Testing water to see what the chlorine level is

[Saltman-David]

Hi there- maybe a dumb question but what test strips do I need to see if my salt cell is generating salt according to what has been set on the control panel. I.e control panel is set to 60% and I want to see if the Chlorine level in the water is really 60%. There seems to be an abundance of test strips out there but I am not sure which is the one I need.

Thank you!

 

[Divin Dave]

Hi David,
welp, it seems you probably misunderstand how the salt cell works.
60% means it is only producing chlorine for 60% of the time it's on (while the pump is running).

Your chlorine is still measured in ppm as usual. (we here at TFP dont trust test strips though, as they are notoriously inaccurate).

FC should be kept at recommended levels as per the FC/CYA chart.
Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart

To set up the SWG to meet the recommended levels, is a bit of trial and error process and testing the water daily over possibly a couple of weeks or so.
You can turn down the % on teh SWG and increase the pump run time
Or you can turn up the % and lower the pump run time
either way will still produce x amount of chlorine which meets the recommended level.

so you just have to play around with it to get it just right.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

Yes, the SWG is converting salt to chlorine. Salt test strips are used to make sure you have added the appropriate amount of salt to your pool so the SWG can operate correctly.

 

[Azgirl71]

If you want to test you salt level I highly recommend the Taylor salt test kit linked in my signature.

 

[Donldson]

Sounds like you also need to get your hands on a Taylor k-2006 if you haven't already. That is the kit you need to properly test your Free Chlorine to make sure you have your SWG % dialed in properly.