W.A.H.C 2014 The Future of Water Testing is Digital

THE FUTURE OF WATER TESTING IS DIGITAL

(Evident by the numerous digital electronic devices available)

By Ivars Jaunakais

WAHC in Portland, Oregon Friday October 10, 2014

2:30 PM – 3:20 PM

•  Review of the different devices for pool testing"•  New Digital Devices to consider for pool testing"•  Using a Pool Standard to verify that you, the test method, and

the reagent is giving you good results"•  Expect changes to occur from CDC’s (Center for Disease

Control) newly released Model Aquatic Health Code (MAHC) and NSF 50 and WQTD (Water Quality Test Device) "

TOPICS for Today

•  Proper pool maintenance requires testing for Balanced Water "

•  Test must meet Health Department requirements and in the future you may only consider using NSF 50 certified tests "

•  Free Available Chlorine and pH must be tested as often as every 2 hours per MAHC "

•  The pool industry is evolving rapidly and properly trained Pool Service Technicians are needed. Using high tech test devices can make training more efficient."

POOL TESTING IS VITAL

•  Assuming Continuous additions are made by Controllers for pH and ORP"

•  MAHC requires every 4 hours pool side testing for pH, Free Available Chlorine, Combined Chlorine

•  MAHC testing for Total Alkalinity and Salt (Weekly), Calcium Hardness and Cyanuric Acid (Monthly)

•  MAHC testing for Copper and Silver (Daily), TDS (Quarterly)

•  Testing for Phosphate at this time is not required by MAHC or addressed by NSF 50; but Phosphate testing should be considered

TESTING SCHEDULE

•  Verification of pH and ORP Pool Controllers requires Poolside testing

•  It makes sense to use a Poolside test that is as simple as possible

•  Often Poolside testing is challenging •  Temperature, humidity, sunlight,

wind, rain can affect results and even distractions such as poolside activity and noise

POOLSIDE TESTING

•  Cost (varies $0.03 to over $1.00 per test) •  Time to run test •  Ease of use •  Stability of test reagent(s) •  Test must meet Health Department regulations •  Precision, resolution and accuracy

OTHER POOLSIDE TESTING CONSIDERATIONS

•  pH meters •  Colorimeters (Photometers) & reagents •  Drop Counting Titration •  Visual Comparator tests •  Test Strips

POOLSIDE TESTING METHODS"

You need right conditions:"1. Proper lighting"2. Can not wear

sunglasses"3. Match colors against an

appropriate background"4. Don’t match colors in

bright sunlight"

For visual COLOR matching in POOLSIDE TESTING

For Visual COLOR matching in POOLSIDE TESTING

• WHEN test involves visual color matching then there is the small but real issue of color blindness

COLOR BLINDNESS

Over 32 million Americans (8% of men) are color blind"

COLOR BLINDNESS

ANOTHER CONSIDERATION ABOUT THE POOLSIDE TEST METHOD YOU USE

•  Test resolution correlates to test

accuracy. •  After 40 years I personally have come to a

realization that my lab equipment if properly calibrated (precision is good) will typically give an accuracy of about 3 times the resolution of the test. Similar accuracy and resolution relationships (about a 3:1 ratio) have been reported in ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY JOURNALS

RESOLUTION EFFECTS ACCURACY!

Resolution 1 ppm Resolution 0.1 ppm

RESOLUTION EFFECTS ACCURACY!

