Stop Selling Yesterday's Pool Technology

New Products, Big Ideas, and Splash 2026 Preview

The countdown to Splash 2026 is on, and this week on Mondays Down Under, Lee, Shane, and Nick take a look at some of the new products and innovations expected to debut at the industry's biggest trade show. But before diving into the latest technology, the conversation starts where many pool businesses find themselves this time of year—surviving end-of-financial-year stocktakes, inventory headaches, and the never-ending challenge of keeping track of service vehicle inventory.

From there, the discussion shifts to why attending industry trade shows is about much more than collecting brochures. It's about gaining new perspectives, networking with peers, discovering better ways to run your business, and seeing firsthand where the industry is headed.

The team highlights several exciting products they're looking forward to seeing at Splash, including autonomous robotic cleaners, advanced oxidation systems paired with low-salt chlorination, next-generation heat pumps with impressive efficiency ratings, and new training opportunities designed to improve water testing and chemistry knowledge.

They also discuss the importance of proper system installation, flow rates for UV and AOP systems, inventory accountability, and why staying current with new technology can give pool professionals a competitive advantage.

Whether you're planning to attend Splash or simply want to know what's coming next in the pool industry, this episode offers an excellent preview of the products, conversations, and innovations everyone will be talking about.

In this episode:

•  End-of-financial-year stocktake challenges 
•  Managing inventory in retail and service businesses 
•  Service vehicle inventory accountability 
•  Why tracking serial numbers matters 
•  Why every pool professional should attend Splash 
•  Networking versus collecting business cards 
•  Preview of the 2026 Splash Trade Show 
•  LaMotte Pacific's new Training Academy 
•  Autonomous robotic pool cleaners 
•  Advanced Oxidation Process (AOP) systems 
•  Low-salt chlorination technology 
•  UV system installation considerations 
•  New high-efficiency heat pumps 
•  Industry education and upcoming expert interviews 
•  How innovation continues to shape the pool industry 

Coming Soon on Talking Pools

The team also previews several upcoming guest interviews featuring leading industry experts covering:

•  Water testing and chemistry 
•  Spa repair and maintenance 
•  Grounding and electrical safety 
•  Heating technology 
•  Equipment innovations from Splash 2026 

If you're passionate about improving your business, staying current with new technology, and learning from some of the industry's best, you won't want to miss the upcoming episodes.

📧 Have a topic you'd like covered? Email the team at talkingpools@gmail.com.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Uh good afternoon, good evening, good morning, good whatever time of the day it is that are you are listening to us. Welcome to Mondays Down Under on the Talking Pools podcast. My name's Lee, and I'm the pull shop coach. And I am joined, as always, by my esteemed colleagues, Shane in Auckland, New Zealand. Hey Shane, how are you? Very good, Lee.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

Thank you for asking. It's Friday. We are recording on a Friday, so I'm happy it's Friday. Let's just say that.

SPEAKER_01 0:28

Is it beer o'clock yet?

SPEAKER_02 0:30

It did. I've actually I've really slowed down on my drinking, believe it or not.

SPEAKER_00 0:36

So I'm like, you've got a drinking problem, Shane.

SPEAKER_02 0:39

It does, doesn't it? Well, no, no, I actually had a couple of beers the other night and it it gave me a banging headache. It's like, Jesus, what's going on? It was not the first time I had a couple of drinks for like maybe three months. So my body's obviously like, oh, I don't know if I like this anymore. I was used to it previously, and then what's this?

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Yes, I have to say I don't have the staying power that I used to have, that's for sure. Last week's awards nights were a testament to that. I came home at quarter past one, sober. No fun at all, am I? Hey Nick, joining us in Brisbane. How are you?

SPEAKER_03 1:15

Yeah, good thanks. Hey Lee, hey Shane, how you going? Good, thank you, good. Yeah. What a week. I said glad to be Friday, just like you. I've had one of those weeks where it's just been finding problems, fixing problems, hurting myself. It's uh yeah, but it's been it's been enjoyable.

SPEAKER_01 1:32

And juggling staff and end of financial year and all the other things that we have to do as business owners.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

Isn't it fun? It's one thing after the other, but we're getting there. We're getting close. Only two more working days.

SPEAKER_01 1:43

So listeners out there, you know you're not alone. Well, I'm not suffering it at the moment. I certainly have suffered it in the past, and I support my clients through that, of course, too. But you guys are both in the throes of it. Doing end of financial year stock take. My God, doing a stock take in a pool shop with so many bloody spare parts and several service vehicles. My business was smaller than yours, Nick, but yours must be a nightmare.

