Australian Test Kit

[Hawknz]

Hi Sal,

Yes indeed as you can see on this thread it is possible to get the TF-100 to Australia through a freight forwarding, Australia Post have a service called "ShopMate" which appears to do this, I am looking into it, but of course it is a minimum charge of $28 (weight dependent) to do this service ontop of the cost of the kit. Don't forget you have to factor in refills in the future and how you will manage this.

The owner of this forum is also the owner of TF test kits and from what I understand he is not allowed to ship to Australia directly due to contractual agreements with Taylors (I think), hence the need to explore other ways.

Even though I am happy with the clearchoicelabs kit (except the pH) I might try the shopmate method myself for the TF-100

 

[Jezza]

Hi Sal again.

You have done your research which is a great start! You will definitely need to use a forwarding service if you wish to get a TF-100. The K2006 or its big brother the K2006C are available from several US online pool shops. Just be aware that if you order the K2006 you will run through the chemicals used for the FAS DPD and CYA tests really quickly so order your refills for these tests at the same time. Let us know if your want any more information on what you should buy as refills. Many of us ordering Taylor kits have used Buy Automatic Pool Cleaners and Parts. Fast Shipping! which ship directly to your home address which takes the hassle out of the postage through a 'freight forwarder'. Unfortunately the postage is still expensive about US$30-$40 and the speedstir is not sold at many of these either.
There is an Australian company doing a version of the Taylors test although they are very new. Their website is Clear Choice Labs | Simple. Accurate. Fast.. Only a few members have used their kits with some generally good results and most importantly the FAS -DPD test for FC and CC seems to work well. I have tried using some of their refills with my Taylor kit and it compares well. They are also developing a really good reputation for fantastic customer service and have been receptive to the feedback given to them when their have been a few hiccups. The best thing buying from them is that they do free postage over $50 and express post so that you should receive your kit within a couple of days of ordering.

So definitely pros and cons for all options. Let us know if you have any other questions.

 

[chem geek]

The limit to shipping TF-100 is ONLY for Canada due to an exclusive distributor relationship with Taylor in that country. The reason the TF-100 is not shipped to other countries (other than Canada) including Australia has nothing to do with any relationship with Taylor, but with the complexity of dealing with overseas shipping and customs, especially for a relatively small company and very small number of units to be shipped. The freight forwarder handles all of those shipping and customs paperwork details and is why they cost what they do.

 

[Salsiccia]

Hi guys,

Thanks again for your feedback.

I wasn't aware of OzPost's ShopMate service Hawk. The one that was recommended to me by a mate whose partner has used it a lot for business is called comGateway. I'll be interested to see what you discover about ShopMate.

I have seen a few posts here from the owner of the TF business about why he doesn't ship internationally and his arguments make perfect sense to me. It just doesn't make sense to fight the bureaucracy of international shipping and customs unless you have a lot of capacity so I totally get his stand - just sucks for us trying to get his kits - lol !!!

I also had ClearChoice labs on my list, but TBH was a bit put off due to the problems with their pH kit, but having said that everybody reports well on their customer service and responsiveness though and that's very important for me so maybe I should reconsider them.

Ironically last night my partner put me in touch with a good friend of hers who is a qualified water micro-biologist who makes her living out of water testing. She validated everything that I've learned on here too so that's encouraging. Her view was that if you get pH and Chlorine right, the rest should pretty much sort itself out ! Obviously its about providing the right conditions to get pH and Chlorine right though ! Ironically she just uses the basic 4-in-1 kit from Clark Rubber and has never had any problems, but then she knows an awful lot more about it than I do !

Good point about refills. I was going to ask about how long a set of reagants will typically last and frequency of testing, but that may well be covered in other threads that I haven't found yet !

 

[Jezza]

I also have the Clarke Rubber kit.

The big downfall of that kit is that it only measures chlorine up to 5 and of course it doesn't have the CYA test- at the moment I am using it for my pH as I have nearly run out of Taylors phenol red but the pH reading on the Clarke Rubber kit is comparable to the Taylors.

There are so many variables in terms of how many refills you would need, such as frequency of testing and dare I say it if you have to SLAM the pool. A pool SLAM will can absolutely hammer your FAS DPD testing reagents. It is suggested by the manufacturers that reagents are renewed annually but if stored properly can extend their life for up to another year or so.

 

[Salsiccia]

I totally get that there are so many variables regarding refills so I'll just have to play it by ear.

