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Drying issue on top of car

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Mbalboni

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Seems like I'm having a problem with water breaking on top of vehicles (hood, roof and trunk) DA applied thru mist arch then hit with sonnys rain arch. Nothing new or different for chemical. DA in pumping thru Pulsatron pump. Cars breaking perfect not long ago. Any help is appreciated
 

rph9168

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Check the pH on the vehicle surface before it enters the DA arch. Sounds like for some reason the chemistry in your wash has changed. The pH should be neutral or preferably acidic before the DA is applied.
 

Mbalboni

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Chemistry hasn't changed. Hitting the car with Rainbar before da application too. Some cars break great. some don't. Sides seem to break great every time . 20 years doing this got me scratching my head
 
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robert roman

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“….problem with water breaking on top….chemistry hasn't changed…some cars break great…some don't…..sides seem to break great every time.”

Intermittent problems can be troublesome to resolve. Apply cause and effect.

Start with drying agent. What causes it to work? Hydrophobic drying aid creates high surface contact angle on paint surface (glass too) that causes water to bead-up and make car easier to dry.

For drying aid to work effectively, the surface must be clean. “…some cars break great, some don’t…” This implies cars are getting clean.

Is drying aid being applied consistently? “….sides seem to break great every time…” This implies drying aid is being applied consistently, at least on sides.

“DA applied thru mist arch…” Potential problem here could be solenoid controlling top nozzle holders.

What can cause drying agent not to work, excluding proportion, chemistry, etc.?

One potential cause is re-depositing dirt back onto surface prior to rinse.

This can be caused by small hydraulic oil leak that gets on top brush or reclaim system where quality of product water fluctuates because the system is too dirty (filled tanks, clogged filters).

This is more noticeable in winter months when demand can go from zilch to maximum.

Hope this helps.
 

Earl Weiss

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Chemistry hasn't changed. Hitting the car with Rainbar before da application too. ...
Are you sure chemistry has not changed or are you sure set up has not changed? I would check DA first to make sure Dosatron is still sucking / producing proper dilution. Is there a suction strainer that could be clogged? Can Dosatron have issues? Swap it out. Could you have rec'd some bad DA concentrate? Can you swap out? Does business volume affect issue? How about Ambient temp. Water Temp. Can Solution concentration of any cleaning solutions, Pre Soak / Soap have increased adversely affecting DA?

External factors as RR notes i.e. Hydraulic leak directly on car or getting into reclaim could be culprit.
 

Mbalboni

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Thanks to everyone chiming in, I Replaced chem injector, foot valve & pump suction lines. One of three fixed the problem. Or my OCD was at a low when I started washing cars after.
 
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