SPEAKER_03 2:10

It it literally is a nightmare. It's we try, we it's getting better. We do every year we sort of improve maybe a little bit and try and learn from our mistakes from the previous year. So last year I created Stock Take Tips because I would have forgotten what I remembered last year. So that's helped me to hopefully not make as many mistakes this year.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

Do you stock take your service vehicles regularly? No. Okay. I actually know a couple of businesses that do it monthly.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

Should we? Yes. 100%. Should we? Yes, do we know?

unknown 2:44

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 2:46

Because it's always one of those hard things when you run a service business and a retail business combined. Is some people like to try and keep them separate. Other people just go, like I did. Hell to hell with it. Everything is combined. It is far too messy. But I really take my hat off to those that do try and keep it separate. It's actually a really smart way of knowing what's bringing the money in in your business. Like we obviously with accounting software programs, you can separate your service fees and that sort of thing, but also separating your chemical sales, your equipment sales, all of that sort of thing, and truly know which division of your business is bringing in what can be really insightful into your actual business. And I do know a business in particular that every afternoon the staff would come in and stock up their vehicles for the next day. They actually had to fill out a stock sheet and say exactly what they took. So if they took five bags of salt, it was written down five bags of salt. If they took PVC couplings, it was written down. If they took a part or a component for a client for a job for the following day, they wrote that down. So everything was accounted for and they knew what was going into what vehicles. I really take my hat off to them because it was a big job. But they did it really well. And it's whether you need to do it for your business or not is your decision. But I'm talking to our listeners out there, not you, Nick.

SPEAKER_03 4:22

We thought about it. We've we've thrown out all those ideas. Like I know another program out there does have like inventory for cars and things like that, which Yeah, would it work? Yes. I think it'd be beneficial to keep a little bit more accountability for everyone. But it's never we haven't gone down that avenue yet.

SPEAKER_01 4:40

I think obviously as businesses grow and develop, and depending on our listeners and the size of business that they've got, but tracking serial numbers of products that come into your business. So serials numbers of robotic pool cleaner stock, of pump stock, of chlorinators and even filters, things like that, the big ticket items, and actually tracking those serial numbers and knowing exactly where they're going, when they came in and when they left, can be really powerful because I know over the years a number of businesses that have had stock pilfered by staff, and that was actually how they identified it, was because it's like, hang on a minute, we've got this serial number in our system. Where is it? Where did it go? And then it's like, okay, it hasn't gone anywhere. So we we know something's going untoward. So those sort of things can be really insightful. Yes, there's a little bit more management, a little bit more hands-on stuff. Some companies do include serial numbers on their actual uh purchase documents, their invoicing, but many don't. So it's an interesting thing to do. Tightens up the reins, certainly, and watches a lot more closely.

SPEAKER_03 5:57

Shimmer tabs, little the little tablets, little clarifying tablets. We lose so many of them every year. They just get this they just disappear. No one knows where they go.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Well, I suppose Shimmer tablets are will not have a serial number, let's face it. No. And they're not a big ticket item, but every dollar counts, absolutely. And if they're going to a customer as a freebie, then it's nice to put it on the invoice and put no charge. So the customer knows that they got it for free. But if it's going in their pool and nobody knows anything about it, then it's wasteful. Because the client doesn't know why their pool looks so good. Their p client doesn't know that they've actually received something for nothing. The business owner probably doesn't know that the staff member gave it away for free, let's face it. But yeah, those sort of things can happen. At least they're a smaller item. But yeah, if counting them would certainly would certainly help. Or yeah, giving them a pale. Do your guys have a pale of them in their vehicle or do they just grab a handful?

SPEAKER_03 7:02

No, they're not allowed them anymore. Liquid clarifier. They've taken all the tablets away. So no cubes, no clarifying tablets, no phosphate tablets.

SPEAKER_01 7:11

I was gonna say, I think you noticed your uh sale of phosphate tablets and shimmer tablets increased while I was there, didn't you?

SPEAKER_03 7:17

Yes, most definitely. Most definitely.

SPEAKER_01 7:20

They are such an easy sell. They are so such an easy sell. Yeah, it's one of my go-to products. And not selling for the sake of selling, but just selling because it's something that the customer can use to control phosphates at a minimal cost. It's nice and easy to tackle it in the in the skin or but anyway. Speaking of products, today's topic is new products that we're all about to see in Splash at Splash. So if you don't have Splash on your radar, Splash Trade Show, Gold Coast, trying to remember the dates now, is it the 19th and 20th or 20th and 21st?

