Close car wash in winter? Need advise

[jnaylorii]

Hello,


I spent over $10,000 last year just in natural gas last winter. With as slow as business is, it may be cheaper for me to close my car wash for a month or two during the winter. What are the pro'd and cons of this? Any help would be great.

Thanks.

 

[teamplex65]

The winter is our busiest months. I wouldnt make it through the summer without the winter. Have you checked your settings, and turned them down as much as you can. We saved a ton just by making sure the doors were shut tight to the floor at night, and was then able to turn down the thermostat.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Years ago I saw a wash that had tarps cut out the size of their bay opening.
They put eyelets in each corner of the tarp and "J" hooks in the corners of the bays.
At sundown they would put the tarps up and close off they bays from wind,etc. till morning.
They told me it was cheaper to install and maintain than doors.
At the time I had doors on one end of the bays and was thinking about doing that on the other end but never got around to doing it.
Now I'm thinking that it might not be such bad idea on 3-4 bays.

 

[Reds]

Winter is my busiest time too. It is also the most expensive time of the year to operate, but the sales justify it. I am amazed at the number of people who will stand outside in 0? weather and wash their car in the SS bay - with no doors. My IBA sales double in the winter months because most folks don't want to stand outside and wash their car in the bitter cold. And the cheapskates who don't want to pay $2 in the summer line up at the SS in the winter because they can't wash at home in that weather. For me, the more snow and ice, the busier I am.

 

[Waxman]

My SS bays have doors; my guy closes them down at 8pm Winter nights. If it's very frigid, I close earlier. If it's warm, later.

I saved alot in propane last year doing this.

There are many ways to save with timers, etc. on your boilers. Look into it more before you close. I need those winter months to make money.

 

[Greg Pack]

I'd be concerned that the customers would form other washing habits, and not come back.

 

[Jim Caudill]

No one else can tell you what is the best way to operate your wash. I'm guessing that you have not owned/operated this wash for very long. If that's the case, it can be an expensive learning curve because you don't have a revenue history to know your potential business.

I used to operate 24/7 with my underfloor heat "On" most of the winter. For the last several years, I only open the wash when the temperature is above freezing and I expect to do some business. I may open only 1 or 2 bays. When it looks like we might actually do something, I turn the heat "On" about 2 or 3am and make sure the bays are all de-iced (I use hot water from a hose hooked up in the equipment room). Some days you mis-guess and lose your a$$. I have spent over $100 in natural gas and only done $60 worth of business.

I personally don't worry too much about customers finding other locations or developing new habit patterns. Hey, if there were customers looking for a place to wash, I'd be open. Around here, people just aren't washing their cars that much anymore. I see it at every wash, and have heard it from other operators. In the town I live in (not the same as where my wash is located), there is probably enough total business to support about 8 bays; we have about 34 bays spread between 6 washes.

 

[Baywash]

I have my floor heat where I can open and close the flow of hot water. I will close off 1,2 or 3 bays according to the expected traffic for the day. I have a air hose rigged so I can blow out the water lines and turn off the weep to these bays as well. I guess I reduced my winter expenses by 30% and not sacrifice any revenue. I have learned that on bitter cold and nasty days, It is not worth opening up at all (but this does not happen only 2-3 times a year). I like having the reputation of always open and equipment in always good working order.

 

[mmurra]

I think Jim and Mike are right on! We can no longer run the business the way we have for the past 30 years. Our 6+2 has seen a drop in volume. We are adjusting our operating procedures to provide a variable number of open bays, based upon the anticipated volume. We are set to shut the entire operation down on the frigid spells, when is is risky to wash. Warning; be careful on the ice buildup on the bay floors. We had a slip-fall last season and we are very careful about protecting our customers from their risky behavior. Be vigilant, but be profitable!! Mark

 

[ToFarGone20]

open

Timers on floor heat and rail heat...freeze protect runs on and off mixing in hot water until its so cold and then it runs constant. Doors on both ends of the bays and sprayed in foam against the roof. I keep two (8+3) s/s bays open all the time...it would have to be really cold to close them. The autos are insulated and have doors on them as well.

