Hydra-flex AquaLab MD Issues on New Sonnys Tunnel

[toddmullens]

Is anybody that's using the Hydra-Flex chemical dispensing system having issues with the booster pump overheating on very busy days? We have the setup with a spare booster pump with the quick connect fittings to switch pumps quickly, but we had to switch over the pumps seven times in the span of a day just to be able to dispense chemicals. Very frustrating to say the least and it says nothing about this issue on their website. I know another group of investors with many tunnels and they experience the same issue. There has to be a reason or a solution to this issue. The pump bypasses back to the inlet and on busy days, the water gets so hot that the thermal relief valve spews water everywhere. The motor will then either trip the overload or just stop running which is weird because the manual for the pump states there is no internal thermal overload on the 3 phase model which is what we have (only the single phase model has internal thermal protection). Anybody have any ideas or tips to remedy this issue?

 

[Earl Weiss]

I will be interested to see the response. I do not have the system so I could only guess either the constant duty or constant duty with nemerous pressure fluctuations stress the pump.

I was in the backroom of a 2 year old Sonny's tunnel and was surprised to see 4 different solution setups. Hydro flex, Hydrominders, metering pumps and a Dosatron.

Why 4 different setups? Seems like a PITA if you want to stock 4 sets of spare parts.

 

[rph9168]

I was recently at a new Sonny's tunnel where they had the Hydraflex in a cabinet with a fan running on it. I didn't ask why but I guess they might have had the same problem.

 

[toddmullens]

I think it's just a very bad design and the company does not want to admit it publicly. No matter what you do, the water is going to get hot due to the excessive amount of bypass on busy days.

 

[Earl Weiss]

When I was at the Sonny's tunnel with 4 different types of dilution systems the owner said the only advantage of the hydro flex was that i saved space.

As I noted 6 or more 30-55 Gallon drums crowded around it I commented that while it saves some wall space, you still need room for the solutions to which he agreed.

 

[mac]

I don't have direct experience with the HydraFlex, but from the comments it sure looks and smells like a design issue. Even a regular Cat pump on a self serve will get hot enough to cook with if you let it run for a while with no flow to the bay. Is it possible to run the bypass water farther back up stream? Another solution might be to use a VFD on the motor. Welcome to our industry.

 

[toddmullens]

I am waiting to hear back from the company before I do anything, but something is going to have to be done with the bypass like you suggested. I am wondering if I could run it to a holding tank and gravity feed the pump... Thanks for the replies and I will keep you posted on what I find out. Although this is a new site, this is not our first. We have 10 locations, mainly IBA's, but a few tunnels. This new location has a similar setup as mentioned before with all different kinds of chemical delivery methods which does not make sense, but I assume some functions require more volume thus the different pumps.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Do you have a holding tank anywhere at your wash? RO tank maybe? I'm thinking you could run your bypass hose to that tank, coil up as much hose as possible, throw it in the tank, and run it back to your pump. I'm thinking, the farther away the RO tank would be, the better. I think this would get rid of a ton of heat. Anything wrong with my thought process here?

 

[toddmullens]

I spoke with Hydraflex support today and they suggested my injectors were too small based on the pump size and suggested I replace them with a larger size orifice injector. The theory being that currently we are forcing the pump to bypass because the orifice size is too small making it work harder and raising the water temperature dramatically due to the amount of bypass. Properly sized injectors should decrease the amount bypassed thus reducing the overall workload on the pump. Chemical use will no doubt increase due to the increase in water flow,but hopefully we can get it fined tuned where it's not wasting chemical. I am still not sure why the injectors were not shipped with the appropriate injectors, but if the problem gets resolved, I can get over it. Fingers crossed it fixes the issue and thanks to Hydraflex for a prompt response.

 

[toddmullens]

That is one way to cool it down, I.B. Washincars!

 

[Earl Weiss]

I spoke with Hydraflex support today and they suggested my injectors were too small based on the pump size and suggested I replace them with a larger size orifice injector. ........... Chemical use will no doubt increase due to the increase in water flow,but hopefully we can get it fined tuned where it's not wasting chemical. .

Simple but costly? Could you simply add a line where the water bypasses?