macgd016

Always good to get an 'I told you so' post, thanks waterbear However, you were right and despite yet again being ripped off on price here in the UK the 7022 is a quality bit of kit that gives clear unequivocal readings, something that none of the strips or tab based kits achieve in my experience.

HornerXpress are in Barcelona, I got in touch with them a year or so ago but the Taylor 2006 was mega expensive and the postage was also very expensive. I discovered Sword Scientific just by chance but they are a great company, very helpful. They charge postage at cost but they are the European agent for Lamotte so they should know who they supply in Germany, worth a phone call anyway. They are not al all pushy but they have twice tried to steer me towards the ColorQ kits but also mentioned that they have started stocking the 7022 kit after recent interest! Regarding transport via aircraft, it is defiantly prohibited on aircraft out of the US but I have found no restrictions in Europe but then perhaps I didnt look hard enough. PS. I have just started using the 7022 and it is fantastic, having struggled with strips and tablet systems for years I just cannot believe how easy it is to get clear readings with this kit, well worth the money

Although this has been posted elsewhere for completeness I will post the Lamotte pricing I have received from Sword Scientific in the UK. FAS-DPD Commercial 7 Test Kit (Code 7022) - £79.84 + VAT FAS-DPDÂ (Chlorine) Test Kit (Code 7514) - £27.58 + VAT Multi-Test DL Series (Code 7013) - £45.81 + VAT ColorQ PRO 7 - CODE 2056 - £112.26 + VAT ColorQ TesTabs PRO 7 - CODE 2057 - £112.26 + VAT ColorQ PRO 7 PLUS - CODE 2064 - £135.48 + VAT Pool Manager 3368-NJ/PM-51-NJ - £54.84 + VAT Postage is about £5.50 The Sword website is www.sword-scientific.com

There is a vast difference between a DPD test and an FAS-DPD test, Get the7022 since it also uses all liquid reagents. Yes I realise that the 7013 does not have FAS-DPD but the 7514 is a FAS-DPD test kit. Combining the two seems to give the same test capability of the 7022 plus DPD for less money and 50% more tests.

I've been in touch with Sword Scientific again and as DaveH24 says they can source the 7022 kit so I suspect that they can source any of the Lamotte range. So it looks as if Lamotte test kits may be the best option for anyone in the UK as Sword Scientific are very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful AND they can supply quality kits. Just for completeness here is a list of the kit with prices I have had from Sword: FAS-DPD Commercial 7 Test Kit (Code 7022) - £79.84 + VAT FAS-DPDÂ (Chlorine) Test Kit (Code 7514) - £27.58 + VAT Multi-Test DL Series (Code 7013) - £45.81 + VAT ColorQ PRO 7 - CODE 2056 - £112.26 + VAT ColorQ TesTabs PRO 7 - CODE 2057 - £112.26 + VAT ColorQ PRO 7 PLUS - CODE 2064 - £135.48 + VAT Pool Manager 3368-NJ/PM-51-NJ - £54.84 + VAT Postage is about £5.50 Personally I think I will go for the 7013 as it is a liquid based kit using titration and the number of tests is greater than with the 7022. The 7013 does not have FAS DPD but I may either get the 7514 at the same time or wait and see whether I need it or not. Just my personal preference. Anyhow at last we have a viable test option for the UK thank goodness.

Thanks for that, I was leaning towards liquids myself as I find them easier to read. So if we can't get the 7022 I will get the DL51

No I just asked them for pricing for the kits that they advertise but please let me know when you hear back from them, did you ask for a price as well?

It would be good to have a FAS-DPD test but they don't sell one here in the UK which is why I short listed these three kits. Do you have any experience of these kits?

Having tried for several years to obtain a Taylor K2006 here in the UK and recently contacted various suppliers in the US but I have finally given up. The alternative kit that is mentioned is the Palintest SP315C, after serveral attempts Palintest have now said that they can supply this direct for £73.92 so if you want one of these contact sales@palintest.com. They also sent me a photocopy of the instructions for testing TA & CH and these show that you add tablets till the colour changes. I have also found that it is possible to obtain most if not all LaMotte test kits from www.sword-scientific.com , the people there are very helpful and knowledgable and although they are a wholesaler they are happy to supply pool owners. I have shortlisted three kits and would really like to have some feedback from anyone who may have used these LaMotte products. Lamotte DL 51 http://lamotte.com/p...ell_series.html £55 + £5.50 postage. This one looks very similar to the Taylor K2005 and Palintest SP315C, because of this I would be particularly interested in hearing views on this kit from ChemGeek and Waterbear as it might well represent a cost effective and 'available' solution for UK pool owners. Lamotte Pool Manager 3368 PM51-NJ http://lamotte.com/p...mgr_series.html £66 + £5.50 postage. Broadly the same as the above but Tablet based with an Octa-Slide comparator system Lamotte ColorQ Pro 7 http://www.lamotte.c...rod/colorq.html £135 + £5.50 postage. Digital readout photometer. ChemGeek has commented that the CH & CYA readings may not be reliable, I asked about this and was told that this was due to these being generally difficult to test accurately and this device is no more inaccurate than any other but has the benefit of a digital readout.

