Conveyor vs Rollers for Tiny tunnel car wash

[carwash_nashville]

Hello,

We aquired a car wash which is just over 0.34 acre and have 75 foot tunnel. It is on a very busy road of around 35000 VPD and have great visibility. The capture rate is high, but the site can accomadate only certian number of cars with out having cars lined up on to the road because the site is small.

That being said, we are wondering wether we should go with the Roller or the Conveyor belt to be able to wash most number of cars.

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

[Axxlrod]

You're going to need to ask a consultant or a an equipment rep to come onsite and give you an answer. But I'll give you some things to start with.

Is this an existing tunnel?

For a 75' tunnel I assume the conveyor is front-wheel pull? There are some very busy FWP tunnels out there, but usually FWP is done out of necessity; not choice.

A belt conveyor can load faster than a chain conveyor, in theory. But a belt conveyor has other issues like getting cars off the belt at the end without issue. Not to mention belts are 3x the cost of chain conveyors.

If this is a remodel situation, the belt option is going to require much more extensive concrete work.

 

[Earl Weiss]

While a belt can load more efficiently due to being front wheel pull and not "Missing" a roller cause set gaps, your facility needs to be able to have the cars spaced closely at the loading point which requires the pay point to be several car lengths back from the loading point. If the pay point is an auto cashier you will likely need more than one with the room to accommodate them because only one will limit the CPH to a point where a conveyor could process the cars so efficiencies of a belt would be irrelevant.

 

[carwash_nashville]

You're going to need to ask a consultant or a an equipment rep to come onsite and give you an answer. But I'll give you some things to start with.

Is this an existing tunnel?

For a 75' tunnel I assume the conveyor is front-wheel pull? There are some very busy FWP tunnels out there, but usually FWP is done out of necessity; not choice.

A belt conveyor can load faster than a chain conveyor, in theory. But a belt conveyor has other issues like getting cars off the belt at the end without issue. Not to mention belts are 3x the cost of chain conveyors.

If this is a remodel situation, the belt option is going to require much more extensive concrete work.

Thank you for your insights.

 

[carwash_nashville]

While a belt can load more efficiently due to being front wheel pull and not "Missing" a roller cause set gaps, your facility needs to be able to have the cars spaced closely at the loading point which requires the pay point to be several car lengths back from the loading point. If the pay point is an auto cashier you will likely need more than one with the room to accommodate them because only one will limit the CPH to a point where a conveyor could process the cars so efficiencies of a belt would be irrelevant.

Thank you Earl, makes total sense.