Salt level tester

[waterbear]

If you look at the mechanical salt meter, they are mostly used with higher concentrations of salt, such as used with salt water fish tanks (above 20,000 ppm). A simple salt solution standard that will give about 3000 ppm is to mix two packets of Wendy's salt to 16 oz (a 1/2 liter bottle of water with these two packets will come out to about 2800 - 2900 ppm of salt).
I have used the MyronL meter calibrated for NaCl and am currently using the LaMotte Pocket Tracer. Both are very accurate, battery operated meters but are mostly based in conductivity. The good thing is that you can make assumptions between conductivity (TDS) and salinity.

Yes, but they are still assumptions (fairly accurate ones, I grant that) while a chemical test is actually testing for the concentration of Cl- ions.
I am wondering what you mean by MECHANICAL salt meter? If you are referring to a hydrometer it would be useless in a salt water pool because there would not be enough difference between the specific gravity of freshwater and water with about 3000 ppm salt to get any accurate type of reading. (Even though one of the major SWG manufacturers has what appears to be one on their website for testing salt levels)
The question becomes is the expense and extra work with an electronic condutivity tester necessary for a home user, not a technician or serviceman.
I DO love the way you mix up a standard! I can just see that in a college chemistry text..."Take 2 packets of Wendy's salt and transer the contents to a clean beaker..." Perhaps if my college text books had such instructions I might have stayed with pure chemistry instead of abandoning it after 3.5 years and changing majors!

(BTW, I have heard exactly the same thing....that it will give a ppm around 2900! Now that I have access to a Hayward/Goldline meter I'm gonna have to try it out)

I assume the MyronL model you have is the 512T5D. That one is pricy at around $170 plus calibration solutions but it is designed for pool/spa use for TDS and salt. Still needs calibration standards, however. (yes, there is a built in standard but that is only for quick field checks, if the calibration is off you need to recalibrate with a standard solution) The myronl 512T5 is the single reading meter, either TDS or salt depending on the calibration and is only slightly less expensive. Both of these meters are commen in pool stores that do testing and are supposed to be rinsed out with distilled water after each use, which I have never personally seen happen. Perhaps some pool stores do. The one I work at does not, alas, nor does the other one in my town that I go to for water checks (they use Taylor testing so I like their test reults a bit better than the Lamotte use at my store(just my personal bias, both are good) ..as long as the owner is the one doing the testing!)