Recommendation for Spot Free Rinse?

[Sequoia]

A new competitor is coming. (Gas station auto.) I will lose my small town monopoly and will be sharing customers, so I want to add more functions to my 3 SS bays. The goal is to make up for lost customers with the average customer spending more time, and more money, using more functions.

Adding blowers and spot free rinse seem like logical upgrades that would go together. I don't have either of those.

For SFR, I looked at a DI system ($585), or the Air Logic system ($5,500.) What a price difference! I am sure there are other vendors/products as well.

What is your experience with SFR? Any products or vendors you can recommend? Space in my equipment room is tight, but I'm sure I can squeeze these in.

Finally, how do you instruct the customer to use these? Recommend using high quality wax before using a blower, or use SFR if you are going to skip the blower? I don't fully understand how the recommended sequence would be if you have a good wax product, and SFR, and a blower.

Thanks!

 

[MEP001]

I used to run a wash with a Bright 'n Clean spot free system. It was nothing more than a few parts on a wall mount fixture custom made out of Unistrut. It would be cheap and easy to replicate. It was put in around 1980 and it's still there.

 

[Waxman]

I would tell them to wash, wax, rinse, sfr, blow dry.

I use Simoniz Bead Up as my HP wax and it's amazing. Milky white and smells / works great.

Think about the outside of the wash bays , too. Soda machine, shampoo vacs, mat brusher, are all great for extra revenue. Put loads of vending all around the wash.

How is your parking lot lighting? You can get alot more night time biz when your lot is nice and bright.

 

[washnshine]

Best sequence after washing:

wax, hp rinse, sf rinse, blower

If your wax is not foamy or sudsy, you may be able to go right to sf rinse after the wax. Just depends on the product you are using. Sf rinse is low pressure, so if you have a foamy wax on there it won’t be great for breaking it down and getting rid of the foam and will only frustrate customers.
On the other hand , if you have a clear, non- sudsing wax, you might be able to go right to the sf. Lots of the waxes applied at lower pressure tend to be foaming products, and the Waxes that are applied under high pressure usually end up more clear - generally speaking.

Banners over the bay are great for advertising new services “now featuring spot free rinse”. “ now featuring air dryer”. Customers can see them from the road and when waiting in line, when getting change or tokens- let them know before they get in the bay you have something new.

Instructional signage: - wording on the sign for the blower should also indicate what should come before the blower:

Example:

“Air Dryer - Blow Dry Your Car for a Spot Free Shine”. Then the wording below would read: “after washing, be sure to apply wax and then spot free rinse to your vehicle for best results with the air dryer”.

One last thought - I always hate to see the function and description signs in self serves out of order. I like to see them in order from the top down. Example - top down on your menu:

presoak
high pressure soap
foam bush
high pressure rinse
Wax
high pressure rinse
spot free rinse
Air dry

Not everyone will do everything, but it is at least a sequence or guide for wherever they start.

 

[mac]

Can't believe you do not have spot free.

 

[Waxman]

I think there are far more wash, wax, rinse car washes out there than you may realize!

 

[Sequoia]

Can't believe you do not have spot free.

When I first bought my wash I checked everything out I possibly could. From memory the water hardness and quality was very good, so I did not proceed with SFR. Although I did add many other things. It's hard to find anything that I haven't freshened up over the past 15 years.

Now, with a competitor looming, advertising SFR probably has more appeal-- even if my water is pretty good anyway. Something additional to add time while the CC meter is running ....

 

[tdlconceptsllc]

I would check the hardness I wouldn't waste my money on sfr if I didn't need it probably the least used function at my place but we have good water from the city also. Spend my money on other things that way more ROI. Dryers, meter boxes with bills, triple foam, wheel brush, LED lights, ect

 

[MEP001]

Running spot free at 450 PSI in the bays is a game-changer IMO when you're competing with other washes. The major downside is when you're tight on space, because you have to add another high-pressure pump stand.

 

[jsoriano]

I will recommend a wheel brush. Since we installed couple of years ago our average per transaction raised at least in $1.5. Customers spend quality time cleaning their wheels. Installation was super simple and we moved foam brush to opposite wall from meter. Also, triple foam is avery good option, we are running 10 cycles now and looking for more...

