Chlorine Tablets ok?
- Thread starter Jameshtx
- Start date
Personally, because I don't want to have to buy and haul chlorine around. You can't really buy it in bulk because it loses its strength over time.
That is interesting. Does the TF100 test kit say this in the instructions? If so, I think I missed that part. I've always done the full suite of tests indoors. Should I be doing the CYA test outside with my back to the sun?
I’m uncertain of whether or not the kit instructions specify this, but yes, you should be doing the test outside.
Here is a full list f instructions for all tests https://www.troublefreepool.com/content/213-extended-test-kit-directions
I read the instructions but doesn’t say if I should test it while pump is running or not. If pump should be running, how long should it be on for before I test?
How do I incorporate the instructions with a speedstir?
My test kit got delivered today and plan to do my first test after work.
How do I incorporate the instructions with a speedstir?
My test kit got delivered today and plan to do my first test after work.
Pump should circulate water for 30 minutes prior to test. I've annotated the test instructions for the speed stir. Yellow underlines are places where the speedstir will do the work for you.
Jim
The screenshot is not clear enough to read. Can you re-send a better copy. Thanks much appreciated
So do I ignore the test kit instructions and follow the instructions from you guys right?
- May 3, 2014
- 58,691
- Pool Size
- 6000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
The only difference is using a 10 ml sample for your FC test (each drop counts for 0.5 ppm FC) instead of the 25 ml sample. Beyond that use the Taylor directions. The wheel thing we replace with CSI calculation in PoolMath.
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You will most likely need refills for the FAS-DPD test and CYA test very soon. That kit comes with minimal tests for those two items.
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You will most likely need refills for the FAS-DPD test and CYA test very soon. That kit comes with minimal tests for those two items.
Because it is easy.
Just to go back and answer some of your questions.
1) There is a lot of mis-information about pool water chemistry out there. Some of it is because of old legal requirements for certain pool types (such as no CYA in public pools), some of it is 'folklore' that has somehow become accepted as true when it is not (green hair and chlorine) and some of it is pure marketing (pool store testing that makes pool care seem complicated). People will swear by this mis-information.
2) Your pool store employees are not pool experts. No more so than you would expect the person at your grocery store to be a master chef, or the people at Macy's to be fashion designers (or sadly, the people at Home Depot to have any clue how to use the stuff they sell). They get rudimentary training and most of the time are working off of a flowchart or manual with no real understanding of what they are recommending.
3) The people on this site gain nothing from you following these methods, except the satisfaction of knowing that they have helped somebody. This forum has pool industry people on it, as well as a few chemists that can really get into the science behind the recommendations. There are also dozens (if not hundreds) of run of the mill pool owners on this site who practice the methods used here, and have crystal clear pools with low costs to maintain to show for it.
4) Just like with most things in life, there are different ways to do things, and different cost / benefits. Me, I just went to a SWG and I am very happy with it. I used to use bleach. Was bleach difficult - no not really. I added a quart a day before work while my filter was running. Not to difficult, until I have to travel for work, or it is raining, or any other number of situations arise. I could have gone with liquid chlorine and an injection pump, but then I would have had to still buy chlorine, and I would have to add automation. With salt, I have my system set, and it does its thing 2x a day. Every so often I test my water to make sure things are still OK. Even if it comes out costing me $60 a year over the life of the cell, it is still well worth it to me. It's not about trying to spend as little as possible. It's about not spending money when there is no benefit. Pool stores often cause you to do that.
5) Pool stores do have their place. The Leslie's by me does have a person who is quite knowledgeable about pump / filter hardware. If I have a cracked part, or something that is wearing out, I bring it in and he finds me a replacement. I also run by the store to buy pool lube whenever I am working on something with O-rings or seals. like when I break down, clean, and store my filter at the end of the season.
-dave
My additions in red
FAS-DPD Chlorine Test
The FAS-DPD chlorine test is used to find the level of Free Chlorine in the pool water. It uses a powder to show the presence of free chlorine in the sample pool water followed by liquid drops to determine the total amount of free chlorine in the sample of pool water. It is very important to know the amount of free chlorine in the pool water for swimmer safety and water cleanliness.
- Rinse the sample tube with pool water.
