WaterGuru Sense Test v. TF-100

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iamtexmax said:
My wife and son got me the WG for Father's day - we also got the square attachment that they sell to fit it in my skimmer.
The app was a pain to setup - had to email support to get it squared away. Used it for close to 2 weeks - I desperately tried to make it work - but both FC and pH compared to the TF100 were constantly wrong (if my TF100 showed 4 ppm - the WG said it was 2. The pH was worse - always gave me an alert the pH was high). The other issue was had to have my phone very close to it for the bluetooth to work - and it took an inordinate amount of time to get results. The other way is to use their cloud service which takes even longer.

Maybe I got a faulty unit - but for the time it took to give me the results (which were wrong) the TF100 tests were so much faster to finish.

The only good thing about it was the return policy - they took it back without any complaints and refunded our money.
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you may have had a faulty one, and i might right now as well. the first unit i had was usually dead on with pH just like almost everyone else here, but they had to replace it because it literally just stopped working one day out of nowhere. the replacement unit they sent me is the one that seems to be way off on pH.

their support is really good, takes some time occasionally to get a response but they have been great other than that. i'll have to see what they say and report back.
 
just saw that WG has put some of my lab test results put into the app (i sent it back late last week), and i'm not sure what to make of this. TA and CYA are somewhat close to what i'm seeing with the TF-100, but CH and salt are WAY off...this is frustrating because i have major issues with scaling, and the difference in these numbers causes a HUGE swing in my CSI.

right now, i've got the CSI just about perfect (hovering between -0.3 and 0.3 depending on where i am in my daily ph swing). using their numbers, my CSI changes from 0.11 to -0.36. i'd actually be better off with a pH of 7.9-8.1, with my numbers i've been targeting 7.5-7.6.

test / waterguru lab / TF-100
TA 51 / 60
CH 561 / 950
CYA 80 / 70
salt 4520 / 3400

not sure where to go with this...
 
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SteveK52 said:
I have a unit that I have requested a refund on as it just does not seem to be accurate or consistent. I really wanted this to work but for example, last night the WG unit reported FC at 2.6 and when I checked with the Taylors drop test it was 5.5.
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that seems to be what most people here have reported (that it seems to report FC a bit low). i'm having the opposite problem...my FC reading is pretty close, but the pH reading is consistently reading high until i get up around 7.8, then it starts to balance. when i'm down in the low end of my pH swing though (7.4-7.5, or even 7.2 if i add too much acid) it still always seems to say 7.8. it sucks, because pH is what i really wanted this for because i'm fighting scale issues, like i said. the FC reading was just a bonus for me...unfortunately that's the one that's always close and the pH i end up having to test myself every morning, which defeats the entire purpose.
 
crackers8199 said:
just saw that WG has put some of my lab test results put into the app (i sent it back late last week), and i'm not sure what to make of this. TA and CYA are somewhat close to what i'm seeing with the TF-100, but CH and salt are WAY off...this is frustrating because i have major issues with scaling, and the difference in these numbers causes a HUGE swing in my CSI.

right now, i've got the CSI just about perfect (hovering between -0.3 and 0.3 depending on where i am in my daily ph swing). using their numbers, my CSI changes from 0.11 to -0.36. i'd actually be better off with a pH of 7.9-8.1, with my numbers i've been targeting 7.5-7.6.

test / waterguru lab / TF-100
TA 51 / 60
CH 561 / 950
CYA 80 / 70
salt 4520 / 3400

not sure where to go with this...
Click to expand...

Yes the CH in mine is way off too. I retested with the drops and some strips I had after I saw that result and their result is way lower than either. Their CH result was 179, my drip test was 320 and the strips showed closer to that range too.
 
they are sending me a second unit with a new cassette design they are rolling out soon. they want me to put them both in the skimmer side by side so they can get some results to compare against each other and try to figure out what's going on.

i gotta say, i'm thoroughly impressed by their support. sometimes it takes a few days for them to get back to me, but they have been extremely accommodating each time and willing to try everything to help make things right. at the same time, i've also let them know i'm willing to help in any way i can to improve the product, so they may be using me as a guinea pig. i'm fine with that.

i'll keep everyone updated here when the new unit comes and i get some numbers from it.
 
