Measurement on sample tubes in TFTestkit don't match Taylor sample tubes. Which is correct?

[mguzzy]

I guess its time to pull my college chemistry set out and calibrate my vials!.. the problem is I'm going to have to clean my garage to find it.

 

[Dirk]

Or they're 6 bucks on Taylor's website...

Sample Tube, Graduated (25 mL) w/ cap, plastic

 

[proavia]

Or you can hit up your local drug store for a 10ml syringe for kids medicine. It usually has marks every 1ml so you can accurately mark 25ml easily.

Pool chemistry doesn't need to be rocket science, being consistent in your testing practice is more important than a 1ml error on a testing tube.

 

[mguzzy]

Or you can hit up your local drug store for a 10ml syringe for kids medicine. It usually has marks every 1ml so you can accurately mark 25ml easily.

Pool chemistry doesn't need to be rocket science, being consistent in your testing practice is more important than a 1ml error on a testing tube.

but but but... Rockets are so Kewl! Actually, 5% is probably within the realm of the other tolerances for this kind of testing. I would imagine consistency is more important.. either use the TFT vials or the Taylor ones, not both.

 

[duraleigh]

The sample sizer is supposed to be used with a Taylor Tube.....period.

However, the only important thing is that you use the same type tube each time you test. Test your sample with the Taylor tube and then do all the rest of your tests with the Taylor tube again.......problem solved.

 

[superuser]

Get a third measurement device, and use it to confirm. Throw out the bad one (or return it for a refund if possible).

 

[Dirk]

Just want to point out that using the vial, alone, especially a Taylor vial, is a perfectly acceptable way to measure a sample. I collect the sample pool water in a Leslie's squirt bottle (which they give away for free) and use that squirt bottle to both rinse and then fill the vials. The squirt mechanism produces very accurate amounts (against the vial's markings). And is very fast to use. One less "gizmo" to handle. One less to clean (before and after testing). And one less to store. I never saw the need for a sizer or syringe. The faster and easier I can test, the more I'll do it.

And while it is true that consistency is by far the most important aspect of how you measure everything, consider this. Most Taylor test results can be off by up to 10%. That is Taylor's admitted margin of error. If your sample measurement is also off by 5 or 10%, that is not "within" Taylor's margin of error, it's on top of it. And while it might work out to be subtractive, it could just as well be additive. Which means your sample size might counter Taylor's margin of error back down to 0%, or might double it to 20%! And that's pretty bad. Is your TA 100? Or 80? Or 120? Is your CH 400? Or 320? Or 480?

The difference between some of those numbers are, IMO, outside what I would consider to be "close enough for a pool." Especially considering you could vastly improve accuracy for $6. And, pardon the criticism, it's not clear to me why the TF-100 does not include the Taylor vial instead of the one they use, which doesn't fit the sample sizer, or the SpeedStir as well as it could, and now we know it's not 100% accurate. Is it just because of the black markings?

 

[JayRi]

I don't use a sample sizer, I use a squirt bottle. But I do use the 2 tubes from the tf100 test kit and the tube that came with the speed stir. I just checked them. The speed stir tube at 25ml showed 26ml on the 2 tubes. The 10ml line was the same one all 3. Not a big enough of a difference to me.

 

[MA5177]

I just used my TF kit for the first time, before seeing this post I had decided to use the tube that came with the speed stir and get rid of the tube that came with the kit.

The one that came with speed stir has a cap for storing the magnet in , I actually took the blue Taylor kit out and store the speed stir in its place. Will keep the little kit out by the pool for daily testing and the TF in the house

 

[proavia]

... Will keep the little kit out by the pool for daily testing and the TF in the house

Leaving any reagents outside will affect the integrity of the reagents due to temperature and sun exposure. While you can take the kit outside to do the tests if you like, it is recommended to store the kit indoors in a temperature controlled environment - so in the heated/air conditioned part of the house... not in the garage either.

I use the K-1000 pool side (stored indoors), I do the CYA test outdoors and all other tests indoors.

 

[Dirk]

I do all my testing indoors, under a color-neutral LED light strip. I think it is better to take your sample water inside than your test kit outside. My "lab" is my laundry room, which has no windows. So I can test day or night, rain or shine, any day of the year and still have consistent, repeatable test conditions. Consistent, repeatable test methods is one of the most important aspects of pool water maintenance. Testing outside doesn't provide that. Indoors is controlled. Also, the counter height, the cabinets, the nearby sink and towel make testing far more convenient for me than dragging a kit out near the pool would...

 

[MA5177]

Leaving any reagents outside will affect the integrity of the reagents due to temperature and sun exposure. While you can take the kit outside to do the tests if you like, it is recommended to store the kit indoors in a temperature controlled environment - so in the heated/air conditioned part of the house... not in the garage either.

I use the K-1000 pool side (stored indoors), I do the CYA test outdoors and all other tests indoors.

Good to know thanks