Wave Pool Main Drains and the Wave Chamber 

Those drains were literally my childhood nightmare for some odd reason. I greatly appreciate the interesting video!

I am legit terrified of pool drains. This video is top notch horror for me. I couldn’t even go near those in a DRAINED pool.

I used to be shit scared of going near those grates due to delta-p. Now I'm older I've rationalised it and this videos helps even further. Fascinating bit of engineering for sure

I've always been terrified of drains in pools and hot tubs, and especially of the wave making element of wave pools. For some reason, it just inspires incredible anxiety and dread. But your video is very helpful in explaining what is going on, and hopefully someday I can at least get over my anxiety of drains in pools.

Thank you for your explanation on how the drains work! I’ve always been scared of pool drains since I was a child because I thought they’d suck me in. I feel less scared now!

Wow, I had no idea how engineered these things are. If you keep making content like this your channel will blow up. Keep up the good work!

Wow!!! I had no idea how many people had the same fear of drains as me! I’m 53 and must see where a drain is and what it looks like before i go in! I really enjoyed this video and in depth explanations 👍😃

I've been looking for a video that actually went into these grates and showed how it was moving the water. This video makes a lot of sense mechanically and fundamentally! Thanks!

Here from the Technology Connections recommendation, can’t believe I didn’t find this channel sooner! This is exactly my kind of interesting content. (Also like quite a few others here, these have always terrified me for some reason; it’s kind of nice to finally see how they function lol)

Thanks for posting this. I've been trying to find a good video for the past hour that would show in depth how this works and this is by far the best video. The engineering aspect behind this is very cool to me. I can't wait to see more content!

I was deathly scared of the drains to these pools when I was a kid. Actually, I still am 🙃

As a child i was always scared to get sucked into those chambers. Back then, many pools did not have any protection in front of the large holes. (Some pools were very deep so you couldn't really reach them anyways) It looks like there is a lot of empty space above the waterline in those chambers so if you got sucked in, you would be able to breath. Nice to know that there was at least a way to survive such an incident. Wonder what they would do if it would really happen to get someone out of it. But I still will not swim near them. With the protection it is probably even more dangerous because you can be sucked against it for a few moments. But, Thanks for the information👍 I really learned something today.

I had no idea how simple the waves was created. Thanks for the inside look 😊

I have no idea what he is on about, but I'm still intrigued and watching.

Never thought they worked like this. Assumed it was a large rudder.

These videos are great! It shows how articulable the system is for simple water entertainment parks.

Love learning how these work! I've always been curious. It's much simpler than I imagined.

Next time the wave pool is closed I'll totally understand why. Lot's can go wrong here and I imagine most people don't understand what it looks like behind the scenes, I sure didn't. Still won't go in the wave pool though. Too many dirty feet. Awesome video brother thanks!!

I am so happy to see others had a fear of pool drains! Even now at 39 yrs old watching this makes me nervous lol 😂

Thanks for the video. I always went to wavepools as a kid and went up close to the caissons always thought it was just a giant flap behind the grates. Your channel has really taught me a lot about how waterparks and wavepools operate. It's so cool

I always wondered how wave pools worked. Thanks for the awesome explanation!

I always wondered how the mechanics worked. Thanks for answering a life long question.

Pool drains were literally the scariest things. I used to think I’d get sucked down, then when I was just a tad older I thought something would come up through it (like a tentacle) and just pull me under.

You got my sub . Maintenance tech at a water park in New York . This brings back a lot of great memories . Awesome content

Great, the first video that really explains how this stuff works!

Loved this one with the explanation and different sides of the pool and tech used, really interesting!

Excellent explanation on how the pool drains work. Not direct suction, but indirect. I also liked how the wave machine worked, that is very simple but fascinating. You think of wave machines as these big complicated machines with rudders, valves, pump, weirs. To see that it is all done with air pressure is amazing! thanks Again! Subscribed!

