Best way to use an OTO kit

[Rangeball]

I just received the kit I ordered from in the swim to tide me over until Ben's issues are resolved.

It's an OTO kit that measures FC, TC, PH, Alk and acid demand. I'll skip the last test.

Directions for PH and Alk are fairly straight forward. I'm wondering about the chlorine tests though.

Color chart reads 0-3 ppm. Should I just automatically dillute my pool water 1:1 with distilled water and multiply times 2 or even 1:2 then x 3? I run low stabilizer, and have been maintaining my residual between 2-4 based on test sticks and bleach calc #s.

I guess if I don't dillute and I get a 3 ppm reading, I should dillute and retest, and repeat for as long as I get a 3 ppm result?

The directions for FC and CC are interesting. Says to fill to line, add 5 drops of solution, shake to mix and match color within 2-3 seconds. To get CC, wait 1-2 minutes and check color again, subtract the difference.

Does this sound right?

The kit is produced by poolmaster. I've tried to get on their website, but it's not working at the moment (poolmaster.com).

[Rangeball]

Their site's working now.

Here's the kit-

[prh129]

I beleive that waterbear has said that OTO method for FC/CC really doesn't work and it makes sense because the CC is usually pretty low (0.5 to 1ppm when high) so it is unlikely that you will be able to get that level of detail out of the color comparison test.

I think the FAS-DPD test is the only way to get accurate CC. You can buy that test separately on the poolsolutions site.

Peter

[Rangeball]

Thanks. I'm just trying to bide my time until I can get Ben's main kit.

I ran the tests at lunch and the potential limitations of the OTO kit quickly showed themselves.

But at this point it's better than nothing. I'm pretty certain I don't have CC, as I've been holding a residual tested with FC test sticks that matches the results of the OTO. They could all be fubar, but the pool is squeaky clean (vinyl liner) and crystal clear

[prh129]

I bought a similar kit to hold me over until Ben's kit arrived at it worked just fine.

As far as diluting your sample, the more you dilute, the less accurate it gets so if you are within the range of the tester, I wouldn't dilute it. If you're staying around 3 ppm with a CYA level of 30 or under you should be fine.

Peter

[waterbear]

OTO only tests TC. It will not give you any kind of accurate reading for your FC, actually some of the test strips might do a better job at this than trying to get a FC reading with OTO (and I do NOT recommend test strips!)