Emler Swim School - ProMinent Fluid Controls, Inc.

COMMERCIAL POOL WATER CHEMISTRY CONTROL
Enhancing an Indoor Pool
Environment
by Jim Tanner
By switching to automated water
chemistry control based on real-time
chlorine levels (ppm), Emler Swim School
found an effective solution to a recurring
problem.
When parents of young swimmers look out
over the pools serving Emler Swim School,
Mike Gentry knows they had better see clear,
sparkling water.
Maintaining clean, safe pool water at all
times is top priority for Gentry, Director of
Maintenance – Pool Operations, for Emler
Swim School. Emler operates seven schools in
and around Dallas and Austin, Texas. All levels
of instruction are based on Emler’s award-winning SwimScript© curriculum that is continually
updated with new techniques to keep it on the
cutting edge of aquatic education.
Changing Tactics
Maintaining Water Quality
Maintaining clear, safe pool water at all
times is a top priority for Emler Swim School.
The school is one of the few pool facilities in
the Dallas area that has invested in Ultraviolet
(UV) Light disinfection systems. Medium pressure UV systems are used for both eradication
of micro-organisms and chloramine removal.
Difficulties maintaining properly balanced
water chemistry can bring numerous problems
to indoor pool facilities, so Gentry was concerned when chlorine levels in the pool at Em-
Maintaining clear, safe pool water at all times is
top priority for Emler Swim School. Emler operates
seven highly regarded swim schools in and around
Dallas and Austin, Texas.
(based on ORP) or pH was indicated. “We also
always test our pool water manually every hour
when instructors and their classes are in the
pool,” Gentry says. “But on Sundays we were
relying strictly on the controller.”
ORP has long been used as the main indicator for determining how much chlorine is
in commercial swimming pool water, but for
Gentry this was creating problems. “Everything
worked fine for awhile after we installed the
controller, but it began giving us trouble due to
inaccurate ORP readings. Then, the controllers
at some of our other locations began to have
similar problems. Chlorine residuals would be
fine until we came back in on Mondays. We
never seemed to be able to get out of this endless loop.”
Mike Gentry with Emler Swim School checks out
the ProMinent DCM-502. The system automatically
controls the school’s pool water chemistry,
including its UV operations.
ler’s Frisco facility began to migrate up over
the weekends.
“The pool is closed Sundays, but our automated controller was still continuing to
generate and feed chlorine during this time,
even though the pool was not in use,” he
says. “The controller’s ORP sensor seemed
to just go blind during these longer periods
of inactivity. The system was showing low
ORP when chlorine levels were actually very
high. We strive to keep our chlorine residual
in the 2-3 ppm range, but we were often
dealing with upwards of 13-14 ppm chlorine
when we came in to work Monday mornings.”
The pool’s water chemistry was being monitored and controlled by a system installed several years earlier to automatically feed chlorine
and other chemicals when a change in chlorine
In January 2012, Gentry replaced the water chemistry controller
at the school’s Frisco fa- “Our chlorine
cility with a completely residuals would be
new system for monifine until we came
toring and controlling
water chemistry. The new back in on Monday
system, a ProMinent mornings... We
DCM-502 water chemnever seemed to be
istry controller, monitors and controls pH, able to get out of
ORP, free chlorine and this endless loop.”
total chlorine. The control system uses real-time free chlorine and
combined chlorine measurements (in ppm)
to control chlorine feed and uses combined
chlorine readings to control secondary oxidizers such as UV. ORP is also still used as a
background measurement as a backup safety
component. For example, if ORP drops below
a predetermined setpoint, the controller can
switch from ppm to ORP control, if desired)
The DCM-502 is one of the first water
chemistry controllers in the commercial pool
industry that provides an actual, real-time combined chlorine reading. Based on these real-time
combined chlorine ppm measurements, water
chemistry at Emler Swim School’s Frisco facility was stabilized almost immediately after final
calibrations to the system were made.
Due to the success with the new system, the
school recently decided to install new DCM502 controllers at three additional facilities.
“I like the fact that the chlorine can be controlled from a real-time free chlorine measurement rather than ORP,” Gentry says. “With
COMMERCIAL POOL WATER CHEMISTRY CONTROL
the new controller we’re now using the actual
free chlorine as our guideline measurement and
ORP as our assist measurement.”
The new pool water chemistry controller
also controls the facility’s UV system based on
the real-time combined chlorine reading and
other pool chemistry measurements.
“The controller extrapolates the amount of
chloramines in the water and automatically
turns on the UV to eradicate that bad chlorine,” Gentry says, “so now we don’t have the
foul odor you often smell in an indoor pool. We
don’t have that bleachy smell or the associated
corrosion problems that excessive chloramines
can bring.”