 

[Randy]

We don't have SFR at any of our car washes. Our water runs around 2 or 3 grains of hardness. A couple of car washes that I know of in the area have SFR on there face plate but it's just city water. I wouldn't waste my money on SFR without testing your water first. I would think that the water quality at your car wash up in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California would be pretty good.

 

[OurTown]

We don't have SFR at any of our car washes. Our water runs around 2 or 3 grains of hardness. A couple of car washes that I know of in the area have SFR on there face plate but it's just city water. I wouldn't waste my money on SFR without testing your water first. I would think that the water quality at your car wash up in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California would be pretty good.

Randy have you ever checked the parts per million of total dissolve solids? Is your city water naturally that soft or does your city soften it? Our water comes in around 16 grains of hardness and about 365 PPM TDS. After softening it still has about the same TDS and will leave water spots on cars. (of course it would be sodium instead of calcium) We do have RO SFR and the PPM is about 10 or so in the bay.

 

[Randy]

Randy have you ever checked the parts per million of total dissolve solids? Is your city water naturally that soft or does your city soften it? Our water comes in around 16 grains of hardness and about 365 PPM TDS. After softening it still has about the same TDS and will leave water spots on cars. (of course it would be sodium instead of calcium) We do have RO SFR and the PPM is about 10 or so in the bay.

I've never tested the TDS. The water is naturally soft. We don't get water spots.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Running spot free at 450 PSI in the bays is a game-changer IMO when you're competing with other washes. The major downside is when you're tight on space, because you have to add another high-pressure pump stand.

MEEP001 my RO runs around 50 PSI. What did you have to do to your system to get 45 PSI?

 

[MEP001]

To get 450 PSI it takes a big pump. One local guy with two washes had a large General high pressure pump, severe overkill but it was so underworked it would probably have lasted forever. I use a Cat 390 pump rated at 12 GPM, again overkill but it will easily run 5 bays at once at 450 PSI, still at 425 with six going. That's with 2506 tips.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

To get 450 PSI it takes a big pump. One local guy with two washes had a large General high pressure pump, severe overkill but it was so underworked it would probably have lasted forever. I use a Cat 390 pump rated at 12 GPM, again overkill but it will easily run 5 bays at once at 450 PSI, still at 425 with six going. That's with 2506 tips.

Thanks

 

[Toms PTcarwash]

I have a 75 gallon/hr (2 four foot x 4 inch membranes and a booster pump) RO system with a 250 gallon storage tank for my spot free rinse.
A softener and charcoal filter before the RO system. I run the output at 150PSI. It brings my TDS to 0-4 ppm. Customers love it and use it very often.
I get many comments about how well the spot free works.

 

[Bricks]

I have a 75 gallon/hr (2 four foot x 4 inch membranes and a booster pump) RO system with a 250 gallon storage tank for my spot free rinse.
A softener and charcoal filter before the RO system. I run the output at 150PSI. It brings my TDS to 0-4 ppm. Customers love it and use it very often.
I get many comments about how well the spot free works.

I just tested my TDS for the first time in my RO and it is 16PPM. I called the service place and was told that was great! I don’t agree, especially after reading this. Is there any way I can change these results? Thanks!!

 

[ICEMAN]

I think it is great you want to update your wash. Spot free rinse along with the foamy brush has been the biggest game changer to the car wash industry, at least in my area, all my customers use spot free. Unless you have a touchless auto I do not see how a touchless auto is going to hurt you that much. Self serve customers and auto customers are two different markets. Most gas station single touchless autos in my area are taking about 120k out of the market. They are well run and priced accordingly. I would add the items that generate the largest percentage of revenue...ie spot free. Vending is low dollar revenue, matt brusher is no revenue. Use your money where you get the most bang for your buck. I talk to guys that will spend 6k on a free standing vender to do 75.00 dollars a week and will not put in credit cards. Mind blowing

 

[MEP001]

I just tested my TDS for the first time in my RO and it is 16PPM. I called the service place and was told that was great! I don’t agree, especially after reading this. Is there any way I can change these results? Thanks!!

16 PPM is good. "They" say anything under 50 is good, but I test it by spraying the windshield with spot free and park it in the sun. 30 PPM and below will not leave spots.

You'd have to replace the membrane(s) to improve your TDS.