New Device - WaterGuru

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R

Red

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LifeTime Supporter
Sep 11, 2010
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Orange County, CA
I got something in the mail yesterday announcing WaterGuru (WaterGuru.com). Apparently, it's shipping in July and this is a discount offer to order before it ships.

Has anyone heard about this device or know anything about it? It replaces your skimmer lid and dangles from the new lid. I can't even find from the site what all the device measures. It looks like you have to put in a new cartridge every 2 months.

I've seen some comments here about SpinTouch (a much more expensive device) and how it can be right or wrong. I'm curious what people might know about this device. I'm not thinking of ditching my Taylor test kit...just curious about things.

One potential problem I see with the design is that my skimmer basket can get pretty full at times -- especially when we have winds. I wonder how the suspended device would do in such situations. I have a pine tree nearby and that skimmer can be solidly packed full of those small needles. I think WaterGuru wouldn't be happy in that situation. I wonder if it would even damage a cartridge if it tried to open and take a reading and got pine needles stuck in it.
 
The device was developed with the help and advice of @chem geek . The unit measure FC and pH and the user sends a water sample sample in regularly (monthly?) to get the other parameters checked. The unit then dispenses cal-hypo pods (like laundry soap pods) and muriatic acid to control FC and pH. An Smartphone App connects the user to the device and maintains a record of additions and measurements and suggests further chemical treatments as-needed. Chemicals are provided through a monthly/annual subscription service and the App controls the ordering process.

I believe the devices is able to compensate for a dirty skimmer by the way it’s designed to take samples and it might even alert you to when the skimmer is full.

It’s a interesting product concept and time will tell if it makes it.
 
Thanks for the info. I wonder how well the FC measurement will work. I believe there have been sensors for it, but they were really expensive and the ORP sensors were cheaper. At least in my residential experience, the Hayward sense & dispense system's ORP sensor is worthless, but the pH sensor is pretty accurate. It would be great if there's a more accurate FC sensor available.
 
This does not use ORP or pH sensors, it uses test paper (think litmus paper) and photometers.

I will just say I have my doubts. What they want to do is not unrealistic, but building it in to a $200 device that fits nicely in a skimmer and is accurate and reliable would be surprising. It's already undergone a major redesign in the past year, originally it was going to test for more parameters and looked a lot different. So they have already sunken a lot of money in to the product, had to scale it back, and need to get something on to the market. That is a recipe for a very underwhelming product.
 
The idea is great! I find it tempting to try because I like the idea of a real time monitoring of chlorine level and pH if it proves to be accurate and reliable. It is not cheap but if working that would be really great to reduce the tasks of daily parameters monitoring even when away. There is still consumable in it that must be replaced after some time.

But if TFP don't rely on any tests strips or on high price spinning analysis machine that pool store have, so what about this? We will have to find out.

For the more extensive tests that are done with a vial sent through postal service, I see less value in this. Anyway, I am not a chemistry expert but is it realistic to think that the results will be accurate with the water shake and unpredictable carrier transportation conditions? Even pool store recommend to have a fresh sample for the analysis.
 
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The parameters tested by mail will be unaffected by transports - TA, CH, CYA, phosphate, Fe, Cu. None of those change much with time in an isolated sample.

The FC paper strip is based on DPD chemistry and, as long as you are under the 10ppm limit, photometry should be fairly accurate. pH is tested with standard meter.
 
Ok. If it is like this, it is good.

Anyway I would continue home testing and keep control but for daily monitoring I like the idea. And when away also and more if in combination with chlorine pump controlled by a WiFi timer. I see potential for this.

I don’t know if this would work in Canada or if there will be restrictions. I don’t find the app in the AppStore.
 
gorocket1981 said:
Ok. If it is like this, it is good.

Anyway I would continue home testing and keep control but for daily monitoring I like the idea. And when away also and more if in combination with chlorine pump controlled by a WiFi timer. I see potential for this.

I don’t know if this would work in Canada or if there will be restrictions. I don’t find the app in the AppStore.
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Usually when dealing with Canada, direct sales are a major hassle. Chances are, if they want to sell the WaterGuru to the Canadian market, they will have to sign a licensing or distribution agreement with an existing Canadian firm similar to how Taylor products can only be sold and distributed through Lowry & Associates. You can expect the cost of the unit to go up by at least 1.5X.
 

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Red said:
One potential problem I see with the design is that my skimmer basket can get pretty full at times -- especially when we have winds. I wonder how the suspended device would do in such situations. I
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I know this is an old thread but I am on week two of having my WaterGuru and am happy with it thus far. I did have this problem that you mentioned Red but I now take that "Low Flow" is a sign that I need to clean it out. If FLOW is GOOD, your baskets aren't full. I kind of like that function although it wastes that days test if it is too low of flow...
 
I am curious about this product. It seems like a couple users here are happy with it and the testing seems to be pretty accurate. I am curious about the PH reading though...does it ever need to be calibrated like the traditional PH meters? It seems like it works in the same manner so I would *think* it would need periodic calibration.

I also saw a comment about not working if the skimmer is "too full"...is that indeed an issue? When we get a lot of rain, the skimmer will be pretty darn full and takes a couple of days to come back down. It's not overflowing (we have a drain about 6 inches below the bottom edge of the coping) but it is pretty high at times.
 
I really want to get one of these but I dont like their skimmer cover. I have customer travertine covers built into my deck and dont want to put one of these down.

Actually what I really just want is a pH meter that stays in the pool or the skimmer and can give me a reading twice a week.
 
Katodude said:
I really want to get one of these but I dont like their skimmer cover. I have customer travertine covers built into my deck and dont want to put one of these down.

Actually what I really just want is a pH meter that stays in the pool or the skimmer and can give me a reading twice a week.
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You could get a pHin and just not pay for any of the chemical service as well as ignore the ORP part of it. Or maybe contact WaterGuru and see if they can provide a means for bolting their testing unit onto a customer skimmer cover like yours.
 
I am willing to pay the $199 I see on ebay or even the $349 from the web site, but does anyone know how well it actually works. pH testers seem to require frequent calibration and I dont see a way of doing that. TFP has served me well. I pretty much know what my pool does and am about to add a Stenner for acid dosing. My SWG generator is dialed in and my FC is very steady.

@segalion made a great bypass system to monitor but I really dont think I am up to doing the plumbing to get that done.

I suppose for a $99 a year I can just make a bunch of warranty claims when it starts getting the numbers wrong.
 
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