Our Story
From Oil Wells To Swimming Pools
The Pool Tiger Story
The pool tiger story begins back almost 30 years ago. Gary Powell had an engineering Project in Ecuador. A project to build an aquaculture facility to grow Tilapia and Prawns. After the ponds were dug and filled with water we needed to ensure the purity of the water. Drawing upon some research obtained in previous projects he built his earliest cavitation device and was amazed at the results obtained.
Later in the week an oil engineer from Petro Ecuador came by and asked us where the oil floating on the water surface had come from. We showed him the device and he asked us to try in on an oil separation tank. It worked amazingly well.
After Gary returned to the USA, he began a search to understand exactly what had occurred. During his search for answers, he obtained a book called the 4TH Phase of water by Dr. Geral Pollack and with this information he designed and built the first generation of Hydro Dynamic water processors.
First one went to his children’s swimming pool, the second to a device for making snow. Take a look at You Tube Polar Vortex Blizzard snow making. And you can see the results.
However, the lure of oil and increasing prices dragged him back to the oil field and its problems. During this period of time Gary met Randy Sellers, Randy instantly saw the potential. We agreed to remain in touch.
At a cost of approximately $20 million, Powell developed a solution to the waste water problem that was based on a little-known phenomenon called “Hydrodynamic Cavitation.” The apparatus devised to harness this phenomenon was comprised of several massive Pool Tiger-like units plumbed in series.
Sellers recalled the first day he witnessed the apparatus in action.
“It was amazing. Black water would go in one end and what came out on the other end was as clear as bottled water.”
On the heels of this success, Gary moved on to new consulting assignments while Sellers continued to operate his business in the oil patch and enjoy the increased profits that came about as a result of his investment in water cleaning technology. In time he would sell his company and get involved in other ventures.
Not long after returning from Oklahoma, Powell began to consider other applications for his invention. One day while staring into his backyard swimming pool, a crazy thought came to him.
“It seemed to me that if Hydrodynamic Cavitation could clean the filthy water that came out of oil wells, it might do the same thing for water in swimming pools.”
So, Gary adapted his invention, building his first unit out of PVC components he found at a plumbing supply store. Just as he had predicted, the thing actually worked. Before long, friends began to ask him to build water cleaning units for them. And so, he did.
Ever the scientist, Powell monitored the effects on his own pool and those of his friends and soon realized that despite variations in pool design, pool construction, source water and other conditions, all of the units provided consistently positive results. Every pool required fewer chemicals and still featured crystal clear water.
Gary also noticed that something produced by these units seemed to be removing buildup and staining from pool surfaces. This, he determined, was structured water, a subject with which he had become familiar upon reading Water by, a University of Washington professor. So not only was his device cleaning water, it was actually cleaning the pool itself!
This, he realized, had profound commercial possibilities. He also realized that of all the executives he had served in a consulting capacity, Randy Sellers was the one most capable of getting his invention to the marketplace. So, he began a campaign to interest the former oilman in such a venture. Every so often he would call Randy and attempt to persuade him to form a partnership. And every time he did, Sellers would thank him for the opportunity and then say no. This continued for seven or eight years.
Then one day Powell received a phone call from Sellers. “I’m at the airport,” Sellers said, “and I’m headed your way to see the pools with your cavitation device.” Sellers later revealed that he wanted to see the pools as is and to make sure no extraordinary measures could be taken to clean up the pools if, for whatever reason, they were dirty.
Three hours later, Gary picked up Sellers at the airport in his city and the two of them began an impromptu tour. Every pool they visited was as sparkling clean as Gary had contended. “The people I met that day all raved about their pools,” Randy reported.
“One lady actually said, ‘If you’re here to take away my Pool Tiger, I’ll never swim again.’”
Soon a partnership was formed. The new company would be called Polar Vortex LLC after the first product it produced. This metal unit, which utilized the same Hydrodynamic Cavitation principles found in Pool Tiger, was marketed to ski resorts for snowmaking. It produced 75% more snow than conventional snowmaking machines using the same amount of water. During preparations to market Pool Tiger, the owners elected to keep the name and make Pool Tiger a company dba.
Pool Tiger was officially released to the public on March 31, 2017. Sellers conducted the operation the day-to-day operations in his role as the company’s President & CEO Until his recent demise a victim of Cancer. Gary Powell who had oversees product development and heads up the company’s technical department has returned to the role of CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
DURING THIS DIFFICULT TRANSITION Joshua Sellers who has the role of Chief operations officer stepped up and with the help and support of his wife Shae stepped in to keep the company running perfectly. Josh running the company and Shae keeping our accounts and clients organized and happy.
Today Pool Tigers are sold all across the U.S., Canada, Central & South America, Asia and Europe. The company’s dealers include Blue haven Pools, the largest pool building company in the U.S., as well as a variety of builders, service companies, pool stores and fiberglass manufacturers.