Aquachem test strips

[wolfy]

I have aqua chem test strips for my salt levels. Does anyone feel these are off?
Instructions with swg says for my pool size (15x42) to add 100 lbs of salt and bring salt level to 2000.
I have added 120 lbs of salt and both test on the salt strips measure to 4.2 which means my salt level is 1200.
swg generator is not saying I am high or low so I am afraid to trust the strips and add more.

 

[Bama Rambler]

Take a sample to a local pool store and have them test it.

 

[linen]

nstructions with swg says for my pool size (15x42) to add 100 lbs of salt and bring salt level to 2000.

That is very low, what swg do you have? Most want the salt level at ~3000 ppm.

But...if the swg is happy and producing chlorine, then that is most important.

 

[RobbieH]

Does your SWG tell you what level it thinks it is? I'd stick with what it says. If you doubt it, call the SWG manufacturer. The CompuPool folks were awesome when I called them.

 

[wolfy]

Krystal clear intex system. The system does not tell you what you have but a light comes on if you are out of range. I had a bad experience with a local pool store and would rather not do that. I received my K-2006 today and next month thinking about ordering their salt test but trying to maintain for another month as spent too much this month already.

 

[RobbieH]

Good move avoiding the pool store!

You can use the Taylor salt strips if you are worried about the accuracy of what you have. But, like Bama said, you can get a 2nd opinion at the pool store, just RUN when they talk beyond telling your salt content.

 

[chrisexv6]

Just went through something similar.

Strips were showing about 2700, pool store used an analog Myron L meter and got 2900 or so. Pool store guy said call it 3K because of the allowable error of the test.

I added another 120 lbs of salt to my 22K gallon pool. Strips now read 3100 or so. My guess is the pool store would read a lot higher. If I wanted my Pool Pilot salt calibration % to be 0, it would be reading something like 3400 at this point (right now its -16%, reading 3100). Is the Pool Pilot sensor more accurate than strips? I would hope so, but so far I dont have any numbers as high as the sensor would be reading.

So you see, all you do is end up with potentially quite different numbers. Im going with the strips because they were the lowest.....I figure its worse on a cell to have too little salt than too much (too much being 4000ppm or higher, which I dont think any of my tests would read at this point because I havent put THAT much salt into the pool), so if the actual level is more like 3400 then so be it.

 

[ping]

I added another 120 lbs of salt to my 22K gallon pool. Strips now read 3100 or so. My guess is the pool store would read a lot higher. If I wanted my Pool Pilot salt calibration % to be 0, it would be reading something like 3400 at this point (right now its -16%, reading 3100). Is the Pool Pilot sensor more accurate than strips? I would hope so, but so far I dont have any numbers as high as the sensor would be reading.

I would rely on the Pool Pilot sensor until you are having trouble with the unit. If it says low or high salt then I would investigate if the salt is out of range. When sensors or cells start to fail you can get the low salt errors and compound your problem if you add salt.

I ran out of my salt test strips that were within 200 ppm of my sensor readings, but the new strips are 800 ppm different than my sensor reading now. My strips measure lower than my sensor, but I'm not having any issues making the chlorine and I'm just leaving everything alone as long as my SWG is happy.

 

[duraleigh]

If the SWG is happy, there is really no need to do anything else.

 

[chrisexv6]

If the SWG is happy, there is really no need to do anything else.

How do you take into account something like the Pool Pilot that can calibrate the salt level?

Out of the box mine was at +12%. After letting the salt circulate for a couple days, taking a strip test and having the pool store test (with an analog meter), I set the SWG to read the average of those two numbers. Its now sitting at -11%. Should it be at 0%? That would make it read higher than any other set of numbers Ive seen. Does it adjust by itself as the purifier is running?

 

[johnnvns]

I have a major problem, with the AquaChem Salt test strips, I was getting 1950 ppm so I added 80 pounds of salt, now the strip says 2950ppm but the pool store measured 4900 PPM and my SWG is flashing code 92 HIGH SALT. so I drained some water and added fresh water and my test strips are saying 1950 ppm again and the SWG is working normal. I went ahead and ordered the TAYLOR SALT WATER Test Kit so I can be accurate, I dont think the AquaChem Salt strips are accurate

 

[linen]

As duraleigh mentioned, if the swg is happy, then your salt is at the right level regardless of the test. However, I will be interested in what the taylor salt test gives.

 

[johnnvns]

How do I know if the Intex SWG is accurate if my salt strips are telling me something totally different. The pool store said its high, the Intex SWG is saying High but the Aquachem Strips are saying Low, so now I need a third test, The Taylor Test kit is supposed to be good

 

[rtkane]

I also had an issue with the Aquachem test strips. I put salt in and ended up with a reading of 3500. I bought the Taylor kit and ended up getting 4200, which corresponds with my SWG's "high salt" light occasionally coming on.