Taylor Basic test kit vs. Hydrotools

[CanuckPool]

I have a basic Taylor test kit... PH and Chlorine/Bromine and i just recently purchased a swimline/hydro tools drop test kit. Now I was testing my hot tub (bromine) and when I went to test my pH, it came out purple.. yes! purple!
I was like, man, the PH is off the charts, now, its one of those kits that require you to add one drop of something to get rid of the chlorine and then you add 5 drops of the phenol red... Now, I went to double check with my taylor kit, the taylor kit shows a perfect 7.5-7.6 so now I dont know which one to believe, any insights?

[Ohm_Boy]

I'm a big fan on the Taylor tests, myself. If it indicates that your water is OK, then you should stop there.

[waterbear]

sound like the phenol red indicator does not contain a halogen neutralizer like the Taylor reagent does. How high was your bromine when you tested the pH. Many of these kits that use phenol red without the neutralizer don't work when the clorine is abouve about 3 ppm or or bromine above about 5.

Trust your reading from the Taylor kit!

[CanuckPool]

Wow, you could have hit the nail on the head. When I checked the hot tub last week, the Bromine was around 2.5-3.0 and the Test kit without the chlorine neutralizer tested within limits... when I tested it yesterday, the bromine was about 6.0 and thats when I got that wacky purple reading while the taylor kit tested 7.6, thanks for the insight!!!