So I really hate that I have no clue what grams to teaspoons are? The trouble free calculator uses grams, but that is a weight measurement, not a volume one! Even the dichlor bottle says "add 20g".well what is that? The closest I've got was to google how many grams of sugar is in a teaspoon as that's about the same weight. Please help, so frustrating.
How to measure dry additives
- Thread starter davesurfer
- Start date
- May 23, 2015
- 25,757
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
The problem is it depends on the granularity of the powder and it’s effective density. No two manufacturers will have the same granular product and so there’s no exact method of calculation. The PoolMath website will estimate both volume and mass but, for granular solid chemicals, mass is the most accurate.
My recommendation - get a decent food scale that can measure up to a couple of pounds and has both English and Metric units.
My recommendation - get a decent food scale that can measure up to a couple of pounds and has both English and Metric units.
I second that: a digital kitchen scale. Less than twenty bucks. We have one in the kitchen and use it constantly to weigh out ground beef for burgers; to split bread dough into two equal size loaves; to ensure the cookies don't grow too big so that we get the promised yield. Also handy for weighing anything else less than about 5 kg, in grams or pounds and ounces.
Many kitchen scales have a resolution of 1 gram. For a spa, a smaller "gram scale" may be better than a kitchen scale, and typically have a resolution of 0.01 g, which is overkill but works fine. I'd personally probably look for at least a resolution of 0.1 g if you want to do double duty and use it as an actual kitchen scale too.
I got my gram scale for mixing up aquarium fertilizer powders, and later found it was perfect for the spa too. I use the kitchen scale for borax and kitchen duty. If you want one, just search Amazon for "gram scale".
Of course, I might just be anal about it, but that's my two cents.
I got my gram scale for mixing up aquarium fertilizer powders, and later found it was perfect for the spa too. I use the kitchen scale for borax and kitchen duty. If you want one, just search Amazon for "gram scale".
Of course, I might just be anal about it, but that's my two cents.
- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,680
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
I used my mail scale for some CYA the other day. Goes up to 2 lbs. Not sure of the accuracy, but it's close enough for CYA in a pool. Can't speak to what is needed for a spa...
Thanks for all the tips guys! I wasn't really wanting to spend more money on scales and stuff, it seems a lot of work to measure out on scales every time I dose. What really doesn't make any sense, is why on the container itself, why the manufacturer of the granules doesn't just say how many teaspoons/tablespoons?
- Dec 17, 2017
- 667
- Pool Size
- 36000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron eQuilibrium EQ45
Problem is this 'what is a standard teaspoon'.
I bet you have 10 different sized teaspoons in your kitchen drawer....
They vary too much in shape whereas a measurement if 'x' amount of grams is just that.
I bet you have 10 different sized teaspoons in your kitchen drawer....
They vary too much in shape whereas a measurement if 'x' amount of grams is just that.
In the US:
So a standard teaspoon is that, quite well defined and exact. Whether the spoons in your kitchen meet that spec is an entirely different matter.
They could change they size of the granule, or they might wear down in shipping? Plus the aforementioned measuring spoons, the standard is well defined but many spoons are very far off spec.
A small scale is actually quite easy and fast to use. I put a small plastic cup on the scale, tare it (zero the weight of the cup) and pour until I reach the desired weight. If you go over you can always pour some back.
I actually wish more recipes listed weight for all dry things. It would be much faster, easier, and accurate to weigh off "0.6 lbs" of flour rather than measure 3 2/3 cups, or whatever it would be.
- May 23, 2015
- 25,757
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
As stated previously, granular powers have different apparent densities depending on how finely they are milled and how much air is entrained. There’s enough variation in the apparent density of the powder to make volume measures inaccurate. So the manufacturer is simply stating the most precise measure of the chemical.
If you can find or borrow a basic kitchen scale, then you can use a plastic shot glass or Dixie cup to measure out a known volume of the chemical. You can then weigh it and you’ll get a “good enough” measure of how many Dixie cups it takes to achieve your chemical addition. If you change chemical suppliers, you might do the measurement again just to be sure.
You’re not cooking up rocket fuel here, it’s water chemistry. Just get a “good enough” estimation and you’ll be fine.
If you can find or borrow a basic kitchen scale, then you can use a plastic shot glass or Dixie cup to measure out a known volume of the chemical. You can then weigh it and you’ll get a “good enough” measure of how many Dixie cups it takes to achieve your chemical addition. If you change chemical suppliers, you might do the measurement again just to be sure.
You’re not cooking up rocket fuel here, it’s water chemistry. Just get a “good enough” estimation and you’ll be fine.
Okay, okay. I'll try to give a helpful answer this time. By helpful I mean what you want.
First off, PoolMath usually gives both weight and volume measurements, though it defaults to one or the other. If you have your spa set up for 1500 liters, and your current FC is 3 ppm, your target is 6 ppm, you'll see that it says to add 8 g by weight or 8 mL by volume of dichlor, and mL is a volume measurement. So as you can see, it's roughly 1 g/mL.
BUT, you want teaspoons, not mL! So, here's the trick. PoolMath gives volume in teaspoons for the US units, and you don't even have to convert liters (of your spa) to gallons, it'll do that for you. With PoolMath set up to 1500 liters, simply switch the units to US. Now it'll say 396 gallons (which is 1500 liters), and for the same 3 to 6 ppm goal, it says 0.3 oz by weight or 0.3 oz by volume of dichlor. Also not tsp, BUT highlight over the 0.3 oz by volume, and in the white box at the top it says 2 tsp! Exactly what you wanted!
Hope that helps! Two things:
- Note it's not exact, as it rounds to the nearest tsp. [Then again, it's not exact for many spa things as it rounds to specific decimals as opposed to specific significant figures (minor engineer gripe)]
- The other thing is you can't enter a volume amount under Effects of adding chemicals, only the primary unit for that chemical. So when tracking CYA as part of dichlor additions, you can't enter "1 tsp" to see how may ppm of CYA your dichlor added, you have to enter grams.
- Dec 17, 2017
- 667
- Pool Size
- 36000
- Surface
- Fiberglass
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Astral Viron eQuilibrium EQ45
So a standard teaspoon is that, quite well defined and exact. Whether the spoons in your kitchen meet that spec is an entirely different matter.
Now where did I place my temperature compensated NATA certified teaspoon?....