Digital Devices can have resolution of 0.01 ppm for Free Chlorine and so accuracy of +/- 0.03 ppm can be expected from a calibrated photometer. The accuracy issue becomes important when you want to know when the Combined Chlorine levels are above 0.2 ppm (MAHC specifies above 0.4 ppm) which triggers: 1. Superchlorination (Shock) 2. Water exchange or 3. Patron adherence to better BATHER hygiene

• pH meter (0.01 or 0.1)"• Photometric (0.1)"• pH comparator (0.2)"• Test Strips (0.3 or 0.4)"

pH Test Methods (resolution)"

•  DPD Photometric Digital Meter (0.01ppm)"•  ORP Digital Meter range is >650mV to

900mV"•  DPD-FAS Drop count Titration (0.2 ppm)"•  DPD Visual Color Comparator (1 ppm)"•  Chlorine Test Strip (1 to 3 ppm)"

"

CHLORINE TEST METHODS(resolution)"

• Photometric (1 ppm)"• Titration (10 ppm)"• Test Strips (40 ppm)"

TOTAL ALKALINITY TEST METHODS (resolution)"

• Photometric (1 PPM)"• Titration (20 PPM)"• Test Strips (50 PPM)"

CALCIUM HARDNESSTEST METHODS (resolution)"

• Photometric (1 ppm)"• Visual black dot comparator (10 ppm)"

• Test Strip (50 ppm)"

CYANURIC ACID TEST METHODS (resolution)

NSF 50 ACCURACY SCALE L1,L2,L3

TYPICAL ACCURACY OF POOLSIDE TESTING METHODS

DIGITAL TEST DEVICE – pH METER

Suggested Internet Price for Meter - $200 Frequent Calibration Required Test Time – 3 minutes for 6 tests Made by Solaxx

DIGITAL TEST DEVICE – TDS/pH PEN

Suggested Internet Price for TDS Pen - $147 Suggested Internet Price for pH Pen - $140 Suggested Internet Price for pH/TDS Pen - $280 Test Time – 1 minute per test Frequent Calibration not required Made by Myron L Company

COLORIMETIC/PHOTOMETRIC DIGITAL TEST DEVICES

•  They Use colorimetric or precipitation chemistries and the color (or precipitate) is measured by a digital instrument that measures light transmission through sample

•  Recalibration not required •  Concentration is determined by the amount of light that is

transmitted through the reacted pool water sample •  Chlorine has 0.01 ppm resolution; +/-0.04 ppm accuracy •  pH has 0.1 ppm resolution; +/- 0.3 ppm accuracy

COLORIMETRIC/PHOTOMETRIC DIGITAL TEST DEVICES

COLORIMETIC/PHOTOMETRIC DIGITAL TEST DEVICE - SPIN



Suggested Price for Meter and Software - $995 Chlorine/Bromine disk - $1.75 Test Time – 3 minutes for 9 tests ($0.20/test) Made by LaMotte in USA Patent Pending

iDip is a BlueTooth device that connects with iPhone, iPad, or Android Smart Phone and can do over 30 Water Quality Tests. Each test automatically is linked with Date, Time of day, and pool location (GPS)

COLORIMETIC/PHOTOMETRIC DIGITAL TEST DEVICE - iDip

DIGITAL TEST DEVICE - iDip

Suggested Price for Meter and FREE app - $180 $0.09 to 0.50 per test Test Time about 30 seconds per test 30 tests available Made by Industrial Test Systems in USA Patent Pending

DIGITAL PH METER CHLORINE PHOTOMETER

Combo TEST DEVICE – EZDOO

Internet Price for EZDOO Meter - $250 Weekly pH calibration needed FC, TC, pH test in 3 minute Manufactured in Taiwan by GonDo

•  Fast and inexpensive •  Suitable for screening

•  Strips have good shelf life

•  pH resolution is 0.1 and accuracy is about 0.4

•  Chlorine resolution is 0.1 ppm and accuracy is about 1 ppm

•  Available for many parameters

•  Calibration for each new lot of strips required

DIGITAL TEST STRIP READER-WAVE III

DIGITAL TEST STRIP READER – WAVE III

Suggested Price for Meter and Software - $950 Cost for one 6 way Test Strip is $0.95 Test Time – 2 minutes for 6 tests Made by Homeport Computing in USA

