// FIG. 03 / W·03 — Live
Hard-Water Scale Impact Visualizer
A postcode-based free tool for Australian plumbers. Enter a 4-digit postcode, adjust hardness and pipe age, and see live scale buildup, bore reduction, and flow loss over time.
Open the live tool at AISearch Global ↗The gap it closes
Plumbers quoting pipe work in hard-water areas had no quick way to show customers the maths behind scale buildup and bore loss. This makes that gap legible in one screen.
How it works
Enter a postcode: the tool looks up verified hardness data from water utility reporting (92 AU zones). Adjust time horizon and pipe material via sliders to see bore, flow, and scale thickness update live.
Built with
Vanilla JS, Chart.js 4.4.1, and an inline Mercator map projection rendering an Australia GeoJSON, shaded by typical hardness by state. No framework. Fully self-contained in one HTML file.
Origin
This tool grew out of an AI-visibility gap analysis I ran on Australia's top plumbing companies in 2026. The research found 88 of the 100 largest plumbing businesses had significant gaps in how they appeared in AI-generated answers. The calculator was built as the entry hook for that campaign.
Read the AI visibility research on AISearch Global ↗| Signal | Detail |
|---|---|
| Postcode coverage | 92 verified Australian postcodes with hardness data from water utility reporting (retrieval date 2026-07-15). Unknown postcodes fall back to the nearest verified zone in the same state, flagged as an estimate. |
| Pipe materials | Copper, CPVC, PEX, galvanised steel. Service life and scale accumulation differ by material; galvanised is most vulnerable. |
| Outputs | Bore diameter (mm), flow rate (%), scale thickness (mm), live bore cross-section SVG, Chart.js timeline, Australia map shaded by state hardness. |
| Lead capture | PDF results modal posts email to Formspree. Links to the AI visibility research study for plumbers who want to understand their own search presence. |
| Hosted at | AISearch Global (Cloudflare Pages, static). No backend, no Worker. All calculation is client-side. |