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PDC Spas: TruSwim, Multiple Props

PDC joins small group of manufacturers offering a propulsion system

PDC has been in the swim spa game for five years, offering a line of jetted units. But with the introduction of its TruSwim swim spas, it has become one of the few manufacturers that offer a propulsion system to create the swim current.

“Ours is a dual propulsion system versus a stacked prop,” says Lynda Livingston, vice president at PDC. “We designed our propellers so they are side-by-side creating a wide, even current. When they are stacked you get a narrow swim path.”

PDC designed the swim spa shell with a bullnose at the end so when the water flow reaches the back, it is evenly split in the middle, allowing that water to flow next to the flat sidewall and back into the return system, never reaching the swim path. “So there’s no turbulence and it’s a continual balanced smooth resistance for the swimmer,” Livingston says.

They demonstrated this at The Pool & Spa Show in Atlantic City in January 2016 by tossing a beach ball in front of the props. It would travel to the end of the swim spa, then back to the front along the outside wall, repeating the cycle.

“We also have an efficient hydraulic system that we’ll utilize with this prop,” Livingston says. “It runs much cooler than other systems on the market, allowing it to have a longer life for the consumer, fewer repair issues and it’s designed in a simplistic way for just a general overall low service factor.”

PDC worked on the TruSwim design for close to two years, adding personnel and square footage onto its plant to facilitate it. “It’s U.S. made, which we’re really proud of,” Livingston says.

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In a crowded swim spa market, PDC looked at what was available and popular, trying to find things that could be improved upon, like the props. To see if they were on the right track, Livingston brought in a variety of people to test out the new TruSwim.

“I wanted to get all walks of life in here to try my unit,” Livingston says. “Tell me what we’re doing right. What’s it feel like? Would you buy it? All of those questions.”

An accomplished open-water swimmer, a former competitive collegiate swimmer and doctor, a local swim coach and a middle-aged arthritis sufferer all had positive things to say about the swim spa.

“It gave me a broad range of what I was doing right, and a few of them had a couple of suggestions,” Livingston says.

There are four TruSwim models available. Livingston says they chose the lengths and seating configurations that provided the best swim lane to maximize the effectiveness of the propulsion system, passing on some of the shorter lengths that you see on the market.

PDC is still manufacturing its line of jetted swim spas, which Livingston says meets the needs of a cost-conscious buyer. “But for the fitness enthusiast and the training athlete,” she says, “it is not the type of machine that can best be utilized for that being their goal. Any type of exercise, when you’re against a balanced, wide resistance-current you get the most benefit.”