I have the OTO ph/ chlorine test that came with the TFT 100 but hate trying to decipher the reading. Is there a drop test or anything else that is easier to test PH? I have looked on TFT test kits and didn't see anything else for Ph.
Better PH test kit?
- Thread starter kyle11
- Start date
Nope. That's about all there is that isn't for a laboratory and cheap enough for ordinary folks.
I find it helpful to hold the test block at arm's length and squint so it gets fuzzy. Then you see colors, not markings. A white background also helps. I have cheap resin chairs on the patio that make a good backdrop.
I find it helpful to hold the test block at arm's length and squint so it gets fuzzy. Then you see colors, not markings. A white background also helps. I have cheap resin chairs on the patio that make a good backdrop.
There are electronic meters, but they have the downside of needing frequent calibration, also the acceptable range for pH in pools is fairly wide, so you don't really need the extra resolution.
Ike
p.s. experience also helps reading the test, remember your trying to match the color shade not the intensity
Ike
p.s. experience also helps reading the test, remember your trying to match the color shade not the intensity
I find that time of day impacts greatly, late evening seems to provide best contrast whereas afternoon sun makes it very hard.
Man that stinks. I would kill for a ph test kit to use the speed stir with. Lol. That thing will spoil you. I use the little white cloth thing that was included but half the time just end up guessing. I can tell the different between 7.2 and 7.8 but not 7.5 and 7.8 so much.
Check these pictures out. The first is clearly 7.5 while the last 2 are 8.2+:
accurate-ph-test-during-shock-levels-with-r-007-t61076.html
We should really add a thread with photos of all the colors ......
accurate-ph-test-during-shock-levels-with-r-007-t61076.html
We should really add a thread with photos of all the colors ......
Thanks jblizzle. My biggest problem is the 7.5 and 7.8 difference. Is the acid demand ph test kit that has the white card behind it easier to read? I remember watching a YouTube video that showed that kind of test kit but can't remember who makes it.
kyle11 said:
I have the Taylor K-2006 combo kit, which may be slightly different from the TF-100 when testing pH. When I test pH, I do it indoors. I have bright-white LED lighting, and I hold the sample up with a white paper towel behind it, which usually makes it pretty clear what the pH level is closest to. I agree, when it's in-between sometimes it can be hard to tell.
The Taylor kit comes with Acid / Base demand reagents (R-0005 / R-0006), which I find helpful to narrow it down. With 1 or 2 drops it becomes distinctly clear when I'm at 7.5. I dose with Muriatic Acid accordingly. In my experience, the Acid Demand drops provide a much more accurate dose compared to the poolcalculator.com estimate (which is generally off by a factor of 2 compared to the Acid Demand drops from my own observations).
Taylor does have more heavy-duty pH tests available, but they are not very economic. I have no experience with these kits, so I can't provide a recommendation, but you can check them out here:
http://www.taylortechnologies.com/produ ... ultsII.asp (search for pH on this page)
I'd call that 7.5. With practice, you'll be able to tell if it's closer to 7.5 or 7.8 which allows you to say 7.6 or 7.7.
Ok thanks guys. I thought 7.5 but I guess I keep looking at it and over think it. I guess deep down my inner chemist wants to play with some MA.
One more question about this topic and I am sorry I am a little OCD about getting #s right on ( I deal with #s all day so that probably has something to do with it)
Does not filling it all the way up to the very top small black like make a difference? Would that be throwing the test off that tiny bit making the 7.5 and 7.8 more hard to differentiate? Because I do not think I ever will it up to that line.
Does not filling it all the way up to the very top small black like make a difference? Would that be throwing the test off that tiny bit making the 7.5 and 7.8 more hard to differentiate? Because I do not think I ever will it up to that line.
It absolutely makes a difference. You should be filling your block up to the fill line, otherwise your results may not be accurate.
See Extended Test Kit Directions. The phenol red included with your test kit is formulated to produce a result for the quantity of water up to the fill line. The bottom of the meniscus should be at the top of the fill line.
See Extended Test Kit Directions. The phenol red included with your test kit is formulated to produce a result for the quantity of water up to the fill line. The bottom of the meniscus should be at the top of the fill line.
thehowheels said:
Ok thanks. That may be why it is always so hard for me to tell a difference. I read the directions the kit came with and it said it doesn't have to be perfect so I just usually filled to just above the 8.2. On all my other I make sure they are exact but I will test paying more attention to that and see if it makes a difference.
I second thehowheels comment. I also have a test kit with acid demand solution and it might make it easier if you have trouble differentiating small differences. http://tftestkits.net/Taylor-K-2006-p27.html
Actually, I don't think the amount of water matters much. Because you can use a different number of drops to change the saturation.
For what it's worth, I just took a reading from my pool. Filling the block up correctly to the fill line, and using 5 drops R-0004, I was clearly at 7.5.
I cleaned, and refilled the block, up to about where it looks like in the photo above (the top of the 8.2 box), and again used 5 drops R-0004. The result is clearly a shade deeper red, I'd guess 7.6. It took 1 drop of Acid Demand reagent to get back to 7.5.
This isn't going to make a drastic difference if you maintain your pool within 0.1 pH accuracy, but I did see a difference with my, admittedly, unscientific test.
I cleaned, and refilled the block, up to about where it looks like in the photo above (the top of the 8.2 box), and again used 5 drops R-0004. The result is clearly a shade deeper red, I'd guess 7.6. It took 1 drop of Acid Demand reagent to get back to 7.5.
This isn't going to make a drastic difference if you maintain your pool within 0.1 pH accuracy, but I did see a difference with my, admittedly, unscientific test.
Then that contradicts with what the extended test directions state about using more or less drops to allow a better color match by changing the saturation.
jblizzle said:
I want to play around with this some more, and will post my results. I'm out of phenol red!
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