Taylor Technologies is the leading
manufacturer of Pool Test Kits and they make a variety of different
kits. I discuss some of the products that Taylor makes with Wayne
Ivusich who is the Director of Education at Taylor Technologies. We
go over some of Taylor's more common test kits as well as their
advanced testers.
For most pool service professionals the
Taylor K-2006 or K-2005 are the go to test kits. The test factors in
each kit are extensive and will be pretty much all you will need for
your day to day testing. Taylor also makes a K-1000 series of test
kits for the homeowner. Whichever test kit you select for your pool
route or home, you can rest assured that a Taylor product will give
you the most accurate test results.
Listen to the Podcast:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/110832/599361-episode-21-taylor-test-kits-interview-with-wayne-ivusich-director-of-education
Subscribe to my Podcast on iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-pool-guy-show-podcast/id1257613192
Subscribe on Google Play:
https://play.google.com/music/listen#/ps/Imhdwnal25iyl4c2yfceih2ni4y
I have been using the Taylor Test kits almost
from day one when I started pool service back in the late 1980's and
early 90's. One thing that sets Taylor apart from many other kits is
the number of test factors their K-2000 kits can preform. You can do
Free Chlorine & Combined Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, pH with acid
demand and base demand, Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid. You can
learn more about these test kits from the videos below:
Taylor Test Kit (K-1006 - K-2150):
http://youtu.be/AMe0rJJli8A
Taylor Complete FAS-DPD Pool Water Test
Kit K-2006: http://youtu.be/vYBEt1rzkeU
There are many variations on the exact
levels for a balanced pool but here is a general area that most of
manufacturers and pool professionals adhere to.
pH: 7.2 – 7.8
Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm.
Calcium Hardness: 180 – 220 ppm.
Chlorine: 1-3 ppm.
Bromine: 3-5 ppm.
Cyanuric Acid: 30 – 50 ppm.
I personally prefer the pH at 7.6-7.8
and I prefer the chlorine level at 3.0 ppm or higher especially in
the Summer months. But to balance your pool water you want the
reading in these ranges or as close to these levels as possible. It
is near impossible to keep your pool at these ideal levels week to
week so that is why testing the water each week is vital.
I suggest testing the pool water at
least once a week and to avoid errors in your readings try to avoid
these testing mistakes:
Makes sure your reagents are not
expired. They do not last forever and you should replace them every
season if you don't use them all up during the year. The refills are
affordable and will insure accurate test results.
Try to take the water sample from the
middle of the pool about elbow deep. Make sure you fill the tubes to
the exact mark and do the reagent drop test right away.
Make sure the tubes are clean
especially if you service pools for a living, you don't want the last
test results to interfere with your current one.
With the swirl tests try to get a good
wrist movement to mix the reagent up properly. If you struggle with
this check out this helpful product that does the swirling for you:
Taylor SpeedStir 9265 Magnetic Stirrer:
https://youtu.be/IRofeofrlCs
Keep the tubes at eye level and look
directly at the color and not down into it. I prefer doing the
reading outside in natural light. Remove your sunglasses for a more
accurate color match.
If you follow these steps you will get
very accurate reading when you do your water testing. To learn more
about the line up of Taylor Technologies testing products you can
visit their website here:
You can also order the test kits
directly from my website:
