Carolina Pride Recir Presoak Costs

[Greg Pack]

Rainy day here. I walk into the pumproom- the only noise I hear is the recirculating pump on the carolina pride presoak system.

I'm a little bored, so I pull out my meter and check - 5.7 amps at 215 volts= 1.225 KW/hr. x24 hours x 30 days x 6.57 cents per hour = $58.03/month to run this thing 24/7. This does not include the heat loss and periodic reheating required by the cartridge heater in the solution tank, which could maybe add another 20.00 or so

I do not have income moitoring here, but from previous washes that did I estimate the actual presoak usage here at the 4 bay at about $160 dollars a month. so 50% of my PS income is chewed up just by the electricity to operate the system

I'm thinking of adding an IDX MX-10 to the system to run the pump only when a timed output in the bay is on. It would probably cut my power bill at least $50/month.

Anyone else done this? Other than a few second delay of warm presoak delivery to the tip are there any other downsides?

 

[mayadreamin]

I have had the same thought with our wash. I operate 3 other self serve locations that are not Carolina Pride and none of them have continuous presoak. I think you forgot to add the cost of additional fitting repairs due to the continual flow of presoak. Have you made any changes? If so, I would like to hear how you did it and the results.

 

[soapy]

I had 3 ryko SS systems that recircualted both tire clean and presoak like you described. I got rid of all the pumps and setup a pump system that used on demand Flojet 57 pumps. I added a heat cable system to the trough systems and have been very happy with the change.

 

[mayadreamin]

At the risk of sounding like a newbie...what is a heat cable system?

Thanks

 

[MEP001]

It's also known as heat tape, just flat ribbon that you plug in and it gets warm.

 

[soapy]

My heat cable is a little more than flat ribbon like most people use. I use Raytheon winter guard wet cable. It has extra layers so it won't rub through all the wires. It puts out 6 watts per foot and I have been using it over 10 years in some locations with no problems at all. It even comes with its own GFI. Has been able to keep my troughs from freezing even down to -40 zero. That -40 temps keeps the fruits and nuts out since they tend to migrate south when they can't handle the temps.

 

[Greg Pack]

Thought I would dig this old post up again and update

I did install an IDX MX-10 that I had sitting on the shelf, along with a two pole contactor. I power the MX10 off the timed output of the bay, so any time that a bay is on the pump runs. I didn't like the idea of cutting the pump on and off s the customer rattled through the selector switch. If I hadn't already had the MX10, I would have likely bought a MX 9 and hooked it up to the presoak output.

The system also serves as antifreeze in my trough. I plan on hooking the MX10 up to the #2 output on my weepmizer and cut it on when temps reach the high 20s. But I ahve not done that yet.

Anyway, the electrical savings and wear &tear on the pump has to be significant. It's also real nice to walk in and hear nothing running in the equipment room for a change. Well, let me re-phrase that. It's nice to have a quiet equipment room when no customers are present.

I will eventually replace the setup with an air-injected procon setup and run at a higher psi. I'll put it on the "to do" list.

 

[rdouleh]

Thought I would dig this old post up again and update

I did install an IDX MX-10 that I had sitting on the shelf, along with a two pole contactor. I power the MX10 off the timed output of the bay, so any time that a bay is on the pump runs. I didn't like the idea of cutting the pump on and off s the customer rattled through the selector switch. If I hadn't already had the MX10, I would have likely bought a MX 9 and hooked it up to the presoak output.

The system also serves as antifreeze in my trough. I plan on hooking the MX10 up to the #2 output on my weepmizer and cut it on when temps reach the high 20s. But I ahve not done that yet.

Anyway, the electrical savings and wear &tear on the pump has to be significant. It's also real nice to walk in and hear nothing running in the equipment room for a change. Well, let me re-phrase that. It's nice to have a quiet equipment room when no customers are present.

I will eventually replace the setup with an air-injected procon setup and run at a higher psi. I'll put it on the "to do" list.

I sent you a pm, if you could help that would be awesome!

 

[2Biz]

Circulating PS 24-7...365 days a year with a 220v pump! Makes you wonder what the early engineers was thinking!?!?!?

Kind of reminds me of my Mark VII pump stand. Ease of maintenance wasn't part of the equation!

 

[cantbreak80]

Circulating PS 24-7...365 days a year with a 220v pump! Makes you wonder what the early engineers was thinking!?!?!?

Kind of reminds me of my Mark VII pump stand. Ease of maintenance wasn't part of the equation!

2Biz...
Back in "the day", Southern Pride, Carolina Pride, RBell & Assoc. used the same PS design:
stainless steel tank, equipped with a 240v submersible heater, and a stainless steel circulating pump. It served three purposes...quick delivery of heated pre-soak delivery to the bays AND trough heat!
Electricity used to be cheap.

As for MkVII...their design insured continuous employment for their distributor's service techs ...and plenty of reconfiguration work for their competitor's techs.

 

[2Biz]

Guess that explains it...Maybe they were smarter than I give them credit for! I prefer the K.I.S.S. approach!

 

[rph9168]

I agree. Mark VII's design was a classic example of over engineering with a faulty design. Almost looks like it was designed to be a maintenance nightmare.

 

[rdouleh]

maybe someone else could chime in, im looking into this mod and he mentioned using a mx9 which has no delay and connecting it to the presoak output. I was thinking of using a 1 second delay and connecting it to the presoak switch so that the pump doesnt constantly switch on and off if people turn past that option. Or should I just stick with going with the timer output option where the pump will run when the timer is on.

 

[Stuart]

Go with the 1 sec delay on the pump. If you have motors on any LP functions-go with the delay-SFR too

 

[Randy]

maybe someone else could chime in, im looking into this mod and he mentioned using a mx9 which has no delay and connecting it to the presoak output. I was thinking of using a 1 second delay and connecting it to the presoak switch so that the pump doesnt constantly switch on and off if people turn past that option. Or should I just stick with going with the timer output option where the pump will run when the timer is on.

I been using the IDX MX-8 for 20 years with no problems. The MX-8 has a 1 Sec. On/Off delay. I use it to control the Presoak Procon pump.