Mobility
By switching water chemistry control systems, Gentry also added mobility to his pro- Gentry now has the capability of monitoring and controlling pool water chemistry via the Internet from anywhere. The ProMinent DCM-502 monitors and controls pH, ORP, free chlorine, total chlorine and UV.
gram. The system provides for standard webbased, real-time monitoring and control via
a network-enabled PC, smart phone, iPad or levels are accurately measured and controlled at
other tablet device.
all times. Programmable alarms notify Gentry
“With our old controllers, we had to physi- and his team if chlorine or pH levels drop below
cally stand right in front of them to monitor or rise above certain key levels. This provides
and adjust water chemistry settings, but now them with almost immediate notification in the
I can do this via the Internet from anywhere. event of an emergency or equipment failure.
There are other control“If there are times when I’m away from a site
“We’re now
lers that can also do this, but see on my computer that pH might be readusing the actual but what turned me to- ing a little bit off, for example, I can call the techcombined chlorine wards this new unit is the nician at the facility and have them take a couple before we begin to use more of their functions,”
fact that I can also get an
tests and let me know the results at 30-minute Gentry says.
as our guideline actual ppm reading for of
intervals. It might turn out that I simply need to
measurement and chlorine. The mobility calibrate the system on my end, which eliminates Reporting
2004 feature
– VOLUME
ISSUEforward
1
A QUARTERLY
FOR was
COMMERCIAL
MANAGEMENT
very impor- SWIMMING
• SPRING
a trip for me.POOL
The mobility
provided by the
new
Another
Gentry is1 looking
to
ORP as ourBRIEFING
assist feature
tant to us in our decision, control systems makes this really nice.”
setting up in the system is its Trackster™ auto
measurement.”
though. We wanted to be
The ProMinent DCM-502 is also designed poll, data
logging, graphing and report buildSPECIALIZED CHEMISTRY,
ARCH
able to access
our water chemistry systems from to control backwash and filter operations, al- ing software.
TECHNOLOGY
& SERVICE
“It willSOLUTIONS
be great to have docuINTEGRATED
anywhere.”
though Emler Swim School has not yet included mentation readily available via this proprietary
Gentry currently has the school’s water chem- those functions in its operations. “We want to software for capturing data,” he says. Controlistry controllers set to remotely monitor real- become as familiar as possible with the units ler events such as feeder activity, alarms, and
time pH levels, chorine levels, combined chlorine
individual operator adjustments can also be
pool water chemArch provides
timely
levels, TDS
levelssolutions
and water temperature.
recorded.
to the operational
“It will alsoand
tellpublic
me whether istry.
or not my chloIn addition, all this reporting data will soon
Arch’sare
techniEXCHANGE . A N
generatoraffecting
pump and UV system
curhealthrine
challenges
be availableNFORMATION
via cloud technology.
No software
a l shave
t a ff been
and
overused
maybe.pool
But inforrunning swimming
and how long cthey
today’srently
commercial
will be necessary
– allphrase,
the necessary
highly
skilled
how
much
information
running”
Gentry
says.
“I
also
have
it
set
up
to
mation will be available in the cloud. is
pools – and for meeting the
representatives
enough?
As maintaining
tell
me
the
actual
temperature
of
the
pool
room
Reliable
automation
and balanced
remote access
increasing demand for
–
the
air
temperature,
at
two
of
our
locations.”
work
closely
with
swimming
pool
water
chemistry
is providing superior water quality
at Emler
improved efficiencies.
Swim while
Schoolimproving
during the
intervals operof heaviest
commercial
day-to-day
Interactive Control
use asating
well as
during times
of inactivity,
swimming pool
efficiencies
becomes
more miniPROVIDING
ESSENTIAL , BAL A sample flow from a sidestream
is fed– toat
mizingand
maintenance
– and and
providing
operators
more of a concerns
priority, useful
ANCED water chemistry is an
flow cells, where
probesfor
read w
pH,
peace of
mind.information becomes ina t eORP,
r p appm
rks,
timely
ever-evolving
process
chlorine and ppm combined chlorine. When the
creasingly valuable. That’s why
many commercial swimming pool YMCAs, municicontroller reads that free chlorine levels are beSchool isworks
hard to provide
an inviting
Author:
Jim Tanner
is Director
– Aquatic
Arch Swim
Chemicals
a nationwide
provider
of single-About the
we’ve
introduced
ARCH
Waterline
operators. Influenced by regula- pal aquatic facili- Emler
low the setpoint, additional chlorine is released atmosphere
that leaves
a positive,commercial
lasting impression
Division, ProMinent Fluid Controls for ProMinent
source
solutions
for
making
pool
water
– A Quarterly
Briefing For Commertory requirements
and budget ties and motels –
its students
their
parents.
USA. Email:
jimt@prominent.us
into the filtered water. Thus, chlorine residual on
cleaner,
safer,andand
more
efficient.
waterline
Arch Ushers In New Era In Pool Water Care
Meeting
Your Needs
I
P
pressures, many owners and managers are finding they must search
for ways to improve efficiency, per-
to provide timely
solutions to operational and public health challenges, as well as to
cial Swimming Pool Management.
pabilities to swimming pool waARCH Waterline looks6/5/2013
at the (pn:
sci-7750201)
Emler_Swim_School_2ndFINAL_HR.pdf
ter chemistry – not just chemience behind pool water manage-