Proper chemical balance is vital for keeping your swimming pool clean and free of harmful bacteria and algae, but there is more to safe swimming than just clean water.
Knowing the current UV Index before you head out for a dip gives you a chance to slather on the appropriate amount of sunscreen, and it's always a good idea to know how warm or cold the water is before taking a plunge.
The cFloat ($399) lets you monitor all of these conditions, as well as sanitizer and pH levels and certain environmental conditions inside your home.
It even tells you if there's activity in your pool and will charge your Qi-enabled devices wirelessly.
Design and Features
The cFloat consists of a buoy equipped with multiple sensors that floats around in your pool, an indoor gateway that communicates with the buoy and connects to your home Wi-Fi, and a magnetic puck that is used to charge the buoy and power it up.
It comes with two USB charging cables and power adapters, a quick start guide, and two sensor caps.
The buoy is a white plastic orb with a 6.2-inch diameter.
At the top of it are motion sensors, a UV sensor, an air temperature sensor, and an LED that glows blue when the motion sensors are triggered.
There's also a round indentation that holds the puck while charging.
Inside is a rechargeable battery that is rated to last up to 20 days.
A 1.5-inch cap at the bottom of the orb covers the water chemistry and water temperature sensors.
The buoy uses wireless technology to send captured data to the gateway, which then sends it to the cloud so that you can access it from anywhere.
As with the pHin Pool Monitor, the cFloat's water sensors have a two-year life expectancy, but you can send the unit back to cFloat and to replace them for $60.
With the pHin device you have to pay a mandatory $99-per-year subscription fee to receive a full replacement unit when it reaches the end of its life (also every two years).
The white puck-shaped gateway is 1.2 inches high and 5.3 inches in diameter.
It contains sensors for measuring indoor air temperature, humidity, air quality (TVOC and eCO2), and atmospheric pressure, and has a 60dB siren that sounds when the buoy detects motion.
A round indent at the top of the gateway holds the above-mentioned 2.3-inch (diameter) charging puck when not in use, and there's a small LED light that glows blue when the alarm sounds and flashes blue during setup.
To silence a motion alarm, place your hand over the LED for several seconds.
Around back is a mini USB power jack.
The cFloat doesn't offer all of the typical measurements that you get with most test kits, such as Free and Total Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, and Total Hardness.
Instead it uses an ORP (Oxidation-Reduction Potential) measurement that tells you how effective your disinfectant (chlorine or salt) is at keeping your pool clean and safe.
It also measures your water's pH level, temperature, and evaporation rate, which is calculated using water temperature, air temperature, humidity, and wind speed.
Other outdoor environmental measurements include UV Index and air temperature.
Unlike the pHin, which stops working completely if you don't renew your annual subscription, the cFloat mobile app (available for Android and iOS) is completely free and doesn't require any kind of subscription.
It opens to a home screen with Monitoring, Settings, and Fun With cFloat buttons.
Tapping the Monitoring button displays the pool name and all of its current readings.
Here you can view ORP and pH levels, the current UV Index, air and water temperature, and the buoy's radio signal strength and battery level.
Tap the gateway icon to view indoor air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and air quality readings.
At the bottom of the screen is a Charts button that takes you to a screen where you can see all of the above data presented in daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly graphical charts.
The Settings button opens a screen where you can select the water treatment type (chlorine, salt), measurement units (imperial, metric), and enter pool characteristics (water volume, pool size).
Here you can also turn the motion alarm on and off and enable/disable push notifications.
The Fun With cFloat button takes you to a screen where you can use the buoy's motion sensor to gauge cannonball jumps (the bigger the splash, the higher your score) and perfect dives (the smaller the splash, the higher your score).
Installation and Performance
Installing the cFloat is fairly easy.
I used the charging puck to power up the buoy overnight, downloaded the mobile app, and created an account.
Following the instructions in the quick start guide I removed the bottles from each of the two water quality sensors, taking care not to spill the liquid inside.
I attached the cap with the water vents and used the puck to power up the buoy.
This is done by moving the puck from back to front along the colored line on the buoy until the LED flashes blue.
Next, I followed the app's installation instructions: I selected the treatment type (salt, chlorine) and entered my pool size water volume information.
I entered my network SSID and password, gave the system a name, and used my phone's Wi-Fi settings to connect to the gateway.
After a minute or so the gateway was connected to my network and I placed the buoy in my pool.
The cFloat performed as advertised in most of my testing.
The ORP reading matched my test strip's Free Chlorine reading, which tells you how much of the chlorine in your pool is actually available for sanitizing the water.
The cFloat's pH readings also matched up nicely with my test strip readings, and the UV Index reading was right in line with what the weather forecast reported.
