More Hydrominder Talk

[Twodose]

After all the talk about the blue and grey foot valve’s thread I called tech support at hydro. I was told that the discharge tube (11) should be above the highest level in the tank, in the instructions it says that “to prevent foaming, be certain that the solution level will always be above the point of discharge”. < So this is opposite to what I was told by them. Also #2 in the instructions says that “since the 506 does not have a siphon breaker you may want to drill a small hole 1/8 or ¼ “ ID in the discharge tube above the highest solution level and below the discharge end of the (9) eductor, this will allow the discharge tube to drain after each cycle”. This would not happen if the discharge tube is below the solution level. It seems to contradict itself. I have always put the discharge tube to the bottom lowest level of the tank to prevent foaming; today I was told I am doing it wrong. Also we talked about the blue check valves going bad in one day; he said that should never happen because every one is checked to make sure it is working before it is shipped out, and they should not fail in one day, and should be changed every 6 months.

 

[MEP001]

I always cut a notch out of the discharge hose about 1" below the restrictor ring to prevent siphon. I certainly wouldn't have the bottom of the discharge tube above the liquid in the tank.

I call BS on "that would never happen" with them failing after one day, because when I've worked for a distributor we got two bad batches where most of them wouldn't hold. I could see where the body leaked from a bad "weld." I don't think they test every one either, they certainly don't test them with liquid.

I also call BS on changing the foot valve every six months. I usually have to replace the hose before the foot valve fails.

 

[Twodose]

what do you cut a notch with?, why not just drill a small hole?

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Drilling a hole isn't as easy as it would seem. I usually just use a utility knife and cut a little chunk out.

 

[Twodose]

I told this guy to look at the autoforum and see what they are talking about, he said he never heard of it. Also said if i make a post stating what you are telling me that there would be many that would agree to disagree. Read the instructions on the .pdf for the 506, im not trying to argue, but it makes no sense what he was telling me, shouldn't they know about the products they sell???

 

[Twodose]

If you cut a notch in the discharge hose it would only stop the solution tank from back flowing into the 5 gallon pail of say wax, ps, tc or whatever. If the hydrominder failed to shut off and the check valve failed it would dilute the 5 gallon pail, am I right on this? Every time I have seen this happen the tank was over flowing and diluted the pail and you had to replace it right?

 

[Twodose]

And sorry IB but I have drilled holes and it was no problem.

 

[Twodose]

I always cut a notch out of the discharge hose about 1" below the restrictor ring to prevent siphon. I certainly wouldn't have the bottom of the discharge tube above the liquid in the tank.

I call BS on "that would never happen" with them failing after one day, because when I've worked for a distributor we got two bad batches where most of them wouldn't hold. I could see where the body leaked from a bad "weld." I don't think they test every one either, they certainly don't test them with liquid.

I also call BS on changing the foot valve every six months. I usually have to replace the hose before the foot valve fails.

What about with supersat products? Don't use them anymore, they have a proprietary manifold that has a check valve with the screen, im sure you know what im talking about. One from the hph and one from the liquid.

 

[2Biz]

If you cut a notch in the discharge hose it would only stop the solution tank from back flowing into the 5 gallon pail of say wax, ps, tc or whatever. If the hydrominder failed to shut off and the check valve failed it would dilute the 5 gallon pail, am I right on this? Every time I have seen this happen the tank was over flowing and diluted the pail and you had to replace it right?

I would think if the hydrominder failed to turn off and your tank was overflowing, it would keep drawing from the pail till it was empty...That's the way it seems to work for me!!!!

FWIW...I drill about a 3/16" hole in the discharge tube about an inch below the restrictor ring at an angle. When the solution squirts out the hole, it comes out at an angle and down into the tank instead of spraying on the sides of the tank. Also, I would never cut the discharge tube off above liquid level in the tank. Can you imagine how much foam that would make. The hose should go to the bottom of the tank!

 

[Randy]

There are a lot of people who have never heard of the Auto care forum, I know car wash operators who haven’t heard of the Auto care forum. So I wouldn’t be to surprised if a customer service rep didn’t know about the Auto care forum. I’ve never drilled holes or cut a notch in any of my Hydrominder hoses, back siphoning has never been a issue. Common sense tells me that I should run the discharge hose of the Hydrominder down into the solution of tank, I run them to the bottom of the tank. If a Hydrominder sticks on the chemical bucket will be sucked dry, it’s not going fill up the chemical bucket with water, been there and done that. I think the newer Hydrominders aren’t as good as the older ones. I’ve got a couple that have a brass valve body, I never have a problem with those.