SPEAKER_03 7:59

I think that's correct.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

I bet I'd better look that up before I keep talking about it. But well worth people investing their time in going there, taking their staff if they have the opportunity to do so. Really uh wonderful. I haven't missed one in 28 years. How about you, Nick? I know you're a Brisbane boy, so you got no excuse.

SPEAKER_03 8:20

No, always, always there. And one of the things where we talked about last week, which I didn't mention, um, but you said just then is taking the staff. So I remember going as a young man in the industry. And it's really not only just because it's not working, but seeing what the industry has to offer, putting faces to names with some of the reps, and you know, just seeing how uh involved the industry is can really open the employees' eyes. And I I used to look forward to it every year or every second year.

SPEAKER_01 8:54

Yes. No, it's really insightful. We always tried, because we we obviously live a fair distance from it, so it's an expense to to go there. So we tried to take a staff member each time. I think I've taken at least four different staff members over the years, probably more. Always tried to take a different one each every two years, and it was great. It it I think so often in our industry we think we're just one man with a pole. And and it's very insular, it's very just this is what I do, and it's not a big industry or anything like that. You don't think much more about the outside world. But when you get to Splash, it's like, oh my lord, it is massive. And I think the the thing for me is I was actually on a forum. There was four of us, and this wasn't actually Splash, it was at a different conference, but there was four of us and the adjudicator, and we all spoke. We had over a hundred years of industry experience between us, and not one of us was in the same facet of the industry. So I think the thing is it goes to show how diverse our industry is and how much opportunity actually is there. And yes, it can be the Hotel of California. Once you get in, you can't once you check in, you can't check out. Oh, you can check out, but you can never leave. Isn't that it?

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

But but Shane, you experienced your first splash only two years ago. You're a splash virgin. What did you think of it? And how and what would you recommend to our listeners?

SPEAKER_02 10:31

I loved it. I really did. So it was really exciting just to see a big expo like that, this side of the world, because obviously me being in New Zealand, everything is tiny, tiny, tiny. But you go over to Splash, and as you said, Lee, yeah, it's it's it's big, it's massive. And uh just meeting so many different businesses, other people in the industry, service technicians, you know, yeah, you've you're all in you're all on the same level, you're all speaking the same language, and it's fun. The the only tip I would have for people is if you go in there with a family, don't take your little children in there, because it's not gonna last.

SPEAKER_00 11:19

Really stops you from exploring and interacting with other people when you're juggling kids. I've been there, done that, totally get you.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

Yes, yeah. So it was it was good for them for an hour, and then after that, yeah. Luckily we didn't lose any that that day. But yeah, I I really enjoyed it and uh I bought my tickets for this splash last this week. I'll book it this week. I think it was uh last weekend, I think I booked it. So yeah, tickets are booked, going by myself, family is staying home this time. Uh yeah, looking forward to it.

SPEAKER_01 11:56

Oh, very, very exciting. Yeah, it's uh I read something interesting today, and they said it's not going to conferences, and actually, I think I have to credit Lindsay McGrath with this one now that he's he's not in Sparza, but it was something he posted on, I think, LinkedIn, and it was something about you don't go to conferences or trade shows like this to collect contacts. You go to collect per perspectives, and that's what it is. It's a it's a meeting of the minds, it's seeing what somebody else does, learning from others' experiences. And the there's some masterclasses on this year, which Shane and I will actually be participating in, and they're all on different topics. So you can buy a pass that gets you to all of them, and they're all on different topics, and then we've got people from specializing in every area speaking on those topics. Well, it's not direct training, it's sort of indirect training, sharing experiences and knowledge and experience, and yeah, the audiences can only benefit from that. But there's lots of great new products which or product advancements, let's say, in our industry that have been shared in the latest Splash magazine. So we're going to dive into a couple of those, pardon the pun. So which ones tickled your fancy there, Shane? I know you mentioned that you spotted a couple that ignited your interest.

SPEAKER_02 13:27

I would say the biggest one for me is LaMotte Pacific. It appears that they are introducing a training academy. So I think if everybody, if if anybody out there has been using the La Motte kits, you know they're a fantastic testing piece of equipment that you can use. They're one of the most accurate that we have in the industry. So for this company to actually provide some form of training academy, I think that's quite exciting. They're not given a huge amount away just in the write-up that they have in the Splash magazine. But Lee's got her, Lee's got her, Lee has her ways. Let's just say that.

