Total Chlorine supposed to be within 0.2 of Free Chlorine?

[gcstang]

I test on my own but I do like to get a test from other locations to compare my yearly test kit and see if they're close.

I brought some water to Leslie's just to get what they think my levels are at and compare and that brings me to my question.
On the paper they have
Free Chlorine (Ideal 1-4ppm) Result: 3.09
Total Chlorine (Within 0.2 of FAC) Result: 3.99

Is this correct that it should be within 0.2 of Free Chlorine and if so how can I correct it, what will happen if it's not?

My other readings on this paper include:
pH: 7.7
TA: 111 ppm (say's adjusted due to the effect of CYA on tested Total Alkalinity(TA))
Calcium: 416 ppm
CYA: 60 ppm
Iron: 0 ppm
Copper: 0 ppm
Phosphates: 334 ppb
Salt: 4132 ppm (this always reads off at the store sometimes high, sometimes low but the salt cell itself say's it's about 3800ppm)

Thank you

 

[Texas Splash]

First thing to remember that pool store testing is most often incorrect with bad advice. That said, we know that Total Chlorine is a product of Free Chlorine + Combined Chlorine. So TC - FC = CC. We at TFP recognize that the CC should not exceed 0.5 ppm. If it does, that means there is an abundance of residual chlorine product waiting to be oxidized. This could be due to lack of sunlight or the onset of algae overwhelming the water. If you use a cover or it's been cloudy, let the sun hit the water and/or consider increasing the FC level a bit and check again the next day. But if the CC level is over 0.5, consider doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to rule out algae. In short, a CC reading of 0.5 or less is considered zero for us at TFP.

 

[cowboycasey]

No need to go to the pool store for any kind of testing, they are there to sell the product of the week

 

[Mdragger88]

I wouldn’t sweat it - who knows if they wash their vials/ equipment between customers
- what are your results from your kit?
I wouldn’t be concerned with or waste your time with theirs.
Also please update your signature with the kits you have

 

[gcstang]

First thing to remember that pool store testing is most often incorrect with bad advice. That said, we know that Total Chlorine is a product of Free Chlorine + Combined Chlorine. So TC - FC = CC. We at TFP recognize that the CC should not exceed 0.5 ppm. If it does, that means there is an abundance of residual chlorine product waiting to be oxidized. This could be due to lack of sunlight or the onset of algae overwhelming the water. If you use a cover or it's been cloudy, let the sun hit the water and/or consider increasing the FC level a bit and check again the next day. But if the CC level is over 0.5, consider doing an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to rule out algae. In short, a CC reading of 0.5 or less is considered zero for us at TFP.

Ok, I'll manually test and see how it looks but there is no algae in the pool it's perfectly clear.

 

[gcstang]

I wouldn’t sweat it - who knows if they wash their vials/ equipment between customers
- what are your results from your kit?
I wouldn’t be concerned with or waste your time with theirs.
Also please update your signature with the kits you have

Updated my signature with what I have
I have a TF-100 Pro kit (ordered a refill but new tests are higher than other kits and other kits match)
Older chemicals (about 7 months)
FC: 2.5-3
pH: 7.6
TA: 120
CYA: 50-60 (hard for me to be sure, looks like 48 so 50...)
Calcium: I've never tested with my own kit
Phosphates: I've never tested with my own kit
Salt: drop test I have says 4600 but unit says 4100, however it's running and not turning off so not sure (last year it was high and turned itself off so ... )

 

[Mdragger88]

Regeants will last 2+ years - if stored properly. Trust your kit.
Cya is low - especially for AZ.
Do your own ch test & determine if you need to exchange water to lower ch before adding cya. This would also reduce your salt level which would be beneficial for your cell as ideal for that cell is 3600ppm.
Also skirting the minimum fc FC/CYA Levels is a risky game. You don’t list cc’s from your own test but there could be some if you skirt minimum often.
I would up the fc to 4 or 5ppm with liquid chlorine & do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to rule out nascent algae.

 

[Newdude]

I test on my own but I do like to get a test from other locations to compare my yearly test kit and see if they're close.

OK. Here me out. If you were a staraight A student and I was a D- student, would you ever look over my test answers in case I was right ?

You wouldn't. You would smile and make sure I wasn't looking at your answers.

 

[gcstang]

Regeants will last 2+ years - if stored properly. Trust your kit.
Cya is low - especially for AZ.
Do your own ch test & determine if you need to exchange water to lower ch before adding cya. This would also reduce your salt level which would be beneficial for your cell as ideal for that cell is 3600ppm.
Also skirting the minimum fc FC/CYA Levels is a risky game. You don’t list cc’s from your own test but there could be some if you skirt minimum often.
I would up the fc to 4 or 5ppm with liquid chlorine & do an Overnight Chlorine Loss Test to rule out nascent algae.

I'll adjust my swg currently at 60% maybe I'll go to 80(to get my fc up) and do the other tests.

thank you

 

[ajw22]

CYA: 50-60 (hard for me to be sure, looks like 48 so 50...)

Your CYA is 60. We round up and don't sweat trying to figure it out exactly.

 

[Mdragger88]

Its always better to dose with liquid chlorine- so u get the results now, & then allow the swg to maintain since it will take your swg approximately 11 hours at 80% to produce 3ppm fc.

 

[gcstang]

Latest results
FC: 4.5
TC: 5
pH: 7.7
TA: 120
CYA: 60

Calcium: tests not working for some reason tried two different sets.

3 bottles added first 2 for a pink color added third and never turned blue... kept adding up to 75 drops and gave up, color went from pink to yellowish clear

 

[mknauss]

3 bottles added first 2 for a pink color added third and never turned blue... kept adding up to 75 drops and gave up, color went from pink to yellowish clear

Be sure you are using 10 ml of water. Add an extra drop of the color indicator.

 

[gcstang]

Be sure you are using 10 ml of water. Add an extra drop of the color indicator.

Tried this same result, not sure what I'm doing wrong, using these per the instructions in the Pro kit
R-0010 - 10 drops
R-0011L - 2 (tried 3 as suggested) (shows light pinkish color)
R-0012 - counting to calculate when it turns blue

Never turns blue, tried up to 80 drops nothing changed.

 

[mknauss]

Calcium Hardness

A drop-based test that measures the hardness in your water. Once measured, it is used … Read more…

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