Testing Borate (Australia)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
F

farsonic

0
Jul 5, 2014
48
Queensland, Australia
Hi there,

I've managed to source enough Boric Acid for my pool, however I have no way to measure borate levels and getting hold of anything to test this seems near impossible. Is it safe to assume there would be no borates in my pool water and shoot for 50ppm?

Any suggestions?

F
 
I'm in the same position. I'm going to try and find the test strips on Amazon, not sure if they post to Australia, or how much postage costs. It's probably safe to assume there are no borates in there although some combination products do contain boric acid. I would aim low until you can test.

Sent from my SM-N910G using Tapatalk
 
Look in my signature at the Mannitol Borate Test to see if you can get those materials. The test requires the R-0009 TA titration drops, the R-0007 dechlorinating drops and the R-0010 Calcium buffer drops. Those reagents are standard with a K-2006 or TF-100.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
Look in my signature at the Mannitol Borate Test to see if you can get those materials. The test requires the R-0009 TA titration drops, the R-0007 dechlorinating drops and the R-0010 Calcium buffer drops. Those reagents are standard with a K-2006 or TF-100.
Click to expand...

OK, thanks for the tip on using K-2006 (which I have) for this test protocol. Now I need to track down these additional materials in Australia as the links in your post from Amazon will not ship to Australia.

re

FP
 
farsonic said:
OK, thanks for the tip on using K-2006 (which I have) for this test protocol. Now I need to track down these additional materials in Australia as the links in your post from Amazon will not ship to Australia.

re

FP
Click to expand...

The mannitol should be a no-brainer as that is a food grade item (sweetener). The BTB solution is a pH indicator so hopefully it's something you get down-under...

Good luck.
 
^Thats the same as the BTB I found and the one I would use.

I found the mannitol too hard to source in a cost effective quantity but it may be worth revisiting. It's easier or more cost effective to have the strips shipped from the US, I'll most likely include some on a combined order. I could get the BTB quite easily.

It's safe to assume the common Aussie pool has 0 - very very low borates to start with. I found a 2014 test result that tested boron at <0.1mg/L and the upper limit as set by the Australian Drinking Water Guidelines is 4mg/L.

I got my borate off eBay and calculated the mass needed to raise my pool volume to 50ppm using PoolMath. I've since tracked my % loss due to rain events using my CYA values. I've also tracked CH but I'm adding calcium in my tap water.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
farsonic said:
Sure, both of those are possible to obtain here, especially xylitol. Is there an alternative test we can work on?

FP
Click to expand...

Not really. Most boron analysis is done by spectrophotometers using either carmine or Azomethine H. There is a very complicated titration method one can perform using azomethine H but it is very expensive and unlikely to be available where you are. Since boron is really only a concern for drinking water suppliers, the test methods are all designed around low concentration analysis.

You may just have to find a source of test strips and use that.
 
Would mannose or d-mannose work?

Other er search options for mannitol ar D-Mannitol, man ire or manna sugar. Maybe a closer inspection of the ingredients list in a Heath food shop? Although manna sugar may be confused for mannose.
 
AUSpool said:
The LaMotte kit is the better one to get but as far as I can tell Astralpool don't import them into Australia. None of my local stockists have them.

Edit: I may have given up too easily so I've sent an email asking.
Click to expand...

Would be good to know....I went to my local pool shop asking about Borate test strips and they looked at me like I was an idiot....then proceeded to say I must have meant Bromine.

:(

FP
 
I've just had a win and ordered my LaMotte borate test strips from the local Aussie LaMotte distributed - Vendart.
$33.10 delivered.

The initial shipping cost was a bit high but once I'd changed it to an Aussie address it came back to $12.

Insta-TEST Borate (3017-G) - Test Strips Online
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply