Dirtbag alert in central Ohio

[gearhead]

My pit grates were taken this morning at 10:00 am. In 2 minutes they took 8 of the 12 I have. They would have taken them all but they ran out of room in the trunk. Police have video. Kicking myself in the a** for not locking them down somehow. They will be from here on out. Very frustrating to say the least. The perps were in a 2000-2002 maroon Dodge Stratus. No front plate and a temp on the rear. Two Sonoco stickers on trunk lid. 1 white male. No make on the other. Anyone using composite grating instead to deture this type of theft? Open to ideas on how to help secure them. Thanks in advance.

 

[Whale of a Wash]

I would talk to all of the car dealers within 10 mi of your wash, and ask ask if they sold such a vehicle. I am not sure what it would take to stop this kind of theft, but my pit grates are 6' by 10' and split into 3, and each part weighs
250 to 275lbs, and while i haven't had a theft, last week had someone take off a grate, and we dropped a car in the hole. Lots of fun again. The ones that collect the metal the most in our area are the Gypsy type Bosnians, so possibly driving thru those neighborhoods may find your car.

 

[Shine]

Southwest Ohio

I am a new member to this site but wanted to let you know that at one of my car wash locations two grates were stolen. One was taken on 3/28 and the other was 3/30. It seems strange that the same items were taken within days of each other.

 

[Randy]

We’ve lost a lot of grates over the years. We ended up welding them all together so it now takes people to move them. We’ve tried to lock them down but that didn’t seem to work. A friend of mine in the Houston Texas area told me that they had a guy in Red Neon stealing grates and in a matter of minutes have that Neon loaded to the max with grates. He was lucky he found his at the scrap dealer and got to buy his back from the scrap dealer at what the scraper paid for them, they were no identifying marks on his grates to prove they were his, he just knew they were his.

Another car wash operator here made some locking devices for his grates. Next time I’m out his way I’ll stop by and get some pictures.

 

[Wally]

What if you took some short pieces of chain, weld it to the grate from the bottom near the edge and take out 6 or eight inches of water from the pit and use a Red Head drive in type bolt and fasten the chain to that. Using two pieces of chain per grate.

 

[Jeff_L]

That's not a bad idea, but I don't know about short pieces of chain. Wouldn't you want it long enough so you could remove the grate to clean out the pits? I realize a longer chain wouldn't eliminate the problem, but if the thief didn't bring cutters he wouldn't be able to get the grate.

 

[gearhead]

ideas

After mine were stolen I started planning out how to chain and bolt down my steel replacement grates. I went to the SS carwash down the street to see what he had and when I got there I noticed he had 3 bays shut down with plywood over the pits. The guy running the place said they were locked and bolted down but the scum made short work of that system with a cordless grinder fitted with a cutoff wheel. Needless to say, the thought of steel replacements are no longer. I priced the fiberglass replacements and fell over. At the price they were getting for those, Some crook with a 1/4 of a brain would figure they were worth something on ebay or craigslist. After a few conversations with some different Dists. and owners I ended up making some with 2x6 and 2x4 PT lumber. Screws, glue, silicone and waterseal cost about $50 a bay. Overbuilt the hell out of them. When these start to weather, I plan on experimenting with 2x composite lumber for a longer lasting replacement.

 

[Fatboy769]

After mine were stolen I started planning out how to chain and bolt down my steel replacement grates. I went to the SS carwash down the street to see what he had and when I got there I noticed he had 3 bays shut down with plywood over the pits. The guy running the place said they were locked and bolted down but the scum made short work of that system with a cordless grinder fitted with a cutoff wheel. Needless to say, the thought of steel replacements are no longer. I priced the fiberglass replacements and fell over. At the price they were getting for those, Some crook with a 1/4 of a brain would figure they were worth something on ebay or craigslist. After a few conversations with some different Dists. and owners I ended up making some with 2x6 and 2x4 PT lumber. Screws, glue, silicone and waterseal cost about $50 a bay. Overbuilt the hell out of them. When these start to weather, I plan on experimenting with 2x composite lumber for a longer lasting replacement.

gearhead, I did the exact same thing after having some of my metal grates stole. They are sturdy as hell and actually look pretty good. Like you said, cost around $50 a bay and at that price, I can afford to replace them as needed.

 

[Ghetto Wash]

I ended up making some with 2x6 and 2x4 PT lumber.

Thats a good plan...............until your bays backup and the covers float away. Then cars drive in and drive into the pits. Time to hire a tow truck to get them out and pay for damage to cars.

Ask me how I know.

 

[gearhead]

good point

My pits have never backed up so I hadnt thought of that. But I did plan on bolting them down so some bored teenagers or frusrated thieves dont lift them off for kicks. Should take care of that. Im bolting down what I can from here on out. I can take a hint.

 

[Wally]

Jeff I actually did this at the last wash I built. I'm not a good welder and some of the chains have broken off the grates from rough handling when they the pits are being cleaned out. I haven't had any grates stolen.
If they are too much trouble to get they will probably move on down the road to Randy's place or somewhere.