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Advice on pumps, rebuilding pump stand-part 2

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slash007

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I plan on using fittings and hose to hook up the water lines... So that thermostat controlled the boiler?
 

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Yes the thermostat controlled the boiler.

How are you using your hot water heater now?

You wil have to circulate the hot water and use a thermostat to cut off the circulation. (I guess.... I never setup a hot water heater.) I would at least use copper and pex instead of hose for the lines. You may even need a taco? :)
 

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Slash,

Is this new stand going in the same CW that you installed the HTP Phoenix? If it is, you can't circulate water to the Phoenix like you can with a boiler. You would need an enclosed heat exchanger. I had made a heat exchanger for my Hot Gravity Feed tank, but decided not to use it after I saw how little heat loss I had in the gravity tank after insulating it with 1/2" foil bubble wrap. Even after 8-10 hours of no use, the tank lid is still warm to the touch. At worse case, the tank cools to ER temp and quickly recovers during first wash of the day.
 

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It is the same wash. I didn't plan on circulating the hot water, I found that it will warm up quickly once people start washing anyway. I'm thinking about running hot water to both the holding tank and the manifold that supplies all of the hydrominders. Is there a reason that the hydrominders are run using cold water?
 

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The Hydrominders for soap/wax supply to the pump don't need hot water since the amount the pump will draw and mix with hot water isn't enough to noticeably cool it. You could in theory run hot water to the presoak valve but without some way to keep the tank hot most people will never get hot presoak.
 

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The Hydrominders for soap/wax supply to the pump don't need hot water since the amount the pump will draw and mix with hot water isn't enough to noticeably cool it. You could in theory run hot water to the presoak valve but without some way to keep the tank hot most people will never get hot presoak.
Ahh. Now I get it for some reason lol. Since the soap, wax and pre-soak run through the pump, they are getting the hot water from the gravity fed tank. The rest of the functions like tri-foam etc. don't need the hot water and are fed solely from the hydrominder tank. Makes sense now. Thanks.
 

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I run cold water to all my hydrominders. Soap and wax draws into the HP pump at 10 oz a minute on my stand, so not enough to cool the hot water supply...Basically what Mep said! Just confirming!
 

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Manual says smc 555

The ryco pump stand seems like the best engineered unit. Until you look at what controls it and it seems way to complex. No offense. :)

The SMC 555 has 2 versions. 50-500 psi and 200-2000 psi. Any idea which one I need? I think I'd likely run at 500 psi or slightly lower, but not sure if I'll ever go above 500. Don't know if I'll ever go below 200 either.
 

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If it's for spot-free pressure adjustment, you'll want the 200-2000. You'll probably want to run it around 500 psi. You'd want the presoak lower, probably 150-200.
 

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I'm pretty sure it is for the pre-soak and factory adjusted to run at 500psi. I have turned a couple of bays down to 300, but wasn't sure what I liked better.
 

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I can't imagine running presoak at 300 or 500 PSI and getting it strong enough to clean without using a ton of chemical. I wouldn't like the purge time of 300 PSI presoak through the high-pressure line either.
 

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I am adding tri-foam to my bays and need to decide between using a boom and straight hose, or a swivel and curly hose to save room. I think that I could fit a boom once I move my meter boxes and actually already have extra booms, but I'm thinking that if I use the curly hose and a swivel, that might leave room to be able to add tire shine in the future. Is there a big advantage to using one over the other?
 

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I believe you'd see a lot more use of a tri-foam than a tire shine, but IMO placement of the gun is crucial. I've had a number of people tell me their customers don't use tri-foam, but they always have the gun holder in the opposite corner of the bay from the meter box. I put it on the opposite wall with the brush hanging in the middle of the wall so 1) they can see/hear the gun when they select it and 2) they have to walk past it to get the foam brush. About a third of customers use it.
 

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I agree with MEP. When the tri-foam gun is visible, showing vibrant colors and working I see it getting a lot of usage.
 

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I believe you'd see a lot more use of a tri-foam than a tire shine, but IMO placement of the gun is crucial. I've had a number of people tell me their customers don't use tri-foam, but they always have the gun holder in the opposite corner of the bay from the meter box. I put it on the opposite wall with the brush hanging in the middle of the wall so 1) they can see/hear the gun when they select it and 2) they have to walk past it to get the foam brush. About a third of customers use it.
I am adding tri-foam for sure, just thinking about leaving room in case I ever add tire shine in the future. Regarding placement, I only have room on the same side as the coin box. If I use a boom, it will be close to the edge of the wall. Any advantage to using a boom and regular hose as opposed to a curly hose? If you don't mind, could you post a picture of your bay setup when you get a chance?
Thanks.
 

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If you don't mind, could you post a picture of your bay setup when you get a chance?
Thanks.


I think it's a lot easier to walk around a vehicle with a boom than to handle a curly hose, but the curly hose works. It just has to be long enough that the customers can use it without fighting it but not so long that they'll trip over it.
 

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I think I'll stick with the hose. I like how they are both mounted towards the middle. I might just put the TF closer to the middle and that way they will see it as they get out of their cars.
 

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I had to switch from curly hose to straight hose because of freezeups in the winter. I don't know if it would work better with weep, but with blowdown and washer fluid injection, the freezeups was caused by the added length of curly hose. The TF would flash freeze in the hose before it made it to the gun. Even though I keep my trough at 110°. Switching to straight 3/8" eliminated that problem.
 
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