macgd016 Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted February 22, 2012 Report Share Posted February 22, 2012 The first two look reasonable, but waterbear is a better expert about test kits. As for the ColorQ, I'm just telling you what people have reported -- multiple people. The CH test seems to be OK if the CH isn't too high, so probably fine up to 200 ppm maybe 300 ppm but above that it may not be accurate. The CYA test seems to be the worst and yes it's a hard test even in the Taylor kits but for some reason the ColorQ has varied more -- even though as a turbidimetric test there really isn't any reason why it couldn't be more accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 The one to get if it is available is the FAS-DPD Commercial 7 Test Kit (Code 7022) which is an FAS-DPD test kit and very similar to the Taylor K-2006. I prefer the liquid based kits to the tablet based kits, particularly for the TA and CH tests since they are true titations and not 'back titrations" as LaMotte called them. While the tablet test might be a bit easier they suffer from some limitations since neither the TA or CH can be measured above 400 ppm while with the drop based titrations there is no upper limit. Also the ColorQ does have limitations because it is an inexpensive colormeter. When it first came out I asked a LaMotte representative abut it and he said that it was "pretty good for a $100 dollar colorimeter". However, you have to keep in mind that it IS a $100 colorimeter and most professional units cost about 10 times as much! If you prefer the octaslide comparators they do have ones that use drop based titrations for CH and TA in the pro250 series of test kits but they are also DPD and not FAS-DPD. I have used the Octaslide comparators and they are nice but, IMHO, by no means necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgd016 Posted February 24, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 The one to get if it is available is the FAS-DPD Commercial 7 Test Kit (Code 7022) which is an FAS-DPD test kit and very similar to the Taylor K-2006. 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH24 Posted February 24, 2012 Report Share Posted February 24, 2012 I assume you asked sword if they can get the 7022, i've just sent them an email , may be we can persuade them to stock it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted February 25, 2012 Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 The one to get if it is available is the FAS-DPD Commercial 7 Test Kit (Code 7022) which is an FAS-DPD test kit and very similar to the Taylor K-2006. 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? Out of the three I would choose the DL 51 because it uses liquid reagents and not the tablets. I am not a fan of the ColorQ series because it is only as good as the meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgd016 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 I assume you asked sword if they can get the 7022, i've just sent them an email , may be we can persuade them to stock it. 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgd016 Posted February 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2012 Out of the three I would choose the DL 51 because it uses liquid reagents and not the tablets. I am not a fan of the ColorQ series because it is only as good as the meter. 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH24 Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I assume you asked sword if they can get the 7022, i've just sent them an email , may be we can persuade them to stock it. 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? Yes they do sell them , I've just ordered one , out of stock at the moment but should be in , in about a week. I mentioned this forum and said someone else here was after one, and It sounds like someone else has been enquiring about them recently as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgd016 Posted February 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveH24 Posted February 27, 2012 Report Share Posted February 27, 2012 I also suggested that they have a look on this forum , as we seem to be very under supplied with proper test kits in the UK , considering how many suppliers there are of spa and pool chemicals , And that they only seem to want to supply test strips ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted February 28, 2012 Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 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. There is a vast difference between a DPD test and an FAS-DPD test, Get the7022 since it also uses all liquid reagents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macgd016 Posted February 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2012 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. 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jchannon Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 Sorry to revive this topic but I see the Taylor ones aren't available still in the UK, so what is the best kit to use in the UK these days? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davidtja Posted April 6, 2021 Report Share Posted April 6, 2021 Also in UK, Seems most suppliers seem to go with strips - I only see a brand called Pool Tester. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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