Does anyone have experience with the Trutest?

[salinda]

Just wondering if this might be good for the more frequent testing of pH and TC. Also looks to be a faster method for alk.

http://www.aquachek.com/

I know test strips are usually not as accurate as the drop tests, but sometimes I have trouble discerning what level of yellow I have in the comparator for the chlorine in particular.

I thought the meter might take away some of the guess work.

[nicole12]

Pretty neat, I wonder how much it costs.

[tenax]

I agree with you selinda..i was just thinking this morning with my kit that it was hard to tell what the chlorine was at. well, according to the trutest site..not only are strips more accurate than chemical testing..but the ota test causes cancer! (seriously..read their info)

the cheapest i have found so far is about 45 bucks then 12 or so for the strips here:

http://www.h2opoolproducts.com/produ...oducts_id=1402

aside from initial investment on the gadget, the strips are a bit pricey but if you use a 50 pack in a year..or even in 2 years..that's not really pricey..now, i have to find someone who will sell me one from the us to canada stupid laws about shipping chemicals across border..i get that, but this isn't a chemical!

[tenax]

hmmmm..read this review:
I was excited to have a quick way to check my pool chemistry without doing drops or test strips. The drop test and strip tests can be subjective about the exact reading and color match on the charts. I wanted something the wife and kids could easily use and just read me the numbers when I was away on a trip. The Aquacheck Trutest is a great concept but I tried over and over to get two back to back readings that were close to each other (For reliabilty of data). When I tried to get the "drops" tests to match up to the Trucheck readings, they weren't even close. I took water samples to my pool supply house to determine which test type was accurate. I had them simultaneously analyze a water sample while I stood there and did two strip tests with the Aquacheck. The Aquacheck was in the ballpark on Chlorine and PH but way off on Alkalinity. We reran the tests several times and came to a conclusion that the aquacheck was off. I'm glad I verified the readings before I poured hundreds of dollars worth of chemicals in the pool trying to chase the Aquacheck readings.....I'm going back to the drops tests. YMMV

UPDATE: I contacted Aquacheck about my accuracy findings. They were very helpful and understanding and said there was a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) link on their website that should explain more thoroughly how to get an accurate reading. The lady said that variations in readings will occur if you wait too long to read the strip or leave the strip in the water too long.

FINAL UPDATE: After reviewing the exact procedures with the Aquachek Tech rep, I performed 5 identical tests and came up with Chlorine readings between 0.6 and 6.1, PH between 7.0 and 8.1 and Alkalinity between 95 and 185. All 5 tests were done within five miuntes of each other in our pool. I am very disappointed that the gauge is useless to me since I can't correct the water chemistry if I have no idea what the actual values are. I will give credit to the fact that the tech rep was very friendly and helpful but, that doesn't account for the $70 I (lost) paid for gauge and strips ZERO Stars


doesn't look good.. i went to the aquacheck website and there are "new and improved" instructions on how to use including doing a back flip while you're testing while standing on your head..ok..not thatttt bad..but part of it involves quickly flicking your wrist to get rid of excess water..my translation is.."damn..this thing actually isn't very accurate and we don't know how to change it to make it more accurate so can we figure a way where the results will come out pretty close each time? here's what i think..i think the gadget is water sensitive in that if the amount of water on the strip varies from test to test it will read differently. found a place i can buy one..would cost me 100 canadian for duties, shipping the gadget and 100 strips (which are only guaranteed to be good for 18 months so if i were to buy it, i'd drop that to 50 strips which should last more than one season) but i'm not going to pull the trigger on this based on a lame "new and improved instruction" sheet and no other reviews beyond this one which is scathing..

[tenax]

well, one more update..i decided to be a guinea pig on the basis that if the updated instructions work, they should be aware of the issue and they..should work and companies are selling them still so.....i found about 5 different dealers on ebay, 3 that will sell to canada, so i'm hoping to buy one from one of them. our local dealers don't have them in stock yet (i think they came out on the market early may) and given the size of my market and how few pools are here. (about 350 in a city of 80,000) i'm not confident they'll bother trying to stock them. i've won one..now, to confirm they'll ship it to canada..if so, i hope to have it within about 6-10 days. i'll report back and be interested if anyone else gets one and can report results in the meantime.

[salinda]

I read that review too, but then I looked at the website for Trutest and they have updated instructions. I don't know if the reviewer was following directions or not. They say to shake off the excess water and things like that.

[waterbear]

This is actually a commom problem with strip readers and strips...this is why pool stores that use strip readers have such bad testing results! LaMotte has just come out with a portable colorimeter called the ColorQ.
http://www.lamotte.com/pages/pool/newprod.html
http://www.lamotte.com/pages/common/...truct/2056.pdf
It uses liquid reagents except for the CYA test which uses a tablet reagent. LaMotte has a lot of experiences with colorimters so I would be interested in how well this inexpensive one works!

[salinda]

Here is more info on the ColorQ. It is not cheap, but it does include a lot of tests. How easy is it to get LaMotte reagents? My local stores mostly carry Taylor.

This is the email from LaMotte. It does sound simple and the methods look reliable:
---------------------------------------------------------
Hello Linda,

Thank you for your interest! The Color Q PRO 7 Kit (code 2056, list $129.00) is available! Please check with your local pool products dealer or distributor who carries LaMotte water testing products for pricing and availability. If you would prefer to order online, please follow the link below to our online retailer: http://www.askalanaquestion.com/.

A unique feature of the ColorQ is that it reads each of 7 test factors (Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Bromine, pH, Alkalinity, Calcium Hardness, and Cyanuric Acid) directly in ppm on the digital display so there are NO look up tables or conversions. The kit includes liquid reagents (enough for 144 tests per factor) for Free Chlorine, Total Chlorine, Bromine, pH, Alkalinity, and Calcium Hardness tests and tablet reagents for the Cyanuric Acid test (50 tablets) with four test tubes packaged in a durable carrying case.

The ColorQ photometer is lightweight and easy to use, featuring a simple one-button function menu that scrolls forward through the test sequence. Any tests that are not run for a particular series are simply skipped. The unit is powered by a 9V battery and has an automatic shut-off feature (3 minutes) to prolong battery life. The water resistant design of the ColorQ includes a well protected optical system, which uses two LEDs to read the result. In essence, the sample tube is inserted into a larger tube that makes up the inner core of the instrument. The meter is calibrated before each testing sequence with a blank of the sample water to be tested, and each factor is tested separately. For example, the chlorine tests would be reacted and read in one tube, the pH test in another tube, etc. Four tubes are included with the kit for sample preparation and each liquid reagent used with the ColorQ has been specifically adapted to use 5 drops per test, eliminating the need to remember a different test procedure for each factor.

Please feel free to contact us with any further questions. Thank you for your interest in LaMotte testing products.

Best regards,
Sue Byerly
LaMotte Company

[tenax]

well, i got my true test today from overtons! have not tried yet..will do so tonight and report back on results!

[tenax]

ok..i'm quite happy with the trutest. i did 3 tests..the results came in between 2.6 and 2.7 each time for free chlorine..ph-7.6 to 7.7. alkaline-120 to 123. good enough for me to work with. i'm sold..and yes, i followed the updated but still simple instructions, a copy of which was provided in the kit.