Chlorine test = scratching head

[nabril15]

Good Sunday to all
I just did 2 chlorine tests, and it is well over 10; I stopped at 22 drops.
I haven't added chlorine in a while, and my swg runs 6 to 7 hours at 80%. There have been a day or 2 when the pump didn't run, and we've had rain for 4 days now.
The reagents for that test expired this past August, and are always stored indoors atop my fridge.

Do I possibly have that much chlorine? Or are my reagents giving me false results. Yes, I could take the water to Leslie's to confirm, but the traffic in that area is horrible.

Thank you

I forgot to mention that there are light spots of algae here and there. How can that be with the fc so high?

 

[Newdude]

and my swg runs 6 to 7 hours at 80%.

So you're making about 3ppm a day, with the shortest day of the year less than a week away. Nobody in the northern hemisphere needs that much right now and on cloudy days you're likely banking all 3 ppm. Lol.

. Yes, I could take the water to Leslie's to confirm

You could also taste test it and you'd probably be closer than them. Swish it around like a fancy wine, spit it out and decree that you tasted 11 FCs. I'll trust your wild guess over them, everytime.

I forgot to mention that there are light spots of algae here and there. How can that be with the fc so high?

1) At some point the FC dipped enough to let it in the door. It grows a biofilm over itself to protect it from harsh environments, which is why brushing is so important during slam. It could be layers thick on your walls, or whatever is trying to grow in the high FC water is being found dead on your floor.

2) it's environmental and not algae.
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test

 

[Dirk]

I tried the wine-swishing taste test. That sounded like more fun than the normal test procedure. Son-of-a-gun, I did get FC 11. I learn something new here every day!

and are always stored indoors atop my fridge

Like right on top? Or in a cupboard above? Refrigerators generate a pretty good amount of heat. Heat hastens the demise of your reagents. Of all the locations in your house, that's one of the worst ones. Find a better place to store them.

And while many Taylor reagents can work well beyond their expiration date, you never really know. Nor do you know how well the reagents were stored before they got to you. Reagents might expire before their date. Part of the expense of good pool maintenance is replacing your reagents. Trying to save a few bucks, in the grand scheme of things, is just asking for headache.

So between the expired date and the storage location, that could be suspect for those test results.

Give this a read:

Reagent Shelf Life

 

[nabril15]

You could also taste test it and you'd probably be closer than them. Swish it around like a fancy wine, spit it out and decree that you tasted 11 FCs. I'll trust your wild guess over them, everytime.

A swish test. Hilarity. Leslie's now uses the test strips, so perhaps their accuracy increased....1%???

1) At some point the FC dipped enough to let it in the door. It grows a biofilm over itself to protect it from harsh environments, which is why brushing is so important during slam. It could be layers thick on your walls, or whatever is trying to grow in the high FC water is being found dead on your floor.

Is that film that strong that fc over 11 won't kill it? Wow

Thanks for the help. I turned down the swg to 55%, and I'll check the chlorine in 2 days.

 

[Mdragger88]

Once algae takes hold you need slam level fc along with brushing & the other parts of the SLAM Process to eradicate it.
Less than slam level just keeps it at bay somewhat preventing a full blown swamp.
Do all the tests to completion & post your results including cya.
Note that the ph test is invalid at fc levels above 10ppm so don’t do any adjustments based on those results.
For most cya levels 10/11 ppm isn’t extraordinarily high

 

[nabril15]

I tried the wine-swishing taste test. That sounded like more fun than the normal test procedure. Son-of-a-gun, I did get FC 11. I learn something new here everyday!

I got 11.5 with my swish.

Like right on top? Or in a cupboard above? Refrigerators generate a pretty good amount of heat. Heat hastens the demise of your reagents. Find a better place to store them.
So between the dubious date and the storage location, that could b suspect for those test results.

They sit atop my 3 year old LG fridge, and I don't feel heat since it probably radiates out of the sides.
But I get your point.

 

[Dirk]

You can buy new reagents and then test using both old and new. If you get the same result, then the old one is still fine and you can use it up, so no money wasted. If you get different results, then you know the old one is done.

