Hot Water in Self Service

[br549ms]

Is hot water a must in self service or will tap water temp for all services? What about from a customer point of view?

 

[chaz]

I’ve aways heated my high pressure soap and clear coat in the winter.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I turn off my water heater around the first of June and leave it off until the end of September. No one seems to notice/care.

 

[chaz]

Actually.... I Have my GAS turned OFF mid March and turned back on late September (based on weather). I pay a re-connect fee .... but end out ahead vs the minimum fee even if I don’t use gas in a particular month.

 

[br549ms]

Thanks, I am looking at a SS and the heated water does not function, probably not needed this far south.

 

[Roz]

The folks at KR have told me that room temp water for the SS chemicals is as effective as using hot water especially with the newer chemicals on the market - and they could have sold me on a new hot water tank. When we used hot water in the winter months no customer noticed nor did they care when we switched to room temp H2O. For the IBA we have been told that hot water is beneficial for Touch-Free IBA machines to get a better outcome so we use a tankless on demand system to reduce utility costs.

 

[Robert2181]

I agree with Roz. We have not heated water in years.

 

[water guy]

We never used Hot Water in our SS. But we definitely use it in the IBA.

 

[soapy]

I must be in the minority because I supply hot water for my high pressure soap in all my self service bays. It usually runs $100 per month for 4 ss bays and 2 IBA March through October.

 

[Mel(NC)]

I quit using hot water years ago. Too expensive with very few customers noticing whether the water was hot or cold.

 

[sparkey]

No hot water on self serve bays. I do for the automatic presoak. Never had a customer complain.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I heat water for the HP and foam brush soap . I have hot and cold T'd together so I can regulate temp. The colder it is outside the warmer I make it. I also heat the weep.

 

[OurTown]

We have gained some customers because some of our competitors decided not to repair their boilers and run all cold water.

 

[OurTown]

I heat water for the HP and foam brush soap . I have hot and cold T'd together so I can regulate temp. The colder it is outside the warmer I make it. I also heat the weep.

I like the idea of blending because we still want to run at least warm water in summer but don't want to lower our boiler temp and short cycle it.

 

[Randy]

I don’t think it’s all that important to have hot water in a Self-Serve car wash. If you watch the average customer they only have the selector on High pressure soap for a short time, just about long enough for the hose to begin to get warm and then they switch it to foam brush. Most of the car washes in our area don’t have hot water. I have on demand water heaters, as they fail we aren’t fixing them anymore.

 

[OurTown]

It's great in winter watching some spend big money melting off the ice from their car.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I think the only time it’s noticeable, is in the winter and it’s not working. They sometimes notice an ice cold hose in their hand.

 

[Greg Pack]

I have a Carolina pride system that is hot on all high pressure functions. No CW rinse. Not crazy about it, but my gas bill seems manageable most months. I run it lukewarm only- maybe 100 degrees or so. A year or so ago the recirc pump went down on my boiler and I was cold only for six months. No one complained. I don't want to do any degreasers any favors, so I just run the water hot enough to take the chill off.

Many years ago (mid 90s) I leased a SS carwash with a commercial boiler and its lowest setting was 140 degrees. The water sat in the tank before it went through the pumps and cooled a bit but that water was scalding hot if you stuck your hand in the tank. Even the metal fittings were uncomfortable to touch with your arm on the HP hose. It was a popular spot for the degreasers. However even though it was better at degreasing I don't recall it cleaning road film appreciably better than just warm water.

 

[MEP001]

I'm currently cold everything - if these three solid weeks of rain don't kill me I'm going to put an electric heater on the presoak and crank it up as high as the tubing can handle, then I'll advertise it somehow.

 

[2Biz]

I've had both and can tell you I make more $$$ year round having heated water. In the beginning the boiler didn't work and I only had cold water going to the bays. When I installed the HE HTP Tank Style Heater, it paid for itself in 6 months over the previous years income. People do notice. I heat soap and wax cycles and have the water heater set on 100°. The nice thing about a modulating/condensing HE design, you can run them at lower temps without it self destructing or adding a mixer. In the winter when its cold, a 100° wand feels pretty darn warm along with the steam it creates. People love it. The HE water heater is so efficient and cheap to operate, I just let it run all summer.

So I guess operators using only cold water, you have to ask yourself, am I leaving $$$ on the table?!