Pool Store Test

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tim5055

tim5055

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May 11, 2014
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Franklin, NC
Well, I had errands today that would take me by two pool stores I have used in the past. One of them really likes me because I purchased my Dolphin M5 and a stand alone hot tub from them.

So here is the test, three samples of water, all taken at the same time. I tested one at home and took a sample to each store. The only difference was drive time for the tests.

My Results:
FC 10
pH 7.5
TA 75
CH 210
CYA 100

Store #1 Results (BioGuard automated testing)
FC 10.3
pH 8.0
TA 160
CH 173
CYA 104

Recomendation - Acid to reduce pH

Store #2 Results (hand tested with Taylor chemicals)
FC 5.0
pH 7.6
TA 125
CH 350
CYA 90

Recomendation: None

So, maybe it took me an hour to get to store #2. Is a FC drop of 5.0 in an hour possible?

I still trust my numbers more than theirs.
 
It is possible to lose chlorine while driving around, especially if the sample is exposed to light. However, it is far more likely that their FC test only goes up to 5 and they simply report anything higher as 5.
 
Honestly I am surprised they were all 3 that close, the real test though is to take another test back in a day or two and see how much things change that should not change without major water replacement like the CYA and CH
Ike
 
Isaac-1 said:
Honestly I am surprised they were all 3 that close, the real test though is to take another test back in a day or two and see how much things change that should not change without major water replacement like the CYA and CH
Ike
Click to expand...
I was amazed also. I find the range of CYA between 90 - 104 fairly acceptable. The last time I did it (when my CYA was 200+) the place with the 90 reading had me at 90 then. That must be their "too high" reading. The place showing 104 had me at 130 last time. I don't find it acceptable when it is 200+ and they are giving me low readings.

Store # 1, again a BioGuard store says CYA is "acceptable" 30 - 200ppm, says chlorine should be 2 - 4

Store # 2, again a ProTeam Pool Products store says CYA is "acceptable" 30 - 100ppm, says clorine should be 1 - 3

So, chorine 3ppm with 100 CYA - What am I going to have?

But, both wished me a good day, didn't try to sell me anything and told me to keep doing what I'm doing.
 
I posted this elsewhere today but I'm repeating this here since it seems relevant to this discussion-
I went to Leslie's for the first time today. Nice selection of toys and replacement parts, but pricey! Anyhoo- I just went to pick up those little plastic thingamabob clips that hold your net onto your pole, I figured I'd have them test my water. Lordie, what a sell on phosphates! Almost using scare tactics.
I tested my water myself (via TF-100) immediately on returning home for comparison.

Leslies CL- 4
My CL- 8.5

Leslie's CH-150
My CH- 240

Leslie's CYA- 50
My CYA- 25 (yeah, we had a little water replacement last week with both back-washing and then when Skippy accidentally left Polaris 165 pool cleaner hooked up but removed to side of pool- when pump turned on we lost a bunch of water onto the cement. Oy.)

The guy pushed for 15 pounds of CH as well as a big regime of chemical to deal with the supposed scary high Phosphates (1000). He also tried to say if I didn't get more CH in there I'd negate any warranty on equipment.

Yup, that testing was worth exactly what I paid for it. Nada.
 
tim5055 said:
Store # 2, again a ProTeam Pool Products store says CYA is "acceptable" 30 - 100ppm, says clorine should be 1 - 3

So, chorine 3ppm with 100 CYA - What am I going to have?

But, both wished me a good day, didn't try to sell me anything and told me to keep doing what I'm doing.
Click to expand...

Soon enough you would likely have a green mess and they would have a chance to sell you all sorts of magic in a bottle solutions
 
We'll, it was a cloudy overcast day, so I figured what better time to stop by the pool store for some testing.....

My tests:
FC 4.5
CC .5
pH 7.6
TA 60
CH 260
CYA lees than 30 (my scale minimum) but the water did have a little cloud

Pool Store
FC 4.0 acceptable 1-4
CC 0.0 acceptable <.02
pH 7.6 acceptable 7.2- 7.6
TA 90 acceptable 60-100
CH 225 acceptable 200-500
CYA 10 acceptable 20-50

They wanted me to add 3.25 lbs of stabilizer to get to 20. That was the only recommendation other than the generic to add sanitizer every other day and shock weekly.
 

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gwegan said:
Where is this pool store I may start having my water tested there?

