Installation Process in New Zealand: 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.
New Zealand installation process
Key facts at a glance
Here we set out what a Wientjens Blue Ocean retrofit actually involves for a New Zealand laundry — working into the washers, drains and water lines already in your plant room instead of replacing them.
With Watercare's Auckland wastewater charges climbing from mid-2026, it is written for operators chasing real savings: hotel, hospital and aged-care laundries, textile-rental plants and industrial sites that want water reuse and heat recovery while leaving their wash floor untouched.
- Where we work: across New Zealand — Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and regional laundries.
- On-site time: 5-7 days for the usual retrofit; the biggest plants run to 7-10 days.
- No washer changes: the loop sits behind your washer-extractors and tunnel washers — none are replaced.
- What it covers: assessment and design, delivery, prep, PGDB-licensed plumbing and electrical, commissioning, testing, training and support.
- Staying open: night and weekend slots, phased cut-over and a mains fallback keep production moving.
- Local rules: Trade Waste Bylaw 2013 discharge agreement, backflow protection and council/RMA requirements.
What to Expect
Your Installation Journey in New Zealand
Letting trades into a busy laundry need not mean lost output — we build the schedule around your shifts and move through it briskly.
5-7 Days
From first delivery through to commissioning
Fits Your Room
Skids drop into space the laundry already has
Stay Open
Off-peak booking keeps the wash floor running
Installing in New Zealand
Approvals, connections and compliance specific to New Zealand
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 & drainlayers
Sanitary plumbing and drainlaying in New Zealand must be carried out by tradespeople licensed with the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board (PGDB). We schedule licensed trades for the supply-side and discharge connections, with the work covered by the usual building-consent and producer-statement process where required.
Backflow protection
Watercare and councils require backflow prevention on commercial connections to the public supply. The recycled-water circuit runs separately from your potable mains, and final-rinse cycles stay on fresh water — keeping drinking-water standards intact while still cutting 45–65% of metered consumption.
Trade-waste & metering set-up
Laundry discharge is regulated as trade waste, so we align the install with your trade-waste agreement and position metering to capture recycled-versus-fresh volumes from day one. Because wastewater is billed on metered supply, accurate metering protects you on both charges.
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:
- Survey the plant room and tie-in points
- Measure up the washers and available room
- Take discharge samples for pH and solids
- Design the system around your tonnage
- Review trade-waste needs and book the dates
Your Role:
- Get our assessor onto the wash floor
- Run us through your shifts and busy days
- Approve the design we put forward
- Pick install dates that work for you
Time Required: A single 2-3 hour visit
Week 2: Preparation & Pre-Works
Activities:
- Place the order and freight gear to site
- Pull any new circuits the unit calls for
- Rough in supply and drain connections
- Lay out the mounting pads and anchors
- File building-consent paperwork if needed
Your Role:
- Keep the work area clear for the team
- Flag access arrangements to your facilities staff
- Otherwise stay focused on production
Disruption: Slight — most prep happens out of hours
Week 3: System Installation (Days 1-5)
Day 1-2: Physical Installation
- Position the main unit (Blue Ocean, AquaMiser, or AquaBatch 3)
- Erect the filtration and buffer tanks
- Mount the control panels and sensors
- Bolt the gear down to the floor
Day 2-3: Plumbing Integration
- Cut into the washers' discharge lines
- Lay the rinse-water capture pipes
- Pipe the recycled supply back to the inlets
- Join to existing hot water (if using Blue Ocean HEX)
- Fit AquaDrain backflush filtering (where specified)
- Pressure-test the lines and fit backflow protection
Day 3-4: Electrical & Controls
- Run the power feed into the unit
- Wire up pumps, valves and sensors
- Load the PLC and control logic
- Link in to the washer controllers
- Mount the operator displays
- Switch on data logging if you want it
Day 4-5: Testing & Commissioning
- Fill, prime and purge air from the circuit
- Run every pump and valve through its range
- Set the sensors and control thresholds
- Put live loads through on recycled water
- Check the water quality holds steady
- Dial in the reuse rate for the best return
- Record the baseline figures for handover
Flexible Scheduling: Noisy work drops into nights, weekends or off-peak shifts, so an Auckland hotel or Christchurch hospital laundry stays in production through nearly the whole job.
