Question about Electronic water testers ?

[kurt6137]

   I have a general question, I currently test my water with smart test (spa test strips) they give me a pretty good idea of the quality of my water, but my eyes are not as good, as they used to be. The viewing of the test strip is only , as good as one's eyes, that are analyzing and subjective to the individual, that is viewing it.  Hence, my question, is there a decent, reliable, accurate electronic water tester, that will show me Total chlorine, free chlorine, alkalinity, ph, and hardness of the water ?  I don't mind paying more for a tester, if it works, is reliable and will really give me a good idea on how much additives, i should be adding to my water to take care of it.

[clover]

Your water is capable of being "sparkling clean" and "crystal clear".  If you can "see" the water, as in cloudy, or color tinged, like yellow or green, AND, OR, if you can "smell" your water, Test your water.  Your personal senses tell you more than the test strip, which is the 2nd, more reliable, test to use.

Because test strips are not necessarily always reliable, as they have an expiration date, and expired strips may not tell the truth.  Scientific, electronic, testers will tell you the answer without interpretation and are nice to use.  Some use them, others don't.  I will let others tell you what may be available, and the cost range, but not all parameters are measured in one tester.  Some tests require “reagents” added to the test vial for interpretation. 

It's like being a baker, or a grandma, they do not necessarily measure ingredients in their recipes, as they become familiar to what and how much to put in.  Testing your water maybe easy for some, but not always to others because of color blindness, but you can still "see" and "smell" that water, and that is the tester you will use 90% of the time.

A Taylor Water Test Kit gives you a hands on chemistry kit that could be considered.  If you use and electronic tester, you just get an immediate answer to the question without interpretation.

[Spoiledrotten]

I, too, don't like having to have to guess at the color of the test strip. I also have a Taylor kit, and just like the test strips, you have to guess at the water color, so what's the difference? I bought the Aquachek because I wanted to use something that would give me numbers rather than colors. I do as others have suggested by using distilled water and a Q-tip to clean the glass on the meter before measuring the levels each time so there won't be any residual chemicals staying behind to alter the test. It might not be perfect, but then the strips won't be perfect either. If you are going to trust something, it may as well be something easy to read. Diabetics and other patients use cheap little digital meters to test their blood so I think this is accurate enough to test my spa water. JMHO.