AusLeisure

Having recent years having expanded into commercial pool operations, leading pool and spa equipment provider Davey Water Products recently delivered efficient pool maintenance solutions for Victorian waterpark and attraction, Gumbuya World.

With a total of 3.5 million litres of water flow through Gumbuya World’s pools, slides and lazy river, consultant Adrian Pratt from WJ Pratt was tasked with designing the water infrastructure and worked with Davey Water Products to select and customise pumps for the huge project.

Pratt advised “the pump selection is absolutely critical to the project’s success. As the slides are designed to be run at very specific flow rates the pumps selected had to be sized correctly to achieve these. Too much water slows the rides down and not enough water can actually speed the slides up, which of course is an unacceptable safety risk.”

Pratt notes that with using Davey Water Products “we can run the entire plant from anywhere in the world.”

The ISOspec long and close-coupled pumps have been customised with stainless steel impellers and upgraded shaft seals to handle the demands of the park. Adrian and his team can run the system remotely.

Pratt explains that Davey struck the right balance between being responsive and recognising that there were many other facets of the project being handled at the same time and adds “we needed to know someone could respond very quickly if there was an issue. But there hasn’t been an issue at all, and in fact when it came time for stage two of the project, we went straight to Davey based on the performance of the products in stage one.”

Davey Pool Products Manager Amanda Minogue (pictured above) says that while the function of pool equipment is getting more sophisticated, the operation is becoming more simple as new innovations in technology – such as intelligent controls - are making pool ownership and operation less cumbersome.

Minogue has recently committed to a new program of innovation investment that is focused largely on using ‘Internet of Things’ technology to change the way pools are managed.

Davey Water Products recently released the Chloromatic Nipper, a clever and compact chlorinator which uses Davey’s intelligent controls to keep pool waters swim-ready all year long.

Minogue advises “this is an exciting new product and there is more to come. Soon we’ll be launching a modular chemical control option which basically means customers will be able to use an app to monitor and remotely manage their pool.

Reliability and product quality is important in commercial pool applications with Minogue noting “you don’t want to close down a water park because a pump doesn’t work one day. Plus, we sell product right across the globe, into some of the harshest environments in the world. So, we take reliability very seriously. Sometimes customers open their pump and say it looks like it has been run through water – that’s a good thing, because it means it has been tested on the line before we pack it into a box. We test all of our pumps for up to 100 hours.”

While reliability and ease of use are some of the key drivers of product innovation, Minogue says energy efficiency is also very high on the list.

“From both a cost and an environmental impact perspective, customers are really paying a lot more attention to the energy efficiency of their pool set up. This is having impacts in pool design and operation. From a design perspective we’re seeing pools get smaller while in terms of operation, we are seeing a big take up of products like variable speed pumps, which allow pump performance to be adjusted depending how much the pool is being used. Our ProMaster pump with app control via Bluetooth delivers up to 70% lower energy use than a traditional fixed speed 1hp pump.

“Customers in both the residential and commercial sectors are also looking at ways to connect their pool management and rainwater harvesting systems so they can enjoy their pools and optimise water usage at the same time.”

MInogue says Davey’s approach to innovation is about continual improvement and adds “we’re always adapting. We don’t just launch a product to market and leave it. We listen to feedback, we talk to customers, we look for ways to improve.”

Click here to view Davey Pool Products’ entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory. 

Images: David Potts, Commercial Business Development Manager for Davey Water Products with Adrian Pratt, WJ Pratt Industries, inspecting the water pumps at Gumbuya World in Victoria (top) and Amanda Minogue, Davey Pool Products Manager who notes that customers want reliability, efficiency and simplicity when looking after their pools (below).

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