Cold weather operating IBA ?

[ShinePro]

Got a ? for everyone.
Reading on here about trouble in the cold. No doors - ice - etc

Im in Ohio.(Home of the National Champions). Just had to do that!

Anyhow. Razor equipment. Doors and good floor heat at 1 ok at the other.
But it gets to 15 or below - I SHUT IT DOWN.
Most everybody I talked with on the phone yesterday has as well.
One guy gave up Monday when stupid things started to happen.
Now ss is open for anyone that really needs it.
I will probably re open tomorrow when we get back to the high teens.
The tunnels arent even doing much other than sending out cars with ice on them. I just dont want to tear up or be hard on my equipment for a few bucks.

Its gonna warm up here shortly.
I ll be patient!

How many of you IBA operators shut it down when we get this cold?

 

[OurTown]

Got a ? for everyone.
Reading on here about trouble in the cold. No doors - ice - etc

Im in Ohio.(Home of the National Champions). Just had to do that!

Anyhow. Razor equipment. Doors and good floor heat at 1 ok at the other.
But it gets to 15 or below - I SHUT IT DOWN.
Most everybody I talked with on the phone yesterday has as well.
One guy gave up Monday when stupid things started to happen.
Now ss is open for anyone that really needs it.
I will probably re open tomorrow when we get back to the high teens.
The tunnels arent even doing much other than sending out cars with ice on them. I just dont want to tear up or be hard on my equipment for a few bucks.

Its gonna warm up here shortly.
I ll be patient!

How many of you IBA operators shut it down when we get this cold?

We shut down last night and the night before but will open around noon today I'm thinking. Machine works great (Autec) but the heated presoak freezes on the cars because they are so cold coming in.

 

[Big Chris]

Below 17°F I close my touchless IBAs. This is usually at night. I only have doors on the exits, and even though my presoaks, and other chemicals are heated to 60°F, they freeze on the vehicle before the high pressure pass.

This cold stretch we're having right now is the coldest I've seen since being an owner/operator. We had -13°F this morning (no wind chill, actual temp). I'm going to be patient, and wait until we get past the worst of this before I reopen. I'd rather turn a few people away now and be ready for the weekend when we get back into the 20s and sunshine.

 

[Wash4Life]

Our IBAs were closed Monday evening around 6 p.m. and will reopen tomorrow at around 10 a.m.

 

[Greg Pack]

No floor heat and no IBA doors here. It's unusual for us to be completely shut more than occasionally a few nights a winter. This cold spell is the worst in recent memory. I will be closed for four days.

With no floor heat, my better wash is on a tight lot with some slope. Any water spray turns to ice out by the vacuums if cold enough. It's not worth the risk IMO.

The cloth IBAs have to be shut down if it gets below freezing, and the Water wizard touch free will run down to the low 20s with their track heat system running.

 

[gomerpyle]

I have doors on both entrance and exit, with in floor heat. I shut down at 0 F. I am also only open from 6:00am to 10:00pm. So I avoid some of the coldest times.

Biggest issue for me when its this cold is the fog created when a car drives in. I was shut down Sunday - Tuesday. Cleaned and then cleaned some more

 

[Blanco]

Personally for me I do not shut down. it was -15 here a few nights. I got doors, rail/machine heat, floor heat, and in bay heaters. A lot of insurance if one of them fails. Between all the locations on that day I still probably washed a few hundred cars. It's not about the money for me though. It's about always being open and operating. Im in a state where the cold is a norm. I do understand the guys that shut down though if they only have a few cold days a year and are not equipped for it. Definitely depends on region.