AquaChek TruTest Digital Test Strip Reader For Pool and Spa Water Testing - Tests for Free Chlorine, Free Bromine, pH, and Total Alkalinity - Quick & Accurate Results Includes 25 TruTest Strips (Blue)

I continued to compare my accucheck to pool store tester and the accuchek is massively inaccurate. I am switching to a new system. Because of the inaccurate readings my pool wound up with black algae.

As a new pool owner, I wanted to be sure the pool water is as safe as possible for my family. I started with Aquachek and hTh test strips which were simple and quick. However, I noticed some variability and found the colors were sometimes hard to be sure of, particularly pH or higher chlorine levels. Having a scientific background, I wanted a more quantitative testing method, that was quite simple to do. I was very disappointed with this item as at times it seemed to be a random number generator with no match to the test strip done at the same time. For about a week, I tested simultaneously with the Aquacheck test strip, hTh test strip and the TruTest Digital reader. For the most part the HtH and Aquachek strips matched, except the AquaChek strips seemed more sensitive for chlorine and seemed to indicate a higher chlorine level than the hTh srips. Unfortunately, with the Trutest I seemed to have variations at least 50% of the time and frequently got error messages. pH was routinely higher than strips and chlorine was also variable. It seemed more reliable indoors than outside in bright sun, but even indoors I would have to repeat the test frequently and was left wondering if I should believe the regular test strip, or the Trutest read out. Sadly, I don't think the average person who is looking for digital testing is going to be happy. Generally, I would expect that a person buying a colorimeter for digital testing is going to be looking for a more objective testing modality than strips. Sadly, if that is the case, you may find this device very frustrtating. I ultimately bought the Taylor titrating test kit and found this much more acceptable. Taylor Service Complete Pool Water Test Kit K-2006C While it is certainly more complex than the test strip or colorimeter, this test is very easy to do, does not take much time and seems significantly more accurate than the stips or the TruTest technique. I still use test strips for a quick check, but use the Taylor for my weekly testing, or when the test strips don't seem to make sense. I gave up entirely on the TruTest device. I think the person looking for a more objective and quantitative test will be thrilled with the Taylor test kit.

Easy to use

The printed instructions leave a lot to be desired. The sheet that came with my unit seems to be missing the first couple steps (at least in the English version.) Step #1 says "After the 3, 2, 1 display countdown..." What? How do I get the countdown started? Looking at the manufacturer's web site I found an old version that explained it better. Here is what you need to know: The top button on the unit is the on/off button. This is labeled "1" in the picture but never described. The middle button ("2") is to review old readings. The bottom button ("3") begins the test sequence; this button is not described either (at least in the instructions that came with my unit.) By the way, mine displays "2.2" when I turn it on, so these findings may pertain only to that version. Steps: *Press the Start (#1, or top) button. The unit will turn on, display "2.2", and then display "On." *Have a test strip and your water sample ready. *Press the Test (#3, or bottom) button. The display will count down "3, 2, 1, Dip." *Quickly give the strip a brief dip into the water sample. No swirling. *Quickly give the strip a quick flip to remove excess water. *Holding the unit horizontally, quickly lay the strip into the test slot, without sliding it. It must be all the way up to the top of the slot. *Cover the slot with the black sun-shield provided. *At this point you wait for the test to proceed. You have to have reached this point fairly quickly because the test will start whether you are ready or not. *When the test is completed, the unit will show the three readings on the display. You can compare to your last few readings by pressing the middle button. Be sure to wipe the slot clean with a Q-tip or the cotton swab provided. I've been using this unit daily for several weeks now. I have done all my testing indoors and the results are reasonably repeatable and compare favorably to my color-match test kit. I'd give it 5 stars if the instructions were better and the repeatability was better. But as I said, I think it's good enough to do the job and I'm glad I bought it.

First time pool owner, so I waited five months to write this review. In the meantime, I educated myself about trouble free pool and slamming, and I also ordered a Taylor 2006 tester kit and compared the values. I would say if you follow the instructions carefully as mentioned by other reviewers, it’s a very accurate machine. At some point it showed my chlorine level at 9.4, so I said it’s definitely not right and pulled out the Taylor. Guess what, it was correct and my SWCG was over working. Another time it showed PH at above 8, so again, I doubted the little fellow. Taylor confirmed PH was too high and needed adding acid! Same thing went for adding too much Arm and Hammer baking soda and alkalinity. To be honest, I still doubt this thing all the time, but I can’t find even one time that it was reading incorrect values. I just say that the time you dip the test stripe is very important. Keep it consistent all the time. If you keep it in the water sample too long, or wait too long to put it in the reader, you’ll end up with funny readings. I’d say the best possible scenario is to use this little guy daily and use the Taylor test kit every few weeks just to make sure you’re on track. Thanks for reading, and YMMV.