- Fill the sample tube with pool water to the 10 ml mark. The top of the sample will be curved. This curve is called a meniscus. The bottom of the meniscus should be level with the 10 ml mark
- Add magnetic stir bar to sample tube, place sample tube on SpeedStir, activate SpeedStir.
- Using the small spoon shaped end of the dipper, add one heaping dipper, or two level dippers, of R-0870 and
swirl to mixallow SpeedStir to mix. If the sample turns pink for a moment and then turns clear again, or if it turns brown, add another dipper of R-0870. If the sample remains clear the entire time, your FC level is probably zero, however it is best to verify that with an OTO chlorine test, since the FAS-DPD test is prone to the occasional false zero. Swirling constantlyAllowing SpeedStir to mix and counting the number of drops as you go, add R-0871 one drop at a time. Continue adding drops until the color changes to clear. The pink color may become extremely faint before it goes away. Make sure that the sample goes completely clear.- Multiply the number of drops by 0.5 to get your FC level.
- Add 5 drops of R-0003 and
swirl to mixSpeedStir If the sample remains clear, your CC level is zero. - If the sample turns pink again, add R-0871 one drop at a time,
swirling constantlySpeedStir and counting the number of drops as you go. Continue adding drops until the color changes to clear. The pink color may become extremely faint before it goes away. Make sure that the sample goes completely clear. - Multiply the number of drops by 0.5 to get your CC level.
- Dispose of the sample safely. It is best to pour it down the drain with the water running. Do not add it back to the pool.
- Rinse the sample tube with tap water and store for next time.
Notes
- 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.
- The exact amount of R-0870 powder used is not critical. The goal is to add more than you really need rather than using too little. Using too little R-0870 powder can throw off the results of the test. You need to use enough to bind to all of the chlorine that is present. Adding extra, within reason, has no effect. At very high FC levels it is likely that you will need to use more than the normal amount.
- If left sitting on the counter, the sample will turn pink again one or two minutes after the test is completed. This is normal.
- When measuring high FC levels, or measuring FC when the CC level is relatively high, it is important to move through the test quickly. Drops should be added about once per second, or slightly faster, swirling the entire time. You can slow down a little at the end of the test, to give you time to watch for the end point.
- In rare cases the sample may turn cloudy. If this happens the test is still valid. You add drops until the sample turns cloudy white, i.e. the red/pink is completely gone, rather than waiting for it to turn clear.
- Any MPS in the water will count towards the FC reading. Taylor R-0867 Deox Reagent can be used to eliminate this interference.
- Over time, it is common for a cloudy residue to build up on sample tubes used for FAS-DPD chlorine testing. The residue can be removed by filling the sample tube with bleach, letting it sit for several minutes, rinsing, and then wiping throughly with a paper towel.
- There isn't normally any reason to do this, but if you need more precision you can do this test with a 25 ml sample of pool water and multiply the number of drops by 0.2. In most situations the added precision is useless and simply wastes reagent.
- R-0870 is DPD powder. The indicator in the powder turns pink when bound to chlorine. R-0870 powder gets darker over time and eventually starts to clump up. If it is clumped up, you should crush it back into a slightly lumpy powder before using it.
- R-0871 is FAS-DPD titrating reagent. It should be a clear colorless liquid. If it turns a dark yellow color, it has gone bad.
- R-0003 is DPD Reagent #3. It should be a clear colorless liquid. If it turns yellow, it has gone bad.
- The precision of the measurement is plus or minus one drop when up to 10 drops of titrant are used, or plus or minus 10% of the final reading, when more than 10 drops of titrant are used.
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I test in the order of the log on the PoolMath app. FC, CC, pH, TA, CH, CYA, Temp
If I have to make adjustments to more than chlorine I do pH first then wait 30 minutes
I got the results of my first do-it-myself test. I created a new thread titled "My first test results n need your thoughts"
This couldn't be more true! I worked part-time at a hardware store in my late-teens / early 20's. It was fun, and I learned a ton. I could look at a door key on a customer's keychain 10 feet away and list the name the part number. "SC12" (still can!) I could talk great game about paint, primer, drills, glass, pipe, weed killer... One day a regular customer came in hunting for me carrying a half-used bottle of spackle that I had recommended the day before. She was livid that the spackle fell off the wall as she painted. I said, "Ma'am, I'm very sorry about your wall, but I'm a Psych major with a course load of 16 credits, give me a break!"