I have had this house 5 years and have never bought new reagents, so far I have been using my pool shop and I periodically used to test as well to try to understand it, but I never really got consistent readings and so didn't understand. Now I realise that is most likely because my kits are so old that they're almost useless.

My cunning plan now is probably just pick up a Clark Rubber kit for the next week or so while I decide which "grown-up" kit to get.

I currently have a very fine layer of dust in the pool which I'm trying to figure out how to deal with, but that's a topic for another thread !

 

[Salsiccia]

I just found this little gem on the Clear Choice web site:

Highly accurate drop test kits are certainly available to determine salt levels, however the chemicals used in this test are both hazardous (harmful to human health – category 1 carcinogen) and dangerous to transport, meaning that such kits are not legal to send through the post in Australia

They then go on to recommend their solution which is a hydrometer for measuring specific gravity (like I used to use in my home brew days)

That rules out the Taylors K-1766 kit I had my eye on - if the above quote is actually true.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I would check on the actual regulations first. The two components of the K-1766 are potassium chromate solution (~0.1-5% in water) and silver nitrate (15-25%). While potassium chromate does contain a hexavalent form of chromium (the carcinogenic form), it is not at an appreciable concentration nor volume to cause you any health problem unless, of course, you decide to drink it.

So, while you might actually check the shipping regulations on it, I suspect that comment is nothing more than the company not wanting to sell or develop a similar test product and is simply using scare-language to attempt to promote their own product which is an inferior test method as it does not measure actual chloride levels.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006

 

[Salsiccia]

Thanks very much for that Joyful.
The cynic in me did wonder if this was simply scaremongering in favour of their own product.

Has anyone managed to get the Taylors kit successfully shipped into Aus?

 

[duraleigh]

Her view was that if you get pH and Chlorine right, the rest should pretty much sort itself out !

Well, I am sorry your friend's friend thinks like that. It is, of course, erroneous. I hope you take the time to read "The ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry" up in Pool School and discover it is not quite that simple.

I would also add that perhaps ClearChoice (in who I have no financial interest) may know quite a bit about the shipping regulations.

Despite what chemistry may be safe (in one's personal opinion), you jeopardize your entire business if you choose to ship (knowingly or unknowingly) in defiance of the government.

Scaremongering to gain business is a really poor business model to begin with and I doubt that term is appropriate. It's easy to sit on the sidelines and toss out a criticism but your facts should be dead on if you chose to do so.

I have studied the regulations on shipping pool chemistry into Australia and it is precisely because of the complexity of those regulations that I am unwilling to do it.

 

[chem geek]

Ironically last night my partner put me in touch with a good friend of hers who is a qualified water micro-biologist who makes her living out of water testing. She validated everything that I've learned on here too so that's encouraging. Her view was that if you get pH and Chlorine right, the rest should pretty much sort itself out ! Obviously its about providing the right conditions to get pH and Chlorine right though ! Ironically she just uses the basic 4-in-1 kit from Clark Rubber and has never had any problems, but then she knows an awful lot more about it than I do !

It sounds like this micro-biologist does not understand the chlorine / Cyanuric Acid relationship. That's understandable since CYA is not normally found in the natural environment especially with chlorine. It's added either separately or as part of stabilized chlorine products (Trichlor or Dichlor) primarily in swimming pools and spas. CYA SIGNIFICANTLY moderates chlorine's strength. The FC level alone means absolutely nothing -- it is only a measure of the total reserve of chlorine, not its active level that is proportional to the FC/CYA level. Therefore, measuring the CYA level is absolutely positively critical. As for her not having problems, she could be lucky with water poor in algae nutrients or she could be using unstabilized chlorine or have sufficient water dilution to keep CYA in check.

Perhaps you could have the micro-biologist read the first post in the thread Certified Pool Operator (CPO) training -- What is not taught, especially the section "Chlorine/CYA Relationship".

 

[Salsiccia]

Hi again guys,

Thanks again for the continued advice - its clear to me that there is definitely a wealth of knowledge in here and I am very grateful for all the feedback.
I' the first one to put my hand up and admit where I am not an expert and its very interesting to be privy to some very good knowledge.

I'm thinking I will still go with either the TF-100 or the Taylors via a US freight-forward service, of which there are quite a few, and see what customs issues that uncovers.

 

[Crmdgnly]

I have tried using some of their refills with my Taylor kit and it compares well.

