What is your Test Kit of choice?

[AV8TOR]

Being new here I have been really enjoying the wealth of information. I know I need to upgrade my test kit and have a good feeling on what I am going to get but I thought it would be nice to see a poll (I did a search and did not see one done before).

I know many of you have many different kits but for the purpose of this poll please vote for your top 2 choices and please only vote for ones that you have used and not opinions based on hearsay.

I know the Leslies and the Taylor are the same but I listed them separately figuring one might buy the Leslies so they could simply go to the local store.

I don't think this poll is necessary since the only kits we recommend are ones with the FAS-DPD chlorine test. This means either the TF100 or the Taylor K-2006 (not K-2600) or it's rebranded Leslies equivalent (which is only available online and not in the vast majority of Leslies stores). For a comparison of these kits see this link to the Pool School article
category/pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison

The FAS-DPD chlorine test is far superior to any other chlorine test out there since it allows testing up to 50 ppm chlorine, does not suffer bleachout, has a precision of either .5 or .2 ppm, and since it's a titration with a distinct color change from red to colorless does not rely on matching similar shades of red so even a color blind individual can get accurate results with it. A good test kit is a NECESSARY piece of pool equipment. DPD and OTO tests have too many limitations for testing (but OTO is useful for a quick daily check, which is why it is included in the TF100).

The ColorQ uses DPD for the chlorine tests so it is limited to testing only up to 10 ppm chlorine and is subject to the bleachout problem inherent in DPD testing and there have been problems reported with some of the other tests with this system. It uses colormetric tests for TA and CH and not titrations so there are some limitations as to the range that can be tested inherent in the meter making it useless for very high CH and TA levels that are sometimes encountered. It's one strength is in pH testing (but there are less expensive alternatives if a meter based ph test is desired. However, meter based pH testing require quite a bit more effort to make sure the pH meter is properly calibrated and maintained.)

There are stand alone FAS-DPD tests available from AquaTrend and LaMotte (geared toward pool professionals) but the only full test kits that include this test are the ones listed above. Our criteria for a good test kit is one that uses FAS-DPD for chlorine testing and also tests pH, CYA, and uses titrations for TA and CH. Once again the only test kits that meet these requirements are the ones listed above and are the most cost effective solutions. These are the necessary tests for basic pool maintenance. (If you are using Bromine then the Taylor k-2106 is a better choice but the above kits can be used; and if you are using biguanide then tests for biguande, peroxide, CH, TA and pH are needed, usually by getting one of the above kits and then adding the biguanide and peroxide tests from either Taylor or LaMotte.)

Test strips are basically useless, which is why they are often called 'guess strips'. The ONLY test strips that are useful are the specialty ones for salt and borates (if needed for your pool) when used in conjunction with a good test kit for the other tests.

I hope this explains our position on test kits.

I am locking this thread since it really serves no useful purpose in choosing a test kit and might lead newbies down the wrong path as far as water testing goes.

(Thank you to Butterfly, another member of the mod squad, for your suggestion!)