I used to close the doors on my s/s's and lay down pink insulation board on the bay floor. It made a noticable difference but was a pain in the ass to pick up on nice days.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I'm thinking about doing that tarp thing on four of my eight bays in the real long stretches of crappy weather. We'll have to see. I'm a firm believer in staying open 24-7, but there comes a point where losing your ass just doesn't make sense to keep everything running.

 

[MEP001]

I'm thinking about doing that tarp thing on four of my eight bays in the real long stretches of crappy weather. We'll have to see. I'm a firm believer in staying open 24-7, but there comes a point where losing your ass just doesn't make sense to keep everything running.

Some have mentioned they cover the floor with insulation, which seems like it would do a better job of keeping the heat to the floor than tarping the openings of the bays. That won't stop the cold from reaching the concrete, only the wind.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

MEP001 without a tarp or door to close off the wind what is there to hold down the insulation to the floor?
The insulation on the floors would definately help reduce or elimate having to turn on the floor heat but it does nothing for the drip freezing up against the wall and eventually freezing to the tip of my guns.
A lot of my problems in the winter are due to the wind and the wind chill factors.
I guess a combination of both would be a better solution.

 

[MEP001]

MEP001 without a tarp or door to close off the wind what is there to hold down the insulation to the floor?

Rocks?

Actually the tarp and insulation combo sounds better. To avoid the ice issues you could blow the lines dry or pump them full of antifreeze.

 

[Ric]

As far as a tarp is concerned, check out http://www.farmtek.com They custom made me a "tarp like" door with pockets in it to insert pipe for weight and to hook it to the wall for better wind resistance. I had them make me one which I can hang from my iba's entrance in the event I need to close off the bay (I have a windstar exit door). I works well and With a little ingenuity could be hung at the top and rolled up and down as needed. I had them put a pocket across the top, midway down and the bottom for a pipe to slide thru. I don't recall the exact price but it was not expensive. I've used mine once. That was when my triple foam froze up. I hung the door on the entrance, closed the exit door and weeped hot water for a couple hours to thaw it out. It could easily be adapted for use in a bay.

 

[Dirtychuck]

Ric--I've got a setup like you're describing. I went to a local semi-truck tarp supplier and they custom fabricated a rollup door out of a heavy duty tarp. It is fastened above door opening with a strip of aluminum and tapcons every 18 inches or so and have a rope and pulley setup to roll it up and down as needed... it works pretty good. I leave them rolled up all summer, and then can roll down and use as needed in winter.

 

[jnaylorii]

Thanks for the help, I found it very useful. FYI I have had my own washes for 12 years and my father had S/S washes from 1965-2005.

 

[jnaylorii]

We have the same problem here

 

[ToFarGone20]

The overhead doors on the entrance and exit equal some of the best money we have ever spent. The pink 4x8 insulation made a noticable difference when on the floor. I just cut out a notch so it would fit around the brush'n'suds bucket and stuck the gun under the board. the heat trapped between the insulation and the floor allowed it to stay nice and toasty. Place the tip close to the pit to keep ice from forming on the floor. In my truck bays I only have doors on one end...right now. I use sand bags to hold down the board. Towards the open end I use more bags...on the end with the closed door you need far fewer. I used several bags that way they didn't have to be very heavy.

A note of caution....I know several people that used pool blankets. They all wish they would have never went down that road. They do a decent job BUT they absorb some water over time and will need to be spread out to dry when warmer weather rolls around. They are heavy, wet, and can start to stink worse than a corpse (maybe not that bad). Moving them is almost a 2 man job. The pink board may take a little more care...but if I take my time its no big deal when figuring out what it saves.

I needed something I could leave down all the time and then pick up relatively quickly when a break in the cold weather rolled around.

I now have Icynene insulation on the underside of my metal roof and hope to do away with the insulation boards comlplely.