So many unnecessary accidents in swimming pools every year happen in both residential swimming pools and commercial swimming pools as well. In 2002 there was an accident in a hotel swimming pool that changed the way we look at swimming pool and spa safety. A little girl named Virginia Graeme Baker was on vacation with her family and she became entangled with the swimming pool’s main drain and died, she was only seven years old.
In 2007, her mother Nancy got together with lawmakers and in 2007, the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act was passed. This Act required all commercial swimming pools to replace the old vacuum release systems, main drains and suction systems with better equipment with standards that the government set forth. Commercial and Public swimming pools had until Dec 19,2007 to comply.
But residential swimming pools were harder to regulate so it is up to the owner of the swimming pool to make these changes like other swimming pools were supposed to. Now, you can go online and type in Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act and you can see for yourself exactly what you will need to change but the mission of the Act is that it ” promotes the safe use of pools, spas and hot tubs by imposing a mandatory federal requirement for suction entrapment avoidance equipment”.
The Act covers items like Safety Drain Covers and Vacuum Release System. Safety should always be a number one priority when it comes to swimming pools and spas and the necessary steps should always be taken to ensure the safety of family, friends and even pets that swim in your pool every summer. The Vacuum Release System is a great place to start making changes. Hayward has one of the best systems being sold today, the Stratum VRS, Let’s take a look and see what this system includes.
What is the Hayward Stratum Vacuum Release System?
The Hayward Stratum Vacuum Release System is a system that will observe and measure the amount of pressure that forms in the swimming pool and spa’s suction lines. This system was created and designed to add another layer of safety and protection against body and hair entrapment. The Stratum VRS can be used in both commercial pools and spas and in residential pools and spas as well. The Stratum Model VR1000 Vacuum Release Systems are designed to protect swimmers even when there may be a mechanical failure like when the drain may become clogged or if a pipe breaks. Anything that can cause the pump to fail prematurely the system will cover. If a change in the swimming pools’ system changes then there system will shut down.
What are some of the features of the Stratum Vacuum Release System?
The Stratum VRS has the capability to turn off the power supply to the swimming pool pump and the vents to the suction lines. It is equipped with an automatic restart after different activations. The Stratum VRS can monitor the suction lines for single speed or two speed pumps with or without booster pumps
that may share a common suction line for some automatic swimming pool cleaners for example. The Stratum Vacuum Release System has a fully functioning internal system test that is performed every time the system is activated just before priming. The system can adjust itself to current operational parameters of the system. The system comes with a 7-day programmable timer and can be used in suction lift or flooded suction systems.
How does the Monitoring System work?
When the system starts the monitoring begins after the pump is running and a stable vacuum has been established, The measurements of the vacuum are taken an estimated 1000 samples per second which gives way to a filtered vacuum valve about every hundredth of a second. The filtered vacuums valves then are compared to establish what the normal vacuum valves are. These systems may not look lime much on the outside but they can actually save your life. These systems will monitor the vacuum system of your swimming pool to ensure safety but they cannot do it alone, it is up to you to replace the main drains and any of other components of the swimming pool that the Virginia Graeme Baker Act requires. Some pool owners may read the Act and though it doesn’t directly speak to residential pool owners, safety should always be your number one priority and you should do everything you can to ensure that.