SPEAKER_01 14:09

I have put out a call out to our good friend Heron at Lamotte, and he has agreed to come on to the podcast to talk to us about all things water testing, waterlink spin, other options available other than waterlink spin and also the uh Lamotte Academy. So it will be interesting to see what that contains. Whether it's uh, I would assume, I might be reading between the lines here, but I'm assuming that it's going to have some water chemistry information on it too. And this will be quite interesting because they're not a chemical company. They're a water testing company. So their sales are not driven by the chemicals that they sell. So then they're going to be probably giving quite an unbi, I would imagine, an unbiased, untainted, unproduct-driven perspective on water chemistry, water balance, water treatment. So I think it'll be really worth listening to, uh or worth partaking in. And Hiran is a wealth of knowledge. So he's been our go-to guy for the old salt versus new salt conversation with the waterlink spins and the conductivity meter debate. And then he's also been our go-to person with magnesium chloride versus calcium chloride versus total hardness. So, and how that all combines as well. So could be some really interesting learning in their academy. I certainly am interested to hear from Erin, that's for sure. So I was interested in not only that one, but we're actually going to see. It says it's a world first, so it will be interesting to see. Memotion, so I've never heard of this company before. Memotion and their Spino. I'm gonna think it's Spino because why would you call it Spino? But anyway, Spino S1 Pro. It is a the world's first fully autonomous self-docking robotic pool cleaner that doesn't just clean the pool, it actually also takes care of itself. So that'll be really interesting. I wonder if it empties its own baskets.

SPEAKER_03 16:27

That's very good point.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

So it'll be very interesting, uh yeah, to see that in action. Um, the other one I can't wait to see in action is the underwater treadmill. So which one of you guys is volunteering to get in there and give it a run? We'll video it. But if you do, we'll video it for the podcast. I can't see any volunteers putting their hands up.

SPEAKER_03 16:50

Um, I think that's Shane. That's all you, Shane. Only if it's heated. Make for some good content.

SPEAKER_01 16:54

Absolutely, it would. But yeah, so uh like always, we always see some great products come out at at this moment in every two years. Everybody loves to have some new products to to show at the trade show. So another one that actually um sparked my interest was Reese's combined quantum and low salt chlorinator. So it seems to be an AOP system with UV and salt chlorination by the look of it, I think. It does it have ozone as well. That's the only thing I didn't read.

SPEAKER_03 17:31

It's under the I haven't had much experience with the AOP systems, but you've had a few, Shane. You've installed a few?

SPEAKER_02 17:38

Uh yes, yeah, the Quantum AOP, they're a fantastic system. I highly recommend them. We've haven't had any issues with them from a price point, they for for a AOP system, um, a price point. Personally, I think they're a um quite an attractive price for what they are. Uh, for it to be linked with a low cell chlorinator, I think that sounds really good, personally. What I've seen, well, what we've all seen in the past is ionizers linked with low cell system. So I think this combination is the first that I've seen an ALP and a low cell combo in one. Um, I haven't seen that before, so it'd be very good to get some information on that. I know, yeah. Well, I don't know, but I feel that it's going to be a very good product.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

So is it actually ozone and UV in the one system?

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 18:39

Because that's traditionally what AOV making the hydroxyl radicals and then combining that with the chlorine from salt carinator as well. Makes it a really attractive option for your your commercials, or let's call them your semi-commercials, where they can really keep that that chlorine low and also keep their salt low, which can help with especially indoor pools. With the AOP system, we're going to have a lot less chloramines, a lot less of that, obviously that trihelomethane cell smell, trichloromethane, anyway. You know what I mean? Yeah, getting having less smell, less chlorine, less salt, less corrosion is is going to be a win-win. So yeah, that's certainly uh looking to be a great system, and especially if it's sized more to the residential or the smaller commercial pools, because a lot of those AOP systems seem to be designed for the much bigger commercial pools. And obviously priced accordingly, which there's a lot of residential pools away. So I think it's definitely a system that's got merit.

SPEAKER_02 19:50

The the commercial pool that we took over a few years ago, they had two quantums on their indoor commercial semi-commercial pool. When I when we took over, there was like very thin black plastic on the pool floor that uh the building manager just had no idea where it was coming from. So, closer inspection, it was the the matrix inside the quantum itself, the sleeve where the the tube goes inside. Because the flow rate had been so high for months, possibly a year or so, uh, because the flow was too hard, I actually just started breaking away the internal components on the co on the quantum. So key for these are knowing what your flow rate is, installing a flow meter on this particular or just before this particular unit, just to make sure that you don't damage the internals, because once they have been damaged, those parts aren't replaceable, it's game over.