I'm surprised at how close you were on the tests and there recommendations.
Click to expand...
It's gonna cost you an airplane ride to,get it done there. :)

They hand test with Taylor reagents. I was lucky the manager did it today. I'm guessing the summer "kids" are gone. The "kids" have done it before and were not in the same solar system. Watching her today the biggest problems in testing were the drop count tests. Instead of counting drops they measure the amount of reagent. She was just going too fast to be accurate.

All in all they run a pretty good store. Two brothers from Florida run it. They grew up taking care of pools using liquid chlorine and understand the problems with high CYA.
 
The pool service folks who have been doing it a while are all too fast and sloppy for my taste. My 11 year old daughter on the other hand is E x t r e me l y careful. So much so she drives her father insane. But she is good at it and fills out the logbook and shows her math.
 
Tim,

This is the whole reason (in addition to the short/long-term cost) that I got interested in taking over from my pool service and Googled my way to this site. My pool guy used Taylor reagents and did the tests reasonably... but super quick! And that was only if I got the good guy. But when I asked him why he did what he did it didn't make any sense at all. He always figured out the chlorine needed (in his head I guess) and then added equal amount of acid and just for good measure he filled the feeder full of tablets. Net result was super high FC and low 7's PH. Pool looks great but I worry about long-term health of my gorgeous, expensive finish not to mention swimming in what turned out to be 20+ FC levels (I didn't realize how high 'till I bought the TF-100). The pool store was hit and miss as well. Sometimes a very careful guy sometimes in a hurry and sloppy testing. But always with recommendations to buy a lot of chemicals and I had no idea what they were or what they'd do.

I'm still an ultra-newbie with only 19 days of experience with pool school and huge help of experts here but I'm already enjoying my pool a LOT more! Oh and did I mention just as superb looking as ever with FC 2-3 and PH near perfect. Strangely I've got super-low CYA around 20 on it's way to the minimums with careful trichlor use. If you've got more than 2 live brain cells this is the only way to go!

Thanks for the great post and followup comments from the experts.

Chris
 
Had a client the other day ring for some advice. His pool shop had asked him to add 8kg of calcium to his pool (two 4kg lots). He went back for another test and they told him to add 15kg. His pool is only 40000L (10000 Gallons) and i told him he should maybe get a second opinion. Sure enough he called me the next day and his CH was 500+

I feel a little sorry for people but you have to assume that you should question the pool shop at some point. Especially since the first test they got 60, told him to put 4kg in and then a week later they said it was 40 and to add another 4kg. The third test they got 60 again and must have thought that the calcium is not working so told him to put 15kg in!

I think the real lesson is to always question your test results if they dont seem right (weather you are a pool shop or a pool owner)
 
I purchased the Lamotte Color Q before reading so much. Should I now purchase the T100 with speed stir???? I had a test kit from pool store with regents but very hard for me to match the colors, so was always wondering if levels were correct. I have been taking water to pool store about once a month. I hope my store was not giving me wrong info. I have a 1yr old quartz plaster pool. The pool builder was awful and the plaster job is not good. Still waiting for the quartz rep to come take a look. So very disappointing to say the least.
 
Paulette, you can do a search on the Lamotte Color Q in the search box at the top right. There are several threads on this system. I will let you read them and decide on your own.

To help you match colors I have a trick to help you. I have a white plastic plate that I hold behind the tube. I hold the tube at arms length with the plate behind it under a very bright light (for me it is the light over my stove) I pull the plate back and forth until I can match the colors on the PH test. It works great for me.

Kim
 
Hi, I am still trying to figure out how this forum works, and how to get the answers that I have asked. Sometimes come back later and can not find. I hope you are talking to me, if not I apologize. My fc today is 3.01 Total 3.16 tested with the Lamotte colorq 7. still planning to also purchase tf100 with speed stir pool temp 42, I am worried about ch at 549. when I put all my #'s on the LSI it says all is fine. ??? Thank You, Paulette
 
I fixed my signature, I hope to show Eagle Point is in Oregon, by Medford Or. Pool was filled last nov. ch has been fine until the temp has gotten so cold. Usually It was in the 300 to 350 range. I am not sure if the temp matters on testing results but that is when the ch started rising. when pool completed and filled last nov first test at pool store read 83 THANK YOU FOR TRYING TO HELP ME
 

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