Unsure about my salt testing

[nodiaque]

Hello everyone,

I have 3 different reading of my salt in my pool and I'm unsure which I should trust. My taylor kit didn't came with the salt reading unfortunatly.

The first method is the worst, a salt testing strip (that is expired to add to the false reading). This one give me 2450ppm.

My pool have a control panel which read the water and give information like temperature but also the salt level. This one says 2700ppm

At my pool store, they use a device with an analog meter on it in which they pour the water and the needle move depending on the salt quantity. This one give 3200 ppm. So on one end, I'm either at the lowest or the highest point in terms of salt. Should I trust my control panel since it control the salt chrorinator based on his reading and raise my salt level?

Thank you!

 

[SecoSteve]

You need the K-1766 Salt Test from Taylor. It is the only one I trust. I actually recalibrate my SWCG to match that salt test. It's probably the most expensive test, but it's worth it to me.

 

[Newdude]

It's probably the most expensive test, but it's worth it to me.

$30 and the 2 reagents are looooong lasting when stored dry/cool. It doesn't cost much when divided by 2 years of tests, and the piece of mind it provides is worth every penny IMO.

 

[nodiaque]

30$? Maybe for you. For me in Canada, the cheapest I found on amazon is 80$ plus shipping and import fee which yield around 130$. And the reagents bottle only? 80$/ea....

 

[SecoSteve]

30$? Maybe for you. For me in Canada, the cheapest I found on amazon is 80$ plus shipping and import fee which yield around 130$. And the reagents bottle only? 80$/ea..

I don't understand why someone in Canada can't find a salt test, IN CANADA. Doesn't the country of Canada need to test salt levels? Maybe it is cheaper for you to send a sample of your water to someone in the US to test the salt.

 

[nodiaque]

Hello, in fact, the taylor kit aren't sold in Canada, that's the problem.

 

[proavia]

Hello, in fact, the taylor kit aren't sold in Canada, that's the problem.

How close are you to the US border?
Maybe source the salt test reagents near the border or order and have sent to a mail drop near the border. Then drive across, pick up you reagents and enjoy lunch in the US before heading back.

 

[Mdragger88]

Even at their most accurate Strips & meters can be off by +/- 500ppm
So take their measurements with a grain of salt
I wouldn’t trust the expired strips at all.
If that’s your only option get some new ones.
The titration salt test has a tolerance of +/- 200 ppm so a bit tighter & more accurate. Maybe another pool shop near you uses this instead of a meter?

That said,
If the cell is happy & producing you’re ok
You want to know your actual salinity but also keep the cell happy -

*Note:
As the cell’s coating is degraded from use the controller will usually show lower salt level over time as the life of the cell is used up so it’s not a good idea to just blindly trust the controller & feed the pool more salt without verifying your actual salinity another way.
so just be aware & keep monitoring it separately as you have done.

 

[nodiaque]

How close are you to the US border?
Maybe source the salt test reagents near the border or order and have sent to a mail drop near the border. Then drive across, pick up you reagents and enjoy lunch in the US before heading back.

a good 4 hours

Even at their most accurate Strips & meters can be off by +/- 500ppm
So take their measurements with a grain of salt
I wouldn’t trust the expired strips at all.
If that’s your only option get some new ones.
The titration salt test has a tolerance of +/- 200 ppm so a bit tighter & more accurate. Maybe another pool shop near you uses this instead of a meter?

That said,
If the cell is happy & producing you’re ok
You want to know your actual salinity but also keep the cell happy -

*Note:
As the cell’s coating is degraded from use the controller will usually show lower salt level over time as the life of the cell is used up so it’s not a good idea to just blindly trust the controller & feed the pool more salt without verifying your actual salinity another way.
so just be aware & keep monitoring it separately as you have done.

Ok, so since cell says 2700 and store meters 3200, should be ok. Pool maker says to only check the aquarite reader (well, maybe they want to sell new cells faster).

I never cleaned the cells, wonder if that's require? I did flush it with fresh water at the beginning of the spring but outside of that, it seemed very cleaned.

 

[proavia]

a good 4 hours

Do you know anyone close to you that drives down on occassion? Maybe they can pick one up.
Or take a day trip and possibly pick up other stuff you need/want while here.

 

[Mdragger88]

No need to clean the cell if it doesn’t have any buildup.
You also want to make sure the pool has been circulating for a day or so before getting the salt sample.

How old is your cell?

 

[nodiaque]

Cell is about 3 or 4 years ( i forgot when I bought it exactly). The pool been open for a month 24/7, I think the salt properly circulated XD

 

[nodiaque]

I might have found a website that can ship it to me, still waiting for validation cause every other website I found have this message:

DISCLAIMER: Due to some recent changes from Canada customs we cannot ship any Taylor test kits or reagents to a Canadian address. We apologize for the inconvenience.

edit: nope, can't ship chemical outside of usa...

 

[kul]

If you are not able to buy it and don’t want to do the drive your only option that I see is going by whether your cell is producing or not.

 

[nodiaque]

yeah right now, just come back from the pump trying to fix a small leak. Have a red and yellow light flashing saying check salt level and check cells (probably because of salt level). It now says it's 2600 which is below it'S 2700 threshold. I'll add some salt after the repair to see if it get happy again

 

[Mdragger88]

Cell is about 3 or 4 years ( i forgot when I bought it exactly). The pool been open for a month 24/7, I think the salt properly circulated XD

Depending upon your usage (%, run times,& season length)
it may be nearing the end of its 8-10k hr lifespan if it is 4 years old.
I suspect you will start to see an even larger difference between what your actual salinity is measuring & what the contoller says. Some go on for a whole season or more this way and some just suddenly give up the ghost. So just keep an eye on things. You’ll have to ride line of keeping it happy & producing without raising the salt level too high in the pool.
I wouldn’t raise the actual salinity in the pool more than 3400 ppm or you’ll need to exchange some water to lower it before using a new cell.
Also if the pool water is quite cold it can affect how the controller measures salinity
& may read a little lower than when the water is warmer so there are a lot of factors at play to consider.
The two numbers (your own measurements & the controller) may never match even in the most optimal conditions so don’t concern yourself too much with that.
Get a reliable testing method that you can trust & watch for the trends (large discrepancies) whilst keeping the unit happily producing.

 

[nodiaque]

Normally, it's at 30% or below. The pool normally doesn't run 24/7 except at opening season. Once it's stabilise, I run it during the day from 9am to 9pm. It's also open from april to october (at best).

Right now, the water is at 59F. I remember having someone told me under 60-70F, it's not very usefull and I should run on good old tab while I heat it.

 

[Newdude]

Right now, the water is at 59F. I remember having someone told me under 60-70F, it's not very usefull and I should run on good old tab while I heat it

Mine has been wonky with the water riding the fence of being too cold. It hasn't shut off but it seems to be running at a reduced output at times. I just passed an OCLT this morning to rule out algae having crept in. I'm raising the CYA now (it was lower and previously no issue being cooler) and will road test it to see if that helps, or it stays wonky in the short term

I run hot so I can afford to lose a day or two of expected production but if I didn't, I wouldn't want to question if I needed to step in everyday. At that point I would just commit to handling FC myself. The closer you run to min the closer you need to babysit it until you trust it is behaving as you'd like.

 

[nodiaque]

Yesterday my CYA was at 100, I did a little flush and testing later today to see where I'm at now. What is OCLT?

 

[Newdude]

An overnight test to remove UV loss from the equation. If you lose FC with no sun, algae is brewing whether or not you can see its microscopic self yet.

Overnight Chlorine Loss Test