I PM'd you.

I share your frustration Mike. The pool industry in Thailand seems as messed up as it is here in Australia. It's interesting to see very similar product lines in Thailand to what we have here. I also recall that the Gold Coast based PuraPool mob also has a presence in Thailand so I wonder if we share some common ground somehow?

The link to the shop on Phuket only lists the Taylor K-2005 kit (same as available here) which is missing the FAS-DPD which is what seems to really set the K-2006 and TF-100 apart from the other kits for sale here. The inferior (IMO) K-2005 kit isn't really an option. I refuse in principle to pay the asking price for one of those.

To put it in perspective for our US friends, a "deluxe" 4-in-1 kits costs us about AU$40. This gets you free chlorine up to 5ppm, pH, TA, and Bromine (pointless if you have chlorine so it's really a 3 in 1 kit). That's it... anything more than that and we have to take a sample to the pool shop. In the US, a K-2006 kit costs around US$55 or US$45 for a TF-50. We all know that these kits do everything... well everything except salt, but amazingly we can get AquaCheck salt strips here! There's simply no comparison between US kits and the "toy" kits we have here, yet they are priced more or less the same.

In all my searching, I've come across only ONE Aussie retail website selling the K-2005 kit (no sign of a K-2006) and it was selling for AU$270!!! Did anyone notice how much the K-2005 on the Phuket site was selling for? 16000 Thai Baht!!! If I'm converting right, that's AU$481 or US$513... absolutely ridiculous, and we can't even blame exchange rates anymore.

I managed to find 2 shops in the US that were willing to ship a K-2006 to me, so I've ordered one and will wait to see if it makes it to me. I really wouldn't be surprised if it gets caught up in red tape somewhere along the line.

I just don't get it. It's like there's a big conspiracy going on where the Australian pool industry dinosaurs are controlling the import of these kits to protect the pool shops? I order bodybuilding supplements from a US website regularly and don't have a problem, and even with shipping costs they work out about 50% what I'd pay in a shop here. Now you tell me which scenario I should have the most problem with... ordering water testing chemicals or bodybuilding supplements?

Edit... it's actually DPD chlorine/bromine, pH, Total Alk, and Acid Demand that make up the 4 tests... not a big deal - just thought I'd correct myself!

Hi Stevodevo
Thanks for your support, its appreciated. Please let me know how you get on and what costs were involved.
Regards
Mike

Yeah will do. I'm still waiting for USPS tracking to show that the parcel has arrived in Australia (it has left the US). I'll PM you all the details when it arrives. I'm willing to take one for the team, but there's probably not much point you being another guinea pig. I should know in a few days hopefully.

Here's a service that might be helpful. I haven't used it and don't know what issues might be involved, so do your own research before using.

Hey thanks James. I've looked at a couple of other similar services but haven't come across this one before. Definitely worth a closer look. At first glance their rates look good.

Here is a link to Merck Chemicals - Thailand. It appears they sell DPD to be used in a photometric test. Not sure how much a photometric instrument would cost, but it might be worth looking into. http://www.merck-chemicals.com/thailand ... EWQOIfVhTl

P.S. They also sell the chemical in Argentina.

Hello
Thanks to everyone who has offered support and advice on this subject, I really appreciated it. Living where I do there is no one close with a pool who I could drop in and talk to so this forum has been of immense help to me. I am glad to report that the problem has been solved, I have a cousin who lives in Florida who can help.
Thanks again to all
Regards
Mike

In many countries, including Australia, U.K., China, Spain, France, Germany and the U.S., one can get the Palintest® SP 315C which is essentially the same as the Taylor K-2005 (though they tend to use tablets instead of liquids for the dyes in most of the tests). Palintest also makes a FAS-DPD test kit, but it appears to only be in the U.S. On this page, Palintest says that their Australian branch is responsible for Asia-Pacific including Thailand so maybe you can get the SP 315C, though that won't get you refills for you FAS-DPD chlorine test.