Here's an update on my Coinless installation so far...
It's been 3 days and the system is still NOT fully hooked up or tested. While the progress has been slow-going, we are making progress!
I believe the issues we're having is a combination of working outside on the hottest days in Sacramento, California history (111 - 116 degrees), working with 40 year old vacuums (encased in more metal), not having extra bay wires and not fully understanding how the Coinless devices are installed and work.
A strong WIFI signal is needed for the Coinless devices to communicate with the
app (in the Cloud) NOT each other.
Braden and Connor with Coinless have been very accessible and helpful.
I hired a local car wash installation company to install the Coinless system last week. They admitted they have never installed anything like this, but willing to learn. Though knowledgeable, they are not electrical or WIFI experts. I met with them in July to review the Coinless devices, the electrical setup and my 40 year old equipment. The CW tech determined my WIFI signal was weak, so I had a WIFI extender installed in Bay 3. The CW tech called and spoke to Braden with Coinless a couple times to better understand their system and installation.
For the bays, the original plan was to install the Coinslayer INSIDE the metal electrical panel (inside my pump room), and connect to the existing timer wires for each of the 5 SS bays. However, the CW tech was unable to find a spare wire, so we decided it would be faster to hire a 3rd party electrician to pull new wires, through conduit, which we did.
For the vacuums, I have 4 old Doyle vacuums, where the timers are located between the aluminum motor housing, sheet metal panel and fiberglass. The original plan was to install the smaller blue devices (Coinitos), near the timer. Unfortunately, we could not get a WIFI signal through the metal. I also have a newer upright IVS vacuum, with a plastic dome lid, and the CW tech was able to quickly & easily install the Coinito inside the SS box and get a WIFI signal.
The CW tech called Coinless about the WIFI issues we were having with the Doyle vacuums, and they recommended putting the small Coinitos inside a plastic electrical box, mounted outside the vacuums. Coinless shipped me 2 plastic boxes from Amazon at no charge, and I received them the SAME day. The next day the CW tech pulled the wires through the existing conduit and we plan to mount the plastic box up higher behind a pedestal Carpet Shampoo and Spray Fragrance machine. It's not ideal as car washes are vulnerable to theft and vandalism, but we're optimistic the WIFI signal will work when the CW tech returns tomorrow.
After talking to Coinless again this morning about the WIFI signal, they recommended moving the Coinslayer OUTIDE the metal electrical panel, so there is no obstruction between the WIFI signal and the Router (located inside the Pump Room).
I'll post some photos and an update tomorrow!
