Coughlan’s Swim Centre

CHEMTROL® controller keeps high bather load swim school operating smoothly with remote monitoring

Client: Coughlan’s Swim Centre 

Facility: Swim school (25m, 18m & 10m pools)

Equipment: CHEMTROL® PC5100 Controller and 2x CHEMTROL® PC110c Controllers

Like most swim schools with a high bather load relative to their size, maintaining water balance and water quality is critical. Coughlans Swim Centre, a local family owned and operated operation in Warners Bay, Newcastle approached us for a solution for their swim centre.

The swim school caters for lessons, swim squads and social swimmers across its three pools, with a local claim to fame as the home of the Novocastrian Swim Club, which counts as among its members Olympic swimmers Tristan Hollard and Abbey Harkin.

They first approached us in 2021 looking for a fully-featured controller to help them get on top of the water chemistry and quality of their 25m, 500 000 litre indoor lap pool. We recommended they install the PC5100 Programmable Controller, a unit that features automatic control and monitoring of water chemistry, TDS, pH control and more. 

Based on the positive experience and performance of the initial controller they installed two additional controllers (2023), in their 18m training pool and 10m hydrotherapy pool. 

Tyler Coughlan was kind enough to talk us through his experience of the units to date.

What type of facility do you have? 

Our swim school has three pools:

• A 25m, 8 lane 500 000 litre indoor lap pool, which we keep at 27°C
• A 16m training pool, which we keep at 31°C
• A 10m hydrotherapy pool, which we keep at 34°C

The main lap pool where the first Chemtrol controller was installed. It is half a million litres and gets heavily utilised with lessons, squads and recreational swimmers, so the bather load is pretty heavy. 

How many people use the facility?

In terms of bather load we are currently averaging anywhere from 2000 to 2500 bathers/week in our 25m pool. This is a combination of swim squads, lessons and recreational swimmers.
The training pool is less than that, but still a decent number/week.

Prior to installing the new controller, what was your testing regime? 

We had a very basic residential grade unit installed, which meant we had to back this up with manual tests every 2 hours and we were also dosing manually. Reading were all over the place and it was a real hassle to keep on top of water quality, especially when the facility is busy.

What were you looking for in a new controller?

Bather safety in terms of water quality is a priority for us, so consistency was an obvious requirement. We also wanted a product with a little more functionality than basic monitoring. I was interested to have visibility on not just free chlorine levels but also total chlorine and combined chlorine, as well as the remote monitoring and alarm/alert functions.

Why did you choose a Chemtrol product?

I did some initial research and found three main contenders in Australia, including Chemtrol, who could provide the features I wanted. The deciding factor was a word of mouth recommendation from another swim school who were very happy with their experience with a Chemtrol unit.

” The deciding factor was a word of mouth recommendation from another swim school, who were very happy with their experience with a Chemtrol controller “

And you recently purchased two additional controllers?

Yes, we had such a positive experience with the first unit in our main pool, that we decided to upgrade our two other pools with the same controller (2023). It was an easy decision as we get the same benefits and features now across the whole swim school.

What features do you most appreciate about the controllers?

There are quite a few features I use a lot and appreciate:

• The big advantage of these controllers are the real-time monitoring data we get from the sensors. It’s next-level compared to our old system which required manual testing throughout the day – and if readings do spike I get a text alert. 

• The remote control and monitoring feature is also a highlight. I have the Chemtrol app on my phone and I can check on readings when I am out and about. I can also access the controller from my browser when I am at my desk.
  
• The alarm function is very useful. I get a text message when any of the parameters, like pH or chlorine spike.
  

Last, but not least, these units are accurate and reliable – it’s ‘set and forget’, which is great for peace of mind.

” The big advantage of this controller is the real-time monitoring data we get from the sensors. It’s next-level compared to our old system which required manual testing throughout the day “

What is your overall experience of Chemtrol and the installation process?

I am appreciating the continued customer service I am getting from Kobby. He didn’t just disappear after the sale. He was actually here just last week and checked up on the installation, performed an update and gave us some further pointers to ensure we get the most out of the controller. He’s also very helpful with any troubleshooting over the phone if needed.

CHEMTROL® PC5100 Controller

The CHEMTROL® PC5100 Controller is a programmable control system that offers complete chemical automation for pools and spas.
This includes:

√  Dual ppm (Free and Total Chlorine) with UV control
√  pH
√  ORP
√  Conductivity or TDS
√  Make-up water and auto replacement
√  Water balance with Langelier Saturation Index
√  Temperature and heater control

This model also incorporates two unique solid-state PPM SENSORS that generate easy-to-use, direct and reliable readings of both Free and Total Chlorine concentration in water.

Get in touch for advice on the best programmable controller for your aquatic facility, that way we can provide a competitive pricing solution based on the functionality you need.