Quote Originally Posted by vanduse1
Salt - 6000

I did the sale test twice and seem to end up with a very incorrect number. I should be around 2700 and my pool store says that I am near that. Ben's test is giving me that higher number. Could I be doing the test wrong?
Nope, I did the wrong thing with the kit . . . and have been driven to distraction trying to figure out what that 'wrong thing' was!

The white bottles I used for the SALT#2 and the CHL#1 are (it turns out) very prone to acquiring a static charge* . . . and this charge causes the dropper to release smaller than expected drops, which in turn causes the high reading errors. For some reason, the silver nitrate (SALT #2) is affected more than the FAS (CHL#2).

Wiping the tips with a clean damp tissue before testing will often remove the charge temporarily. If you'll wipe the bottles with a paper towel dampened in hair conditioner, and then let them dry . . . and then wipe the tips with clean damp tissues before each use, you should get good results.

Ben

*I guess I've been lucky before. I've seen cautions about static charges in the instructions for various test kits over the years, but have never encountered knowingly encountered the problem before. (Maybe I had bad readings, but just didn't notice?)