Borate test strips

[Bperry]

So I have some Taylor test strips that I used when I added boric acid to ~50ppm earlier this year and tested a few times with the strips and matched what I expected.

When I tested it again today, the strip reads 100ppm. This seems not possible so I tested by tap water and get 15ppm. Have my strips gone bad? I tested the pool water with three separate strips and get varying results between 75-100ppm.

 

[Donldson]

They're test strips. What do you expect?

 

[Bperry]

They're test strips. What do you expect?

I thought I’d read that they are the only option for testing borates. If these are as bad as test strips for pool water then I won’t waste my time with borates anymore.

 

[BenB]

My strips went bad after just a couple months once open. Disappointing I know. Rebecca at TFTestkits sorted me out with credit to buy replacements.

 

[Tcadwall0]

So this is what I have been doing.... But this is kind of an old thread. There may be something newer / easier.

New borate drop test at piscines-apollo vs. test strip

JoyfulNoise, along those lines, here is what I think is the up to date full version of what you are doing, with a couple of questions that I would love to have answered at the end. maybe you or Chemgeek can read through and tidy up for me. Chemicals Needed Taylor R-0007 - Part of TF-100...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[PoolStored]

So this is what I have been doing.... But this is kind of an old thread. There may be something newer / easier.

New borate drop test at piscines-apollo vs. test strip

JoyfulNoise, along those lines, here is what I think is the up to date full version of what you are doing, with a couple of questions that I would love to have answered at the end. maybe you or Chemgeek can read through and tidy up for me. Chemicals Needed Taylor R-0007 - Part of TF-100...

www.troublefreepool.com

I use this test weekly. Super easy and kinda fun. Has been spot on!

 

[Bperry]

My strips went bad after just a couple months once open. Disappointing I know. Rebecca at TFTestkits sorted me out with credit to buy replacements.

Sounds like they just go bad after being opened. I’ll try the drop test referenced below.

 

[Chuckiechan]

They don’t last long. But in my arid climate, once the borate is where it should be, I’m done testing until next opening. AFAIK, the “good enough” range is pretty wide.

 

[duganderson]

I appreciate the link to the borate test. I don't know if I'll use this test but the geeky science guy in me wants to try it.

Do folks feel like it is reasonable to not test borates at all in my situation with my hot tub? I add the Pool Calculator amount of Boric Acid at refill to get to 50 PPM. If I remove water to dilute my salt concentration for my SWCG, I add the Pool Calculator amount to compensate for the approximate amount of water I take out to get back to theoretical 50 PPM. Splash out is fairly limited in my tub. Also, I'm assuming borates are NOT lost in evaporation.

Are there borates in tap water that I should be accounting for?

Thanks, Doug