I have a tube of the Insta-Test Borate test strips that I've been using for a year. The levels indicated by color are pretty hard to determine and fairly widely spaced: 0 15, 30, 50 and 80. Borate isn't mission critical so I suppose it's not super important to know it precisely.
This may have been already posted but the other day I realized there was a way to compute Borate using a regular Taylor test kit and Pool Math. I also have a PH meter whose accuracy seems pretty good but more importantly it is repeatable and therefore good for determining PH change over a short PH range--in my case about 8 to 7.7.
My current 17,250 gallon pool chemistry is:
FC 9
PH 7.93 (meter) (between 7.9 and 8.0 with test kit)
TA 80
CH 425
CYA 80
Temp 84
Borate ~50 (on the strips)
Salt 3600
Based on my pool size, each drop of of Taylor Acid Demand Reagent in the 44 mL sample tube requires 16 oz. of muriatic acid. So to calculate Borate Level with Pool Math from my data:
1. Measure 44 mL PH sample from pool: 7.93
2. Add two drops of Acid Demand and remeasure PH: 7.76
3. Enter all the data into Pool Math: For PH now, use 7.93; for PH Target use 7.76
4. Adjust the Borate number until the "Add [ xx oz.] 31.45% Muriatic Acid" reads 32 oz. (the amount that 2 drops of Acid Demand Reagent equates to for a 17,250 gallon pool using the Taylor Test Kit Manual for drops of Acid Demand Reagent)
The Borate number I have to apply to Pool Math, using the above procedure is 61.
When I used Phenol Red to measure PH I got 7.9 and two drops of Acid Demand results in a PH of 7.7. Applying those numbers to Pool Math and adjusting Borate for 32 oz. of MA results in a Borate number of 55.
There's nothing magic about using two drops. You could use 1, 2 or three drops and adjust the MA numbers accordingly. I picked two drops because it created enough PH spread to easily measure but not too wide a PH range for Pooi Math's Borate calculation.
bye bye test strips ...
This may have been already posted but the other day I realized there was a way to compute Borate using a regular Taylor test kit and Pool Math. I also have a PH meter whose accuracy seems pretty good but more importantly it is repeatable and therefore good for determining PH change over a short PH range--in my case about 8 to 7.7.
My current 17,250 gallon pool chemistry is:
FC 9
PH 7.93 (meter) (between 7.9 and 8.0 with test kit)
TA 80
CH 425
CYA 80
Temp 84
Borate ~50 (on the strips)
Salt 3600
Based on my pool size, each drop of of Taylor Acid Demand Reagent in the 44 mL sample tube requires 16 oz. of muriatic acid. So to calculate Borate Level with Pool Math from my data:
1. Measure 44 mL PH sample from pool: 7.93
2. Add two drops of Acid Demand and remeasure PH: 7.76
3. Enter all the data into Pool Math: For PH now, use 7.93; for PH Target use 7.76
4. Adjust the Borate number until the "Add [ xx oz.] 31.45% Muriatic Acid" reads 32 oz. (the amount that 2 drops of Acid Demand Reagent equates to for a 17,250 gallon pool using the Taylor Test Kit Manual for drops of Acid Demand Reagent)
The Borate number I have to apply to Pool Math, using the above procedure is 61.
When I used Phenol Red to measure PH I got 7.9 and two drops of Acid Demand results in a PH of 7.7. Applying those numbers to Pool Math and adjusting Borate for 32 oz. of MA results in a Borate number of 55.
There's nothing magic about using two drops. You could use 1, 2 or three drops and adjust the MA numbers accordingly. I picked two drops because it created enough PH spread to easily measure but not too wide a PH range for Pooi Math's Borate calculation.
bye bye test strips ...