At pool and spa trade shows, we often joke with one well-known service veteran — who seldom misses the opportunity to attend an industry event — that he must be handling his route by phone again.
For this, our yearly issue in which we take a look at automation in our industry, we thought that we would give him a call and see if he could share some of his insight into handling his route with some of the new technology available.
Through the exclusive use of a new telephone conference calling system, we were actually able to tape a conversation this professional was having with one of his Tuesday-morning customers. With names changed to protect the innocent, the conversation went something like this:
"Hi Mrs. Jones," he says. "This is Joe. Are you ready for your weekly service?"
"Yes Joe," Mrs. Jones replies. "I'm at the control panel now."
"Great. Press Aux 1 and tell me what it reads."
"It says, 'Chemical Readout: 1.5'"
"OK. Press Aux 2, then press 2.0 on the keypad, then press Enter."
"OK. I did that, Joe. What's next?"
"Well, we've adjusted the chlorine. Now let's check the pH. Press Aux 3, and tell me what it says."
"6.8."
"OK. Hit Aux 4, then 7.4, then Enter. Now what does the screen say?"
"This must be important, Joe. It reads 'Notice, Notice, Notice, Check Hardness.' "
"Don't worry. That's just to remind us that the water's hardness level needs to be checked once a month. Press Aux 5 and tell me what the number reads."
"It reads 195, Joe."
"That's good. Now let's take a look at the pool. Hit 'Pool Scan.' "
(Even though the customer could simply look out her window at the pool, the high-tech control monitoring system displays a mini television video of the pool, Joe tells us later. And as long as we've got it, we might as well use it, he says.)
"Joe, the pool display has blips running across the surface."
"Ahha. No problem. Hit Aux 6 and scroll until the display reads 'ALS' (This, it turns out, stands for Automatic Leaf Sucker, although it also happens to be the medical abbreviation for the condition now known as Lou Gehrig's Disease — which we'll probably have to start calling Cal Ripken's Disease in the future.) Press Enter and tell me what the monitor is doing."
"Joe, the blips are now being swallowed up by a little submarine-shaped thing with some letters on the side. I think it says LSD. Is that some kind of drug or something?"
"No, Mrs. Jones. It's the Leak Seeking Device, just doing its job. That should just about wrap it up for this week, Mrs. Jones. Press the Aux 37 key and scroll through until it reads 'ABCD.' (We must admit that at first, we thought this was some new alphabet soup. But it turns out to stand for Automatic Bill Carrying Device.) Now press Enter and tell me what the readout says."
"It reads, 'A-OK, Regular Billing, plus $12.50,' Joe."
"OK, I got it. Your bill will be in the mail. I'll call you next Tuesday, Mrs. Jones."
While the above conversation is presented in good humor, we know for a fact that many successful service companies are using some of today's automated systems to ease the workload and enhance their customers' enjoyment of the pools and spas.
Rather than haul chlorine and a vac hose around in the back of their service vehicles, pros are installing chlorine generators or other chemical feed devices as well as automatic cleaning systems to keep their pools sanitized and clear of debris. Clearly, many pool and spa service professionals are doing less of the actual "physical servicing" of the pools on their route and more of the "customer servicing" tasks.
We know that what your customer wants more than anything else is that his pool be clean and safe for his family and friends to use. So what do you think would keep him happier: to have you come every Tuesday to clean and chemically treat the pool, only to have a wind storm fill it with debris by the weekend; or to have you install an automatic cleaner and chemical controller that did the job every day?
The answer should be obvious.
Automation in the industry is allowing many to work smarter — not harder.
Believe it or not, this is a difficult concept for many service veterans who are used to working hard for a living and may have become set in their ways. But it's like the accountant who refuses to buy a computer. If you don't use the state-of-the-art technology, your competition will be able to do the job faster and for less money.
The key to success is to stay current. With that in mind, let's look at some of the many automatic devices out there that can make your job easier and at the same time improve your customers' enjoyment of their pools and spas.
First, there are automatic cleaning devices. When these units began to enter the marketplace several years back, many service professionals saw them as a threat to their livelihood. This was the first in a long list of misconceptions that, unfortunately, was made worse by the marketing efforts of some manufacturers when they were introduced.
Now, most automatic cleaning manufacturers spend a good deal of their advertising dollars marketing to service professionals rather than against them. They know that these units generally need to be installed and maintained professionally and that the best way into a homeowner's backyard is through a professional who is trusted by that homeowner.
Working off the suction or pressure side of the circulation system, with or without boosters, or on their own power using a separate pump, automatic cleaners can be fine-tuned to cover virtually all areas of a swimming pool with little maintenance during normal operating conditions.
Newly devised attachments such as a leaf trap add to the efficiency of these units, helping them clean surface debris without the manual skimming normally thought of as a service function.
But keeping the pool clean on a daily basis is only part the battle. Keeping it sanitized is another story altogether. The development of timers, chemical feeders and alternative sanitizing devices allowed service professionals to maintain halogen levels around the clock without having to be there in person to add chemicals.
Especially in commercial-pool applications, these devices are mandatory. But constant-feed or time-released devices do not take into account bather load or differences in chemical demand.
True chemical automation requires an ORP-based chemical controller, normally working in combination with a pH sensor. These devices activate feeders or other dispensers of pool chemicals on an as-needed basis.
