Installation Process in Australia: Retrofit to Existing Equipment
No need to replace your washing machines. Our systems retrofit seamlessly to your existing equipment with minimal disruption. Most installations complete in 5-7 days.
Australian installation process explained
Key facts at a glance
This page walks through how a Wientjens Blue Ocean retrofit is fitted to an existing Australian commercial laundry — tapping into the washers, drains and water lines already in your plant room rather than rebuilding around new equipment.
It is aimed at operators feeling the squeeze of rising water charges and drought restrictions: hotels, hospital and aged-care laundries, textile-rental plants and industrial sites that want serious water reuse and heat recovery while keeping their current wash floor intact.
- Where we work: Australia-wide — Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and regional laundries.
- On-site time: 5-7 days for the typical retrofit; allow 7-10 days for the largest plants.
- No washer changes: the system bolts onto your existing plumbing and reuse points — nothing on the wash floor is replaced.
- What it covers: assessment and design, delivery, site prep, licensed plumbing and electrical, commissioning, testing, training and support.
- Compliance: AS/NZS 3500 plumbing, backflow protection, and a trade-waste agreement before discharge.
What to Expect
Your Installation Journey in Australia
Bringing trades and equipment into a working laundry sounds disruptive — so we plan the whole job around your production roster and get it done quickly.
5-7 Days
On-site from first delivery to go-live
Plant-Room Sized
Skids slot into space you already have
Keep Trading
Night and weekend slots avoid your peaks
Installing in Australia
Approvals, connections and compliance specific to Australia
The Wientjens retrofit timeline is the same here as anywhere, but the connections to your water and wastewater services are regulated locally. We coordinate the work so the system is commissioned cleanly and your potable supply and trade-waste obligations stay compliant.
Licensed plumbers & standards
Plumbing and drainage work in Australia must be carried out by a licensed plumber to AS/NZS 3500 and the Plumbing Code of Australia. We schedule licensed trades for the supply-side and discharge connections, with sign-off and certificates of compliance as your state requires.
Trade-waste approval
Laundry discharge is trade waste, so a trade-waste agreement with your water utility is required before discharging — in NSW, discharging without Sydney Water approval is an offence under the Sydney Water Act 1994. We align the install with your agreement, and recycling cuts the volume and strength you discharge.
Backflow protection
Water utilities require backflow prevention on commercial connections to the mains. The recycled-water circuit runs separately from your potable supply, and final-rinse cycles stay on fresh water — keeping drinking-water standards intact while still cutting 45–65% of metered consumption.
Step by Step
Week-by-Week Installation Timeline
A clear schedule from first site visit to go-live, designed around your operations.
Week 1: Assessment & Planning
Activities:
- Walk the plant room and map connection points
- Confirm washer clearances and skid position
- Sample discharge for pH, BOD and solids
- Draw up a system design matched to your tonnage
- Check trade-waste obligations and lock the dates
Your Role:
- Let our assessor onto the wash floor
- Tell us your shift pattern and peak days
- Sign off the proposed design
- Nominate install dates that suit you
Time Required: One 2-3 hour site visit
Week 2: Preparation & Pre-Works
Activities:
- Order and freight the skid and tanks to site
- Run any extra power circuits the unit needs
- Rough in the supply and drain points
- Set out mounting pads and floor anchors
- Lodge any council or permit paperwork
Your Role:
- Keep the install zone clear for the crew
- Brief building management on access
- Otherwise carry on as usual
Disruption: Negligible — prep mostly runs in off-peak hours
Week 3: System Installation (Days 1-5)
Day 1-2: Physical Installation
- Set the main unit in place (Blue Ocean, AquaMiser, or AquaBatch 3)
- Stand up the filtration and buffer tanks
- Fix control panels and sensor mounts
- Anchor everything to the floor
Day 2-3: Plumbing Integration
- Tee into the washers' drain lines
- Run the rinse-water capture pipework
- Plumb the recycled-water return back to the inlets
- Tie in to existing hot water (if using Blue Ocean HEX)
- Add AquaDrain backflush filtering (where specified)
- Pressure-test the joints and check backflow protection
Day 3-4: Electrical & Controls
- Land the power feed to the unit
- Wire the pumps, valves and sensors
- Commission the PLC and control logic
- Interface with the washer controllers
- Fit the operator displays
- Enable data logging if requested
Day 4-5: Testing & Commissioning
- Fill, prime and bleed the circuit
- Cycle every pump and valve
- Calibrate the sensors and setpoints
- Run live wash cycles on recycled water
- Confirm water quality holds to spec
- Tune the reuse rate for best savings
- Log the baseline numbers for handover
Flexible Scheduling: The connection work slots into nights, weekends or off-peak shifts, so a Sydney hotel or Brisbane hospital laundry keeps running through almost all of the build.
Week 4: Training & Go-Live
Activities:
- Hands-on operator session (2-3 hours)
- Walk through the daily run routine
- Cover the maintenance the unit needs
- Step through common fault-finding
- Set up monitoring and reporting
- Hand over the document pack
What You'll Learn:
- Starting up and shutting down the unit
- Making sense of the control display
- Clearing and cleaning the filters
- Knowing when to call us in
- Keeping an eye on water quality
- Following the upkeep schedule
Support Included: 30 days of on-site backup with weekly check-ins
Space Planning
Space Requirements & Specifications
From a 3m² corner unit for a boutique hotel laundry to a 15m² skid for a large industrial plant.
