ANSI/APSP-16 robotic testing, AquaStar Laboratories
VGBA drain covers
Virginia Graeme Baker Act compliant drain covers, tested on a robotic rig inside AquaStar's own laboratory in Ventura.
A safe drain is no accident.®
That line is AquaStar's, and it sits over every drain cover in the catalogue. VGBA stands for the Virginia Graeme Baker Act, and AquaStar lists its drain covers as VGBA compliant.
AquaStar's site shows VGBA, ANSI/APSP-16 and CPSC marks. Which of them applies to a particular pool is a question for the pool's builder, the local authority and your distributor, not for a web page.
The robotic APSP-16 drain cover test rig at AquaStar Laboratories, McGrath Street, Ventura
Robotic testing on McGrath Street
AquaStar Laboratories uses robotic APSP-16 testing to improve repeatability, precision and accuracy. The rig in the photo above is that robot, under the lab's wall monitors.
Flow is measured across a range of 0.94 gpm to 9,792 gpm, accurate to ± 0.25%, on 2, 6 and 10 inch electromagnetic flow meters calibrated in-house to ± 0.00016%.
In AquaStar's own words: "While third-party testing and certifications confirm a product is able to pass VGBA requirements, only through in-house testing can each design be optimized."
Choosing a drain by four measurements
AquaStar's drain-spec filter narrows its catalogue by pipe orientation, size, sump depth and flow rate. The database behind it holds 90 drain cover specification records.
Call the Ventura office on the main line for the distributor nearest you. AquaStar also offers a pool-safety handout, Key Steps to Enhancing Pool Safety, free to pros in quantities of up to 100 copies, and the Pool Nation Podcast covered pool safety in episode E-203.
AquaStar Pool Products, Ventura. Call (877) 768-2717 for your nearest distributor.
4
Four measurements pick the drain
- Pipe orientation
- Size
- Sump depth
- Flow rate
Drain families and sizes
- Round covers
- 6, 8, 10 and 20 inch
- Square covers
- 9 to 24 inch
- Channel drain
- 32 inch, for gunite, vinyl and fiberglass pools
- MACH-I Series
- Listed as its own drain series
- Full Circle®, Perfect Circle®, Eclipse™
- Low-profile circular drains with water stop
Orders and pricing go through authorized distributors. Drain covers sit beside the FlowStar skimmers and Fill-Lid models in the same catalogue, and the lab behind them is described on the AquaStar Laboratories page.