Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Over the long run, it’s in all probability the least costly sensible pool monitoring possibility round
- Subscription consists of {hardware} element replacements as wanted
- No plug-in Wi-Fi bridge wanted
Cons
- Requires a everlasting mount in your pool deck (or a location close to it)
- pH readings are likely to run excessive
- Ugly industrial design
- High up-front funding
Our Verdict
The Crystal Smart Water Monitor measures a swimming pool’s water circumstances each 10 minutes, however its industrial design makes it a poor match for pool house owners who care about aesthetics.
Price When Reviewed
This worth will present the geolocated pricing textual content for product undefined
Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
$449.00 plus $99 per yr after the first yr (for chlorinated swimming pools); $479.00 for salt-water swimming pools
Best Prices Today: Crystal Smart Water Monitor
$449
General Galactic Systems, Inc.
$499
Tired of dipping take a look at strips into your pool water or dribbling chemical substances into beakers to determine you probably have a pH drawback? Good information: You’ve obtained loads of choices in the case of automating the pool chemistry monitoring course of.
New to the combination is the Crystal Smart Water Monitor, from an organization referred to as General Galactic Systems, whose CEO beforehand based one other sensible pool monitor product referred to as pHin.
The Crystal Smart Water Monitor takes readings each 10 minutes, 144 instances a day, so you might be all the time getting a close-to-real-time have a look at your pool circumstances.
Specifications
Crystal makes use of each an identical sensor expertise and incorporates a comparable subscription-based enterprise mannequin as pHin, however its general design and method to testing is sort of totally different. Functionally, it combines the near-real-time outcomes and self-contained operation of the beforehand reviewed ioPool with the deck-based mounting of the Water Guru Sense, which we’ve additionally reviewed. I’ve been testing it for greater than a month as swim season creeps up on us to see the way it compares to the competitors (we’ve additionally beforehand reviewed the Sutro).
The Crystal Water Monitor wouldn’t be so visually intrusive if the probe that goes into the pool was the identical shade because the physique.
Christopher Null/Foundry
The Crystal Smart Water Monitor {hardware} is exclusive in that the brains of the operation—a disc-like gadget powered by three AA batteries—sits in your pool deck, or someplace thereabouts. While the WaterGuru Sense {hardware} additionally wants to remain dry and is mounted within the lid of your pool skimmer, Crystal leaves it as much as you to discover a handy place to find the gadget. It might be strapped to a handrail or mounted to the deck itself with both screws or tape; both method the first disadvantage of the Crystal shortly turns into obvious: It’s not simple to discover a place to place the gadget the place it’s each safe and out of the best way.
This is very problematic if, like me, your pool has no handrails above the waterline. Once the hub is positioned, a probe hooked up to a prolonged black wire dangles from the hub and into the pool.
Performance
I initially had the hub hooked up to the deck, however this by no means felt overly safe to me, and I used to be continually worrying the tape would come unfastened and it might get kicked into the water. The firm later recommended a greater thought, which it mentioned different prospects have used: Place the hub on prime of the skimmer, and run the probe wire by one of many entry holes within the lid, out the skimmer entrance, after which into the pool.
This association avoids taking chemical measurements from the water within the skimmer, which the corporate says won’t be consultant of the pool at giant. You can see how this set up seems to be within the picture under.
One location the producer suggests putting in the Crystal Water Monitor hub is on prime of a skimmer lid, with the gadget’s probe snaking by the lid after which out the skimmer entrance into the pool.
Christopher Null/Foundry
The Crystal Smart Water Monitor takes readings each 10 minutes, 144 instances a day, so you might be all the time getting a close-to-real-time have a look at your pool circumstances. Measurements embrace temperature, pH, and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), which is similar “total disinfection power” measurement that ioPool makes use of in lieu of measuring free chlorine. Measurements of cyanuric acid and water hardness are additionally saved within the app, however these are drawn from take a look at strips that you’re prompted to periodically dip into the pool and use for calibration. Ten strips are included within the field.
The Crystal cell app units up simply and—mercifully—doesn’t require a separate bridge plugged into a close-by outside outlet to connect with your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi community. The app is a bit odd in {that a} main display screen signifies solely the water temperature and a color-coded indication of general circumstances. Blue is sweet, orange or purple imply not less than one studying is off. From there you may drill all the way down to see chemical circumstances, however by default pH and ORP are reported solely in a graphical historical past chart that you just’ll must scroll all the way down to see.