However, the outdoor air temperature was typically more than 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) higher during the day than what the weather stations and my outdoor thermometer reported.
A cFloat technician explained that since the temperature gauge is on top of the buoy and not in the shade, it is reporting the actual "real feel" temperature at that point of the day.
This makes sense but can be misleading if you're looking at a weather app or getting your information from your local TV weatherperson.
My pool's Water Evaporation rate was reported as 601.60 gallons per day, which is way off.
At that rate my pool would be empty within 40 days.
As it turns out, the gateway was getting bad data from its weather source, which in turn skewed my evaporation rate.
Once corrected, the number dropped to 80 gallons a day, which still seems high but is much more reasonable.
Additionally, the app misbehaved a few times during testing.
At one point I was unable to turn the alarm on and off and the app would shut down every so often when I tried to access the Fun With cFloat features or view certain charts.
Restarting the app always resolved the issue, however.
The motion alarm worked as advertised, but the buoy's motion sensors are a bit too sensitive and would trigger an alarm when the buoy moved about as the filter was running.
A scheduling option that allows you to disarm the buoy when the filter is scheduled to run would be welcome here, as would a motion sensitivity setting, which is on the roadmap according to the company, along with Amazon Alexa compatibility.
The indoor gateway sensor provided accurate temperature and humidity readings, and the wireless charger worked like a charm with Qi-compatible phones.
Conclusions
If you're looking for a way to monitor your pool's activity and water quality from your phone, the cFloat is a solid choice.
It not only keeps tabs on your pool's water chemistry, but also lets you know when there's activity in the pool and tracks air and water temperature as well as the UV Index and potential water evaporation rates.
In my testing, the water motion sensor worked well but was a bit too sensitive, and while water temperature and chemical measurements were very accurate, the evaporation and outdoor air temperature readings were a bit skewed.
Despite the app's minor hiccups, it provides lots of useful data and historical charts and is easy to use.
You get more water quality measurements from the pHin Smart Pool Monitor, but you have to pay a yearly subscription fee to use it, making the cFloat the more economical choice.
Pros
Provides water chemical, outdoor air temperature, and water temperature readings.
Detects pool water motion.
Provides indoor environmental readings.
No subscription fees.
Gateway doubles as a wireless charger.
View More
The Bottom Line
The cFloat monitor lets you keep tabs on your pool water quality and activity and even keeps track of environmental conditions inside your home.
Proper chemical balance is vital for keeping your swimming pool clean and free of harmful bacteria and algae, but there is more to safe swimming than just clean water.
Knowing the current UV Index before you head out for a dip gives you a chance to slather on the appropriate amount of sunscreen, and it's always a good idea to know how warm or cold the water is before taking a plunge.
The cFloat ($399) lets you monitor all of these conditions, as well as sanitizer and pH levels and certain environmental conditions inside your home.
It even tells you if there's activity in your pool and will charge your Qi-enabled devices wirelessly.
Design and Features
The cFloat consists of a buoy equipped with multiple sensors that floats around in your pool, an indoor gateway that communicates with the buoy and connects to your home Wi-Fi, and a magnetic puck that is used to charge the buoy and power it up.
It comes with two USB charging cables and power adapters, a quick start guide, and two sensor caps.
The buoy is a white plastic orb with a 6.2-inch diameter.
At the top of it are motion sensors, a UV sensor, an air temperature sensor, and an LED that glows blue when the motion sensors are triggered.
There's also a round indentation that holds the puck while charging.
Inside is a rechargeable battery that is rated to last up to 20 days.
A 1.5-inch cap at the bottom of the orb covers the water chemistry and water temperature sensors.
The buoy uses wireless technology to send captured data to the gateway, which then sends it to the cloud so that you can access it from anywhere.
As with the pHin Pool Monitor, the cFloat's water sensors have a two-year life expectancy, but you can send the unit back to cFloat and to replace them for $60.
With the pHin device you have to pay a mandatory $99-per-year subscription fee to receive a full replacement unit when it reaches the end of its life (also every two years).
The white puck-shaped gateway is 1.2 inches high and 5.3 inches in diameter.
It contains sensors for measuring indoor air temperature, humidity, air quality (TVOC and eCO2), and atmospheric pressure, and has a 60dB siren that sounds when the buoy detects motion.
A round indent at the top of the gateway holds the above-mentioned 2.3-inch (diameter) charging puck when not in use, and there's a small LED light that glows blue when the alarm sounds and flashes blue during setup.
To silence a motion alarm, place your hand over the LED for several seconds.
Around back is a mini USB power jack.
The cFloat doesn't offer all of the typical measurements that you get with most test kits, such as Free and Total Chlorine, Total Alkalinity, and Total Hardness.
