Best Self Serve Equipment

[JamboWash]

i am currently looking to upgrade my 6 bay self serve carwash equipment which is jim coleman super saver , what is the best equipment self serve manufacture out there providing best after sales support too.

 

[rph9168]

Depending on where you are located there are some local manufacturers that do a good job as well as national ones. As many have said before look for the best distributor in your area since they will probably be the one to provide any support you need.

 

[soonermajic]

GinSan has A LOT of parts to it!

 

[Greg Pack]

Whats wrong with your supersaver? It is all stainless. Granted, it's not perfect and some things are hard to work on, but there is no way I would spend $$$ to replace a stainless steel pump stand.

 

[vinh]

I agree, you are throwing money down the drain if you are upgrading you supersaver. I have 5 supersaver and 1 ginsan pump station. Both have been rock solid. I like procon type pumps versus flojet personally. If you are upgrading, upgrade the coin box but changing the pump station is not going to give a good return on investment.

 

[getnbusy]

Hard to beat a Carolina Pride unit. I also like Dilling-Harris stuff too.

 

[pgrzes]

Happy with my Coleman Supersaver!!! Put in a 7 year old one about 2 years ago and havnt looked back. Perfect? NO! Very good? Yes.

 

[cwguy.com]

I would get Ginsan over Carolina Pride.... But I would get Coleman over all of them.

Carolina Pride: I personally do not like the large solenoids or the air pumps. The unit my Dad had had a separate tri-foam? Maybe all are separate or just my Dads? The unit is actually pretty large also…. That design I believe only works if you are saving space….. like the Ginsan equivalent.

Ginsan: I do not like the 3 separate proprietary devices to get a bay working (Which you could not use I guess.). Each bay is independent. Easiest to trouble shoot out of the box. (Even though you could add lights to any unit.)

Coleman: Seems to give the impression it is an old design adapted for newer functions. Some items are in the dumbest locations. HP Wax, HP Soap and tri-foam…. why not on the LP SS board? Or the ro board?

I really do not like how all units have the hydrominders out of eyesight. Also I do not like how the dilution tanks are over the pumps (not Coleman).

So how much do you want for your super saver? I want it!

 

[MEP001]

I'd keep the SuperSaver, strip it down to just the pumps/motors and rewire/replumb it all from scratch to make it as easy as possible to service. I've never done that to Coleman equipment, but I've done it at least 50 times to other equipment.

 

[JamboWash]

the problem with my super save is that it is almost 8 years old and most of the time most of the bay functions dont work like the low pressure side, high pressure and foam brush are the two that work great , the coin doors are looking old too ,the solenoids the wiring to the system is almost falling apart. i am new to the carwash business hence wanted to the best option i have in keeping the system running and customers happy, my distributor is not keen on stripping the system and rewiring and pluming for me..

 

[cwguy.com]

An 8 years old Coleman unit.... you should not have to touch hoses or wiring on your unit. Mine is way over that and I have not had any issues with anything lp or wires. Except a ball valve of all things.

What was your distributors advise to replace the unit? Maybe just replace the solenoids ($200-$400 a set)? Is a low pressure pump not working? Replacing your unit might not fix your problem if the problem is not identified. You could end up replacing everything at your wash.

 

[slash007]

I have an 11 year old super saver and have not run into anything so far that wasn't easy to fix or replace. It has been very reliable as well. I had to get a few functions working when I first took over a few years ago, but most of the issues were the coils going to each function.

 

[vinh]

I remember I used to think like you. I would want to buy a new machine so I have less headache. These machine are made simple. The first thing you need to learn is understand how the supersaver works and then troubleshooting becomes so much easier.
Also the distributor job is to make money off you. The less you use the distributor the better.
Did you know that:
Your cat pump if 5cp; the pump head has a replacement warranty from cat.

 

[Greg Pack]

, my distributor is not keen on stripping the system and rewiring and pluming for me..

Instead of replacing your pump unit, I'm going to suggest replacing your distributor.


You're probably talking 30K plus to replace a pumping unit. For a third of that any competent distributor looking out for you should be able to run all new lines, clean up any electrical, install new decals and signage, and make the place look and perform like new.

The only thing that is a potential hiccup on the Coleman system is the PLC used for the RO and triple shine unit. As a rule PLCs are rock solid and I bet yours still works fine.

The only pump stand I would consider trashing is one not made of stainless steel. Their are tons of 25 year old pump stands out there working with updates and modifications.

 

[JamboWash]

I have contacted 2 more distributors and none are keen on working make repairs and have it all working in top form ,they quckly want to sell a new self serve equipment telling me that it not worth the labour put in repair it, my PLC on the RO System went out and i replace it with a used one that was programmed by Coleman but unfortunately it still has hickup that there is no output coming on i am thinking maybe the PLC is bad or coleman programmed it wrongly, they want 1200$ for a new one. and being new to the business i dont understand much of it .

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I agree with most of the others. I actually did replace pump stands at one of my washes about 3 years ago. They were old Mark VII Proline. They were not stainless steel and were rusted out to the point of falling over. I priced a new 3 Bay system from one of the forum supporters. His system built to my liking was 26K. I ended up buying a used M7 Proline system (stainless steel), built in 1995. I replaced the pumps with new Arimitsu 516, removed much of the over-engineering that M7 is famous for, made a few mods, and paid my distributor to send a couple of guys to swap it out for me. When the smoke cleared, I had spent less than 10K total.

 

[Kevin James]

Instead of replacing your pump unit, I'm going to suggest replacing your distributor.

I have to agree with “cfcw”. I’d have to say that 99% of the car wash equipment distributors are nothing more than charlatan’s and they are there for one reason, to take as much money from you as they possibly can. The best thing you can do is LEARN!!! As much as you possibly can about your equipment and repair it yourself. If you don’t have any mechanical abilities than I suggest you sell out and move on. When you have to call someone out to fix the simplest thing you’re throwing your profits away. Some of our equipment is well over 25 years old and works just fine, your customers don’t care what pumping equipment you have in the back room. We’ve never called a car wash tech or distributor to come fix anything.

 

[cwguy.com]

I have contacted 2 more distributors and none are keen on working make repairs and have it all working in top form ,they quckly want to sell a new self serve equipment telling me that it not worth the labour put in repair it, my PLC on the RO System went out and i replace it with a used one that was programmed by Coleman but unfortunately it still has hickup that there is no output coming on i am thinking maybe the PLC is bad or coleman programmed it wrongly, they want 1200$ for a new one. and being new to the business i dont understand much of it .

What about not using a plc? (Jim uses Omron plcs.... that price is probably not that bad?) Rewire everything without one? My Super Saver does not have a plc.... 90% of washes probably do not have a plc.

Not trying to be negative.... But my unit somehow caught on fire before I purchase it used and it still worked fine. Yours really should only have solenoid problems. Or the tanks are dirty? Maybe some education on the equipment and everything will be fine.

So you live pretty close to me.... what was your budget? LOL