Test kit availability

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C

Caco

0
Dec 27, 2015
445
Hawera, Taranaki, New Zealand
It can be hard to find good test kits if you live outside of the US
I see people struggling to find kits from Mexico, Spain, Uk, Canada etc
I could have imported from the US but the cost was astronomical!! Nearly tripled the cost of the kit and not to mention the 6-8 week shipping :mad:


I think it would be good if we had a sticky somewhere, listed by country, places to buy a test kit that other members have found
 
We have heard many good things about Clear Choice!

OUCH on the Taylor 2006 and that one is not the better one of the Taylors. Add C to the end of 2006 and it is more of the stuff we use. Of course the TF-100 is the best bang for the buck but again.........OUCH on the cost to ship and clear customs :(

Kim:kim:
 
Yeah I know Kim, thats why I suggested some sort of sticky for those in my position.

I can get the k2006C, but that meant another $100 or so....
The TF100 std $70 kit is approx $100 NZD, plus shipping via youship NZ post approx $30, plus GST @15% approx $20 - so already at $150 NZD before possible customs charges, which customs told me would be likely
 
For that size of pool I can understand the frustration of this being your only choice. If I found myself in your shoes, and could not bite the bullet on the large kit, this is what I would do.

I would order the FAS DPD kit, and likely the Cya kits only. Go somewhere local, and pick up a pH kit and add it to the collection. If I really wanted to skimp, I would forego the Cya kit, fill the pool, and use the pool calculator here to add the proper amount of Cya on the intial fill, and be mindful of how much water I lost and replaced to best estimate the Cya I needed for replacement. Not the best option by any means, but you have little choice.
 
Hey patrick
I dont mind the $134 for the clear choice kit. Most 4 way test kits I have found would be about that much locally and test strips are expensive too. When getting up to $175+ though you start to ask questions about is it worth it

In fact your suggestion is how I managed in previous years, with Aquacheck select 7in1 test strips to keep a daily track of ph and FC, monthly check with work's palintest 7100. Actually if I could get the ph within the midrange of the 7in1 test strips the rest of the strip was fairly close to the palintest results, although some of the bands were quite wide like cya 0, then 30-50, alkalinity in 40ppm steps etc. The test strips were $50 from The Warehouse
 
The CCL test kits are certainly getting a good rap. And the postage is much more reasonable. One of the things apart from the good service that many members are reporting from them are that they have been responsive to some of the feedback that we have given them. For example they improved their pH test -the original model came in 0.5 increments now in 0.2 increments. I've noticed that they have a new and improved salt test. I will continue to use them probably more in the future and it is also good to support a local business who have found a niche market.

While I have not actually used the full CCL kit, I have used some of the refills to replace reagents from my K2006 and they do the job quite well. I find that the drops don't come off as well as the Taylor test kit which can be a bit of a pain when you trying to do it carefully but wiping the end with a damp sponge does make a difference.

I just bit the bullet and ordered new Taylor supplies from the USA, mainly because I wanted to get a Speedstir which can not be sourced in Australia. I went halves on the postage with my mate but the postage has come in over $100 AUD and we have ordered 11lbs or stuff between the 2 of us. I did order some of the more widely used items such as R-0870 and R-0871 and the R0013 for CYA in bulk. My current Taylor stuff that is coming up to 2 years old is still good but expecting some of the stuff to go off any day now. Storing your test chemicals inside and preferably as far away from sunlight helps extend the life.

I always say to people when they query the expense of a decent test kit (usually while at the same time spending hundreds of dollars on algaecides, phosphate removers etc) to see how they would go just be testing regularly, arming themselves with the knowledge and keeping things simple and troublefree!!
 
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