This AquaChek device works decently for the price point. Like others wrote, it takes some practice to get it right. Don't dip the test strips into the pool directly. Take a sample of water elbow depth from the deep end and take it someplace not in direct sunlight to dip and test. Be sure to clean the reader and be careful to place the strip on the reader correctly (read instructions). Even then I usually need to test several times to find a mid-point of the readings (changing out the samples in between). Part of the problem is the chemicals are not always consistent throughout the water. So multiple tests are needed. That means a pack of 50 tests strips will not last 50 tests! It's not perfect, but I've tried many things from expensive smart devices to cheap drip kits, all have issues. This is easy enough to use once you get the hang of it and you can be reasonably confident about results with enough attempts.

When I first tried this meter I was double checking with the visual test strips and they were way off from one another and the meter was up and down and all over the place. I went back to this site and read several responders like EZ and DoctorSaul. My Spa-n-a-box is in the cellar so I don't have the problem with the sun but LIGHT from anywhere gave me bad readings. So I followed the advise from these two and the test were very accurate. I had a high Bromine reading 4.8, so I took the tablet container that floats out of the tub, only had it on one window opening. After a few days I checked again and it read the following each day including today. Bromine P.H. Alk 0 7.7 160 (Put the Bromine dispenser back in after this reading) 1.1 7.5 148 2.2 7.4 123 2.4 7.2 102 I'm very happy with the results and can manage now to control all 4 readings to the tub recommendations. One final thing that is very important. When doing the test I don't have allot of lights on in the cellar since my wife and I have the lights on low during our soak and I test right after. I when I lay the test strip down into the slot I cup my hand over the opening where the strip is and watch the light check the 3 squares, when the last one has been checked and the light goes off I turn the lights on and record the readings. I use the cotton swabs with clean water on the glass after each use.

I tested this device against my Lamotte Spintouch disks (501 and 303 series disks). That is the computerized colorimeter device you see at the pool store for reference and I’m lucky enough to have one at home. I also took the water samples tested to the pool store and averaged my test results against theirs which were only marginally different from my home device… (within 2 ppm on all alkalinity, within .2 ppm on free chlorine, and within .1 units on pH). Very accurate and in the weeds in terms of maintaining pool chemistry within specified ranges. That said, my AquaChek is so inaccurate as to be laughable. I had hoped it might be a cheaper alternative to my testing system since most of my Spintouch disks cost about $1.50 per test on three way tests and up to $3.50 a test for single disk tests…. (though also free from the pool store but they are too far away from me and only tests samples once a week for me). Simply put my AquaChek is so inaccurate as to be unusable in any meaningful capacity. I tested a total of 12 times on the same orginal water sample with the AquaChek Divvying the sample out into individual cuvettes to avoid any sort of cross contamination. Each time I tested with the AquaChek I got completely different readings with wild variations for pH, alkalinity, and free chlorine. Compared to the actual values measured by my Spintouch device, the alkalinity was routinely more then 60-80 ppm off or simply read back a value of 0 ppm on my AquakChek. By far alkalinity was the worst for accuracy of the three readings the device measures. Free chlorine was routinely 4-6 ppm off from the actual value… usually around 4 ppm higher then the actual free chlorine amount in the pool water. And the pH was 0.5-1.0 full unit values higher or lower off from the actual pH between each reading. No consistency at all. This thing might as well be a random number generator. I also tested the same original water source sample taken at the same time for the other tests performed with Taylor kit reagents. Three Taylor kit tests and three times with the same results that matched up with the Spintouch results. My Taylor kit reagents served as a second test technique to compare the AquaChek against. Again the AquaChek values were highly inaccurate on all three fronts of alkalinity, pH, and free chlorine chemistry measurements. This is not just a failure by my AquaChek device but a flat out fall on your face kind of failure on this devices functionality and utility. Inexcusable for its cost. For the AquaChek I tried the instructions technique included with the device for testing water samples. I also tried the technique mentioned by all the positive reviewers touting how accurate this device is especially when used in low light/no light ambient conditions with varying techniques. I honestly have to wonder what all the positive reviewers are comparing their results against to tout such accuracy? Hot garbage to sum up my device in two words. This device does not come close to being accurate enough for me to ever possibly consider using it to maintain my pool or spa water chemistry. Sending it back for a full refund. Also Annoying that the extra test strips I ordered with the device in original packaging are not refundable. If you get suckered into buying this device like I did from all of the glowing positive reviews out there, consider just using the test strips that come with the device first with no extra test strips in case you run into the same troubles as I did with my AquaChek.