Waxman
Super Moderator
any update??
Help with Razor Rinse Tank
- Thread starter slash007
- Start date
slash007
Well-known member
Not yet. I went by yesterday and switched my active softener tank. It's been rainy and slow, so have not washed two cars back to back since then. It seemed to fill slightly faster, but I couldn't tell for sure. If I was two vehicles in a row and it keeps up, then the softener was the issue.
slash007
Well-known member
Well I bypassed my water softener today and no change. Fills up fast for a few seconds then slows down. I can't think what the heck could be causing that behavior. On another note, I'm glad this came up as I found out my water was hard and I need to rebed my softeners. Still didn't work with them bypassed, so a secondary issue.
Did the flow stay good directly after the solenoid without any other plumbing attached?
Did you try this valve in another razor?
One test would be to remove the guts out of the solenoid and manually turn the water on and off to see if you get the same results. Disconnect the coil if you do this to avoid burning it up during testing.
I'm not familiar with razors, is the tank filled with city pressure or a pump? When you are seeing the drop in pressure/flow, is it the whole line back to the water source? Could be a partial clog somewhere, full flow and pressure until the line empties to the partial clog, then line can't fill up fast enough, but eventually will fill up if outflow stops.
I think you have a solenoid issue since you stated the pressure is strong before the solenoid. If I were you I would just be done with it and either put a brand new complete solenoid or hook up a Jobe ball float and get rid of the solenoid all together. You would need to but a jumper wire for your high float switch.
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slash007
Well-known member
I did test the water flow with all guts of solenoid removed, and also installed a brand new solenoid, so I've tried both of those items. The hose is a solid pipe running very close to it, then a thick hose only a short distance and no kinks. Next rainy day I'm going to swap the complete solenoid with another Razor just to see. Then I can 100% rule out the solenoid if it works fine on the other.
So you have continuous full flow before the solenoid and low flow after a short period of time after the solenoid? Both with and without the guts in the solenoid? I'm trying to follow where you are having full flow and where it is dropping off after some time. Maybe worth putting inline pressure gauges to diagnose? Just throwing out ideas here.
slash007
Well-known member
It's a very confusing situation as it's hard to pin down why the flow slows down. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon. Very rainy month here, so have not had a line of cars in a while.
slash007
Well-known member
Quick update. The sun finally came out and we washed a few cars back to back and no low water tank issue. Turns out it was the softener as I still have it bypassed. New one for me, but glad that there is finally an explanation.
Waxman
Super Moderator
but is the softener absolutely necessary on the rinse tank? I know at my car wash only the heated water is softened. The water that fills my rinse tank comes from two places: the city water supply and my well water.
slash007
Well-known member
Maybe not, but it's plumbed that way. Regardless, I found my water to be hard, so I have to fix the softeners anyway.
Just an FYI most people in my state will run soft water for chemicals only. Use hard for rinse passes. Not only does it save a ton on salt but the hard water breaks down the foam from previous chemical passes quicker and better then soft water.
OurTown
Well-known member
How hard is the water there typically? We have 18 grains and run all softened currently. We also have turbo nozzles and those are already high maintenance. I wonder if they would get stuck more often with 18 grain hard water.
slash007
Well-known member
I think my other washes are plumbed to run city water to the rinse. I'll have to check. Water at this wash was at 11 grains hard, so definitely needs to be soft. I'm surprised cars were still coming out clean with the softener not working.
