Which one do you all recomend. I love my tf100 kit. Im currently using salt water strip test kits and they seem to be doing a great job. Just they are 12 dollars for only 10 of them at local pool store.
Salt water test kit?
- Thread starter pitmanr2003
- Start date
I use the Taylor K-1766 salt water test kit. Like it a lot. You can find it on the internet for about $22.
I'll put my 2 cents in.
I'm not sure a salt kit is really worth the money, or even needed to tell you the truth. In the end, the only thing that matters is what the generator says the salt is, period. The sensor on the generator will dictate whether or not it "sees" enough salt to work properly. Yes, the sensor can be off, but usually no more than 500 ppm or so (there are of course exceptions). Most if not all SWCG are able to function within a fairly wide range. My Pentair functions between 2900 to 4200 ppm to remain in the "good" range. Thats a 1300 ppm swing. It will still function from 2500-2900, it just tells you to add salt. The only thing salt testing is really good for is in a situation where you know you have salt in the range need for proper functioning, but the salt sensor tells you that the salt is really, really high, or really, really low. If your in doubt, take a sapmle to a pool store that has a salinity sensor. If they keep it calibrated, it should be fairly accurate. The test strips work for some, but not for others, so YMMV on that.
Believe it or not, the salt concentration should remain fairly stable. Even with backwashing 300 gallons a week, the salt wont vary more than 50-60 ppm.
Just give the generator what it wants, within the caveats above, and all will be well.
I'm not sure a salt kit is really worth the money, or even needed to tell you the truth. In the end, the only thing that matters is what the generator says the salt is, period. The sensor on the generator will dictate whether or not it "sees" enough salt to work properly. Yes, the sensor can be off, but usually no more than 500 ppm or so (there are of course exceptions). Most if not all SWCG are able to function within a fairly wide range. My Pentair functions between 2900 to 4200 ppm to remain in the "good" range. Thats a 1300 ppm swing. It will still function from 2500-2900, it just tells you to add salt. The only thing salt testing is really good for is in a situation where you know you have salt in the range need for proper functioning, but the salt sensor tells you that the salt is really, really high, or really, really low. If your in doubt, take a sapmle to a pool store that has a salinity sensor. If they keep it calibrated, it should be fairly accurate. The test strips work for some, but not for others, so YMMV on that.
Believe it or not, the salt concentration should remain fairly stable. Even with backwashing 300 gallons a week, the salt wont vary more than 50-60 ppm.
Just give the generator what it wants, within the caveats above, and all will be well.
Manually salt testing may be overkill, but I will do it because of past experience. Yes, it was user error.
When my salt cell started to go bad, it read 200 ppm. In my panic I dumped a bunch of salt in the pool, bringing the salt to around 10K ppm. I never want to do that again, so I am erring on the side of caution.
When my salt cell started to go bad, it read 200 ppm. In my panic I dumped a bunch of salt in the pool, bringing the salt to around 10K ppm. I never want to do that again, so I am erring on the side of caution.
sonflower said:
Yep, panic will do that and you can get irrational at moments
But, if folks will just think about it a bit. You had salt at the right level, you didnt drain the pool, only a bit of top off water added, so...that salt should still be there. Sensor says 200ppm, sensor must be off. But, I hear you on the panic thing.
bk406 said:
Sorry, but I cannot disagree more. Salt water generators do have a range, but have a recommended value to keep the salt at. The closer you get to the bottom end of the range the more inefficient the generator is and therefore the harder it has to work to keep the FC in the recommended range. Aside from this, how do you know what the ppm is when the light comes on? If you don't know, how do you know how much salt add? You going to go the the pool store, we all know how inaccurate their readings can be (I can attest to that). What if the sensor is not operating and never comes on? A lot of SWG manuals will even tell you to test the water.
You should always test for chemicals/organics in your pool, that includes CYA, FC, CC, pH, borates (if you have it), TA, CH and yes salt (if you have it). Doing it yourself will give you better results than going to the pool store where you are unsure of how the person is testing the water.
There are a few models of SWG where lower salt levels cause the unit to produce less chlorine, but the great majority of modern SWGs compensate for the salt level so that they produce the same amount of chlorine at any salt level within their operating range.
How important a separate salt test is varies somewhat with the SWG. SWGs that have digital readouts of the current salt level are usually at least as good at measuring the salt level as the better salt test kits. Some of them do show incorrect readings when the cell is scaled or failing, while others work all of the time, Even the units that are incorrect when the cell is failing are good enough if you pay attention to what is happening that a separate salt test is not generally required. Other units, which simply have a salt too high light and a salt too low light, can benefit much more from a separate salt test kit.
How important a separate salt test is varies somewhat with the SWG. SWGs that have digital readouts of the current salt level are usually at least as good at measuring the salt level as the better salt test kits. Some of them do show incorrect readings when the cell is scaled or failing, while others work all of the time, Even the units that are incorrect when the cell is failing are good enough if you pay attention to what is happening that a separate salt test is not generally required. Other units, which simply have a salt too high light and a salt too low light, can benefit much more from a separate salt test kit.