 

[slash007]

There are a lot of people who have never heard of the Auto care forum, I know car wash operators who haven’t heard of the Auto care forum. So I wouldn’t be to surprised if a customer service rep didn’t know about the Auto care forum. I’ve never drilled holes or cut a notch in any of my Hydrominder hoses, back siphoning has never been a issue. Common sense tells me that I should run the discharge hose of the Hydrominder down into the solution of tank, I run them to the bottom of the tank. If a Hydrominder sticks on the chemical bucket will be sucked dry, it’s not going fill up the chemical bucket with water, been there and done that. I think the newer Hydrominders aren’t as good as the older ones. I’ve got a couple that have a brass valve body, I never have a problem with those.

Randy, I agree on all points. I never heard of the forum until I bought my 2nd wash, 4 years after the first. I've never cut holes in the discharge tube, but had some with holes in them and thought that they were defective. Almost changed them out until I read this thread lol. Had barrels sucked dry more than once. Used to be 55 gallon drums, but I downsized and last time only lost a 5 gallon pail.

 

[2Biz]

I can't believe you guys get by without drilling the anti syphon hole in the discharge tube. Not having it nailed me once. A FV failed and syphoned water back into the 5 gallon pail...It took me a while to figure it out. Not until it ruined a whole pail of TF! At least it wasn't a 55 gallon drum!

 

[MEP001]

If you cut a notch in the discharge hose it would only stop the solution tank from back flowing into the 5 gallon pail of say wax, ps, tc or whatever. If the hydrominder failed to shut off and the check valve failed it would dilute the 5 gallon pail, am I right on this? Every time I have seen this happen the tank was over flowing and diluted the pail and you had to replace it right?

The only way that could happen would be if the Hydrominder failed open, the foot valve failed closed, and the pail was under the tank where the overflow ran into it. And I've seen that happen more than once.

I cut a hole in the discharge tube because I don't always have my drill with me. I cut straight across until I'm just into the ID then I cut up at an angle until it meets the stop point of the other cut and remove a wedge. It works the same as drilling a hole at an upward angle.

Yeah, they should know the products they sell, but they don't have the field experience most of us do. I argued with a guy once over his compressor, someone at Ingersoll/Rand told him the start-up relief valve in the pressure switch was leaking when the compressor ran because the check valve in the tank was stuck closed. He thought I didn't know what I was talking about because a guy from I/R had to be right.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Yeah, most people I talk to don't know about autocareforum either. When I think about that name I think about a place that would tell you when to change your oil, rotate your tires, change plugs, etc. It sure doesn't fit this forum. When I tell others about it, often I get "Now what was the name of that website?". I would think a name like carwashforum would be perfect and anyone would be able to remember it. If the name is available it should be snatched up.

 

[Overachiever]

I would think a name like carwashforum would be perfect and anyone would be able to remember it. If the name is available it should be snatched up.

Sort of funny but carwashforum.com redirects here, so you could tell people to go there

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Sort of funny but carwashforum.com redirects here, so you could tell people to go there

I was being sarcastic. It was carwashforum.com before 2007. For some reason, Bill Pitzer changed it to something that was less fitting and harder to remember. Bill, if you are lurking, what the hell were you thinking? I've been bugging Jackson to change it back, but so far haven't succeeded. I can't imagine any good reason to not do it, since an easy to remember name should result in more traffic.

 

[Overachiever]

I can't imagine any good reason to not do it, since an easy to remember name should result in more traffic.

Way before my time!

I agree it would be a good idea to rebrand it as that URL has a lot more value. He'd just need to properly redirect this URL to the the equivalent carwashforum.com url to avoid losing his google search results.

 

[Jeff_L]

I always cut a notch in the discharge hose above the water line. Doesn't hurt a thing and prevents a problem that would occur at the most inoportune time.

 

[soapy]

I always cut a hole in my discharge tube. I had a brand new SS system start siphoning within 2 weeks of install. I told the mfg. of the hole in the discharge tube trick and they had never heard of it but put it in place for future builds. I still run into operators who have never heard of Kleenrite and they have been in business for years. I wonder how much money they have over spent on buying supplies from their distributors.

 

[loewem]

Could someone post a picture of where they cut the hole in the supply hose. Havent had a problem, but if it doesnt hurt and could avoid a problem sounds good to me.

Just a thought here. When i bought my wash I started figuring things out by looking on the internet. Found Kleen-Rite immediately. Took me three months to take advantage of this forum. the previous owner told me about it. I'm sure his suggestion for me to look at the forum didn't have anything to do with the stupid questions I was asking him on a daily basis&#55357;&#56898;

I wonder if Kleen-Rite would be willing to include a link to this forum on their site? Maybe a resources for operators section under the libary or blog section. I can't imagine how far along i would be after three years without the knowledge and help that the forum and forum members have given me.

My only issue with the forum is that every day I learn about something that I need to understand, but have no clue about!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!