Advice for equipment to renovate

[OASIS WASH]

Hey guys,

Buying a 6 bay SS here in Jacksonville, florida. Looking for some help on what kind of equipment to go with. The wash has not been updated since 1988. "Most" everything is working, so until I have the funds to start upgrading the equipment room, I am going to start with the necessities. I am looking at changing out all the hoses to the bays, the sprayers, brushes, and coin operators. I am looking to go with a panel that houses all the new technology like credit card, cash acceptor, etc... Obviously as all of you are looking for, I am looking for tried and true equipment with as little maintenance as possible. I have been told to stick with Rotary dial versus push button, thoughts?

I guess the question is if you were starting from scratch on your equipment, what brand would you go with and any options I should add? I have heard about a triple foam option that is popular?


Thanks so much!!

Troy

 

[chaz]

Yeah...I’d start with the visable stuff. C/c and bills, paint, new signs and decals parking lot etc. quite frankly if the stuff in the e/r is working, I’d just replace parts and seals as needed. No point in spending $ that won’t enhance customer experience and or increase spend

 

[OASIS WASH]

Thanks for the response! 2 of the meter boxes are broken and are no longer able to be fixed due to age. I feel like I might as well update those two bays to the new meter boxes, just don't know which ones to buy. The place is actually very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The one thing the guy has done well is keeping the building painted, good lighting, and clean.

 

[chaz]

I’d have all bays (as far a customer sees) look and work the same. Tri foam is ok for me in the bays, but not huge. Air Shammies are great . I have $3 start for 4 min. C/c $3 min in count up mode. My bays take bills, quarters and dollar coins. My changers dispense dollar coins only

 

[pgrzes]

I wouldnt recommend doing 2 new selector doors. You really want them all to be the same. Give Ginsan a call they can usually work within what spaces you allready have, get doors with extra options even if you dont yet have them. If equip is working or workable get up and running, used equip is usually always available. Air shamee's with count up credit cards are a homerun. My triple foam, and I also have tri color foam brush, people love them. Good luck.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Thanks for the response! 2 of the meter boxes are broken and are no longer able to be fixed due to age. .

Are they bent / smashed?

 

[OASIS WASH]

The guy told me the boards were fried. He has used them as parts to keep the other 4 running. I'm sure its only a matter of time before they are all on the outs but my plan was to upgrade to the new technology as they go.

 

[Randy]

I would replace the guts of the coin boxes with a Dixmor LED-6 or 7 timer, a high quality multi-coin coin acceptor, not IDX and add crypto pay credit card system, Debit/Credit card usage is right around 60-65%. I would not install bill validators, they tend to be a target for thieves. 10 years ago I would have recommended bill validators but not today, Debit/credit is what everyone carries now. We have been removing the bill validators as they fail. You want to make all the coin boxes the same, don’t mix and match them. For bay equipment I’d add the air dryers. Your pumping equipment will last forever if it’s properly maintained, mine is 35 years old still works like the day it was installed, so why replace it. What kind of coin boxes do you have now?

 

[OASIS WASH]

Which brand meter boxes that accept CC would everyone go with?

Thanks!

 

[Randy]

Which brand meter boxes that accept CC would everyone go with?

What kind of meter boxes do you have now?

 

[OASIS WASH]

 

[OASIS WASH]

I guess I don't know how to add an image...there is no name on the box. I have been told they are the original ones from 1988 when the carwash was built. Looking at them I would agree.

 

[MEP001]

To post an image it's best to host it externally and post a link to it. The only way I can find to do it for free is using Facebook (You don't have to "do" Facebook, you can create an account with any name and then upload photos to an album that's shared publicly). From there you right-click the image for its URL and post it with the [ img ] [ /img ] tags. You won't be limited by image size as you are by attaching it through the forum tool, which some members aren't even able to see the images.

 

[Roz]

Look at Kleen-Rite off the shelf equipment. Meter boxes are made by leading third party companies that also sell under their own name but at a fraction of the price. I replaced 5 old Mark 7 meter boxes that had mechanical coin devices with new KR high security boxes that have bill acceptors, multi-coin acceptors, and CryptoPay already installed. For a few additional dollars I had custom decal covers made (via KR) so everything looks branded and the same. Switched from dispensing quarters to custom $1 tokens. Customer noticed the improvements immediately and appreciate the upgrades. Stayed with rotary dial even though I like the look of the push button selector because many people said that they are easier to repair if necessary. The comment about CC vs bill acceptors can vary by location and area in the country so I would look to have both. CC % usage varies too based on demographics.

 

[OASIS WASH]

Roz,

Thanks so much for the advice! Are you using count up timers? How about triple foam?

The guy that is doing my renovation is wanting me to use "eport" for the credit card acceptors. Everything I read is Crypto but this guy has been in this business for 25+ years and does most the renovation work in North Florida.

Thanks!!

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

I just threw away my eports in the trash last summer there fees are more customer service is bad also. I went with cryptopay and they do 2x as much in sales when I switched. The eports where one of the first to hit the scene 10 years ago

 

[Roz]

Everyone I know uses CryptoPay. Never an issue, fees are less than 5% total, payment is next day. Easy to install and seem to be tested. I like their advanced reporting (for a few dollars more each year). Never heard of ePort. I would go with the crowd on this one.

I currently count down due to the concern that someone will forget to turn off counter and I would get calls to refund some money however I plan to switch to count up when I install new hand dryers. Many people say it is a better way to go so customers do not need to keep track of the last minute horn.

 

[OASIS WASH]

Roz,

Seems that most on here just set a maximum limit to keep the customer from getting over charged. I was going to start at $5 for 10 minutes with a $10 max. I would assume most people can wash their vehicle in 20 minutes especially when we don't have dryers. I think the small amount of people you would have to refund until they picked up on the process would be minimal compared to the extra money you would make. At least that is what I am thinking at my wash!

 

[MEP001]

Setting a low limit won't help with people getting overcharged with count-up. They will forget to press the button the reader. I actually had a guy tell me he pressed stop and it kept running, and when I went to look he showed me he was pressing the "STOP" on the rotary decal and not the flashing red button labeled stop as the instructions said.

If anyone's interested, I've opened up some Cryptopay readers, clipped the gray wires off the board and soldered them onto the button to act as an external way to stop the transaction. I assume it voids the warranty but the guy who asked me to didn't care. I've used programmable relays to send a brief pulse to the button leads after the bay has not seen power from the switch for five seconds. I did this when I noticed that every single person who I saw left the credit card running had turned the switch to stop. It completely eliminated complaints of being overcharged (except for the debit card hold ones).

 

[OASIS WASH]

I thought you could set a dollar amount that if they forget to hit the stop button that's what they would get charged?