Thats why i have a taylor 2006 kit. I'm not sure I put the importance of testing for salt up there with FC, pH, TA, etc. The salt kit is cheap enough, so if one wants to measure it, then measure it. My opinion is that you dont need to.benavidescj said:
My other question would be that if the salt level starts to vary much over the course of the season, i.e. goes down, there is something wrong.
My salt at the beginning of the season was 3300. It's read as high as 3900 when the water temp was near 90 degrees. When I checked it at the pool store a 2 weeks ago it was 3600. My intellitouch read 3300.
If you add quite a bit of water due to backwash or dilution due to rain, the ppm shouldnt change much. I could do the math, but if I recall, even 300 gallons of water changes it very little.
benavidescj, have you had trouble keeping your salt levels in line? Whats been the variation? I dont worry about 500-600 ppm swings unless it goes below the level where it stops making chlorine. Then i'll add a little salt. This year i've not added any since start up.
bk406 said:
No, my salt does not vary much. I check it with the K-1766 maybe a couple of times a season to ensure it is at or near the manufacturers recommendation and not at the lower extreme. Call me a stickler for accuracy, but I like to keep it in the middle where the manufacturer wants it. Also if I happen to leave for some time (days), I do not want to come back surprised that my SWG has turned itself off due to lack of salt level (which it does). In the past I have taken my samples to the pool store (forgive me
) and found that it was not accurate after I did my own testing. Bottom line, if we are going to have testing, why not test all the parameters and ensure we are not operating outside of suggested, proven parameters, including salt.benavidescj said:
Why would the salt drop that much over a few days? Just trying to understand your thinking. Evaporation wont lead to salt loss, neither will a leak if no fresh water is added. If the salt level drops over a few days time enough to shut it off, it means the salinity meter has gone bad. No amount of acurate testing would keep that from happening.
Good reason to test. But..my earlier point is that if the SWG thinks the salt is low, it does not matter what your test says, you need to add salt to make it operate properly.benavidescj said:
(Caveat as earlier. If your test says 3000 and your SWG says it's 1500, the meter may need service. If it's off by even 1000 ppm, add some salt and have a beer.
Testing salt is critical, however the SWG usually does it for you.
All of the salt tests are +-400, or around that. So there can be fairly large disagreements between different salt tests and still have the numbers be correct within the stated precision.
All of the salt tests are +-400, or around that. So there can be fairly large disagreements between different salt tests and still have the numbers be correct within the stated precision.
Well, this topic has stirred up some deep set feeling on salt testing . Maybe I should have bought a better SWG that tells me what the salt level is, but I did not. Mine happens to turn off if the salt level drops below the low point. If the red light is blinking I have no chlorine. BK406, I did not say I thought salt would drop a bunch in a few days. What I meant was if I am gone for a few days and the SWG was on the verge of turning off and did it when I was not around (chances of that are really slim). That is not the real reason I test. The real reason is I like to keep my salt level at the manufacturers recommendation, not at some extreme. I do not test all the time, just a couple of times a season. Yes I like to test, I am anal that way and am not bashing anyone who does not test.
. Maybe I should have bought a better SWG that tells me what the salt level is, but I did not. Mine happens to turn off if the salt level drops below the low point. If the red light is blinking I have no chlorine. BK406, I did not say I thought salt would drop a bunch in a few days. What I meant was if I am gone for a few days and the SWG was on the verge of turning off and did it when I was not around (chances of that are really slim). That is not the real reason I test. The real reason is I like to keep my salt level at the manufacturers recommendation, not at some extreme. I do not test all the time, just a couple of times a season. Yes I like to test, I am anal that way and am not bashing anyone who does not test.Ok, I must have missed this in an earlier post of yours that your SWG does not give you a number. Since that is the case, then yes, testng the salt levels is more critical. All of my opinion/advice is based on knowing what the SWG "says" the salt is.benavidescj said:
I have a temporary pool so i will have to test every year being i will take all water out. I have already used 6 of the ten strips I had just setting it up. I am a testaholic I must admit. lol
I went to the store and they told me that my ppm was 2000 and the recommended by the manufacturer says it should be 3000, the light on my gen never went on so what is the problem bad gen?
Is this kit able to test all chemicals or just the Salt?benavidescj said:bk406 said:
No, my salt does not vary much. I check it with the K-1766 maybe a couple of times a season to ensure it is at or near the manufacturers recommendation and not at the lower extreme. Call me a stickler for accuracy, but I like to keep it in the middle where the manufacturer wants it. Also if I happen to leave for some time (days), I do not want to come back surprised that my SWG has turned itself off due to lack of salt level (which it does). In the past I have taken my samples to the pool store (forgive me
bk406 said:
I have SWG and I have taken my water to the store to be tested they are all ways telling me that I need salt we have had a lot of rain but my SWG has not indicated that I do, may there be something wrong with the SWG? :?:
I calibrate my Jandy 1400 to the Taylor k1766 results twice a year. My Jandy was off by 600 ppm when it was installed. I know it is accurate now.
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