Taylor Borate Test Strip Problem

[zachary.cayou]

I just converted to salt water and was planning to add borates to buffer PH rise. I ordered the Taylor borate test strips off TFTestkits. My water should have no borates right now, but 3/3 tests so far are providing a strange result. I followed the instructions on the bottle exactly, but I’m now stumped about what I could be doing wrong. Anyone have a clue?

 

[Newdude]

Unless your FC is stupid high, they're likely bad strips. Maybe the bottle was accidentally opened/punctured.

If you've never added borates, it's 0.

 

[zachary.cayou]

Unless your FC is stupid high, they're likely bad strips. Maybe the bottle was accidentally opened/punctured.

If you've never added borates, it's 0.

Thanks. FC is currently at 5ppm. This is what a “new” strip looks like, in case the color could indicate if they went bad. The seal on the bottle didn’t seem especially secure, so perhaps that’s it.

 

[Newdude]

This is what a “new” strip looks like, in case the color could indicate if they went bad.

I'd say the air has 125 ppm borates.

(No idea what they're supposed to look like, but the traditional test strips look like your first pic until you dunk them, then they get color like the 2nd pic)

 

[ajw22]

Put a strip under your tap water and see what it reads.

Where does your tap water come from?

 

[midlifecrisis]

I believe mine are bad as well. I have the same issue. Ordered from TFtest kits last month.

 

[Bperry]

They go bad quite fast when opened. I got to use 1 or two of them before they went wonky. That’s why they are guess strips, cause it’s anybody’s guess if they are accurate.

 

[setsailsoon]

I never could get them to work. There is a commercial borate test thats much better than test strips. And there's a modification to your standard TF 100 kit that @JoyfulNoise posted a while back. I got the items needed and used it very successfully 'till I sold the house with the pool. I'd do it again if I need borates on the next pool.

Chris

 

[ajw22]

And there's a modification to your standard TF 100 kit that @JoyfulNoise posted a while back. I got the items needed and used it very successfully 'till I sold the house with the pool. I'd do it again if I need borates on the next pool.

New borate drop test at piscines-apollo vs. test strip

Thanks, SunnyBlues. You have been reading and learning a LONG time to remember all those experts. Thanks for your testimonial.

www.troublefreepool.com

Borates in pool - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[setsailsoon]

Just to clarify the location of the test procedure it's on post 135 of the second thread that Allen posted. Worked like a charm for me! Also, I will add that borates helped a lot to get my ph under control. But I never saw any other benefit that many claim to get like better water appearance and such. After borate addition I targeted 7.8 for my ph and it became extremely stable. Not sure I reduced my overall acid consumption but frequency of acid additions was way more manageable.

I hope this helps.

Chris

 

[zachary.cayou]

Put a strip under your tap water and see what it reads.

Where does your tap water come from?

Good idea… tap water (city pulls from both ground and surface water) test kind of hints at a pinkish shade for the bottom end of the spectrum… not confidently though. At the very least, something about my pool chemistry is causing a difference.

 

[Saturn94]

It seems I’ve read multiple posts of issues with the Taylor Borate test strips.

I’ve been using Lamotte Borate test strips for years with no issues. When adding boric acid then testing, I get the expected result. I know it’s not as accurate as the drop test linked earlier, but this is a case where exact levels are not required.

 

[Saturn94]

FC is currently at 5ppm.

What is your CYA level?

 

[zachary.cayou]

I never could get them to work. There is a commercial borate test thats much better than test strips. And there's a modification to your standard TF 100 kit that @JoyfulNoise posted a while back. I got the items needed and used it very successfully 'till I sold the house with the pool. I'd do it again if I need borates on the next pool.

Chris

Thanks. I had seen that before. I’m generally opposed to test strips, but figured borate levels may be the one area I could make an exception. Oh well.

 

[zachary.cayou]

What is your CYA level?

70. Everything else is about where they should be for salt water I believe.

Tests from 2 days ago (taken shortly after adding acid hence the PH… it’s back up to 7.8 now).

 

[Saturn94]

Thanks. I had seen that before. I’m generally opposed to test strips, but figured borate levels may be the one area I could make an exception. Oh well.

Maybe contact Taylor?

Contact Technical Support

 

[Sarah and Nate]

Maybe contact Taylor?

Contact Technical Support

@zachary.cayou I would recommend reaching out to Taylor technical support as well. The borates test strips we are currently selling were ordered from Taylor less than 3 months ago so unless the bottles have been compromised, they should be working as intended. Please keep in touch with us at [email protected] !
Nate @ TFtestkits

 

[masscc]

HA!!! Glad I finally searched for this on here! My Taylor test strips did the same thing. That's why I postponed adding borates to my pool. I had never added borates to the pool but just bought the house a year before. Never suspected the previous owner added borates (assumption based on the leftover supply of pool store chems) but wanted to test prior to adding boric acid, just to be sure. I got my Taylor borate test strips from a local pool store the same day I got my boric acid shippment. When I used the test strips it color matched for 100! Boy was I disappointed, and forced myself to wait until I could find out whether or not the pool actually had borates. I had read about the drop test on TFP and ordered the BTB and mannitol, but work etc intervened until this year and I didn't get around to adding borates. But now... Just did drop test (finally) and yep, pool actually has zero borates. So, now, finally a year later, gonna add the boric acid!

Something definitely wrong with those test strips. Maybe was a bad batch or something, but now that I have the reagents for the drop test, that's what I'm going to use... fairly easy to do.

 

[Saturn94]

HA!!! Glad I finally searched for this on here! My Taylor test strips did the same thing. That's why I postponed adding borates to my pool. I had never added borates to the pool but just bought the house a year before. Never suspected the previous owner added borates (assumption based on the leftover supply of pool store chems) but wanted to test prior to adding boric acid, just to be sure. I got my Taylor borate test strips from a local pool store the same day I got my boric acid shippment. When I used the test strips it color matched for 100! Boy was I disappointed, and forced myself to wait until I could find out whether or not the pool actually had borates. I had read about the drop test on TFP and ordered the BTB and mannitol, but work etc intervened until this year and I didn't get around to adding borates. But now... Just did drop test (finally) and yep, pool actually has zero borates. So, now, finally a year later, gonna add the boric acid!

Something definitely wrong with those test strips. Maybe was a bad batch or something, but now that I have the reagents for the drop test, that's what I'm going to use... fairly easy to do.

I’ve seen way too many reports of problems with the Taylor borate strip to want to try them. It’s unfortunate since it’s been getting more difficult to find the Lamotte borate strips at a reasonable price.

 

[setsailsoon]

HA!!! Glad I finally searched for this on here! My Taylor test strips did the same thing. That's why I postponed adding borates to my pool. I had never added borates to the pool but just bought the house a year before. Never suspected the previous owner added borates (assumption based on the leftover supply of pool store chems) but wanted to test prior to adding boric acid, just to be sure. I got my Taylor borate test strips from a local pool store the same day I got my boric acid shippment. When I used the test strips it color matched for 100! Boy was I disappointed, and forced myself to wait until I could find out whether or not the pool actually had borates. I had read about the drop test on TFP and ordered the BTB and mannitol, but work etc intervened until this year and I didn't get around to adding borates. But now... Just did drop test (finally) and yep, pool actually has zero borates. So, now, finally a year later, gonna add the boric acid!

Something definitely wrong with those test strips. Maybe was a bad batch or something, but now that I have the reagents for the drop test, that's what I'm going to use... fairly easy to do.

I had to get a couple extra reagents but I used the manitol test described by @JoyfulNoise with great success back when I was having pH issues.

Here's a link to the test procedure details.

I hope this helps!

Chris