Salt drop test

[doriec]

Could someone direct me to a website that sells a testing kit for salt levels in a pool? The info would be greatly appreciated. We are going to buy an SWG. We have been filling with softened water for 2 years and adding lots of bleach because of our heavy swim load. We would just like to see where our salt levels are already. Thanks, Dorie

[PatL34]

You can order the Taylor salt test kit (#K1766) from your local pool store. Do not be sidetracked into buying a meter, which will cost 5 - 6 times as much, and not give the accuracy.

Or you can order Ben's PS234 test kit which has the salt test kit included.

Pat

[waterbear]

You can order the Taylor salt test kit (#K1766) from your local pool store. Do not be sidetracked into buying a meter, which will cost 5 - 6 times as much, and not give the accuracy.

Or you can order Ben's PS234 test kit which has the salt test kit included.

Pat
A properly calibarated meter will give you the accuracy. If you have your own meter and standard solutions for calibration and keep it calibarated it is probably more accurate than a drop based test. It will cost a LOT more money however! Goldline makes a good portable, waterproof one and the MyronL meters are an industry standard.

[waterbear]

Also, I have double checked the aquachek salt test strips several times against a meter and they are pretty much in the ballpark and fairly easy to read (but the test does take a while to complete...not exactly dip and read!) they use the same chromate/siver nitrate chemistry as the drop kit but the drop kit does give better resolution (accuracy) at higher salt levels (above about 2500ppm or so)

[cwstnsko]

I have strips that I got from the builder when starting up my pool. Drop kit I found at the local Leslies for about $20, and a waterproof meter with 3000 ppm calibration solution I got from E-bay for about $50. The are all within about 100 ppm of each other. The Meter is by far the easiest, but I haven't had it long enough to know if the calibration holds well. The drops are a bit freaky to use (solids preciptate out etc.), but the color change is VERY clear. Resolution on my kit is 200 PPM. Strips are still accurate after 2 years, but are annoyingly slow to use. They all work well enough to figure out how much salt to add :)

[Lenny]

cwstnsko, could you tell me what model meter you bought? I have a SWG on the way and if a meter can be had for $50 that's a no brainer, IMO. How does the quality stack up against other meters?

Thanks.

[cwstnsko]

The one I bought has both Eutech Instruments and Oakton Instruments on the Instructions. The model seems to be SaltTestr. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad one, I just liked the price. It came with 2 envelopes of the 3000 PPM calibration solution. I'm not sure how long it will go without needing to be calibrated, or how long the electrodes last. It does have replaceable electrodes, but I'm not sure if I could find a source. I haven't looked yet.

[waterbear]

The one I bought has both Eutech Instruments and Oakton Instruments on the Instructions. The model seems to be SaltTestr. I'm not sure if it's a good or bad one, I just liked the price. It came with 2 envelopes of the 3000 PPM calibration solution. I'm not sure how long it will go without needing to be calibrated, or how long the electrodes last. It does have replaceable electrodes, but I'm not sure if I could find a source. I haven't looked yet. The Goldline salt meter (which I use at work) is basically a rebranded Oakton. They hold the calibration pretty well, and the electrode is self cleaning and temperature compensating. (still a good idea to give it a quick rinse in distilled water after the test) Goldline controls sells theirs for around $130-$140. If I am not mistaken Eutech acutally manufactures the meters for both Oakton and Goldline in Singapore and Malaysia. IMHO, it is a better meter than the LaMotte pocket testers, which are the only other ones in that price range. The MyronL meters are pretty much industry standards for the pool stores but they cost a bit more. They have a model that is switchable between TDS and Salt and have several single funtion meters for salt but they are not dip and read. I use a MyronL for TDS testing (not that I actually test for TDS very often!:D)

As a side note on your finding the drops, meter, and test strips all giving pretty accurate results, I bet that the display on your SWG does not agree with them! For some reason the readouts on most of the SWGs that I have tested the water for is usually off by anywhere from 100 to 400 ppm compared to the other forms of testing. I don't know why but I suspect it has to do with the temperature in the cell which usually runs higher than the temp the water is tested at with a stand alone meter, a strip, or a drop test.