Advice on testing device

[Stonesphan]

So the people at my local Leslie's Pool store, I'm in the process of ordering a TF 100, but waiting until fall when I empty and refill my pool, told me that Leslie's is starting a new program that will let some pool owner's lease their water tester, AccueBlue, for $50/month but then give you a store credit of $50/month. I currently spend that in chemicals since I have very high CYA at around 150ppm, and live in Phoenix, so my Ph is always high. I use about 4-6 gallons of liquid chlorine a week and about 2 gallons of muriatic acid a week. The chlorine runs me about $16-24/wk and the acid is about $5-10/ week. So I would easily use up the store credit every month and would have a pool store level water tester at home.

Here is a link to the tester:

Leslie's AccuBlue Water Test

Leslie’s AccuBlue Water Test brings you the latest innovative technology and creates a customized treatment plan that's tailored to your specific pool.

lesliespool.com

Just curious of your thoughts on this subject. I also will probably not continue to use the Leslie's program after I drain and replace my water in the fall, since my chlorine usage should drop dramatically once my CYA is back in ideal range.

Thanks for you thoughts...

 

[HermanTX]

One of the complaints about pool store testing is the contamination between different pool samples. So having your own would reduce that risk. The other concern would be how often does this unit need to be calibrated and will Leslie's do it?.
I think that is the advantage of the drop tests used in the TF-100. The only thing you need to verify is that the reagents are within their expiry date. There is no calibration.

Interesting concept and I wonder if this is a marketing gimmick to encourage the sale of unneeded pool chemicals.

 

[Newdude]

So in 1.5 months you could own a TF-100 for the lease price from Leslie's. And never spend any money their again.

$77 To be able to buy only the cheap generic chemicals that you need.

Just sayin.

 

[Stonesphan]

Yeah, I get that, and I do have plans to purchase the TF 100 with the speed stir and pH meter, I just don't see the need right now with my CYA so high that I know I have to drain in the fall. I'm spend more than $50/month on chemicals so the cost of the tester from Leslie's isn't really a factor, more the uniqueness of having a pool store level at home for my own private use...

 

[Donldson]

more the uniqueness of having a pool store level at home for my own private use...

Why would you want such a downgrade?

 

[Newdude]

I just don't see the need right now with my CYA so high that I know I have to drain in the fall.

Says them. We've had a few recently that Leslie's said 140+ and the TF-100 said 40+. Truth be told you have no idea what's going on and are going to empty your pool because of it. I don't get it. Spend the $77. To rebalance the new water *that may not have needed to be done* will cost more than the kit.

 

[Newdude]

Here is one

First time at TFP, First Pool, First Problem

Hello World! I'm familiar with pools from being around them all my life, but am the proud new owner of my own first pool, and after maintaining it pretty well for a month and a half, I've run into my first real problem! I've been reading articles on here and perusing the forums, so I think I'm...

www.troublefreepool.com

@TriangleMan help us our here. Can you add your recent, real world experience ? Stones is falling for the classic blunder (no, no, not the one about Sicilians when death is on the line, the other one. At Leslies)

 

[Stonesphan]

TF -100 XL option with pH meter ordered...thanks for the push

 

[Donldson]

You really won't regret the TF-100. It should last you at least a year, probably two. Considerably better value than the Leslie's thing. It does make me wonder about their plan though. Seems like a great idea for Leslie's, not so much for the pool owner.

Think about it. Pool stores do testing as a loss leader. Gets you in the doors and in a position to buy something.

Now they've taken it to the next level: send you home with the tester and make you buy $50 a month from the store! It's like a self-checkout, you do the testing and then force you to come in and buy the chemicals. Now instead of having someone run a test and try to sell you they just ring you up after you've tested and sold yourself. It's quite an upgrade for the pool store, a guaranteed $50 in sales every month and likely more. No real benefit for the pool owner, tied to a single pool store and a digital testing system that's not proven to be especially reliable in the past. Wonder if they even bother sending the necessary calibration supplies required to even maybe keep it reliable.

 

[revitup]

What a great idea. They should just carry it to the next level. Eliminate the storefront and employees and just put all the magic potion chemicals in a vending machine.

 

[Bperry]

TF -100 XL option with pH meter ordered...thanks for the push

I also got the pH meter and am not thrilled with its performance. The drop test is way easier and seems more reliable. The meter takes a while to be in the water to get a reading that matches the drop test.

 

[TriangleMan]

@TriangleMan help us our here. Can you add your recent, real world experience ?

Happy to. I just recently had to clean up the mess Leslie's left me with after sinking hundreds of dollars into their worth-than-worthless-because-they're-actually-detrimental solutions to non-existent problems.

I'm an engineer by trade, so inclined to follow the data and make fact-based decisions. Who better to guide me in properly caring for my new pool than the pool store, right? They use fancy testers that are better than the color strips that match none of the standards printed on the bottle, and must be better than my basic old-school two-way chlorine and pH drop test right?