ORP — which stands for Oxidation Reduction Potential — is the measurement of the water's ability to oxidize contaminants. We know that an oxidizer, like chlorine or bromine, works by stealing electrons from other substances. In the process of doing its job, the oxidizers are reduced, they lose their ability to oxidize further.
An ORP probe, working like a millivolt meter, measures the voltage or electrical potential in the water, based on the amount of oxidizer and the water's pH. It is generally accepted that a measurement of 650 millivolts (about 2/3 of a volt) is required to assure that the sanitizer level is sufficient to destroy harmful organisms in a body of water.
When the probe senses a level below 650, it then activates a feeder pump that induces chemicals into the water.
For technicians charged with maintaining a commercial pool and spa installation, chemical automation can reduce chemical consumption, extend the life of the equipment and vessel by constantly monitoring proper water balance and avoid shut-downs for excessive maintenance or repairs.
Alternative methods of water maintenance such as ozone and ionization also use ORP sensors. But because an oxidizer such as ozone does not normally maintain an effective residual for any length of time, most health departments in the United States require a halogen (chlorine or bromine) sanitizer residual to be maintained along with the non-halogen variety of oxidizer.
Chemical automation is an even greater benefit when used in a spa application, because of the increased heat and the higher turnover rate. A properly designed pool turns water volume every six to eight hours at a temperature of 82 degrees.
A spa, however, will turn water every 10 to 30 minutes at a temperature of 100 to 104 degrees. All this is complicated by the additional factors of high velocity and a significantly higher degree of body excretion.
Four people in a 400-gallon spa is the equivalent of 330 people in a 40,000-gallon pool. Proper sanitizer level in the same spa can dissipate in as little as 15 minutes.
The wide ranges of spa use, and rapidly changing nature of water sanitation and balance have prompted many states to consider automation a requirement on all commercial hot-water facilities. It is simply impossible to manually monitor the chemical changes and correctly treat highly used spa water to the degree that can be achieved through the use of automation.
OK, we now have water that is clean of debris because of the automatic cleaning device and water that is safe to swim in because of the automatic chemical control device. But what about automatic control over the equipment pad?
New technologies have addressed this as well. Especially in newer pool/spa combinations, your customers may want to be able to enjoy their "water wonderland" without having to learn the details of equipment pad operation.
Using computer-chip technology, they can press a button from inside their home — or even from their cellular phone — to control devices that can heat up the spa, start the waterfall, adjust the valves, turn on the lights or all of the above and more.
The multiport valve is the device that allows the pool and spa to be operated off the same equipment. With these devices, water flow can be directed or even reversed. And when the multiport meets up with an actuator motor, these functions can be accomplished with a flip of a switch or a remote signal.
The actuator is controlled by a remote device, which sends a signal to a pair of microswitches that, in turn, drive cam shafts that then turn the valve to an "open" or "closed" position. Most actuators operate in an oscillating fashion, clockwise with the first command, counterclockwise with the second, according to the design preset by the individual manufacturer.
The remote signal to activate the actuator can be sent by remote control by the operator at a whim. But that certainly doesn't make it completely automatic. It can be set to run automatically in either of two functions, however.
First, it can be a time function, set by the operator using a timeclock to switch on or off at a given, pre-set time every day or every period. Or, as in the case of an automatic backwash valve, it can be a function of the pressure differential on the filter.
Leading up to these more high-tech valve advances in controlling equipment was the earlier development of air switches in the industry. As spas were beginning to grow in popularity in the 1970s, manufacturers were looking for a way to remotely control spa functions yet protect bathers from electrical current. The initial solution to the problem was the air switch.
Today, the air switch typically uses a button which pushes air through a plastic tube that expands a diaphragm and, in turn, throws an electrical switch. One push on; one push off.
But as more functions were required, the 4-function switch was developed. Again using microswitches and a ratchet and cam configuration, the 4-function switch allows for four pushes on the button, each controlling a different piece of equipment. More modern developments have allowed for smaller and smaller switches that control more and more functions.
Whether or not you plan to begin "phoning in" your route through automation, service technicians should realize that their knowledge of the installation, operation and trouble-shooting of these systems will result in extra profits.
These units, after all, don't install and service themselves. And once they are in place, additional savings in equipment, energy and chemical costs can make your customer a bigger believer in your abilities.
Pac-Fab, based in Sanford, N.C., now markets its swimming pool equipment under the Triton Swimming Pool Systems label and obviously sees a bright future for automation. Experts tells us that some type of automatic control device is in use in as many as 40 percent of all pool/spa combinations in the country.
For service professionals, the Pac-Fab takeover means that they are going to see vast increase in the number of units out there, according to Compool's National Sales Manager Brian Lee. Pac-Fab national sales network will open up greater avenues and opportunities for sales of the units, both on new pool applications and on remodel jobs.
"There's never been a problem selling automatic controls to the higher end of the pool market," Lee said. "The big challenge is in the middle part of the market, to show the value to those customers."
He added that with Pac-Fab's leadership, Compool will be looking at expanding the retrofit market for automatic devices, especially when pool owners thinking about remodeling.
Lee said that technical training opportunities for service professionals will be on the increase. He said that it's likely that Pac-Fab, which runs about 50-60 pump and heater school across that nation each year, will add a segment on automation to the school's curriculum next year.