Two questions. Salt level and Cheap test kit for FC only.

[vsat88]

Every so often, about two times a season or so I go to the pool store to buy a few supply's and I have them test my water sample. I like to see what they say as opposed to my tests. When I go in this time they say my salt level is high...?? I do not run a salt pool, I use bleach only. She swears the salt level is high. I do not get it. Any comments ? Next, could I use a cheap test kit instead of using my DPD kit to test FC when I do daily checks to save DPD powder as long as all my chemicals are in order otherwise ? Thanks, Jim.

 

[OTPirate]

I'd say the pool store is...wrong. You may have some salt in there, but certainly not "high salt". That is one of the reasons we have the K-1000 in the TF-100 test kit. It is a quick, cheap way to check for the presence of chlorine. Then, you can save the more expensive DPD test for when you need a accurate reading. I typically save my fas-dpd test for once a week testing and do the cheaper K-1000 OTO test daily for a quick check.

 

[mknauss]

Yes - your pool has salt in it. All forms of Chlorine add salt. Not sure what 'High' means but it is not really relevant.

The OTO test is viewed as saying if you have FC or not. The color matching is at best an approximation. So it is not recommended for use to determine how much chlorine to add to maintain your pool.

Take care.

 

[Jimrahbe]

v,

Yes, almost any kit will work for your daily tests just to give you an idea of what you FC is... Use your DPD when you want accuracy.

Liquid Chlorine/Bleach has some salt in it. According to pool math, a jug of 8.25% bleach will add 4.9 ppm of salt to your pool.

Thanks for posting,

Jim R.

 

[cfherrman]

I used oto(k1000) before I got my kit, at best for me it read .5, 1, or 2+, not really useful for me. A better option is to learn your pool, look at the sky and know how much is in there, hey some kids seam I'll add a little more.

 

[Donldson]

If you have your pool pretty well down, add roughly the same amount of bleach regularly and such, then yes a cheap OTO/pH test is great for the daily "Nothing looks way out of line" check. Good to run the FAS-DPD test 2-3 times a week for verification though. I would go with the Taylor k-1000 just because we know the pH test is accurate up to 10 ppm FC. Cheaper ones are not as forgiving of FC levels over 3 ppm and you might end up back here asking why your pH tests don't agree

As for the pool store, the best solution is to 'accidentally' forget a water sample next time. And the time after that. And the time after... well you get the idea. You have been managing your pool using TFPC for the past four years, you got this under control. Unless you can taste the salt it isn't that high, and even then it isn't necessarily a problem.

 

[vsat88]

"As for the pool store, the best solution is to 'accidentally' forget a water sample next time. And the time after that. And the time after... well you get the idea. You have been managing your pool using TFPC for the past four years, you got this under control. Unless you can taste the salt it isn't that high, and even then it isn't necessarily a problem."

Agreed, I have been doing this long enough to know better. I think they automatically assume that I need to buy chemicals just because I came thru the door. Not out of malice of course, they are very nice and helpful.
Thanks to all that offered their help and experience here about the "cheaper" kit to test FC. I have decided that I will continue to use the FAS-DPD (K-2006 Taylor) kit. As I see it I really do not use that much reagent, I do not have to test that often I am just anal when it comes to the pool. I want it right, right like you guys showed me. Thanks all.

 

[Griswald]

I use the yellow and red drops kit just to make sure I have a real good chlorine presence. If the color is pale, time to get out the powders...