Leslie’s vs Taylor test

Jump to latest Follow Reply
poolgirltx01

poolgirltx01

Member
Mar 20, 2019
19
Burkburnett, Tx
Pool Size
25000
Surface
Vinyl
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
It’s pool opening time and I wanted to see if my reagents were accurate or not. Other than my chlorine I’m getting some vastly different results with my Taylor K2006 test kit compared to what Leslie’s got today. Is it my reagents or something else?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1514.jpeg
    IMG_1514.jpeg
    812 KB · Views: 94
  • IMG_1515.png
    IMG_1515.png
    79 KB · Views: 87
Last edited:
  • Haha
Reactions: Newdude
Using Leslie's as a standard for comparison is a horrible idea. There's plenty of reading within this forum about it. Your test kit is capable of being much more accurate if done correctly. Why are you questioning your reagents? How old are they?
 
It's not you, it's them.

They published their accublue/spintouch variances recently and most tests had a +/- 25% variance when in range, and worse if it was above range.

It's not the end of the world if your 10 FC comes back as 8 or 12.5, both are above minimum for most CYA levels.

But for CYA and Calcium, we may be telling you to add on one end of the variance and to drain at the other end.

Also, they report Adjusted Alkalinity and not Total Alkalinity. It's not 1 for 1 with how we roll.

Also also, you bounce the snot out of the water sample rattling in the cup holder the whole way to the store. The sample may or may not have the same PH as the pool when you get there.

Also also also. Their 'free test' is designed solely to sell you designer chemicals. It is not free, nor do they give a rats patootie about accuracy. Your best interests do not have a place in their sales metrics.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DeltaP and HermanTX
As one wise poster said... you are copying the answers from the dumb kid in class when you have one of the best and most accurate kits available.

The only thing you need to do to check for accuracy is look at the expiration date of your reagents. If they are expired you can replace, otherwise trust your kit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HermanTX
Wow, the snarky-ness is a bit high compared to the last time I posted in this group. I always test and maintain my pool on my own, without using Leslie’s overpriced Crud, but my reagents are old, which is why I was questioning their validity. My CYA hasn’t been this high in a very long time and I did not maintain my pool over the winter. So as I was getting readings >100 I was very much hoping Leslie’s were more accurate than my own. I get the hate for Leslie’s I don’t care for them either, I have been using the TFP app and a Taylor K2006 test kit since 2019 but dang y’all, simmer down a bit.
 
Last edited:
Newdude said:
It's not you, it's them.

They published their accublue/spintouch variances recently and most tests had a +/- 25% variance when in range, and worse if it was above range.

It's not the end of the world if your 10 FC comes back as 8 or 12.5, both are above minimum for most CYA levels.

But for CYA and Calcium, we may be telling you to add on one end of the variance and to drain at the other end.

Also, they report Adjusted Alkalinity and not Total Alkalinity. It's not 1 for 1 with how we roll.

Also also, you bounce the snot out of the water sample rattling in the cup holder the whole way to the store. The sample may or may not have the same PH as the pool when you get there.

Also also also. Their 'free test' is designed solely to sell you designer chemicals. It is not free, nor do they give a rats patootie about accuracy. Your best interests do not have a place in their sales metrics.
Click to expand...
I’m slamming my pool right now so I’m actually targeting higher chlorine levels than that. My CYA was my mine concern, I’m ok with my CYA at 70 as that Texas sun will eat my chlorine up quick, but at >100 I’m putting out $$$ for the amount of liquid chlorine I need to get a proper SLAM level.
 
poolgirltx01 said:
I’m slamming my pool right now so I’m actually targeting higher chlorine levels than that. My CYA was my mine concern, I’m ok with my CYA at 70 as that Texas sun will eat my chlorine up quick, but at >100 I’m putting out $$$ for the amount of liquid chlorine I need to get a proper SLAM level.
Click to expand...
Leslies tests aren’t very accurate, no snark intended but they’ve been proven to be really bad with their testing.
 
+1. Proven yet again today.


poolgirltx01 said:
I was very much hoping Leslie’s were more accurate than my own
Click to expand...
If that were true, myself, JJtex, Cwswifty and Bperry above would all send you there. None of us are on a test kits payroll and have zero reason to promote them besides their accuracy.

If Taylor goes to crud and photometer testing steps up big, we will change our recommendations.
poolgirltx01 said:
My CYA hasn’t been this high in a very long time and I did not maintain my pool over the winter.
Click to expand...
Did you have a pool service for the winter ? Somebody added CYA if it wasn't you, likely in pucks or powdered shock.
 
poolgirltx01 said:
Wow, the snarky-ness is a bit high compared to the last time I posted in this group.
Click to expand...
Apologies for the snarkiness. Just keep in mind that 99.9% of the time people come here thinking that Leslie's and other professionals are the experts and the "gold standard" because they have fancy electronic testing with a customer-friendly printout. It takes a while to convince them that their DIY drop test is more accurate and reliable. Glad you are the 0.1%
 
poolgirltx01 said:
It’s pool opening time and I wanted to see if my reagents were accurate or not. Other than my chlorine I’m getting some vastly different results with my Taylor K2005 test kit compared to what Leslie’s got today. Is it my reagents or something else?
Click to expand...