This is a great video! Everything is explained in great detail about the chambers, pumps and mechanics behind the scenes. The explaination of the VGB act and protocols regarding plumbing and safety features was simple and easy to understand. I'm really excited to see where this channel goes as there are very few people in the industry that have a passion for pool plumbing and design.

I've always been curious how exactly these things worked.. great video!!

WOW! Thanks for sharing. Have always enjoyed the water and pools. Having owned a home with one has given me the opportunity to learn a lot about them. But man, what you are showing is on a different level! Thanks again and look forward to seeing more of your vids.

surge pit is a great idea. I cant tell you how many leaking main drains or skimmers i delt with doing residential pool service when I was younger. I would sell everyone new jandy valves, new shaft seal, new leaf basket oring for the pumps. If that pump leaf basket wasnt 100% filled with clear H20, I would not stop looking for the culprit. My StaRite DuraGlas pump lasted 13 years on the oem motor and another 8 with a new AO smith and PS100 shaft seal + copper heat sync. I loved that pump that thing was a beast. Sold a ton of Great White cleaners to my customers as well because they held up to tons of neglect.

Thank you so much! Always wanted to see that!!

This is the video I never knew I really, REALLY wanted.

Random video search on wave pools. Saw this clicked and DID NOT DISAPPOINT! Thanks for explaining. 💯

I did Solar Installation in the Caribbean for a while. For those grates try hammer-drilling out some 1/2" holes (at least 3" deep) and use some Simpson Strong Tie to epoxy 3/8" stainless all-thread into those holes. Drill corresponding holes in some fresh grates. Keeps solar panels down in 165mph hurricane force winds!!

Absolutely awesome, I have always been very curious how these wave pools work. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you for your videos, they are really interresting, i hope you will continue to make some ! Thank you from France

Cool! Thanks for the share!! I’ve always wanted to see the infrastructure in a wave pool.

Thanks! Very interesting. I love mechanical technology and this is what most of us never see.

Simple method to make great pool waves .... good info

youtube alrogethm be like, "yo nerd here's some'n cool" nice watch.

Awe man, the birth of a channel! Here before 1k

Did not know this! Very cool to see that it is actually such a simple principle...

Being a mechanic my whole life I've always wondered why It sounded like Huge Blowers running when the waves started. Brilliant, simple and pretty reliable system....... Besides the whole "Water and Electricity" thing everyone crys about 🤣

this make me get over fear of pool drains

learn something new everyday thank you. maybe an angle iron frame on those grates for some rigidity and one big anchor in each corner of each grate for ease of maintenance.

Thanks for the detail. it is very infomative..

definitely starting to think you may own this company from your word choice if so, very cool how hands on you are with everything

Very interesting! I always wondered how these worked and it turns out it's all just air pressure. Brilliant! Very few moving parts, and (aside from the blowers) the moving parts are small too.

great videos love how the pumps work dont get to see many videos of this

Technology connections send me. This is so cool to see the plumbing that goes on behind the scenes Of a swimming pool. Thanks man.

I can't believe I'm watching this but after I did I wanna see more! What a cool video, I subscribed and can't wait to see what else you have! Thanks!!

i was ceurious how wave pools worked very interesting and way simpler then i expected

Thanks for the video..i was searching this the whole time, great video 🔥 ..respect++

7:41 the game changer moment, to put all the nightmares to rest.

Great video and great explanation! I’ve always wondered about these.

Really neat, I've always wondered how those work! 🤓

Awesome video bud. This is the exact setup of the wave pool I grew up swimming in. Always curious about the giant concrete structure behind the pool. I’d love to see more about the wave patterns and how powerful the waves would get with all the blowers running at full power. This also brings back memories of swimming down to grab onto the metal grates while the waves were churning... looking back, probably not too safe. But it was fun as hell seeing who could hang on the longest!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was scared of pool drains. Honestly it bothered me looking down those sumps with the pool empty!

Nice to see am not alone with those draines 🥶🥶 sketchy af.

