We would like to change to Lotus Clean. Now our question: Is it still possible to measure the disinfection level with the Blue Connect Pool Analyzer? This measures the redox value.
Answer:
We have looked at the Blue Connect Pool Analyzer. It is a very good device. You can still use it for monitoring the pH value.However, monitoring the redox value is not useful for Lotus Clean system maintenance. The system care consists of Lotus Clean Basic and Lotus Clean Shock. Lotus Clean Basic encapsulates dirt. This prevents bacteria from finding food and dividing. The encapsulated substances are filtered out.
This whole process has no effect on the redox voltage. Since this part is responsible for up to 80% of the total cleaning, the redox voltage measurement would show too little most of the time. Lotus Clean Shock is an oxidising agent. When this agent is added, the redox voltage of the water is increased. However, very little of the Shock is dosed during normal operation. And since it is more effective than chlorine, the Blue Connect Pool Analyzer would permanently show too low a value.
To explain: Oxidising agents such as chlorine or bromine increase the electrical voltage in the water. This is the so-called redox potential. This is measured. With chlorine and bromine, this is a very useful method. Chlorine and bromine form chloramine and bromine respectively as a waste product. These two substances are also measured by other measuring methods. So you measure the free chlorine or bromine and the bound bromine. The result is that there is enough chlorine or bromine in the water. In reality, a high percentage of the measured chlorine and bromine may consist of chloramine or bromine. Neither chloramine nor bromine is able to kill bacteria or keep the water clean. Therefore, incorrect readings can be obtained and the water can be polluted and contain many bacteria despite correct chlorine/bromine levels. Neither chloramine nor bromine increase the redox potential of the water. Thus, the measurement of the redox potential provides very good results.
With the Lotus Clean method, very little shock is added to the water. It can be without Lotus Clean Shock for days. The shock used does not produce any chloramines either. In this respect, it can also be measured very well with the test strips. The redox voltage would only increase slightly after the weekly addition of Lotus Clean Shock. When added after bathing (10 ml Lotus Clean Shock), this amount would be too small to increase the redox voltage significantly. You also have to take into account that the chlorine content has to be kept relatively high at all times (at least 2.0 mg/l) to prevent the formation of deposits and biofilm in the water. This can be measured very well with the redox voltage. As Lotus Clean Shock not only kills free bacteria effectively but can also penetrate biofilms and kill the bacteria in the biofilms (up to 99% of the bacteria live in the biofilm) and Lotus Clean Shock kills the bacteria 5 to 30 times more effectively than chlorine, you can keep the whirlpool free of bacteria with much smaller quantities.
Conclusion: Lotus Clean Basic works by encapsulation and thus keeps the water clean. It cannot be measured with the redox voltage. Lotus Clean Shock can be measured with the redox voltage. Because it kills bacteria 5 to 30 times more effectively than chlorine or bromine, it can be dosed much lower, which means that the Blue Connect Pool Analyzer would indicate a too low redox voltage.