Jezza I thought I read on the Clear Choice site thet while they use Taylor reagents, the CC bottles and possibly the reagent formulation might not be the same and hence wouldn't be interchangebale. Are you suggesting this might not be the case or have you only done tests with purely CC reagents and separate tests with Taylors (as opposed to mixing CC and Taylors in the same test)?

I have taken the plunge and gone for CCL minus the PH test for now. I also didn't bother with salt as I won't find out until next week if we have a SWG. At least I should be ready on moving day to not need the pool shop. Although despite reading Pool School and ABC of water chemistry about 8 times I don't think it will sink in until I actually start testing and try and work out what I need to do. Look out for an aussie newbie help thread coming to a TFP forum near you soon ;-)

 

[Salsiccia]

Look out for an aussie newbie help thread coming to a TFP forum near you soon ;-)

Hey mate, I've had this pool for 5 years now and I'm only now (since joining here) starting to get the vaguest clue about how to go about this stuff so I reckon you're way ahead of the game for heading here first !

I've decided to bite the bullet and I'm gonna order the Taylors 2006, the Taylors Salt Drop kit and the Speedstir. PoolVacParts were the only ones I found who have all 3 and ship to Australia directly for a not totally outrageous fee so I'm gonna go with them and see how things pan out.

I'd be interested to hear how you get on with CCL Crmdgnly, I was looking at them too - let's compare notes !

 

[Salsiccia]

For any Aussies following this thread, I just received the following from PST Pool Supplies in response to a query from me:

Due to recent shipping logistic issues outside of a North America, we have chosen to no longer ship Internationally

I'm trying others now.

 

[Jezza]

The CCL reagent has bigger drops than the Taylor version but my understanding is that this has been taken into account by CCL with the concentration in the bottle. My comparative testing between the 2 is that they come within 1drop or 0.5FC of each other from 5 samples so that's obviously a bit of an endorsement for their FAS DPD at least.
Although I was using the Taylor DPD powder for all samples as I have heaps of that left from my last order from the USA.

So the answer is yes interchangeable but only if you use it in its original bottle.

 

[Crunchy]

I purchased the K2006C + the salt test kit and extra reagents from Poolvacparts, despite the delay in sending (Due to out of stock at Taylor), once the kits & reagents arrived at Poolvacparts and they sent them to me the whole shipment arrived very quickly and without any customs issues. Their communication was good although they failed to make a small refund they promised to do. I find the K2006C a great to use and my reccommendation to budding Au pool testers would be:

Buy the K2006C (+ extra reagents if you wish) from poolvacparts and you should be "Trouble free" in no time

 

[Hawknz]

I purchased the K2006C + the salt test kit and extra reagents from Poolvacparts, despite the delay in sending (Due to out of stock at Taylor), once the kits & reagents arrived at Poolvacparts and they sent them to me the whole shipment arrived very quickly and without any customs issues. Their communication was good although they failed to make a small refund they promised to do. I find the K2006C a great to use and my reccommendation to budding Au pool testers would be:

Buy the K2006C (+ extra reagents if you wish) from poolvacparts and you should be "Trouble free" in no time

Hey crunchy,

Glad you got a decent kit. poolvacparts seem great, but I am put off by their shipping charges (minimum $40 from what I could see)

I've just tonight placed an order for the TF-100 using Australia Post's Freight Forwarding Service "Shopmate". I'll let everyone know how successful this process is. Its likely not to be any cheaper than pvparts but if it does work I'll have the TF-100!

 

[Crunchy]

Yep that will be a good very option, hope it arrives without any issues. Although I spent hundreds on the kits I haven't been back to the pool shop for months and that's saved me $$$, pretty sure I had "Sucker" printed on my forehead when I was going to the local pool shop!
Anyway I have been able to get my water in balance using the TFP method and help from the members and managed to hold it there for a month now so very happy with the way its turned out. Water looks great, but now to turn my attention to the green tinge (Copper).

 

[Salsiccia]

Good to hear that you guys have been able to get these good kits shipped successfully.

Yesterday I found a retail store in NSW that sells the Taylor kit, but its over $300 so even with the not cheap shipping its still cheaper to get it from OS.
I'm in contact with Taylors themselves at the moment who are putting me in touch with their Australian distributor so I will report back on what I hear from them. Unless they have a better plan I'm probably going to go with the K-2006 from PoolVacParts as well - they seem very good.

Looking forward to peeling off my "Sucker" sticker as well.

Also managed to start getting rid of my very fine dust layer with the use of a "sock" in the skimmer basket and some very slow and careful vacuuming.
Really need a better cleaner, but that's a topic for a different thread