New to Friction Machines where to begin?

[tobaccofarmer]

Starting to look seriously at adding friction machine to wash and would love some do's and dont's from experienced friction roll over people. Some of the differences I have found so far would included hydraulic vs electric ?? top spinner vs side to side curtain? Gantry vs over head design? These are just a few I see, what would be the most important factors to consider? This is a whole new ballgame compared to touchfree so I feel complety green on this side of the business? Would love to hear suggestions ! Thanks

 

[sprocket]

I feel your pain. I just ordered a soft touch machine and it was a lot tougher that buying a touchless. I looked at all kind of machines before I decided,it almost drove me to drinking. Just hope I made the correct choice.

 

[RykoPro]

Electric, top brush, gantry and then stick with a proven design. The Ryko will last over a million washes if you take care of it and find the customers.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Electric, top brush, gantry and then stick with a proven design. The Ryko will last over a million washes if you take care of it and find the customers.

Mark,

I recall that Ryko was developing an entry level style 5 brush friction machine when I talked to a rep in the Ryko booth at the MCA show. Have you heard anything else about this unit? Feel free to PM me if you want.

Thanks!

John

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Starting to look seriously at adding friction machine to wash and would love some do's and dont's from experienced friction roll over people. Some of the differences I have found so far would included hydraulic vs electric ?? top spinner vs side to side curtain? Gantry vs over head design? These are just a few I see, what would be the most important factors to consider? This is a whole new ballgame compared to touchfree so I feel complety green on this side of the business? Would love to hear suggestions ! Thanks

I'm in the same boat as you. Self serve and touch free has been my area of expertise and now I'm looking at some friction units as well.

 

[tobaccofarmer]

What machine did you order sprocket? Also I have been very interested in the sonnys or macneil extreme mini tunnel which is 43 feet but not sure how this would operate unattended? still like the idea of conveyor but like unattended more so if conveyor just cant be unattended than thats out? Just when you think you know something about carwashing you realize it was all a dream? this is a game changer.

 

[briteauto]

Electric, top brush, gantry and then stick with a proven design. The Ryko will last over a million washes if you take care of it and find the customers.

I fully agree - Ryko is the sets the standard of the friction rollover.

I would look at other machines as well, just so you cover all your bases and do not have any second thoughts, but this type of machine is Ryko's specialty.

I have not heard about a 5 brush entry level machine, but I know they also have a three brush Trio - if you are looking for that style.

Good luck.

Mike

 

[RykoPro]

The trio is no more and have not seen the new wash yet. I would go with the Softgloss if you have a bay big enough. I just sold a used softgloss with a code a wash and AMTT coinbox for under $25,000. This did not include installation. It was to a customer who has had a Voyager for over 20 years so I had no problem giving him such a good deal. Used machines are great if reinstalled properly.

 

[sprocket]

I bought the D&S IQ. I looked at the Autec and the Sonny's I5. If I was buying a machine on how it is built it would have to be the Autec it has to be one of the best built machine I looked at. The D&S has some new techology, and I liked the simplicity of the machine. I guess time will tell if I made the right choice and I will let everyone know the good the bad and ugly of the machine once it is in operation.

 

[RykoPro]

What is it made out of?

 

[tobaccofarmer]

The D and S looks pretty good especially the virtual treadle! I tried a few ryko softgloss's out yesterday and I hate that treadle bump. I watched the video on D and S's website, but cant understand why triple foam is applied first? must be cleaning triple foam and not polish? doesnt make sense to me? What do you guys think about the mini expresses from sonnys and mcneil? since this will be a new build addition I can pour conveyor from the start, wouldnt have to tear anything out to accommodate conveyor! real question is can these be left unattended?

 

[briteauto]

I watched the video on D and S's website, but cant understand why triple foam is applied first? must be cleaning triple foam and not polish? doesnt make sense to me?

It is not uncommon for a friction machine to have a triple foam detergent applied early in the wash cycle. With a touchfree, you have to hit the car with the lo/hi or just hi presoaks first, and then possibly use the tri foam to help neutralize alkalinity and provide the show.

In a friction machine, you can apply tri foam polishes after the actual wash and then just rinse them, but the early application of the tri foam detergent helps lubricate and clean during the brush cycle. Most friction brush lubricating chemicals are relatively neutral pH, and don't require neutralization.

I know most of the Ryko machines I see tend to use the tri foam detergent, and it is applied first. Same case with the Freestyler videos I have seen and both Autecs I have tried.

 

[sprocket]

The trifoam is a detergent and is also a lube for the brushes, it also applies a lube/detregent during the wash cycle. It is programable so you can apply a variation of chemicals and passes as you want. I'm sure that most machines are made so you can program as you want.

 

[gearhead]

to tobacco farmer

I went to the show today to look at the mcneal and sonnys mini tunnel set ups to see how doable it would be for me to replace one of my touchfree IBA's with one. I found it very difficult not to drool.You are in a much better situation starting from scratch then i would be converting. Nothing on my bay floor would work and would have to be completely torn out and redone, adding a substancial amount to the install. If I was in your position it would be a no brainer for me. The though of tripleing the throughput in one bay,competeing with EE or maybe help keep them away if they havent shown up yet, and easier cleaning of neglected vehicles is pretty tough to pass up if you can swing it. It would make me find a way to have it attended, which BTW, no one at the show would recomend having it unattended. I know i wouldnt have the stones to do it.

 

[tobaccofarmer]

What do you think of PDQ's new machine Pro Touch Icon? What would determine choice compared with Tandem? I am assuming this machine is faster than tandem but I could be wrong? Where could one see one of these new machines in the field in operation?

 

[gearhead]

Pro Touch ICON

It is a very nice machine. Typical eye appealing and open PDQ design. They are claiming about 4.5 mins for top wash. That is the loaded version with the wheel scrubbers. Similar in design to the Istobal machine. They have equipped it with flashing multicolor LED lighting and OB dryers if you like. I think i would pass on the dryers and keep my stand alones to try and speed up through put. I wrote PDQ today and asked them to get a detailed video of one in action on their website. If I remember correctly the rep said there were only 2 operating at this point. I was never a fan of the tandem design. It is a little slow for me.

 

[mac]

From working on machines for many years, I would stay away from hydraulics. They will fail, just like all other parts, and when they do you will have a nice mess to clean.

 

[gearhead]

Correction to prior post

I stated in a previous post that the new PDQ Protouch ICON wash time for the top package w/wheel scrubber was around 4.5 mins. The actual time that was quoted to me was just over 5 mins including OB dryer. My apologies.

 

[briteauto]

I have not seen either the PDQ Pro Touch or the D&S IQ in person, but taking into account that they are both next generation type 3 brush rollovers, I'd have to say the IQ looks more appealing from a few standpoints.

The openness of the IQ is very attractive to customers and operators. Seems as though it would be a breeze for most people to navigate. The PDQ looks to be a rehash of an Istobal design, as a previous poster stated. Judging just from the pictures, the PDQ gives the illusion of a narrow opening with the rather wide sides on the gantry.

On the other hand, it is nice to have the wheel scrubbers as well - on the PDQ. It will be interesting to see how many installs these machines get over the next few years.

Just my thoughts based on a video and some pictures. The recent posts of some new installs and these new machines being rolled out by the manufacturers makes me want to go shopping.

 

[Greg Pack]

TF, do you have a location that would benefit from the throughput of a mini tunnel? They're not much more than a lot of machines out there......

Used machine are available in the south if you nose around a bit.