AusLeisure

The Northern Midlands Council in Central Tasmania has introduced a new solution to solve chlorination problem at its three swimming pools in Campbell Town, Cressy and Ross, backed by state-of-the-art communications to remote monitor and control the systems.

Having been working with a consultant to look at all aspects of the Campbell Town pool design and the plant, the Council was keen to get away from using chlorine gas in its facilities due to the potential danger and strict occupational health and safety requirements for that type of system.

The Council was also having to spend considerable amounts on regular and detailed training of their staff to handle gas chlorination safely.

With the three pools being spread out geographically, so a lot of travelling is required to get around to visit them for operational supervision and maintenance purposes.

The Council chose David Payne of Tassie Pool & Spa Pty Ltd in Launceston to assist them last year, and the result has been the installation of the latest design Pulsar ‘System 140’ dry chlorine briquette feeders at both Campbell Town and Cressy pools.

To provide reliable remote monitoring and control of the pools US made BECSys5ppm pH and free chlorine controllers were also installed, including the new ‘EZConnect’ G’Bit communications cards along with ‘BECSys for Windows’ PC software and the ‘BECSysNow!’ mobile device App.

With the controllers connected to the Council network, BECS ‘EZConnect’ enables password protected monitoring and control of each pool’s pH and chlorination levels from any computer on the Council network without the need for IP addresses from the IT department.

‘EZMail’ alarm e-mails are also reliably sent out by the controllers, via the dedicated BECS Technology Server, in the event of any out-of-range readings.

Regular remote monitoring by Payne, or by CouncilWorks Supervisor Damien Wilson, is also possible using the ‘BECSysNow!’ App on their mobile phones, with fully secured access.

They can then decide whether a situation can be handled by Council staff themselves, or whether it may require Payne to visit the site from Launceston.

This feature alone is proving very efficient and is saving both the Council and Tassie Pool & Spa a substantial amount in reduced travel costs and time. The reliable BECSys5ppm pH and free chlorine controllers save on chemical costs by tightly controlling the dosing of acid and Pulsar dry chlorine via the new feeders, ensuring constant disinfection and enabling them to pay for themselves over time. With the BECSys PC software constantly graphing the pool readings and events the Council is now getting more accurate historical record keeping as well – a useful backup to their regular manual pool tests at the poolside.

Additional information gained from data logging also reinforced recommendations made to the consultant regarding the operation and heating proposals for the Campbell Town pool development.

The popular new design of Pulsar feeders were easily installed into the existing plantrooms and have improved hoppers with a relatively small footprint.

They offer several benefits over both the models they replace and over other types of dry chlorine feeders on the market.

Pulsar dry chlorine Briquettes are designed to be easily scooped from the 20 kilogram delivery drums with a special scoop provided and the small pillow shaped tablets (with a built-in antiscalant) are very low in dust, as preferred by operators. A couple of features in the new design feeders have been incorporated to overcome any possible clogging issues, with the new touchscreen control panel includes an internal feeder self flushing program via a dedicated solenoid valve and there is now a Pulsar cleaning solution dosing pump, which puts a small dose of solution into the sump of the feeder as needed.

The combination of these two design features keep the sump of the feeders clean and free from sludge build-up, thus reducing the requirement for periodic manual cleaning. To save energy the control panel can control the feeder venturi booster pump to reduce energy consumption by shutting it down in periods of low usage.

Overall the adjustability that is offered by the new system enables precise fine tuning of the dosing for any size of pool, improving both dosing accuracy and disinfection consistency. Added safety features of the system will further protect operators by shutting off the feeder if the lid to the hopper is opened, or if flow to the venturi booster pump is restricted.

Level sensors help to avoid the risk of flooding of the system and they will be reset once the situation is corrected for smooth operation at all times.

Overall the installations at Campbell Town and Cressy Pools last season have been a great success and Northern Midlands Council are now looking install the same system at the Ross Pool. Great safety and efficiency improvements with cost savings are being realised by Council at these two sites along with vastly improved monitoring, support and record keeping for the pools from Tassie Pool & Spa using the well proven BECSys controllers and software.

For more information on Pulsar products and BECSys controllers and software click here to contact Tim Batt Water Solutions via their entry in the Australasian Leisure Management Supplier Directory.

Images: Pulsar and BECSys controllers as installed at the Campbell Town and Cressy pools.

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