I have been using Sense for a year and initially really liked it. But about 5 months ago I started doing checks again daily with my Taylor K2006 and my Apera PC60 ph meter and found that the ph always recorded a much higher value (ie. 8.1 vs 7.8) and the Free Chlorine registered a much lower value (ie. 2.5 vs 6.0). I am currently using my last cartridge for SENSE and when it is finished I will probably remove WG Sense from my pool. Also, they have replaced my original Water Guru unit with a new one about 4 months ago. Sometimes customer service will reply and other times they will not.
 

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H-12 1/2 Mike said:
I have been using Sense for a year and initially really liked it. But about 5 months ago I started doing checks again daily with my Taylor K2006 and my Apera PC60 ph meter and found that the ph always recorded a much higher value (ie. 8.1 vs 7.8) and the Free Chlorine registered a much lower value (ie. 2.5 vs 6.0). I am currently using my last cartridge for SENSE and when it is finished I will probably remove WG Sense from my pool. Also, they have replaced my original Water Guru unit with a new one about 4 months ago. Sometimes customer service will reply and other times they will not.
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That's exactly what was happening to my Sense as well, and the temperature was reading about 10° high, so when my cartridge ran out I removed it from my pool.
 
I am also considering the Water Sense. It appears that if you buy the 3-pack of cartridges, the cost is about $2.08/week or $108/year, for a year-round pool. That's a bit more than I'm paying for reagents, but the convenience would be worth it. Sometimes I get a bit lax and don't measure things every day, or I'm really busy and forget, etc. I've had a couple of bouts with green algae because I haven't been as diligent in testing as I used to be.

They have a promo for $300 which includes enough carts for 48 weeks, which works out to about $200 for the unit itself. My concern is how well the unit will hold up over time. I've had a number of in-water thermostats that never lasted more than a few months so I'm a little leery of an electronic device that's constantly submerged. And the warranty is only for one year.

Any thoughts?
 
I use one and like it but I wouldn't consider it a replacement for a good test kit, just a supplement. I wouldn't trust any electronic device to never have a problem.

So far the only real issues I've had are when I put batteries back in after re-opening the pool, and it doesn't connect right to the internet. I e-mail support and by the next day they tell me to take batteries out and put back in (which I did a few times before e-mailing them to no help), and then it works. I figure they reset something on their end.
 
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IceShadow said:
I use one and like it but I wouldn't consider it a replacement for a good test kit, just a supplement. I wouldn't trust any electronic device to never have a problem.

So far the only real issues I've had are when I put batteries back in after re-opening the pool, and it doesn't connect right to the internet. I e-mail support and by the next day they tell me to take batteries out and put back in (which I did a few times before e-mailing them to no help), and then it works. I figure they reset something on their end.
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Thanks. I didn't mean to imply that it would take the place of a test kit.

What about the design? I open the skimmer almost daily to clean out the basket. I'm not crazy about the fact that it would have to be handled every time I clean out the skimmer. Plus depending on time of year, I get lots of bugs, pollen and other junk in the skimmer. Doesn't seem to be the best place for a device like this.
 
It works fine. Dangles down in the skimmer, has a cord plastic thing to coil it around to make sure it doesn’t go all the way to the bottom of the basket. Gets stuff on the mesh bag that encloses it, not a biggie.
 
I got tempted by the great promo either and took the plunge - for the few days I had the device, I loved the convenience...if only the FC was accurate. Sadly, it was off by a double, every time (I.e. FC guru=3, FAS-DPD -7). CS is nonexistent and when you do get a hold of them (after leaving messages) they were pretty unhelpful. It seems that they are either seriously understaffed or inundated with support calls. They didn’t even try to work with me to troubleshoot the device, just sent me an RMA and disconnected my account immediately, so I couldn’t take any more readings. Which was frustrating as I was seriously trying to figure out the FC discrepancy and keep the darn thing.

In terms of the skimmer basket location - it is not great this time of the year, as the mesh bag is covered with pollen, petals and bugs...and some pollen did make its way inside the mesh bag. It is not fun to clean...with that said, I really like the idea of the device and I am disappointed it didn’t work for me.
 
I have also abandoned use of the Watersense for a few reasons. The main thing has been a lack of response from customer "no service" when contacted...yet they find it possible to spam my email at least 4x a week trying to get me to buy more cartridges. So, I am NOT impressed.

I also echo the thoughts about the mesh bag. It collects ALL SORTS of debris and is a pain to take off and clean.
 

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