Aqua rite trouble no countdown for recalibration

[orangepower10]

Ph was still above 8 this evening. It took 6 drops in the test kit to get it down to 7.6 level. Based on the Taylor chart for the muriatic acid it said to add 143 ounces of acid so I did that. I’ve been adding a gallon of liquid chlorine for 3 straight days and it still wasn’t registering. Maybe if I lower the ph, the chlorine will start showing up. SWG says it’s generating. I’ve had it set on 70% but I put it on superchlorinate today. Maybe in the morning I’ll see a difference.

 

[ajw22]

Ph was still above 8 this evening. It took 6 drops in the test kit to get it down to 7.6 level. Based on the Taylor chart for the muriatic acid it said to add 143 ounces of acid so I did that. I’ve been adding a gallon of liquid chlorine for 3 straight days and it still wasn’t registering. Maybe if I lower the ph, the chlorine will start showing up. SWG says it’s generating. I’ve had it set on 70% but I put it on superchlorinate today. Maybe in the morning I’ll see a difference.

Stop adjusting pH until you figure out your FC testing. pH does not effect chlorine testing. However high FC levels above 10 will give you false high pH readings.

PoolMath says 143 oz of 31.45% MA will lower pH by 1.27 and TA by 21. You should never make that big of a pH adjustment in one dose. I have no idea what your pH is now and you can not rely on the pH test until you get a good FC test.

Explain in detail how you are testing FC.

 

[orangepower10]

I used the Taylor test kit. It says to put in 25mL and then two scoops of the r-0870 ddp powder. It said it would turn pink to indicate how much FC was in the pool. It stayed clear. There is no chlorine on any of the test strips or using the taylor test kit. I thought you said the Taylor 2006 was a good test kit???

 

[ajw22]

Take a 5 gallon bucket and mix in 1 teaspoon of liquid chlorine and do a FC test with your K-2006.

Have you ever got a good FC test with this kit?

 

[orangepower10]

This chart said if it took 6 drops to get to the desired color, I should add up the totals to get to the 26,000 gallons for my pool. 3.44 quarts + 1.72 pints + 5.5 ounces is 143 ounces. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[ajw22]

This chart said if it took 6 drops to get to the desired color, I should add up the totals to get to the 26,000 gallons for my pool. 3.44 quarts + 1.72 pints + 5.5 ounces is 143 ounces. Am I doing something wrong?

You are not understanding the limitations of your tools. We try and steer you to using the TFP tools - TF_100 Test Kit, PoolMath, and information in Pool School. You choose to go in another direction.

We have detailed instructions for each test in Pool School. See the fourth note about high FC in pH Test - Trouble Free Pool

We don't use those Taylor tables, we use PoolMath. And we instruct that if pH measures above 8 then put 8 into PoolMath with a target of 7.6 to find out how much MA should be added.

You need to apply a reasonability check to your solutions before you add chemicals. PoolMath has an Effects of Adding function to see what adding an amount of chemicals will do to your water chemistry. Use it if unsure.

Log your test in PoolMath and share them so we can look over your shoulder and try and help you along the way.

 

[orangepower10]

I see. I just assumed the poolmath numbers and Taylor chart would be the same. My mistake...does that mean the Taylor chart is wrong and Poolmath is correct? If so, I just added way too much acid.

 

[ajw22]

I see. I just assumed the poolmath numbers and Taylor chart would be the same. My mistake...does that mean the Taylor chart is wrong and Poolmath is correct? If so, I just added way too much acid.

What is your TA?

The Taylor chart is not wrong if used correctly with a valid pH test. It is doubtful your pH test is that high and your test was valid.

Taylor's Pool & Spa Water Chemistry is a booklet sold for $6.95. In it you would find the following:
FALSE READINGS: high levels of chlorine (usually > 10 ppm) will quickly and completely convert phenol red into another pH indicator (chlorphenol red). This new indicator is a dark purple when the water's pH is above 6.6. Unfortunately, some pool operators mistake the purple color for dark red and think the pool water is very alkaline and wrongly add acid to the pool.

When a sanitizer level is not extreme, only some of the phenol red may convert to chlorphenol red. However, purple + orange (for example, pH 7.4) = red. This error is more subtle as no purple color is observed and the operator does not suspect that a false high pH reading has been produced. Some operators neutralize the sanitizer first by adding a drop of chlorine neutralizer (i.e. sodium thiosulfate). However, thiosulfate solutions have a high pH and, if heavily used, may cause a false higher sample pH.

We have those warnings in Pool School and in the Wiki on pH...

PH - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[orangepower10]

TA is 240. Sorry but I thought the point of spending $65 for the kit was to get valid results as opposed to invalid results from the test strips.

 

[ajw22]

The point is you learning how to manage the water chemistry in your pool.

Let’s figure out your FC test problem as I suggested in post #24.

Where did you buy the K-2006 from? I am concerned you may have bern sold an old kit with bad reagents.

 

[orangepower10]

Agreed. I want to learn as well. Purchased on Amazon. Its been an hour and half with pump running. PH now measures at 7.4 using the Taylor test kit. If I can't trust the kit to be accurate, I say I wasted my money.

I will do as you suggested in post 24 and try to get a correct FC test in the morning. I'll have to come up with a 5 gallon bucket. I appreciate your help by the way.

 

[ajw22]

The tests are accurate if used properly. You need to understand the limitations.

pH of 7.4 sounds good.

Use any size bucket. Use a 20 gallon trash can.

 

[orangepower10]

Retested this morning.
FC - 6.0 Finally showed up after adding the muriatic acid. Previously getting readings of 0.
PH - 7.4
TA - 280 (It took 28 drops of r9 to turn the water from green to pink) I put two drops of r7 in at first, then 5 drops of r8 to turn it green. Seems strange that it would be this high after adding the muriatic acid last night. I gues its possible the 240 measurement from the test strip was the max so it was actually higher than 240 at the first test.

 

[ajw22]

Great progress.

On the TA test read the first Note in our test instructions. Drop size matters in this test. Hold the bottle vertical and let the drop fully form and drop off. Don't squeeze the bottle and pop little drops out.

Total Alkalinity

A drop-based test used to measure the alkalinity in water. Alkalinity helps serve as a … Read more…

www.troublefreepool.com

• Sometimes a static electric charge can build up on the R-0009 dropper bottle tip, causing the drops to be smaller than usual and making the test read higher than actual. You can prevent this by wipping the tip of the dropper bottle with a damp cloth or tissue before you start and after each drop.
• Hold the dropper bottles vertically and squeeze gently, so that drops come out slowly and seem to hang on the tip of the dropper bottle for a moment before falling.
• If you expect that your TA level is extremely high, you can do the test so that each drop is 25, instead of 10, to speed up the process and save on reagent usage. Use 10 ml of pool water, 1 drop of R-0007, 3 drops of R-0008, and multiply the number of drops of R-0009 by 25 to get your TA level.