The opening of the new Dartmouth Indoor Swimming Pool next month comes after many years of hard fund raising by the local community. For installers, Westcountry Leisure the new OC-1 filtration system, with its promise of reduced energy consumption and much-increased efficiency, was a natural choice.

Dartmouth indoor swimming pool

Speaking at the "topping out" stage of the new Dartmouth Indoor Pool in early March, the Mayor of Dartmouth spoke of the enthusiasm within the community as they have watched the pool taking shape.  "There are people here who have contributed to the swimming pool fund over the last 50 years. For a coastal town, it is essential that people learn to swim and feel safe and confident, both working and taking part in activities on the river. Dartmouth town is proud to be part of this development."

Devonshire pool specialists, Westcountry Leisure installed the beautiful 25m swimming pool using Certikin supplied equipment and, impressed with the claims of the new ground-breaking OC-1 filter media, felt that this would be an excellent occasion to put it through its paces.

Embracing the recent advances in pump technology and maximising the benefits of variable speed pumps, the ingenious OC-1 works through settlement, as opposed to the traditional method of entrapment. By replacing commonly used media (such as sand and glass) with OC-1 Filtration Media it is possible to reduce the head loss in the filtration system; filter with a constant flow (regardless of debris entrapment) and, most remarkably, significantly reduce energy costs as it can be used with a smaller pump or a variable speed pump or controller. All this whilst still filtering to the equivalent standard for traditional filter media.

Certikin’s Commercial Manager, Steve Nelson, went into consultation with Westcountry’s Mark Gilpin and estimated that using OC-1 compared to sand would in terms of electricity consumption save 71.73kW per day, which over the year equates to 26,181.45 kW.  Assuming a price of 12p a kW, this amounts to a massive saving of £3,141.77 each year!

Mark Gilpin says: “Of course the system has still to be fully tested when the pool opens to the public but thus far I have to say I am hugely impressed. OC-1 has reduced the pump current and running costs dramatically. To be honest, I am amazed at just how efficiently it does work and the results it achieves.  I think it justifies the title of a revolutionary product.”

OC-1 at a glance

Reduces energy consumption – OC-1 maintains constant flow rates, even when the media becomes dirty. Never experience heating/salt chlorinators/heat pumps going out on low flow again. The constant flow means pumps can be run at lower speeds, thus saving energy.
Huge capacity for debris collection – OC-1 offers over 20 times the capacity of sand or glass.
Reduced requirement for backwashing and a more efficient backwash - Reduces water consumption, chemical usage and heating. There is no need to backwash on start up with new installations.
Lightweight - Can even be shipped inside a filter, easy to handle and super quick and easy to install.
Less Maintenance - reduces pressure in the system, extending the life of equipment.
Suitable for ALL installations - domestic or commercial, outdoor or indoor, new Installs or existing filters.
Recyclable at end of product life.
Payback typically 6-12 months.
 

OC-1 has been independently tested by Cranfield University and IFTS Institut de la FIltration et des Techniques Séparatives.

Optimising OC-1

● For the best savings OC-1 should be used with an Inverter. On an existing system, replacing sand or glass because of the free space of OC-1 you are reducing the head loss in the system allowing you to turn the speed of the pumps down to maintain the exact same turnover and velocity as before. This saving is usually in the region of 20% reduction in the speed of the pump that results in over 40% saving in electrical consumption.
● OC-1 in commercial situations should be installed with the Certikin range of filters whilst using the Swimfresh Ultimate Clarifier to give the best results for water clarity and energy saving.

www.westcountryleisurepools.co.uk