Canadians: where do you buy your taylor reagents?

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A

abfab

Gold Supporter
Nov 12, 2012
199
Ontario, Canada
Amazon? TFTestkits.com? Leslie's? other?

I'm starting to plan for the upcoming season. I have the K-2006 taylor kit and need to replace everything, except a few that i never/rarely need. If I order just the ones that i use from Amazon and have them shipped to Buffalo I will have to pay shipping fees for some reagents, plus $5/package to the mailbox company. I noticed that TFTestkits has the K2006 refill for $40+$10 shipping. Is there a cheaper/better option??
 
I would be VERY wary of buying any regents or test kits from Amazon. We just had another person say they got some from Amazon with out-dated regents :( It also sits on the shelf in the HOT warehouse until it is sold. Not a good thing.

The TFTestkits regents are guaranteed to be fresh and kept in a cool, dark place until sold. They restock on a regular bases and will NOT sell outdated stock.

Kim:kim:
 
I think we need to entice one of the folks from the Australian shop to go setup a store in Canada to go head-to-head with Lowry & Associates....they’d make a fortune underselling them and our good Canadian friends would finally get some decent priced test reagents.

Though the benefits package for working there would have to include some nice long vacation time in Tahiti so the poor bloke doesn’t freeze to death or get depressed ;)
 
I assume the TFkits get sold across the border, although I have to say as an Australian I'm not used to borders=countries. When I cross the border there's never a guard, there's sometimes a sign, and the only thing that changes is that none of the buggers in New South Wales know how to drive ;) I assume there's regulations on shipping the chemicals between US-Canada? I know we buy one chemical in Australia because it's easier than importing it ourselves yet.

From what I understand of Canada even Aussies from our coldest areas would find Canada 'interesting' to say the least. Some of the photos of snowfall I see from Canada are insane. Our coldest areas get some good ski snow, but none of this eight foot deep for half the year nonsense. I'm in Queensland which is called the "Sunshine State" and I've never actually seen snow! On the plus side I don't need to go to Tahiti, I can just take a cold drink out into the yard and it's sort of the same :D

I agree with KimKats very much about Amazon, I was even in a pool shop recently and some of the reagents on their shelves were due to expire in March this year, and were sitting on the front shelves which would have gotten some nice afternoon sun :brickwall:
 
No shipping chemicals or test kits into Canada, way too much paperwork. And, to boot, Lowry & Associates in Canada is the sole distributor of Taylor testkits and chemicals in Canada, no other business can resell them. So pool shops in Canada, if they have any Taylor stuff, all comes from L&A. This is why the prices of testkits are astronomical in Canada, it’s essentially a monopoly...at least on Taylor products. There was a Canadian company called Piscaines Apollo (sp?) out of Montreal I think that used to sell test kits for pool in direct competition with L&A. But, the fellow that ran it had to close up shop for personal reasons and that company went defunct.

So, any intrepid Canadian chemists/entrepreneurs our there in the Great White North willing to become the Canuck Pool Chemistry Provider (CPCP) :deal:
 
I wish that someone would do something about the monopoly here. 2oz taylor reagents are $15-25 each!! The cost of a K2006 test kit is $135!! People might have a basic store brand kit but (based on the lineups in peak season) I think most rely on the stores to test. Fortunately I live about 30 minutes from the US border but with the cost of gas, tolls, and the mailbox package fee it's $15-20 plus the exchange rate and taxes. Not worth it these days unless I am crossing for other reasons.
 
If you got yourself a decent electronic pH meter, you could forget about the pH reagent. Just as long as it’s one that can be calibrated and assuming you take good care of it, they will last many years.

The DPD-FAS and CYA reagents are a must-have. You could ignore CH as calcium is probably not an issue for you in Canada. As for TA, there are alternatives on the market so you could check with aquarium supply stores as they may have something cheaper. For salt you could also go with an electronic TDS probe (MironL makes very good ones) or a bottle of test strips. However you do have a Hayward T cell and those are pretty good at giving a correct salinity reading.

It’s certainly a PITA to do what you need to in Canada but I doubt anything is going to change any time soon with respect to getting reasonable prices on Taylor supplies.
 
JoyfulNoise said:
If you got yourself a decent electronic pH meter, you could forget about the pH reagent. Just as long as it’s one that can be calibrated and assuming you take good care of it, they will last many years.

The DPD-FAS and CYA reagents are a must-have. You could ignore CH as calcium is probably not an issue for you in Canada. As for TA, there are alternatives on the market so you could check with aquarium supply stores as they may have something cheaper. For salt you could also go with an electronic TDS probe (MironL makes very good ones) or a bottle of test strips. However you do have a Hayward T cell and those are pretty good at giving a correct salinity reading.

It’s certainly a PITA to do what you need to in Canada but I doubt anything is going to change any time soon with respect to getting reasonable prices on Taylor supplies.
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Thank you for the suggestions. I will look into these.
 
In our seasonally operated swimming pools in Canada, excess CYA is rarely a problem due to overwinter water exchange and under ice (anoxic) biodegradation. I find the four-way test strips (Free chlorine, pH, Alk and CYA) made by Aquachek, sold at Canadian Tire, to be more than adequate to manage CYA. There are only 5 ranges, but the colour changes are adequate to distinguish 0, from 30-50, 100, 150, and 300. Compared to the Waterlink Spin Touch Lab results, over the past four years, i have never had a bad CYA, Free chlorine or Alk strip reading.
 

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Eauclaire said:
In our seasonally operated swimming pools in Canada, excess CYA is rarely a problem due to overwinter water exchange and under ice (anoxic) biodegradation. I find the four-way test strips (Free chlorine, pH, Alk and CYA) made by Aquachek, sold at Canadian Tire, to be more than adequate to manage CYA. There are only 5 ranges, but the colour changes are adequate to distinguish 0, from 30-50, 100, 150, and 300. Compared to the Waterlink Spin Touch Lab results, over the past four years, i have never had a bad CYA, Free chlorine or Alk strip reading.
Click to expand...


Not sure how long you have been using the aqua check strips, I can tell you that brand is exactly the brand we used for the long miserable 6 years until I found TFP. I wouldn't waste the lighter fluid to set them on fire.
 
In the states.
Otherwise Amazon.ca carries them for a very high cost. Last year I bought the 2006 kit, this year and from now on I'll just buy refill chlorine test and CYA reagents. Use more available and cheaper test for the rest.

I feel your pain. :(
 
Me too! It really is terrible, no one sells them for a decent price ... unless you want to spend huge $$$. I actually plan 6 months in advance. My parents snowbird in Florida. I order my refills from TFT and have them shipped to the florida address and they bring them back for me. I need to time it exactly right or I am stuck.

.. waiting for someone to open a business here...arg!
 
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