 

[Dirk]

They sit atop my 3 year old LG fridge, and I don't feel heat since it probably radiates out of the sides.

It could very well be that it makes no difference at all. And in the very best of conditions, those Taylor tests are ±10% anyway. But testing consistently, and using "best practice" methods is just a good idea. You want to minimize the testing variables as much as possible to get the best results possible. This is where pool stores generally drop the ball, plus every employee has a different idea of "best practice." This is why we don't trust pool store test results, and why we strongly discourage others to trust them either.

 

[Newdude]

I turned down the swg to 55%, and I'll check the chlorine in 2 days.

That is still producing 2ppm a day, which will match your loss, if not out produce it. It could take a week to drift down this time of year if you shut off the SWG. If you're producing at all, it will take that much longer. There's no harm providing you're under SLAM level, just making sure you understand how it works.

 

[nabril15]

That is still producing 2ppm a day, which will match your loss, if not out produce it. It could take a week to drift down this time of year if you shut off the SWG. If you're producing at all, it will take that much longer. There's no harm providing you're under SLAM level, just making sure you understand how it works.

Thanks a lot New
I read your reply thrice, and I think that I understood it, but I humbly ask if you can reword it to make sure I grasped your advice fully.

 

[nabril15]

You can buy new reagents and then test using both old and new. If you get the same result, then the old one is still fine and you can use it up, so no money wasted. If you get different results, then you know the old one is done.

Excellent thought process

 

[Bperry]

Excellent thought process

Make sure you’re not accidentally using the 25ml water sample with that test.

 

[Newdude]

humbly ask if you can reword it to make sure I grasped your advice fully.

Gladly.

No matter where you live, this is your general daily FC loss across the season.




In the dead of the winter, you're losing the least of the whole year. Your recent temps of 50s to 70s in Miami would lose about 1ppm FC daily when it's that warm by me.

So you're losing 1ppm a day (give or take), and producing 3ppm, (80% for 6 or 7 hours), picking up 2ppm a day. So you turned the SWG down to 55%, which makes 2ppm a day, for a +1 gain instead. You likely won't lower the FC any, and it will likely continue to climb.

Go to the upper left menu in pool math and select effects of adding. Then scroll for SWG and enter '2' as the cell production. Then you can play with % and hours running to see the expected FC output and this will all make more sense. You were making 3ppm a day, now it's 2. But you're probably only losing 1 ppm daily with Dec 20th the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year.

 

[nabril15]

Make sure you’re not accidentally using the 25ml water sample with that test.

Yes sir, 10ml

 

[nabril15]

Gladly.

No matter where you live, this is your general daily FC loss across the season.

View attachment 544951


In the dead of the winter, you're losing the least of the whole year. Your recent temps of 50s to 70s in Miami would lose about 1ppm FC daily when it's that warm by me.

So you're losing 1ppm a day (give or take), and producing 3ppm, (80% for 6 or 7 hours), picking up 2ppm a day. So you turned the SWG down to 55%, which makes 2ppm a day, for a +1 gain instead. You likely won't lower the FC any, and it will likely continue to climb.

Go to the upper left menu in pool math and select effects of adding. Then scroll for SWG and enter '2' as the cell production. Then you can play with % and hours running to see the expected FC output and this will all make more sense. You were making 3ppm a day, now it's 2. But you're probably only losing 1 ppm daily with Dec 20th the winter solstice and the shortest day of the year.

brilliant!!! Brilliant and many thanks for this. There's nothing like a graph to perspectify things, that's right, perspectify.

In your instructions for the pool math app, I assume that you meant to enter a "2" in the box labeled "24 hour SWG output", no?

 

[Mdragger88]

brilliant!!! Brilliant and many thanks for this. There's nothing like a graph to perspectify things, that's right, perspectify.

Lol

In your instructions for the pool math app, I assume that you meant to enter a "2" in the box labeled "24 hour SWG output", no?

Yes - the rj45 output is 2#/day

Alternately you can just select it from the list by pressing the next to the box