Yes I have spoken to HornerXpress and they put me in touch with their sole European outlet in Barcelona but they wanted something like £125 plus £40 postage which for something that costs $50 in the US is a rip off. I have done extensive research and found the kits above are available and I have just heard back from Palintest and they can supply the SP315C for £74, however, it is unclear how many tests this kit will do and getting info from Palintest is like pulling teeth! I have also been in touch with Lamottes wholesaler in the UK and they have been very helpful, strangly they have told me they supply many retail outlets in the UK but I have to say I can't find them. As you will have seen from my post I have shortlisted 3 test kits and I am waiting to get some feedback from Chemgeek and Waterbear before making a choice. From previous posts Waterbear seems to feel that Lamotte products are accurate enough so they should be a safe choice but I am undecided whether to go down the Liquid, Tablet, Color Wheel or Photometer route and could really do with hearing about other peoples experiences.

I have failed once again to find a suitable test kit, I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a supplier in the US who will ship a Taylor K-2006 to the UK but none will, I've tried ‘teapot’ as you suggest here but he is not able to help with any kits at the moment as he has family commitments and I have just sent an email to Palintest in the UK to see if they are now able to supply a SP 315C although I have been unable to find out exactly what and how the SP315C tests. The Palintest pdf seems to suggest that it is a block tester without a colour comparator wheel and does not test TA which is odd. Hopefully I will hear back from Palintest soon. In the meantime I have been looking at what IS available here in the UK and would be interested in your views. Although I appreciate the inadequacies of the OTO tests I have found them very easy to read and determine the test result whereas I have found test blocks, similar to Lovibond, difficult to match colours. I am not sure if this is to do with the colours on the test block, the tablets used or the difference between liquid and tablets, however, whichever it is it has left me wondering whether I should invest in a photometer type or one with a comparator slide/wheel rather than a basic colour block. I have found the following test kits that are available in the UK and would value your views: Lamotte DL 51 http://lamotte.com/pool_spa_water/pool_spa_professional_products/combination_kits/dipcell_series.html Lamotte Pool Manager 3368 PM51-NJ http://lamotte.com/pool_spa_water/pool_spa_professional_products/combination_kits/pool_mgr_series.html Lamotte ColorQ Pro 7 http://www.lamotte.com/pages/common/newprod/colorq.html

600 ml (about 864 grams) of sodium bisulfate dry acid in 50,000 liters lowers the TA by about 7 ppm. Going from a TA of 150 to a TA of 50 ppm makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Are you using test strips? If so, they are practically useless. Your TA is probably high the whole time which, as waterbear said, explains your pH rise. I use a tablet test kit not strips. I believe the mains water has a very high TA (240+) and pH of more than 8 which is one reason why the pH and TA rise each time I top up the pool. I repeated the test above three time and got very similar results each time. Last winter (no topping up) I did manage to get the TA down to 80 and pH to 7.4 and it stayed there nicely until the pool was first topped up so I will see whether I can do the same this winter and then check what happens when the pool is topped up in the Spring. Hopefully I will have a Taylor K-2006 by then so I can trust the test results.

I tried to find Palintest kits a year ago but no one seemed to stock them in the UK or Europe. Palintest will sell them direct but they were unhelpful at best and had a minimum order value of $80 plus postage. A friend of mine is going to the US in December so I think I will get them to bring a Taylor kit back for me.

I don't disagree with your view but there is expensive and then there is EXPENSIVE! I have only found one supplier in Europe and they want $200 plus postage for the basic K-2005, I have found one supplier on eBay who is selling the K-2005C for $99 plus $41.70 postage but if I'm going to spend that sort of money I would prefer to have the K-2006. I guess I will have to keep looking or get someone to bring one back for me. Thanks for the info on the impact of high chlorine on pH readings though, I wasn't aware of that.