The Crystal Water Monitor app gives recommendations for putting the monitor together with readings from the gadget itself, together with pH stage, oxidation-reduction potential, water temperature, and extra.
Christopher Null/Foundry
The prime of the web page as an alternative reveals info out of your take a look at strip-driven water report, and it doesn’t change until you dip a brand new one. The “…” menu to the facet of this water report part takes you to one more web page the place pH, ORP, and water temperature are outlined in finer element.
The backside line is that every one the details about your pool is there, however the app doesn’t actually prioritize what most pool house owners will wish to see first. Eventually I discovered a buried menu merchandise that not less than enables you to add pH and ORP to the highest of the second web page, however I nonetheless wasn’t in love with the structure. If numbers are off, the system permits you to set what model of chemical substances you employ so you will get a personalised advice about how a lot of any given product you need to use to right a problematic situation.
One concern I encountered is that Crystal constantly stories moderately excessive pH numbers for my pool compared to take a look at strips of assorted manufacture. Shortly after authentic calibration, in reality, a take a look at strip learn a pH of 7.2 however the app recommended a sky-high pH of 8.6. That studying has come down over time, however Crystal’s readings are nonetheless steadily coming in at 0.4 above what take a look at strips recommend.
Measurements of cyanuric acid and water hardness are additionally saved within the app, however these are drawn from take a look at strips that you’re prompted to periodically dip into the pool.
Christopher Null/Foundry
That mentioned, I’ve no method of understanding precisely which of those is right. ORP is more durable to guage since take a look at strips solely measure free chlorine, however right here Crystal’s numbers appear a bit overly optimistic about circumstances. I’ve come to count on a restrict to the accuracy of sensors like these, however my hope had been that repeated calibration with take a look at strips would deliver issues slightly nearer into alignment. Still, as a broad have a look at pool circumstances, issues are not less than shut sufficient to be helpful.
One factor I didn’t love was that the Crystal app inspired me to shock the pool each week, which is one thing I’ve by no means performed and one thing no pool upkeep professional I spoke to mentioned they’d ever performed both, citing it as overkill that would depart the pool with too many chemical substances in it regularly.
The Crystal Water Monitor’s sensor probe contained in the pool.
Christopher Null/Foundry
A Crystal rep admitted that there have been two colleges of thought on this entrance—shock weekly, or solely shock when circumstances are getting notably dire—however famous that many greatest practices nonetheless advocate a weekly shock. (My analysis signifies that’s certainly the case.) There’s no approach to inform Crystal what your desire is, however the weekly suggestion to shock is not less than simple to snooze or dismiss completely.
Up-front and ongoing prices
The Crystal Smart Water Monitor is offered on a subscription foundation. $449 will get you the {hardware} and your first yr of assist. If you’ve got a saltwater pool, the upfront worth is $479. Both price a further $99 per yr after the primary yr. That charge consists of substitute probes when wanted (each couple of years), assist, and every other {hardware} replacements you may want, which is just about something aside from recent AA batteries for the hub. Those ought to final a couple of yr. Crystal techies may even lookup your pool situation historical past if you happen to want recommendation on tips on how to resolve a selected chemical drawback.
The calculus on whether or not that is cheaper than ioPool (roughly $329 each different yr), WaterGuru ($300, plus about $25 monthly), or Sutro ($499, plus $29 monthly) shortly will get advanced. But although its up-front price is excessive, Crystal does arguably have the most cost effective possibility available on the market—relying on how lengthy your ioPool lasts. (Mine died after two years.)
Sadly, Crystal additionally has the least enticing monitoring resolution available on the market, and it’s not even shut. The hub isn’t unhealthy, however the black probe snaking into the pool is an actual eyesore that’s inconceivable to cover towards a white pool wall. Crystal may have gone a good distance towards fixing this by making the probe and connecting wire white as an alternative of black; however for now, no shade choices are supplied.
Don’t miss TechHive’s in-depth protection of the best robotic pool cleaners.
Should you purchase a Crystal Water Monitor?
The look of the Crystal Water Monitor alone is sufficient to make me query how lengthy I’ll maintain it within the pool. That mentioned, I’ll possible maintain it put in by the summer season to watch the way it fares over the long run because the climate will get (very) scorching.
Those with darkish surfaces of their swimming pools may discover this product much less visually intrusive.