CYA.......and others

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It's hard enough using these OTO chlorine testers to check the colour at 5 ppm, then I tried to do the Combined Chlorine. It says wait for 2-3 mins and compared the colour. If the difference is less than 0.3 then it needs shocking. The problem is I can't tell especially when the indicator goes from 3 ppm to 5 ppm.

Since my pool is outdoor, I can just ignore this combined chlorine test right?
 
peachy said:
It's hard enough using these OTO chlorine testers to check the colour at 5 ppm, then I tried to do the Combined Chlorine. It says wait for 2-3 mins and compared the colour. If the difference is less than 0.3 then it needs shocking. The problem is I can't tell especially when the indicator goes from 3 ppm to 5 ppm.

Since my pool is outdoor, I can just ignore this combined chlorine test right?
Click to expand...

I was never able to get the OTO to work for me. I always hated it.

Can you get the DPD-only test? It's pink colored like the more accurate DPD-FAS test (same chemistry) but I find the color comparisons easier to see. Also, it only reads FC. If you want CCs, you have to actually add the CC reagent (R-0003 in the Taylor chemistry set). So I find that's much more accurate than the OTO which reads FC at first and then darkens over time to give you TC.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk,16k gal SWG pool (All Pentair), QuadDE100 Filter, Taylor K-2006
 
The OTO test has always been a quick dependable test to test for the PRESENCE of chlorine but not really much else......it's just too indistinct to be really accurate.

That said, it is a wonderful DAILY test that will show you FC trends in your pool.

Any test result you need that requires more accuracy should be the FAS/DPD.
 
I'll have to order those online. no one sells the Taylor K-2006 here. I wish someone did locally. I might have to settle with this for now. I was given a basic Poolmaster, my pool guy left another basic Hayward, I purchased the Blue Devil 8-way.... all uses OTO and all their colour charts are not the same. I was going to say, it's great that I have pool math to calculate the amount of Cl per bottle but even that is not certain 'coz our bleach doesn't indicate the concentration on the label, nor do they want to tell me when I asked them via facebook.

back to the question.... Since my pool is outdoor, can I just ignore this combined chlorine test?
 
If you have an accurate chlorine test, and you're testing frequently, and you know your pool's normal chlorine demands, then you'd probably notice quickly if the demand or usage went up, indicating the presence of something in the water. But if you're not at that point yet, or don't have a more precise test than OTO, the CC test could help you determine if you have abnormal conditions. Anything under .5 is not worrisome, stuff blows into the pool (or crawls in and dies) all the time. More than that, you'd want to really look close as some overnight chlorine testing or raising your FC a bit. Since the sun can burn off CC pretty quick, I think it's best to do that test in the early morning.
 
i found a Pentair supplier that says they may be able to have a CL tester. It's DPD only. I believe it might be this.....

Amazon.com : Pentair R151246 78DPD All-in-One DPD Test Kit : Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits : Patio, Lawn Garden

looking at the left isde of the tube and it says Cl, it's still based in matching the intensity of the colour. probably not right? Read about it and i'm answering my own question.... DPD by itself is just about the same as OTO. no good. :(

Having a hard time finding anyone having heard of Taylor. I was hoping to source this locally.
 

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Just to chip in with Marion the best way to source a kit is through poolvacparts- they basically specialise in shipping overseas.

I'm not too sure about how good your pool test kit is but if you were going to the effort to buy a FAS DPD test I would highly recommend that you buy the K2006 or even better the K2006C if you can afford it. You will be definitely getting the best test kit that will give you the most accurate results for all the important testing parameters that you need.
 
Thanks guys. I've got all the other test. Just really need the fas pdp so I can accurately measure the Cl. I've got a U.S. address that would re-ship it back to me. The Taylor is double the price.... will the Taylor give me 2x the test of the TF? Supposedly the TF uses the Taylor chem.
 
The TF does use Taylor chemistry and will give you more chemicals for your dollar than the Taylor version. The costs of reshipping services are expensive so make sure you buy plenty of the R0870 and R0871 chemicals so that you don't have to put another order in for a long while.
 
I'm in the same situation as you, although in Australia (started running the pool seven weeks ago, waiting for my K2006C from America).

A tip I read on here for reading the higher FC is to dilute my sample. I do one test normally (DPD tablet - I don't have FAS-DPD yet) and I can see that my sample is 5 ppm or more. I then dilute another sample of my pool water by measuring 150 ml pool water and adding 300 ml tap water (which the city says is less than 0.04 ppm Cl). Then I test again, and I can see the colour gradient better. So for example, if my diluted sample reads 2 ppm, then my pool water test is around 6 ppm.

Dilution reduces accuracy due to measuring the amounts of water, so I actually measure 150 ml of pool water, then 150 ml of tap water, then 150 ml of tap water again, all in the same cheap-as measuring cup. Then stir well for my 1/3 FC cocktail. The other weakness is my use of tap water, which I could cure by picking up some distilled water for the dilution.

FWIW, this has really helped me through this early stage of my TFP journey!
 

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