PH Testing

[kechefs]

Wondering about this which I came across at work today. Hopefully someone can tell me if this would work for testing my pool or not.



http://www.thermoworks.com/products/pH/ ... _8682.html

 

[chem geek]

You'd need to get the 8682 at $75 to have something that is at least as accurate as the phenol red test (actually more accurate, according to their specs). The 8680 at +/- 0.3 is not good enough while the 8681 +/- 0.2 is marginal -- usually you can figure out the pH from the phenol red test to within +/- 0.1 with its in-between readings on the K-2006 (every 0.2 pH units). You'll need to do calibration periodically using the buffer solutions (probably the 7 and 10 since the pH will usually be above 7). This ain't cheap, but if you want something with a digital display, it seems OK.

There's also the Hach Pocket Pal pH tester with an accuracy of +/- 0.1 pH units and a cost of around $57.

However, if you are just testing pool water, you don't need a wide-range tester and could instead use something like the LaMotte ColorQ though that does a lot more than pH and costs more as well.

 

[257WbyMag]

Most of the folks on here will use and advocate for the use of drop-based tests over electronic testers. They are cheap, easy to use, don't ever need calibrating, and give results that are easy to confirm if need be.

 

[dmanb2b]

Ditto, plus all you are truly in need of is to ensure you're water is in the 7.2-7.8 range. I just make sure that if the Phenol Red test is closer to 7.8 I add some acid to bring it down to around 7.4 or so

 

[kechefs]

Thanks everyone for the replies, sometimes it seems that I have trouble reading the color test. I had a trouble free pool all season so I guess why fix what isn't broken