Week 4: Training & Go-Live
Activities:
- Run a 2-3 hour operator session
- Cover the everyday run procedure
- Explain the upkeep the unit needs
- Run through everyday fault-finding
- Configure monitoring and reports
- Pass over the documentation
What You'll Learn:
- Powering the unit up and down
- Reading what the display tells you
- Cleaning out the filters
- Spotting when to ring us
- Watching the water quality
- Keeping to the service intervals
Support Included: A 30-day on-site period with weekly visits
Space Planning
Space Requirements & Specifications
A 3m² corner unit suits a small motel laundry; a large Auckland industrial plant might run a 15m² skid.
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
The first visit covers four areas — your usage, the building, the machines and the water — so the design lands right.
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
The recycling loop tucks in behind whatever washers you already run, so there's nothing to rip out and replace.
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 system threads between your machines, the mains and the drain. Five steps recycle the water rather than send it to the sewer:
- 01 Divert: rinse water is pulled off to the recycler before it reaches the trade-waste drain
- 02 Clean: disc filtration takes out lint, fibre and grit
- 03 Buffer: the treated water waits in the storage tanks
- 04 Reuse: it is drawn back into pre-wash and main-wash stages, while final rinses stay on fresh mains
- 05 Oversee: sensors and automatic valves hold quality in range and run it without staff input
Ongoing Support
Post-Installation Support
We stay involved after handover so the system keeps clawing back water and energy costs across its life.
Cloud Monitoring
Performance data and alerts run to the cloud around the clock, catching drift early
NZ-Based Help
Reach a New Zealand team by phone or email whenever a question comes up — same time zone, real people
12-Month Warranty
Twelve months of parts-and-labour cover on the gear and the quality of the fit-out
FAQs
Common Installation Questions
Everything you need to know before starting your installation journey.
Will installation disrupt my operations?
Hardly at all — we match the approach to how your laundry runs:
- After dark: work happens in the quiet 10pm-6am window
- Over the weekend: the big jobs go in while you're shut
- A bank at a time: we change over machines in groups so the rest keep going
- Mains on standby: any washer can fall back to fresh supply on the spot
Most New Zealand laundries hold 80-100% of their normal output right through the install.
How long does installation actually take?
The unit you choose sets the pace:
- AquaMiser: 3-4 days to commissioning
- Blue Ocean: 5-7 days with testing built in
- AquaBatch 3: 7-10 days where the site is involved
Build, integration, testing and training all sit inside that window. The earlier design and assessment runs a week or two on its own but never interrupts production.
What if I don't have enough space?
Cramped plant rooms are common here, and there's nearly always a fit:
- Pick the compact: the AquaMiser only wants 3m² (2m × 1.5m)
- Stack it: components can sit vertically to free up floor
- Take it outdoors: the unit can live in an external bay if indoors is full
- Lay it out to suit: the configuration bends to your room's shape
- Split it off: tanks can sit apart from the wash floor on a pipe run
We settle on the right one of these during the site assessment.
Can you work with my existing washing machines?
Yes — the loop sits behind any commercial washer-extractor or tunnel washer, so your existing fleet stays put.
What's included in the installation cost?
The single turnkey price wraps in:
- Plant: the pumps, tanks, filters and controls
- Trades: the licensed install team for the whole build
- Materials: the pipe, valves, cable and fittings
- Hook-up: connecting to your machines and services
- Commissioning: testing, calibration and tuning
- Training: a 2-3 hour operator session
- Records: O&M manuals, as-builts and warranty
Charged separately: council consent fees (we lodge them), any mains supply upgrade, and structural work — seldom required.
What happens if something goes wrong during installation?
There are fallbacks built in throughout:
- Revert to mains: machines can drop back to fresh supply at once
- Kept in the loop: daily updates, and a call straight away if anything arises
- Proven hands: the crew has hundreds of retrofits under its belt
Your laundry finishes each day operational, and the 12-month warranty backs any defect in the install.
How much training do my staff need?
Very little — the system is built to run itself:
- For operators: a single 2-3 hour hands-on run-through
- For maintenance: one more hour on the advanced settings
Within a week or two it's second nature; the controls carry the day-to-day load themselves.
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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