IDEAL LEVELS FOR POOLS TEST IDEAL LEVELS pH 7.4 to 7.6 (MAHC 7.2 to 7.8) Free Chlorine 1.0 - 3.0 ppm (Maximum of 10 ppm) Cyanuric Acid 20 to 60 ppm (MAHC below 100 ppm)

Total Alkalinity 80 to 120 ppm (MAHC 60 to 180) Calcium Hardness 200 to 400 ppm (MAHC maximum level

is 1000 ppm) Copper/Silver 1.3 ppm/0.10 ppm (from MAHC) Saturation Index -0.5 to +0.5 (salt pools -0.2 to +0.2) Combined Chlorine

0.2 ppm (MAHC action level is 0.4 ppm)

USING STANDARDS

TO CONFIRM ACCURACY OF YOUR DIGITAL DEVICE USED

AS WATER QUALITY TEST DEVICE

• Standards are solutions with known values that are used by laboratories to verify the accuracy of their test

• Standards are now available for pool service professionals

WHAT IS A “STANDARD?”

•  Verifies the accuracy of your test "•  Verifies operator is running test correctly"

•  Verifies reagents are functioning good""

WHY USE A “STANDARD?”

• Food, Medical, and Drinking Water Agencies (Government regulators and inspectors) require that Testing equipment be confirmed by Standards regularly."

• The pool industry needs to consider using Standards"

WHY USE A “STANDARD?”

•  Most Standards are for only one parameter and require dilution to your testing range"

•  Ready Snap 1P requires no dilution to use; just twist open, fill test cell with sample, and run test to verify accuracy"

•  Ready Snap are Plastic Ampoules that contain 10 ml of POOL WATER Standard with known values and they can be used with most pool tests "

•  NSF 50 and the MAHC do not require using Standards, but why not?"

EXAMPLES OF STANDARDS

•  Turn on the Photometer and rinse out photometer cell three times with clean water"

•  Break open a Ready Snap by twisting the top 180°"

Using READY SNAP With a PHOTOMETER

STEP 1

•  Squeeze plastic ampoule to fill photometer cell to capacity (4mL)"

•  Discard this liquid sample followed with a little shake of the meter to empty the photometer cell of the remaining water drops"

•  Squeeze plastic ampoule to fill the photometer cell again"


STEP 2

•  Select the MENU for the test method procedure you want to verify (Calcium Hardness in this example) and run the test method as you would normally do the test"

Using READY SNAP With PHOTOMETER

STEP 3

"

*  Compare the Photometer Digital Display against the assigned value in the chart provided with Ready Snap Standard "


STEP 4

•  If your value is within the acceptable range, you are operating the photometer correctly for the Calcium test method"

•  If your value is borderline, review that you are doing the test properly "


STEP 5

Parameter TestMenuItem

DesiredValue

AcceptableRange

BorderlineRange

AL1 Total Alkalinity 82 ppm 70-94 60-104PH2 pH 7.6 pH 7.4-7.8 7.3-7.9 PO4 Phosphate 2.00 ppm 1.70-2.30 1.60-2.40CA5 Calcium as CaCO3 179 ppm 139-219 124-234CH6 Chloride as NaCl* 700 ppm 450-950 350-1050CY7 Cyanuric Acid 47.0 ppm 40.0-54.0 38.0-56.0CU8 Copper as Cu+2 0.19 ppm 0.15-0.23 0.13-0.25TDS Total Dissolved Solids 480 ppm 440-520 420-540 (504µS) as NaCl

R091213

Assigned Value Chart for READY SNAP™ 1P (lot 4813) Solution:

56;,!�=HS\LZ�YLÅLJ[�J\YYLU[�JVUJLU[YH[PVUZ�HZ�MV\UK�H[�[PTL�VM�THU\MHJ[\YL�*Chloride value uses the 1:20 dilution procedure in your Micro 10 manual on page 11 (CH6), beginning at step 1.0M�`V\�Y\U�[OL�9LHK`�:UHW��7�ZVS\[PVU�^P[OV\[�KPS\[PVU��[OL�TL[LY�^PSS�TVZ[�SPRLS`�YLHK�¸/0¹�

