 plus a minimum fee of $100 to protect it from freezing - if you want the protection (plus regular shipping charges). It comes from Maryland, so I think chances are it would freeze before getting to Seattle. Guess I'll but one from a local dealer tomorrow.
I guess a kit that freezes is no good.
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So then why not just get your own test kit? I can't imagine having to run to a dealer every time I wanted to test my water. And what do you do when you've changed your water? How do you properly balance your water without having a way to do your own test?
I am also on the fence about the test kit vs free water tests at the dealer. Does the test kit have instructions on what to do to adjust the water once you get the readings on PH, TA and chlorine?
HI Amy,
No, the test kit won’t tell you what to do to adjust the water. It will tell you what you have to do to get the proper readings when doing your test. And getting the proper readings is a very easy process. As far as what to do to adjust the water, it really isn’t all that difficult. It takes some time to do it properly, especially the first couple of times you do it, but after that it gets easier. I’ll go into it in more detail, but I remember when I bought my spa, my dealer told me the two most important things about maintaining the water were to always make sure there was a proper level of sanitizer, and to make sure the PH was in range. I think that is pretty good advice.
I also have to tell you that I can’t offer any advice on your sanitizer, as I use an alternative sanitizer, so I just don’t know anything about either chlorine or bromine. That being said, I can help you with how to adjust your water so your PH remains stable. In order to ensure your PH remains stable, you need to adjust your TA. This is probably the single most important thing to understand regarding PH. So again, it is your TA that needs adjusting to ensure stable PH.
So how do you do that? Well, the other thing to understand is that PH will spike up with aeration. So if you aerate your tub (run all your jets on high, with the air intake on as well and with your waterfall on high), if your TA isn’t set correctly, your PH will spike up. And this is exactly how you adjust your TA.
The first thing you should probably do is take your TA measurement with your test kit. Once you’ve taken the measurement just write it down somewhere. It doesn’t matter what the number is, and you really shouldn’t listen to anyone who tells you what the number should be, as all water is different. Once you’ve got your TA number, you need to fully aerate your tub (again, run all the jets with air intake on and waterfall on) for probably 20 minutes. Once you’ve done this, measure your PH. If your PH has spiked up, or is higher than it should be, you need to adjust your TA down (remember it is the TA that controls PH). So if the TA is too high, it will allow the PH to spike up with aeration. To get your TA down, you just add dry acid. It’s sometimes called PH Down, or other such names, but basically they all do the same thing. They lower the TA. This is the time consuming part as the first couple of times you don’t know how much dry acid to add. I would go slowly as it’s better not to add too much. I should also say that if you take notes the first couple of times you do this you will get an idea of how much dry acid you need to add to drop your TA down.
And that’s basically the procedure. After you add your dry acid you repeat the aeration process. So you add the dry acid, aerate the tub, and then take another TA and PH reading. If your PH has not spiked up, you’ve reached the correct TA number. If your PH has spiked up, then you need to add more dry acid, aerate the tub again, and then take your numbers again. Once you know the correct TA number where your PH does not spike up, you can then shoot for this number the next time you change your water, and you will have a better idea how much dry acid you need to reach it. That’s why it gets easier the more times you do it.
I think this should also give you a bit of an idea of why I just don’t see how you could run to the dealer to get water tested if you are properly taking care of your water. Just doesn’t make sense to me.
I should also say that I’m not a chemist and I’m sure ChemGeek can give you a much better explanation that I can. And I really hope this doesn’t sound too confusing as it is really not that difficult. There are also lots of other links and resources on the web that will probably offer better explanations than mine.
Good luck with it. I just always think that knowing and maintaining your own water gives you more confidence about what’s going on with your spa and keeps you in control.
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You all have talked me into getting the K-2006. Was going to order it from Taylor so I get a fresh/new kit. Price is $88.15 plus a minimum fee of $100 to protect it from freezing - if you want the protection (plus regular shipping charges). It comes from Maryland, so I think chances are it would freeze before getting to Seattle. Guess I'll but one from a local dealer tomorrow.
I guess a kit that freezes is no good.
The Taylor K-2006 from TFTestkits.com (http://tftestkits.net/Taylor-K-2006-p27.html) is about $50 before shipping and freezing protection charges.
As for amounts used for adjusting, you can use PoolMath (http://www.troublefreepool.com/calc.html) though it's oriented towards pools and pool sizes. You can either put in your spa size or you can put in something larger (say 10 or 100 times larger) and divide. Lowering TA is the trickiest since it is a process requiring a combination of acid addition with aeration (see Lowering Total Alkalinity (http://www.troublefreepool.com/content/129-how-to-lower-lowering-total-alkalinity)).