Newdude said:
+1. Proven yet again today.



If that were true, myself, JJtex, Cwswifty and Bperry above would all send you there. None of us are on a test kits payroll and have zero reason to promote them besides their accuracy.

If Taylor goes to crud and photometer testing steps up big, we will change our recommendations.

Did you have a pool service for the winter ? Somebody added CYA if it wasn't you, likely in pucks or powdered shock.
Click to expand...
I have never paid for a pool service. I have been doing it by myself for the past 6 years. This is what my pool looked like yesterday before any chemical addition or testing. I don’t generally use pucks, but I added maybe 4 over the winter to try and help slow the algae growth. Our pool isn’t covered during the winter and we usually run the pump if it’s going to be below freezing (less than 14 days total from Dec-Feb. I just can’t imagine my CYA jumping that much. Last time I checked my CYA was August and it was around 55. Now it’s >100? Can expired reagents cause erroneously high CYA I could understand low, but high just doesn’t seem right for expired products.
 

Attachments

  • IMG_1518.png
    IMG_1518.png
    659.9 KB · Views: 40

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
By my math, 4 pucks would have added ~10 CYA to your pool, so that's not it. Was the pump running for at least 30 minutes before testing?

I've always understood the CYA reagents to be fairly stable and do not truly "expire" like some of the other reagents. I'll defer to the experts here, but dont think that would be the issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude
poolgirltx01 said:
I have never paid for a pool service. I have been doing it by myself for the past 6 years
Click to expand...
Ok. You said you weren't maintaining it over the winter and that the CYA hadn't been this high in a long time like that was new, so it implied someone else jacked the CYA.

The CYA comes down over winter between rain and a slow degredation, so unless you added it over the winter, (you only added 10, as said above), then it was higher when you closed and has been high all winter.

Did you let the sample warm up to room temperature ?

Was CYA added in any form after August besides the 4 winter pucks ? You get 31 inches of rain annually it's been 6+ months so you should have gotten some dilution since August.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HermanTX
JJ_Tex said:
By my math, 4 pucks would have added ~10 CYA to your pool, so that's not it. Was the pump running for at least 30 minutes before testing?

I've always understood the CYA reagents to be fairly stable and do not truly "expire" like some of the other reagents. I'll defer to the experts here, but dont think that would be the issue.
Click to expand...
Yes it was running for longer than that and have retested 3 times, the most recent the pump has been running for >24hours and still testing >100.
 
Newdude said:
Ok. You said you weren't maintaining it over the winter and that the CYA hadn't been this high in a long time like that was new, so it implied someone else jacked the CYA.

The CYA comes down over winter between rain and a slow degredation, so unless you added it over the winter, (you only added 10, as said above), then it was higher when you closed and has been high all winter.

Did you let the sample warm up to room temperature ?

Was CYA added in any form after August besides the 4 winter pucks ? You get 31 inches of rain annually it's been 6+ months so you should have gotten some dilution since August.
Click to expand...
I don’t remember what I added before November (when I typically stop adding chems to the pool). Maybe I shocked the Crud out of it sometime time in September and don’t remember, but even still I wouldn’t have expected my CYA to go up that much. I also use the effects of adding calculator on the TFP app. But I just tested my tap water. And the CYA came back basically non-existent so, looks like my reagent is likely correct 😭. I did buy a new TF100 kit so I don’t have to second guess myself, but I’m looking forward to all the draining and refilling.
 
Do a diluted test as 90+ is sketchy to read.

Mix up a 50/50 batch of pool and tap water and proceed with the rest of the test as normal. Double the result.

Also let the sample warm to room temp, your pool water looks to be about 60 degrees and that might mess up the test.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ManiacalMama
Newdude said:
Do a diluted test as 90+ is sketchy to read.

Mix up a 50/50 batch of pool and tap water and proceed with the rest of the test as normal. Double the result.

Also let the sample warm to room temp, your pool water looks to be about 60 degrees and that might mess up the test.
Click to expand...
My pool is sitting at about 64 degrees right room temp around 74? Will temp make a big enough difference? I’ll do the 50/50 and see what I get.
 
Could you post a picture of the test showing your pool water at 100+? I only ask because the melamine CYA test liquid is very stable and it would be unusual to go bad after a few years, so maybe we could parse something out if we can see it. Just want to make sure we don't leave any rocks unturned.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply