Kelair Rainsaver™ system at military dog training base by Kelair Pumps Australia

Case Study
Rainwater re-use keeping everyone happy at military dog training base

Manager Building & Fire QLD, Paul Hodgkinson
An Australian military dog training base houses about fiftydogs in kennels. Dog hygiene is of the utmost importanceand as part of maintaining this, a regular washdown is undertakenof the kennels using hose reels. Varying amountsof flow and pressure are required depending on how manyhoses are used at any one time.

Kelair was approached to offer a system which utilisedstored rainwater for use when available, and mains watersupply when the rainwater storage tank was near empty.Any system offered must also be able to cope with the varyingsupply demands.

To meet the customer's specific requirements Kelair utilisedthe Kelair-Rainsaver™ system. The items suppliedand system operation are as follows:

A single submersible Scuba pump is located in the undergroundrainwater tank and is controlled by a Hydrovar variablespeed drive unit. The Hydrovar adjusts the rainwatersupply by varying the speed the pump runs to meet thedemand requirements. This is driven by how many hosesare being used at any one time cleaning the kennels.

When the tank water level gets to a low point, a float switchdrops which switches off the Hydrovar unit and cuts thepower to a solenoid valve allowing mains water into thesupply line. When there is insufficient rainwater in the tankthe whole system operates on mains pressure with no pressureboosting required.

As soon as the rainwater tank has sufficient water in it, thesolenoid-operated valve disconnects mains water, thepump starts up again and the system operates on rainwater.The variable speed unit, cooling fans and all othercircuitry are housed in the main control panel, which alsohas display lights so it can be seen which is being used, thetank water or mains.

The customer is very happy with the results and best of allis making the most of the rain.