The Heat pump chiller hire aquatic centre project came in early winter on the Gold Coast. A major aquatic centre’s heat pump chiller failed. Assessed as beyond repair. Replacement lead time ran 12 to 16 weeks at minimum. This pool ran swimming lessons for infants as young as six months, squad training through the afternoons, and seniors keeping active in the water. All of them relying on a heated pool that was now cold and getting colder by the day. Without a temporary fix, the centre was looking at an extended closure, cancelled bookings and lost revenue across the entire winter.
Location: Gold Coast, Queensland | Sector: Aquatic and Leisure | Equipment: 80kW Heat Pump Chiller, Titanium Plate Heat Exchanger, Fluid Pump
The challenge
Two problems needed solving before anyone could specify equipment.
First, access. The plant room sat on the first floor, inside the building, with restricted entry points and tight clearance throughout. External solutions were looked at and ruled out. The pipe run distances and installation constraints made them unworkable given the timeline and the site. Whatever went in had to fit the existing plant room footprint.
Second, the pool environment. Chlorinated water rules out standard stainless steel heat exchangers. They corrode fast in pool water, so a temporary system built from standard components would fail well before the permanent replacement turned up. Getting the materials right wasn’t optional here. It was the difference between a system that ran the full 16 weeks and one that gave out in week three.
What Aircon Rentals supplied
Working alongside the mechanical contractor and the facility team, Aircon Rentals assessed the site and specified a complete temporary heat pump chiller system that worked off the existing plant room infrastructure:
- 80kW heat pump chiller
- Titanium plate heat exchanger, chosen for chlorine resistance where stainless steel would corrode
- Fluid pump
- Camlock flexible hoses and supporting equipment
The titanium heat exchanger was the call that mattered most. Pool environments chew through standard components. Getting the materials right at the specification stage meant the hire system could run the full winter without the sort of mid-deployment failure that drags everyone back out for a second emergency.
Delivery and installation
Equipment arrived on site the morning after the initial assessment. A crane lifted the units into position, with the mechanical contractor coordinating the work around the first-floor plant room constraints. The failed unit came out. The temporary system went straight in. Camlock flexible hoses tied the heat pump chiller, titanium heat exchanger and pump into the existing infrastructure, with no permanent modifications to the plant room needed.
Through all of it, the facility kept running. No bookings cancelled. No lanes closed. The work happened around the centre rather than shutting it down.
Commissioning and operation
The system came online straight after installation. Commissioning took some adjustment, and the team fine-tuned it over the following days until the pool held stable at the required set point. From there it ran consistent heating right through winter.
The outcome
The centre stayed open and stayed warm for the entire period it took the permanent replacement to arrive and be installed. Lessons carried on. Squads kept training. The seniors’ aqua classes ran as scheduled. What started as a failed unit and a 12 to 16 week wait turned into a non-event for everyone who walked through the doors, which is exactly what a good temporary system is supposed to do.
Project results
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Assessment to solution | Within 24 hours |
| Equipment on site | Next morning |
| Chiller capacity | 80kW heat pump chiller |
| Heat exchanger specification | Titanium — chlorine resistant |
| Deployment duration | 16 weeks continuous |
| Facility disruption | None |
| Decommissioning | Completed in one day |
What this means for similar facilities
Heat pump chiller hire for an aquatic centre requires a different specification approach than standard commercial cooling hire. Aquatic centres come with a specific set of problems that standard commercial heating hire doesn’t have to deal with. Chlorinated water knocks standard stainless steel heat exchangers off the list straight away. Plant rooms tend to sit inside the building, often up a level, with access tight enough that you can’t just park the equipment outside and run pipe back to the plant. And when the timing slips or the wrong gear gets specified, the result isn’t a minor inconvenience. A heated pool that goes cold in winter loses the facility its best earning weeks of the year.
A temporary solution that works in this setting gets the materials right first. It accounts for the access constraints before the truck is booked. And it turns up ready to commission, not ready to be looked at properly for the first time.
Planning a maintenance or redevelopment project where the permanent air handling system also needs covering? See how Aircon Rentals ran a 600kW temporary AHU hire at a Perth leisure centre during a pool redevelopment. Different scenario, same principle.
“Pool environments require the right materials as much as the right capacity. Using standard equipment in chlorinated water can lead to rapid failure. By selecting the correct heat exchanger and designing around site constraints, we delivered a reliable temporary heating solution when the facility needed it most.” Andrew Mura, National Sales Engineer, Aircon Rentals
Need temporary cooling or heating for an aquatic centre or pool?
Aircon Rentals supplies heat pump chillers, titanium heat exchangers and pump packages built for chlorinated water environments, deployed fast across the Gold Coast and right around Australia.
Call 1800 626 996, available 24/7, or request a hire quote online.