Instead it uses an ORP (Oxidation-Reduction Potential) measurement that tells you how effective your disinfectant (chlorine or salt) is at keeping your pool clean and safe.
It also measures your water's pH level, temperature, and evaporation rate, which is calculated using water temperature, air temperature, humidity, and wind speed.
Other outdoor environmental measurements include UV Index and air temperature.
Unlike the pHin, which stops working completely if you don't renew your annual subscription, the cFloat mobile app (available for Android and iOS) is completely free and doesn't require any kind of subscription.
It opens to a home screen with Monitoring, Settings, and Fun With cFloat buttons.
Tapping the Monitoring button displays the pool name and all of its current readings.
Here you can view ORP and pH levels, the current UV Index, air and water temperature, and the buoy's radio signal strength and battery level.
Tap the gateway icon to view indoor air temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, and air quality readings.
At the bottom of the screen is a Charts button that takes you to a screen where you can see all of the above data presented in daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly graphical charts.
The Settings button opens a screen where you can select the water treatment type (chlorine, salt), measurement units (imperial, metric), and enter pool characteristics (water volume, pool size).
Here you can also turn the motion alarm on and off and enable/disable push notifications.
The Fun With cFloat button takes you to a screen where you can use the buoy's motion sensor to gauge cannonball jumps (the bigger the splash, the higher your score) and perfect dives (the smaller the splash, the higher your score).
Installation and Performance
Installing the cFloat is fairly easy.
I used the charging puck to power up the buoy overnight, downloaded the mobile app, and created an account.
Following the instructions in the quick start guide I removed the bottles from each of the two water quality sensors, taking care not to spill the liquid inside.
I attached the cap with the water vents and used the puck to power up the buoy.
This is done by moving the puck from back to front along the colored line on the buoy until the LED flashes blue.
Next, I followed the app's installation instructions: I selected the treatment type (salt, chlorine) and entered my pool size water volume information.
I entered my network SSID and password, gave the system a name, and used my phone's Wi-Fi settings to connect to the gateway.
After a minute or so the gateway was connected to my network and I placed the buoy in my pool.
The cFloat performed as advertised in most of my testing.
The ORP reading matched my test strip's Free Chlorine reading, which tells you how much of the chlorine in your pool is actually available for sanitizing the water.
The cFloat's pH readings also matched up nicely with my test strip readings, and the UV Index reading was right in line with what the weather forecast reported.
However, the outdoor air temperature was typically more than 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) higher during the day than what the weather stations and my outdoor thermometer reported.
A cFloat technician explained that since the temperature gauge is on top of the buoy and not in the shade, it is reporting the actual "real feel" temperature at that point of the day.
This makes sense but can be misleading if you're looking at a weather app or getting your information from your local TV weatherperson.
My pool's Water Evaporation rate was reported as 601.60 gallons per day, which is way off.
At that rate my pool would be empty within 40 days.
As it turns out, the gateway was getting bad data from its weather source, which in turn skewed my evaporation rate.
Once corrected, the number dropped to 80 gallons a day, which still seems high but is much more reasonable.
Additionally, the app misbehaved a few times during testing.
At one point I was unable to turn the alarm on and off and the app would shut down every so often when I tried to access the Fun With cFloat features or view certain charts.
Restarting the app always resolved the issue, however.
The motion alarm worked as advertised, but the buoy's motion sensors are a bit too sensitive and would trigger an alarm when the buoy moved about as the filter was running.
A scheduling option that allows you to disarm the buoy when the filter is scheduled to run would be welcome here, as would a motion sensitivity setting, which is on the roadmap according to the company, along with Amazon Alexa compatibility.
The indoor gateway sensor provided accurate temperature and humidity readings, and the wireless charger worked like a charm with Qi-compatible phones.
Conclusions
If you're looking for a way to monitor your pool's activity and water quality from your phone, the cFloat is a solid choice.
It not only keeps tabs on your pool's water chemistry, but also lets you know when there's activity in the pool and tracks air and water temperature as well as the UV Index and potential water evaporation rates.
In my testing, the water motion sensor worked well but was a bit too sensitive, and while water temperature and chemical measurements were very accurate, the evaporation and outdoor air temperature readings were a bit skewed.
Despite the app's minor hiccups, it provides lots of useful data and historical charts and is easy to use.
You get more water quality measurements from the pHin Smart Pool Monitor, but you have to pay a yearly subscription fee to use it, making the cFloat the more economical choice.
Pros
Provides water chemical, outdoor air temperature, and water temperature readings.
Detects pool water motion.
Provides indoor environmental readings.
No subscription fees.
Gateway doubles as a wireless charger.
View More
The Bottom Line
The cFloat monitor lets you keep tabs on your pool water quality and activity and even keeps track of environmental conditions inside your home.