I won't bore you or embarrass myself with all the chemicals I naively purchased on their advice both before and after the pool first turned cloudy following their recommendations.

I started to realize something was wrong when I began questioning their recommendations once the algae appeared. They very nearly convinced me to drain my pool based on a CYA reading of 115, only to come back and tell me days later that it was 46, in spite of never draining the pool. I then confirmed a wide array of mismatched readings and even more mismatched recommendations at various other pool stores based on the exact same water sample. The truth, I found out when I got my own test kit, was actually just over 30!

As an engineer, I attribute that error to an equipment calibration issue, most likely, although operator error is certainly possible. (Could even be contamination.)
If they can't calibrate it for their own tests, do you think they'll be giving you a properly calibrated machine or the instructions and ability to calibrate it?

To be certain, I'm sure there are some good pool-store techs who care about quality, but most of them are probably just clerks passing time on their way to something better or just trying to collect a paycheck to get by. They're not invested in or passionate about /your/ pool. How would you be able to sort the good ones from the bad? And that's the charitable take.

Better, I've learned, to do your own tests with a more fool-proof system. Trust no one but yourself (and double-check yourself too!)
What do you have to lose? $70 for a good test kit? You'd make use of it anyway. If you're putting $30 in chemicals into the pool every week already, the marginal cost is small.
Worst case, you learn that it's not hard to be much more reliably accurate than they are, with the added benefit of knowing what's going on with your pool and why.

You don't want the "pool store level tester." You want better. And it really is easier than you think. (Even just think of the time you'll save driving over there and waiting in line.)

As for that $30/wk. If your CYA really /is/ 150ppm, then 4-6 gallons of chlorine a week in a 36k pool might not be nearly enough.
That's maybe 20 ppm over a week, when your FC level should be close to something like 19 or 20 as a target range in the first place and, in my experience, I lose something like 25% to 33% of my FC per day (up to and over 50% when I had to SLAM courtesy of Leslie's).

I'd say:
1) Get your own test kit ASAP
2) Verify that CYA level yourself before you do anything else
3) Adjust it if necessary sooner rather than later. If you wait until fall, you're likely to be battling algae all summer.

 

[TriangleMan]

Also, if you start dosing the pool like it's CYA 150 and it's actually 40, you might end up doing some real damage, especially if you attempt a SLAM.

You really need to know, which means you really need to find out for yourself. It's insurance if nothing else.

 

[Newdude]

@Stonesphan sorry if any of the above seemed harsh but it was all ‘wake-up call-y’ only.

If we care this much about a total internet stranger, or the 1000s that come after you, imagine how much we’ll help once we get to know you.

 

[Stonesphan]

The test kit is on the way. The pool has been crystal clean all summer, no algae like I had last summer. I might end up still doing the leslie's program, maybe just for this summer, to compare the tester with the TF - 100 test kit, I'm a geek for data and to be able to perform a comparison test interests me. Again, I'm not concerned about the monthly cost at this point because I currently spend more than that in chemicals a month, even if I cut my chemical use in half.

I'll keep you all posted

Cheers

 

[Newdude]

I might end up still doing the leslie's program, maybe just for this summer, to compare the tester with the TF - 100 test kit, I'm a geek for data and to be able to perform a comparison test interests me

By all means. Toy with *them*. Not the other way ‘round.

Once you see questionable results from them, even just one or two, you’ll question all their results.

I'll keep you all posted

We love updates. !!

 

[Stonesphan]

Oh, and just for the record, I stopped purchasing any additional store chemicals other than liquid chlorine and muriatic acid when I found this web site. So I'm not following the treatment recommendations of the pool store, just following the TFP program.

Thanks for all the feed back

 

[Newdude]

Sometimes with everybody else out of stock, you won’t care if you buy their CYA for $20 extra. Or whatever else. I’ve bought wickedly overpriced gaskets from mine while in a pinch (see what I did there?) on a Sunday afternoon. $8 extra did not matter one bit when I was up and running in an hour.

The key is *you* know *exactly* what *you* need. You then decide how you go about it.

 

[Rancho Cost-a-Lotta]

Be prepared to spend a portion of that free $50 on test discs for the Accu Blue.

This is from the email invitation I just received, "Additional test disks and replacement accessories can be purchased online at Lesliespool.com."

 

[TriangleMan]

If your CYA really /is/ 150ppm, then 4-6 gallons of chlorine a week in a 36k pool might not be nearly enough.
...
If you wait until fall, you're likely to be battling algae all summer.

The pool has been crystal clean all summer, no algae like I had last summer.

These two points, combined with my own experience (Pool store says CYA=115, reality is CYA=30 to 40), suggest the more likely scenario is that your CYA is actually much lower.

In that case, you're flying blind right now without knowing your true FC target until that test kit arrives.

I can't wait to hear your comparisons with the pool store tester!! I love side-by-side data!