Awesome video! I always wondered how a wave pool worked

not sure how the hell i came across this, but i subscribed :D cant wait for more.... :o

I always thought it was a hydraulic system that moved up and down large wing of sorts that caused the waves. Thanks for the vid!

I build residential swimming pools. Nice to see the behind the scenes of a commercial pool

Asif all this time, I thought I was going ta get sucked into some nightmare shit. that's cool man.

Wow first video I've seen of yours and I instantly subscribed as someone who's grown up going to my local big water park I've always been curious about this sort of stuff

Great video and explanation.

Interesting video

this guy is a better teacher than some of my professors

This makes me miss the old Wet N Wild that was in Las Vegas until 2005. The wave pool was 20 feet deep at its deepest point and I swear it could have 15 foot waves! They used to have jetski shows in the wave pool that would jump the waves and fly through the air!

I remember there used to be this RU-vid channel all about wave machines. He did videos like put a camera in a wave machine and listening to about-to-break wave machines. I’ve been looking for this content for quite a while! They closed their channel for education purposes. This is the closest thing to it! Hope to see more. :)

Even now those giant grills look terrifying underwater.

4:48 The moisture levels in there must be incredible the rust on those enclosures for the controller.

Great video! Can you make a video talking about how these wave pools malfunction? Ive seen videos where waves are extremely tall and causes injuries and flooding out the park. How does this happen and what fails to cause it to do this?

I’ve alaways been terrified of pool drains, here in Brazil we don’t have VGB or any safety laws for entrapment or accidents , some old pools here even have rusty, large grated pool drains even 1mx1m size, alaways pretty dark and scary on these old ones, I don’t even come close , I’ll alaways be afraid of pool drains , but your channel helps me understanding these “beasts a little more ,even not helping with my phobia, I think it’s because I am an engineer and love learning new things , but even scared to death over drains and grates I was alaways curious about how they work and the safety implemented around it to prevent future accidents, some day I believe I can design something that can make they become safer and far less scary for people like me , so people who loves water can swim anywhere in the pool without being afraid of being near or over a drain ever again. Thank you so much for your explanations and videos, subscribed for sure, keep the videos coming, cheers from Brazil

Honestly, I didnt need to know this, but im glad I do now.

Really nice videos! I also like how you explain everything technically. Could you please show the pool itself so we have an idea how deep and big it actually is? Must be quite exciting to walk around in an empty pool.

wave pools with the huge flexible, bendable "tarp" for lack of better description, were the absolute fuel of nightmares for me. seeing that thing flap back and forth under 15 feet of water kept me from going into the wave pool more than twice. as soon as i saw what was making the waves, i nope'd right on out of there.

Technology Connections sent me... always wondered how the wave pool worked at Water World in Colorado

I do industrial electrical, wiring control panels a such. The wave chamber looks something very familiar. Get that wired up so you don't have to manually open and close that crap anymore. Everything at work operates through a programmable logic control. It's all automatic lol.

I would love to see an in depth tour of the controller for that wave pool. Is it bespoke or is this an off-the-shelf system you can buy?

Bj Penn, former two-division UFC champion shared a story on Instagram in which he recounted nearly dying after being sucked into the engine room of a wave pool at a water park (Penn refrained from specifying the location). Penn also shared images of the injuries that he suffered during the incident, which can be seen on his instagram. one of the waves returned (Penn calls it a “dud wave”) it swept Penn up and dragged him under a wall where he ended up in the engine room of the wave pool. That room fills up with water that becomes the next wave and in this case, submerged Penn in it. “The room would fill up with water to the top and I would hold my breath and then it would push the water out to make the wave and it was really rough inside there,”

I still get anxiety around the next-door pool over the floor drain. And I know fully well that it's not even really a drain, just a siphon meant to save the motor if the water level gets too low.

