Anyone having trouble with Salt test?

I have the PS234S - upgraded form the 233. I just did the salt test last night and it says I have 4000ppm Salt. I did it a second time (same water sample) and got 4200ppm.
I don't think this is correct. First my IntelliChlor SWG says my salt level is 2700 ppm (add salt light is on), and second I can't taste the salt like I did before when I had 3500ppm (confirmed by pool store).
I'm going to get a test from one of the pool stores today to see what they say and to pick up some more salt.

Is there anything I could have done wrong to throw off the PS234S test?
I added the 2ml pool water followed by the one drop Salt regaent #1, followed by the distilled water to the line on test tube. Then I added drops of regaent #2 (swirling inbetween) until the liquid stayed an orange color. It took twenty drops.
The pool pump was not running for about 2 or 3 hours prior to the test. The water temp was around 88 degrees.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mshumack

I have the PS234S - upgraded form the 233. I just did the salt test last night and it says I have 4000ppm Salt. I did it a second time (same water sample) and got 4200ppm.
I don't think this is correct. First my IntelliChlor SWG says my salt level is 2700 ppm (add salt light is on), and second I can't taste the salt like I did before when I had 3500ppm (confirmed by pool store).
I'm going to get a test from one of the pool stores today to see what they say and to pick up some more salt.

Is there anything I could have done wrong to throw off the PS234S test?
I added the 2ml pool water followed by the one drop Salt regaent #1, followed by the distilled water to the line on test tube. Then I added drops of regaent #2 (swirling inbetween) until the liquid stayed an orange color. It took twenty drops.
The pool pump was not running for about 2 or 3 hours prior to the test. The water temp was around 88 degrees.

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I am also having trouble with Bens salt test. My system shows 3700 ppm and his test shows 5000 ppm. I ran Bens test three times and it stayed consistant at 5000 ppm (three test in three weeks), yet the Aquarite shows instant salinity of 3700 ppm with normal saility at 4000 ppm.

There is a problem with the salt test that Ben is aware of. He is working on a solution and has posted a work around here
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showpos...9&postcount=11
and more info here
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showpos...4&postcount=14

Thanks for the reply and links.
I did get my salt level tested yesterday (after posting) and pool store says I have 3500ppm salt. The test kit was giving me 4000 as I noted. I'll try wiping the tips as Ben suggests.

Would it be possible to dilute the reagent so it would take twice as much pool water, distilled water, and reagent to do the same test. This way the variance in drop size would not have as much effect on the results. In other words, you would count each drop (used to go from yellow to red) as 100 ppm salt instead of 200.

I realize this is an old thread but it raises a question for me. I also have the Intellichlor SWG and it always says the salt is low. In the post above, if your SWG was saying 2700 why would the pool store say 3500? The problem with mine is that the SWG won't produce chlorine if it "thinks" the salt is too low... even if it's not.

Anyone?

Jeffski,
inspect your salt cell for scale deposits. This can cause a low salt reading and no chlorine production. If there are deposits on the cell plates then follow the manufacturer's instructions for cleaning it (Usually by hosing off or by soaking in acid and water).

Cells look pristine. Too new in fact. I'm wondering if they've been working at all. I'll get the water tested today and see what the true salt level is at. This is the second Intellichlor I've had because the first one was bad. Maybe it wasn't bad, maybe the PB just didn't hook it up right. It really has never worked right since day one.

Check your salt level and if it is ok I would then contact the manufacturer of your SWG for assistance.

Also remember that the endpoint for the salt test, Taylor's anyways, is the first color change, not the second. It starts yellow, then turns milky, then turns sort of pink/red (bingo!), then turns brown. The first color change (pink) is the endpoint.

Pool store says my salt is at 3000ppm. The pool was brand new in Aug '06, closed in Oct '06 and opened last week. Less than 3 months of usage and the SWG has already been replaced once before and now it's not working again.

Makes you thing the problem is not with the SWG but maybe the plumbing or hook-up, right?

The only other problem could be that the salt level really is too low and the tests have been inaccurate. Maybe I'll test it again somewhere else to rule that out as a possible scenario. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.