• Total Alkalinity • pH • Calcium Hardness • Copper

• Cyanuric Acid • Phosphate • Salt

USE READY SNAP STANDARD FOR VERIFYING THESE TESTS:

•  Circulate pool water before collecting sample, or manually stir water in sample area"

•  Rinse sample cell/vial at least three times with pool water before sampling"

•  Sample water 18 inches below surface (recommended for tests like Chlorine and Bromine)"

TESTING Best Practices

•  Do not collect water sample near return lines"

•  Note the temperature of water to be tested (Very cold or very hot water can effect test results)"

•  Read test instructions for procedure how to run test with very cold or very hot water "


•  Perform tests as soon as possible after collecting sample (immediate testing is required for accurate Free Chlorine and Bromine results)"

•  If collecting samples for later testing, handle carefully to avoid contamination, fill bottle to capacity, & seal sample bottle tightly "


•  Pay careful attention to expiration dates on reagents and test strips"

•  Keep reagent containers tightly capped and store in a cool, dark place when possible. "

•  Don't swap/mix the caps on reagent bottles to avoid chemical cross contamination"


• Where required, measure volume of water sample to be tested (Measure the bottom of sample meniscus, not the top at fill mark)"

• Don't interchange sample vials or cells"

• Follow manufacturer’s test directions carefully"


• Add liquid reagents carefully – make sure the correct number of drops are added to sample and drops are equal and full-sized"

• Mix reagents with test samples thoroughly"


• Record results and maintain those records for each pool or spa"

• Never dispose of tested samples/reagents in the pool"

• Rinse sample test vials and cells immediately after testing"


* When using a photometer, verify your results using a Pool Water Standard to verify photometer, reagents, and operator"

"* Pool Water Standards can also be used for

verifying titration and comparator reagents "


BALANCED WATER PARAMETERS

•  Healthy Water = Balanced Water"•  For balanced water 6 parameters to consider and they

are used to calculate (Langelier) Saturation Index "1)  pH"2)  Total Alkalinity"3)  Calcium Hardness"4)  Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)"5)  Temperature"6)  Cyanuric Acid (CY)" "

•  Balanced Water is water that will neither scale nor corrode pool or spa surfaces and/or equipment

•  Corrosion is the dissolving or wearing-away of pool wall, pipes or equipment (SI below 0.0)

•  Scale is the white deposit or precipitate that builds up on fixtures, surfaces, & equipment (SI above 0.0)

•  Balanced water is non-irritating to eyes & skin of bathers, & allows sanitizer to work effectively

•  SI is perfect when 0 but OK best between -0.5 to +0.5; FOR SALT POOLS -0.2 TO +0.2

BALANCED WATER

BALANCED WATER

Amazon price - $13.89

•  If pH goes up then Calcium Hardness and Alkalinity has to be kept at lower end (200 for CA & 80 for AL)

• Danger signs – pH above 7.8 and TA above 120

SI and RELATIONSHIP OF BALANCED WATER

SI (LSI)

•  Where possible use simple tests •  Digital devices give best

resolution •  Better resolution gives better

accuracy •  Accurate results help to make

best choices for pool maintenance

STRIVE FOR BEST RESULTS

Questions?

Ivars Jaunakais – Chief Analytical [email protected] www.sensafe.com

"

HELPFUL RESOURCES

•  Book: Pool Chlorination Facts by Robert W. Lowry"•  Book: Intermediate Training Manual Part 1-Chemicals by

Robert W. Lowry"•  Book: The Ultimate Guide to Pool Maintenance by Terry

Tamminen"•  Book: The Pool Maintenance Manual by Terry Tamminen "•  Internet: Florida Health Dept:

http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Environment/water/swim/index.html "•  Internet: CDC http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/ "•  Internet: NSF http://info.nsf.org.certified/pools/"