I got called into the mgr's office for a talking to over my attitude, but the fact remained that I had never actually repaired a large hole in drywall!
keatz85
Bronze Supporter
The tablets have CYA too. The only way CYA ever goes down is via water dilution. So you do not need to be consistently adding CYA (which is what the tablets do). Since you already bought the tablets I would say they would be okay to use if you need to raise your CYA too. If you have giant bucket of tablets you may want to sell it via craigslist, facebook market, etc.
I learned this all the hard way.I do credit tablets as the reason I found TFP. Bought a house with a pool, went to pool store, bought 25 lbs of tablets, CYA got absurdly high, discovered TFP, haven't used a single tablet since (6 moths ago). In fact, I just listed 24 lbs of tablets on craigslist.
I took my water to a pool store for fun recently. A summer worker, who knew nothing about pool chemistry, tested my water who was being trained by a high school kid. When I saw the results I came to the conclusion that test strips are more accurate. You will find some hilarious posts on test strips here but we call them guess strips. The results I were given was basically an advertisement for Bioguard and provided a pretty hefty and expensive list of Bioguard products I needed to buy even though my water was beautiful and balanced.
I do buy my liquid chlorine from my pool store as it's about 2x of the cost of 6% bleach and is 12.5% (less jugs to haul and I can support a local mom and pop shop). I said I would analyze the results and come back if needed but did want liquid chlorine. They were blown away that's all I wanted. They legit thought liquid chlorine was pool shock (shock as in a product not a process) and that it would burn off immediately since stabilizer wasn't added to it.
It was a good visit thought, it basically verified everything that TFP says about pool stores is true haha. And I'm not trying to rip on the pool store employees. They're just employees, most probably don't have pools...it's a job not a career, why become a pool expert for a part-time or summer job...plus the industry and distributors are pushing a lot of info on them...plus just that bucket of tablets alone cost about as much as I spend all season now after finding TFP.
I learned this all the hard way.I do credit tablets as the reason I found TFP. Bought a house with a pool, went to pool store, bought 25 lbs of tablets, CYA got absurdly high, discovered TFP, haven't used a single tablet since (6 moths ago). In fact, I just listed 24 lbs of tablets on craigslist.
I took my water to a pool store for fun recently. A summer worker, who knew nothing about pool chemistry, tested my water who was being trained by a high school kid. When I saw the results I came to the conclusion that test strips are more accurate. You will find some hilarious posts on test strips here but we call them guess strips. The results I were given was basically an advertisement for Bioguard and provided a pretty hefty and expensive list of Bioguard products I needed to buy even though my water was beautiful and balanced.
I do buy my liquid chlorine from my pool store as it's about 2x of the cost of 6% bleach and is 12.5% (less jugs to haul and I can support a local mom and pop shop). I said I would analyze the results and come back if needed but did want liquid chlorine. They were blown away that's all I wanted. They legit thought liquid chlorine was pool shock (shock as in a product not a process) and that it would burn off immediately since stabilizer wasn't added to it.
It was a good visit thought, it basically verified everything that TFP says about pool stores is true haha. And I'm not trying to rip on the pool store employees. They're just employees, most probably don't have pools...it's a job not a career, why become a pool expert for a part-time or summer job...plus the industry and distributors are pushing a lot of info on them...plus just that bucket of tablets alone cost about as much as I spend all season now after finding TFP.
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3" tabs brought me to this group too. I over used them and granular chlorine trying to clear up cloudy water and sent my CYA through the roof. The pool company sold me liquid chlorine but never mentioned my CYA at 94! When the liquid chlorine didn't work, he was shocked. By then my CYA was up to 110. I drained half my pool and found this group. I've since bought my own testing kit and have been SLAMing my pool back to clear ever since. Bleach is best.
You want either plain, non-scented, NOT splashless, NOT clorox bleach, or "chlorinating liquid" or "liquid pool shock". Any of these items will have an active ingredient of Sodium Hypochlorite.