Before any one suggests a Taylor test kit let me say that they are almost unobtainable in Europe and if you can find one they are very very expensive as are the Plaintest Pooltester kits! So we are forced to use strips, OTO or tablet based kits. I have given up with strips as they are a complete waste of time but now use a bog standard OTO bottle kit that measures Total Chlorine and pH and a tablet kit that reads pH, TA and Free Chlorine. However, I still can't get to a position where I am happy with the readings I am getting. I find the OTO kit easy to read or at least it is easy to differentiate between 4 & 2ppm chlorine and it is easy to see the difference between 7.2 and 7.4 pH. However, as OTO only reads Total Chlorine I bought a tab based kit so that I could read Free Chlorine and TA. The problem I find with this kit is that I find it very difficult to see much difference between 2 & 5ppm chlorine, the TA reading is very subjective as none of the colours I get really match the test colours although I am getting more used to this one, but the main issue I have is pH. My pH tends to drift up from 7.4 to 7.8 using my bottle tester but my tab kit, which has a very similar colour gradient, shows 8.0 all the time, until recently that is. My last bottle reading showed a VERY clear 7.2 and the tab kit then showed a VERY clear 7.8. I emphasise the VERY because just for once the readings on both kits were very clear indeed. So which kit should I trust, if any? I have tended to trust the bottle kit for pH and double checked the OTO chlorine with the DPD tabs but its irritating to have to use two kits and still be unsure of the readings! I am beginning to think that an electronic reader might be better, does anyone have views on the Aquachek TruTest?

I have had my pool for 6 years but 2 years ago I installed a liquid chlorine dosing system. One of my reasons for fitting the chlorine pump was that my pool is in southern Spain where they have perpetual water shortages so pumping out water to reduce cyanuric acid did was not an acceptable option. Before I installed the chlorine pump my pH was rock steady but the cyanuric acid massively high, I estimated it was over 750. The pool is fairly small holding 50,000 litres, a typical weekly top up in the summer is 1000 litres. After two winters of above average rainfall my cyanuric acid is now down to 80 but now my pH constantly drifts upwards. From what I can see there is a perpetual fight between high TA and rising pH. Typically before my weekly maintenance the pH will be around 7.8 and the TA 150, after topping up with 1000 litres I add 8x75ml scoops (600g?)of pH minus, 24 hours later the pH will be down to 7.6 and the TA to 50, but a week later they are back to 7.8 and 150 or there abouts. I have a very basic understanding of the relationship between TA & pH so I can see why they are fluctuating although I would prefer to have them more stable but I do wonder why the pH used to be rock steady but now fluctuates, was it the cyanuric acid?

I did look into getting a Palintest kit as you have recommended them before but I was unable to find a retail outlet that sold them and Palintest were not very helpfull. Instead I have a similar tablet based kit that tests FC, pH and Ta and will probably add CYA and others as I need them.

The Taylor kits are not available in Europe but I have been using a tablet based test. The readings were correct and even stranger now is that after adding 1000 litres of fresh water the TA is back above 200 and the pH is somewhere around 8. All very strange, I think I will let it all settle down for a little while and see what happens.

Oops looks like I can answer my own question! Whilst the pH has stayed between 7.2 & 7.4 the TA has dropped like a stone to about 70. I must admit I had assumed the change would be more gradual, I thought the pH would drop quickly and then rise as the TA reduced but it al seems to have happened very quickly. Oh well the TA is a bit low but I guess it will come back up in time.

I keep my pool pH at 7.4, it needs about 200gr pH- for every 1000 litres fill up to achieve this. The pool is beautifully clear and I have no problems at all, however, the TA is above 240 so I thought about dropping the pH and aggregating the water to drop the TA. The pool is only 50,000 litres and I have put in around 8kg pH- with little or no effect. 750gr are supposed to drop the pH by 0.2 so I am at a loss to understand what is going on. Any thoughts?

Great thanks guys

I bit of a random thought but is algaecide solely an inhibitor or like Free Chlorine is it consumed/converted when it fights algae.

Nothing to get....there is a reason many people refer to the strips as 'guess strips' and you have seen it first hand. If you are testing TC and the strips are reading lower than the OTO believe the OTO. It is a bullet proof test. If you are trying to compare strip reading FC then you are comparing apples and oragnes since OTO only meansures TC. As I have said earlier all three of my test strips measure both FC & TC so although you choose to call them 'guess strips' (a term I have not come across before indecently) they are showing the same low TC & FC readings and it is unlikely that all three are incorrect. It would seem therefore that it is OTO that is out of step and although you say OTO is Bullet Proof there will be a reason for this discrepancy and I had hoped that someone on this forum might have come across a similar situation in the past so that I could gain from their experience. Not to worry though I will work it out and report it here in due course.

Thanks for both the alternative test kit suggestions, I will give one a try but that will take a few days/weeks, for now I still have this discrepancy between test strips and OTO, currently the test strips show 1ppm FC&TC but the OTO shows 4ppm, I just don't get it

Thanks for your rely. If I could get a Taylor kit I would but they are not available in Europe and the postage from the US is prohibitive and slow. As all three sets of strips, from different manufacturers and one set is just opened, are giving the same reading I feel that there is more to this than just inaccurate readings