Blue Ocean System
Best for: Large commercial laundries (15+ machines)
AquaMiser System
Best for: Small-medium laundries (5-15 machines)
AquaBatch 3 System
Best for: Large industrial laundries
Blue Ocean HEX (Optional Add-on)
Heat recovery system for additional energy savings
Not Sure Which System Fits Your Space?
We'll conduct a free site assessment to recommend the perfect system for your facility
Site Visit
Pre-Installation Assessment Checklist
On the first visit we work through four areas — usage, building, machines and water — to size the right system.
Operational Details
- Current daily/weekly laundry volume (kg)
- Number and types of washing machines
- Operating hours and schedule
- Linen types processed (medical, hospitality, etc.)
- Current water consumption and costs
Facility Infrastructure
- Available floor space for equipment
- Ceiling height and overhead clearances
- Floor load capacity and drainage
- Electrical supply availability
- Plumbing connections and proximity
Equipment Details
- Washing machine make and model
- Machine control systems (PLC compatibility)
- Existing plumbing configuration
- Water heating systems (gas/electric)
- Drainage and trade waste setup
Water Quality
- Incoming water quality parameters
- Discharge water testing (pH, BOD, TSS)
- Local discharge regulations
- Water hardness and treatment needs
- Chemical dosing requirements
Compatibility
Easy Retrofit to Your Existing Equipment
Whatever brand of washer-extractor or tunnel washer you run, the recycling loop sits behind it — your wash floor stays as it is.
Recent Installation
Blue Ocean Compact & AquaDrain in Action
Installed in a high-volume commercial facility processing 50+ tonnes weekly. Complete setup in just 3 days with minimal space requirements.
Washer Extractors
All major brands including Primus, Electrolux, Miele, Girbau, Alliance
Tunnel Washers
Continuous batch washers for high-volume industrial laundries
Control Systems
Compatible with PLC, relay logic, and manual control systems
How Integration Works
The loop sits between your washers and the mains and drain. Five stages turn yesterday's discharge into tomorrow's wash water:
- 01 Capture: spent rinse water is diverted off to the unit rather than down the sewer
- 02 Filter: it runs through the disc-filtration stage to strip lint, fibre and solids
- 03 Hold: the cleaned water sits in buffer tanks on standby
- 04 Return: it feeds back into pre-wash and main-wash stages on demand, with final rinses left on fresh mains
- 05 Manage: sensors and motorised valves keep quality in band and the whole thing hands-off
Ongoing Support
Post-Installation Support
The relationship doesn't end at handover — we stay on hand so the system keeps paying its way against rising Australian water charges.
Remote Monitoring
Live performance and alerts stream to the cloud, so issues are flagged before you notice them
Australian Support Team
A local crew on the phone or email whenever a question or issue comes up — no overseas call centre
12-Month Warranty
Parts and labour cover across the equipment and the workmanship of the install
FAQs
Common Installation Questions
Everything you need to know before starting your installation journey.
Will installation disrupt my operations?
Rarely more than a few short windows. We pick the scheduling pattern that suits your site:
- Overnight: the crew works your quiet hours, typically 10pm to 6am
- Weekends: the heavy work lands while the laundry is shut
- In stages: we cut over one bank of machines at a time so the rest keep running
- Mains fallback: any washer can drop back to fresh mains at any moment
In practice most Australian sites stay at 80-100% of normal output the whole way through.
How long does installation actually take?
It comes down to which unit you fit:
- AquaMiser: 3-4 days through to commissioning
- Blue Ocean: 5-7 days, testing included
- AquaBatch 3: 7-10 days on the more involved sites
Those figures cover the build, integration, testing and training. The earlier assessment and design adds a week or two on paper but never touches your wash floor.
What if I don't have enough space?
Tight plant rooms are common, and there's usually a way in:
- Go compact: the AquaMiser needs only 3m² (2m × 1.5m)
- Build up, not out: tanks and gear can stack to shrink the floor area
- Move outside: the unit can sit in an external bay where indoor room is scarce
- Reshape the layout: the skid is configured to your room, not the other way round
- Site it remotely: tanks can live elsewhere on a pipe run from the wash floor
The site assessment is where we work out which of these fits your building.
Can you work with my existing washing machines?
Yes — the loop sits behind any commercial washer-extractor or tunnel washer, so your current line-up stays in service.
What's included in the installation cost?
One turnkey figure rolls in:
- The hardware: pumps, tanks, filters and controls
- The crew: licensed trades for the full build
- The consumables: pipe, valves, cabling and fittings
- The tie-ins: connecting to your machines and services
- Commissioning: testing, calibration and tuning
- Training: a 2-3 hour operator session
- The paperwork: O&M manuals, as-builts and warranty
Sitting outside that: council permit fees (we lodge, you pay), any mains-power upgrade, and structural changes — rarely needed.
What happens if something goes wrong during installation?
There's a safety net at every step:
- Mains fallback: washers can switch straight back to fresh supply
- Daily updates: you hear about progress, and any snag, the same day
- Seasoned installers: hundreds of retrofits behind the crew
Your laundry is left running at the end of every working day, and the 12-month warranty stands behind any install defect.
How much training do my staff need?
Not much — the unit largely looks after itself:
- Operators: one 2-3 hour hands-on session on the floor
- Maintenance staff: an extra hour on the deeper functions
A week or two in, the team treats it as routine — the controls handle the day-to-day on their own.
Free Assessment
Ready to Get Started?
Schedule your free pre-installation assessment. We'll evaluate your facility, answer all your questions, and provide a customized installation plan with zero obligation.
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