Next, can you show us the wave blowers in operation? ;-)

I always thought they had some kind of fancy piston system until now I have learned that it’s just some chambers with strong fans and air valves

This is so cool! Thanks for doing all of this :). After the water gets pushed down, and then the water comes back up, does the water ever go back in the blue metal vent coming from the blower channel/ducting? Is there a drain system in case so it doesn't go in the blower? Are the caseon's(spelling idk) filled completely with water when the pool water level is up to normal?

This was great. Thanks so much for the information. I bet it sounds and feels crazy in that air chamber when the pool is running. With all the opening and closing of valves and the mass amount of air moving between those chambers it would be a neat experience. Do those fans that control the air pressure in the wave chambers run continuously and the output is controlled with valves? It looks like a centrifugal pump, is there any issue with stalling the pump? I dont know much about the fluid dynamics in that type of equipment and centrifugal pumps are not positive displacement so i guess it would be ok. This video just makes me want to learn more about specifics in the principles of operation.

Question if u go near the wave thing where the metal fence is under water can u get stuck to the grate due to the water pressure going back in the chamber

Sick

Thanks for showing this kind of stuff. A few things you might consider. One is just because it’s not “direct suction” Does not mean it safer or will not cause an entrapment. They definitely move water into the pipe. Hence the reason water flows from the pool into surge pit. It’s called Delta P. And is a very dangerous situation. Depending on the difference between the two water levels, it will increase or decrease the amount of vacuum that’s created. The plumbing being hydraulically split helps keep it from happening. But it’s still dangerous and I would never trust that. If a few pipes got plugged up it would render that safety feature useless. Please be safe if you ever work on your drains while Pool has water in it. Looks like someone has Been using carbon steel anchors to bolt the grates to the wall. Should be using 316 grade stainless steel. Also need to use antiseze on the threads. So you can remove in the future. Also them grates should all be bonded to the shell reinforcement and any other metal parts of that pool. Lights, handrails, pumps. Bonding any metal in the water is a must. Should probably put a Acorn nuts over the tops of the threads sticking out to. Again not hating on you. Just trying to help out. Been in the industry for 20 years. Have plumbed Olympic size pools using up to 12” schedule 80 plumbing down to hundreds of residential pool. So I’ve been around it like yourself. Just never took the time to shear it like you have. So thanks man.

I heard about a maintenance worker at the now-defunct Water Mania park in Kissimmee, Florida getting sucked into a wave pool turbine and decapitated, but it turns out that it wasn't a water turbine. It was one of those big air blowers. Apparently, he got his head too close to an air intake (shown in this video). I guess it's about like getting too close to the intake of a jet engine. So much for being afraid of the underwater sucky-parts! It was just air suction that got him.

Thank you for showing us the wave maker chambers and drains. I've seen these at disney world. Since you have to replace the grates do you find uses for them other than being in the wave pool. I can think of a few.

Here I sit at 1am watching a guy talk about pools. Thanks youtube recommended.

I have an intense fear of all drains and I made it 1:13 before I stopped, I just can’t when right behind me when I’m watching this at work is a pump room for all the fountains and pools in our hotel. I’m dying. I’m going to try and watch this when I get home. These seem interesting and I should face my fears 😩 It doesn’t help some pipe keeps bursting and drain keeps failing and we keep getting water flooding through the bottom of the wall into our side. Just on the other side of the wall.. I can’t 😭

I absolutely NEVER would've guessed a wave pool works this way. One imagines vast amounts of water being directly pumped with crazy force, but in reality a little air pressure does it in a relatively effortless way with gravity on the assist. Amazing!

Great video! Is there a reason as to why alot of the pipes/pumps are painted blue or is it just for aesthetic reasons?

Great video!! do you know how many presure are in the chamber to push the water ?

I used to love the wave machine at my old pool. Can you do water slide mechanics next?

Those drains always were a nighmare for me, it was just they were huge and whenever i swam I started panicking if I was overtop of them. One time I actually got stuck to the side of one of these they were on the wall and near the top where you exit.

Cool.