Flojet

[Noob]

Good afternoon guys, I hope everyone is surviving the cold. I have a question about flojets. The chemicals in my low pressure functions are freezing up on really cold nights. The original owner did not built a trough for the chemical lines. Each low pressure function has 1 flojet that mixes the chemicals and then pushes it out to whichever bay is calling for the chemical.

My questions is can a flojet operate with no liquid running through it without harming it?

Im thinking I can close the valve that supplies the chemical to the flojet then go out to the bays and activate the low pressure function which would then push air through the line and purge the chemical out?

Will this hurt the flojet?

 

[Randy]

If you do what your talking about the Flo-Jet will cycle non stop since it doesn't have anything to push against. Will it hurt the pump, probably will if you let it cycle long enough. If your thinking about using air to blow out the liquid from the lines it won't work very well. You've low spots in the hose that the air ill blow over the top of the liquid and it will freeze. If you want to keep the lines from freezing pump -22 windshield washer fluid into the lines at night. When it gets real cold at ours washes we close them down, pump washer fluid into the system, turn off the power to the equipment and call it good until it warms up, we do very little business when it's cold.

 

[MEP001]

You would need to tee air into the liquid line to purge it. Turning off the liquid supply to the Flojet won't make it pump air through the lines. You could purge the chemical lines clear and it would be unlikely anything would be damaged from the residual liquid that would freeze, but your systems still won't work until the lines thaw.

FWIW I only worry about the foam brush working when it's sub-freezing, if it's only going to freeze overnight I mix some blue soap with about four gallons of washer fluid and purge the foam brush lines. The tank is big and I keep the float set as low as it will operate properly, then by the time it warms up the tank has run down and regular pink foam brush takes over.

 

[Kevin James]

A couple of years ago we took Randy’s advice and shut the car washes down when it gets down into teens and not above freezing during the day. We don’t do enough business to justify staying open and fighting the elements for a few dollars. We pump the cheap windshield washer fluid from Walmart into the weep system and purge the Presoak/tire cleaner system and call it good until it warms up. We installed a “T” in the weep water system just downstream of the weep water shut off valve, turn the weep water off, connect an air hose to the weep system and blow the system down with air and then pump washer fluid into the system, turn off the power and your done until it warms up enough to reopen. One of our competitors had a man slip on the ice and fall, cost his insurance company well over $100,000. He sued after they replaced his elbow and hip. His insurance rates are out of sight now.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Had a really busy day last year when it was 4 degrees. Don't think I would let that pass.
https://www.facebook.com/eweisstkd/...DE5NToxMDE1NTM0NDgzMjc5ODE5Ng/?epa=SEARCH_BOX

 

[OurTown]

I like the idea of leaving one bay open because most car washes do not shut down around here and don't want to have a customer go find another wash that's open and possibly lose them forever.