SPEAKER_01 20:56

So and not only that, but the effectiveness of UV in particular needs the water to flow past at a certain rate so that it actually can have contact time. Um if it goes too fast, then you're not going to get that that kill time, that contact time. So really important to be aware of that. And of course, quartz tubes need to be clean, the water needs to be clear, so there's there's lots of things there that can affect the effective or reduce the effectiveness of UV. So, but flow is certainly one of those we really want to keep an eye on, not only for the the longevity of the equipment, but also for the effectiveness of the UV. So and you mentioned that there was a heater that was it Supreme Heating launching?

SPEAKER_02 21:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

You guys got a sneak preview, I understand.

SPEAKER_02 21:52

Yeah, I was uh as I was flicking through the page and come up, and um there's a there's a very large article on it. My whole page. So Australia's most efficient pool heat pump ever.

SPEAKER_01 22:05

And it says coming soon.

SPEAKER_02 22:08

And it says coming soon to Australia. It's actually been in New Zealand for about three months, which I could not believe. We've actually got something, and you've taken it from us again, like you guys always do.

SPEAKER_01 22:24

We're letting you test it and iron out all the issues before we before we release it to the bigger market.

SPEAKER_02 22:31

But yeah, this this heat pump is rated as the highest coefficient performance of a 30, which I think the highest in New Zealand. Possibly Australia has been up to date, maybe 22 on the Madimac, I'm thinking. So yeah, it's quite a big increase from a 22 up to a 30. It's a great unit. We did install one, I think it was about a month or so ago. So we're hoping to sell another one in the next couple of weeks. The quote goes ahead, but it's it's heavy compared to a standard 17 kilowatt. We got another 17 kilowatt of the other COP 30, and it's quite a bit heavy.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

So is it single is it single phase or three phase?

SPEAKER_02 23:21

Single. Yeah, single phase.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

That's interesting.

SPEAKER_02 23:26

So it just it just felt really well made and it looks very well made.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

Well, we're hoping to have somebody on soon to talk to us about heat pumps and COP. So we'll keep that one in the wings. And uh hopefully we've we've actually got some great people coming to spend some time with us over the coming week. So, listeners, make sure that you have subscribed because we are sure you're going to want to hear from all the people that we've got lined up. So, yes, we've already mentioned Heron from Lamotte. We've got Adrian Lacey from Spain Spa Parts. He is the spa guru. So he's coming to to talk to us about um spa repairs and and a couple of other things uh that are relevant there. And then we've also got Lee Moore and his and Blake coming from AIS. So everybody, the feedback about the AIS or Lee's episode with us was fantastic. We have heard your delight in us having him. So we are going to have him back, our along with Blake. And then we've also got heating, we've got somebody coming to talk to us about grounding, and we're going to get Spiros back. So, yeah, we've got quite a few coming up in the in the coming week. So make sure you've hit the subscribe button and that you follow along to get some great information. And of course, we'll be broadcasting from Splash. Well, not not live, and certainly not from the um welcome drinks party. We won't be broadcasting from that. But so yeah, so there's some great products coming up from Splash. Was there anything, Nick, that you noticed in particular that interested you?

SPEAKER_03 25:18

Well, one that's popular from around where we are is the bionizer. So bionizer are made locally uh from us, probably only about half an hour away from here. So we do see quite a number of those systems are around. So it looks like they've got a new offering um with their eco-oxidizer and their low salt and low chemical, and they've made a few claims out of in their little article that are going to be hard to back up. So we'll see if we can chat to them about those.

SPEAKER_01 25:49

I love it when people use the word eliminate. That's a very big statement. But that's all right. We'll we will ask our friends at Bionizer and see if they're willing to come on board and have a chat to us about it. So if there is, listeners, a particular product that you would like to know more about, um, then please uh hit us up at talkingpools at gmail.com and we will endeavor to find out more about it. So any topic suggestions, any questions, any products that you would like to know more about, any suppliers you would like to hear from, any industry experts you would like to hear from, we would love to have them on and and meet those needs of our listeners. But I think that really brings us to an end for today's topic. We hope you've got something out of it. We hope you're looking forward to getting to Splash as much as we are. And if you aren't planning on it, hi, please get there. It is great. And if you are there and you see any of the three of us, please make sure that you say hi, because we love to hear from our listeners and know that we've actually got listeners out there. It's a little bit hard running a podcast. You don't know who's listening and who's not. Sometimes you're very surprised, like I was last week. Anyway, thank you, Shane. Thank you, Nick.

SPEAKER_00 27:11

Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 27:12

And listeners, thank you for joining us. We hope that you join us again next week. Remember talkingpools at gmail.com for any questions, and Ruby will make sure they get through to us or the most applicable podcast show host. Until next week, have a great week ahead. Get out there, clean pools, make money and enjoy yourself, because that's what it's all about. Until next week, see you later.