Which test do I trust?

[flyboy789]

Hello Everyone. New gunite pool owner here. I've lurked on the forum for a while now and there is a lot of great info. I had intentions of never setting foot in a pool store and taking care of everything myself based on what this forum has taught me. Unfortunately my pool builder requires me to provide them with a weekly water test from a "pool professional" ie... the teenager working at the local pool store, for finish warranty purposes. My problem is I am getting wildly different results between my testing and the "pool professionals" Yesterday I did a test... I tested a sample myself using my digital LaMotte ColorQ and I have a LaMotte Tracer for Salt/TDS (which I recently calibrated with the provided calibration standard). After I tested myself I took a sample to two different pool stores. Here are the results...

As you can see both pool stores were not even in the same ballpark... Which test would you believe?

My Test | Pool Store "A" | Pool Store "B"
FC 2.86 | 3 | 4
PH 7.3 | 7.7 | 7.5
ALK 86 | 100 | 50
CH 296 | 275 | 200
CYA 66 | 20 | 50
Salt 3500 | 3300 | 3600

 

[pabeader]

Given the options you present, I would choose your testing. In fact we almost always pick the pool owner over any pool $tore testing. There is a standing debate over the testing results from the Color Q vs. TF100 or K2006. But that debate aside, if you are properly maintaining your Color Q your results should be repeatable and valid.

 

[GaryT58]

I use the Color Q Pro-7 and trust it, and my pool is crystal clear. Here is the published accuracy of the Color Q Pro-7 I received from Lamotte.

 

[domct203]

Hello Everyone. New gunite pool owner here. I've lurked on the forum for a while now and there is a lot of great info. I had intentions of never setting foot in a pool store and taking care of everything myself based on what this forum has taught me. Unfortunately my pool builder requires me to provide them with a weekly water test from a "pool professional" ie... the teenager working at the local pool store, for finish warranty purposes. My problem is I am getting wildly different results between my testing and the "pool professionals" Yesterday I did a test... I tested a sample myself using my digital LaMotte ColorQ and I have a LaMotte Tracer for Salt/TDS (which I recently calibrated with the provided calibration standard). After I tested myself I took a sample to two different pool stores. Here are the results...

As you can see both pool stores were not even in the same ballpark... Which test would you believe?

My Test | Pool Store "A" | Pool Store "B"
FC 2.86 | 3 | 4
PH 7.3 | 7.7 | 7.5
ALK 86 | 100 | 50
CH 296 | 275 | 200
CYA 66 | 20 | 50
Salt 3500 | 3300 | 3600

Trust your own testing. The reason we are so adamant about the pool owner having their own proper test kit is because of the exact situation you have described. Most pool $tore testing has proven to be unreliable and inconsistent.

 

[flyboy789]

So now how do I convince my pool builder that his requirement for weekly "professional" tests to maintain my finish warranty is bogus? I don't want to run into any issue down the road if I have any concerns about the finish. I agree with trusting my testing over the pool stores... It seems like pool store "a" just wanted to sell me stabilizer... and pool store "b" wanted me to purchase their over priced baking soda.

 

[duraleigh]

Path of least resistance......provide your builder with the testing he wants, yet trust and believe in what you have learned here about testing and pool water management.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

So now how do I convince my pool builder that his requirement for weekly "professional" tests to maintain my finish warranty is bogus? I don't want to run into any issue down the road if I have any concerns about the finish. I agree with trusting my testing over the pool stores... It seems like pool store "a" just wanted to sell me stabilizer... and pool store "b" wanted me to purchase their over priced baking soda.

Is the warranty worth that much hassle to you? It's a serious question.

What you will find is that plaster warranties will contain the basic industry standard recommended levels. Those levels will often result in many types of problems - algae blooms because the FC levels specified are too low, high acid demand because the pH and TA targets are set too low and high (respectively) and calcium hardness standards that will force you to exchange pool water with fresh water on a regular basis unless you get lots of rain dilution. The levels "they" recommend will basically force you on a chemical yo-yo and this will add to your cost of ownership. Also, it is my opinion from the many threads that I have read here on TFP with respect to warranty claims that the builders and applicators will almost always default to assigning blame to "improper chemistry levels" no matter how much "proof" you show them. It is simply the case that the warranty requirements are stacked against the pool owner making it next to impossible to adhere to them.

I certainly understand your frustration but there's not much to do about it. You can keep going to the pool store every week but it's going to get real old, real fast. I haven't set foot in a pool store in years for testing purposes and my plaster is fine. I had a plaster crack develop in my spa but that was structural and not subject to "water chemistry" requirements. The plasterer fixed it without question under warranty. Maybe you can get a structural guarantee (in writing) without the testing requirement and forgo any claims on plaster color, scaling or color variation so as to nix the weekly pool store routine.

 

[AUSpool]

...Unfortunately my pool builder requires me to provide them with a weekly water test from a "pool professional" ie... the teenager working at the local pool store...

Thats priceless.

And I think you've probably answered your own question. If you think the warrantee is really worth something then I would choose a pool shop result that is the closest match to the builders requirements.

... My Test | FC 2.86 | PH 7.3 | ALK 86 | CH 296 | CYA 66 | Salt 3500 ..

I would record your colourQ results as; FC 3ppm | pH 7.3 | ALK 90ppm | CH 300ppm | CYA 70ppm. The electronic readout has too many decimal places.

 

[flyboy789]

Is the warranty worth that much hassle to you? It's a serious question.

That's a good question. Honestly I don't know. I don't expect to have any problems, I'm confident in my ability to keep my chemistry balanced - but in the off chance I have a major problem that requires extensive repair or re-plastering I don't really want to have to fight with the builder.

On the other hand I'm not going to balance my pool based on the pool stores numbers just to get a slip of paper to hand over to the builder. It may inadvertently cause damage.

I'll probably just forgo the pool store all together and keep my own detailed records and hope for the best. It's super inconvenient anyway... pool stores around here close at 6pm... It's hard for me to get home, collect a sample... and get to the store before they close... And on the weekends I'd rather be enjoying my pool... not arguing with someone over the fact his "ALK Up" is the exact same thing as the baking soda I buy at the grocery store