pool calculator question?

[anikahmae]

This is my first year with intex pool and i would like to use the bbb method and calculator. I have purchaced the 6 way test from Wal. I am not really in the market to spend more money on a nicer test. So this 6 way test only tests for total chlorine/ total bromine in one, so where or how do I enter that in calculator? I only see FC or is that the place? Thanks for any advice.

[aylad]

Unfortunately, that test doesn't differentiate free from combined chlorine, so the best you can do is just enter the chlorine value you get into the FC spot on the calculator. It should be close enough. If you need to read chlorine higher than your test kit will read, you can use the dilution method to force it to test higher. It is here
http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/how-to-test-your-pool-without-a-good-testkit.html
The kit you have is the one that we recommend people use until they can get the bigger, complete kit, and is the one I used for the first couple of years of pool ownership, so it should serve you well. By the way, ignore the bromine reading, unless you've put some bromine in the pool. Just pay attention to the chlorine reading on that particular test.

Janet

[Yeggim]

This is my first year with intex pool and i would like to use the bbb method and calculator. I have purchaced the 6 way test from Wal. I am not really in the market to spend more money on a nicer test. So this 6 way test only tests for total chlorine/ total bromine in one, so where or how do I enter that in calculator? I only see FC or is that the place? Thanks for any advice.You can get by with your kit. I muddled by with one the last half of last year's swim season. Without the FAS/DPD test it's harder and actually more expensive when it comes to Chlorine use. Without the FAS/DPD, it's sorta like driving in the rain without windshield wipers. You can do it but sooner or later you're gonna run into something. That said, without knowing your CYA is like driving blindfolded from the backseat with no brakes.

You already have the CYA test in your kit. Knowing CYA is the lynchpin IMHO. Once you have an idea of how much CYA is in the pool, you know how much Chlorine to use in maintaining and shocking. Here's where the FAS/DPD shines and pays for itself.

I was at 90 CYA last year. I tried to keep FC at 10ppm. I used the dilution method with the OTO test. I stared at that color comparator till I was cross eyed. Does that color match the 5 or 3? Read it wrong and in no time you have a cloudy and/or green pool. I went through a lot of Chlorine. Figured too high was better than too low. I probably wasted the price of good kit in Chlorine. You can pick up a FAS/DPD kit for about 26 bucks-that's without shipping.