Installing larger meter boxes

[MEP001]

I'm amazed at the order of the order of some car washes. For example the car wash these boxes came from had this for order of functions: Soap, Tire Cleaner, Foam Brush, Rinse, Wax, Presoak, Rinse. I have seen worse but this is pretty goofy where the presoak is and no spot free but has tire cleaner?

I've seen some weird ones too. A lot of the time it's because they've added features over years and just put them on the dial where they had space, I guess not ever considering just wiring up a new switch harness.

Here's another option vs. welding in studs:

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

 

[OurTown]

I've seen some weird ones too. A lot of the time it's because they've added features over years and just put them on the dial where they had space, I guess not ever considering just wiring up a new switch harness.

Here's another option vs. welding in studs:

McMaster-Carr

McMaster-Carr is the complete source for your plant with over 595,000 products. 98% of products ordered ship from stock and deliver same or next day.

www.mcmaster.com

I have seen those installed in things and didn't think of those for this project. You have given me several options to look into that are alternatives for welded studs.

 

[OurTown]

Here is a big box from IDX we have installed for customers. One does have bill acceptor. I know they have a box which is like this but turned sideways. Makes it easy to work on components.

Those are some huge boxes and some serious thick material.

 

[pejota81]

What have yall paid to have the openings made bigger in the block columns? Or has it been part of the cost of the bigger meter boxes?

 

[OurTown]

What have yall paid to have the openings made bigger in the block columns? Or has it been part of the cost of the bigger meter boxes?

I'm not sure because our cost was wrapped into a very large remodel. The mason tore ours down to the bottom of the boxes and relayed them instead of trying to cut the openings.

 

[OurTown]

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I like the "inactive" labeling. Did that eliminate most of the calls for not pushing the stop button?

 

[OurTown]

I like the "inactive" labeling. Did that eliminate most of the calls for not pushing the stop button?

We just opened the self serve (after being closed for a year ) not quite four weeks ago. Not one time have we found the bay left on. We think it's because of the big red button in the door instead of the little green button in the swiper. I installed flush black colored buttons in the swipers and did not wire them.

 

[OurTown]

I can't believe I started this thread five and a half years ago. Where did the time go? Freaking nuts!

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I can't believe I started this thread five and a half years ago. Where did the time go? Freaking nuts!

I've heard that the years click off faster, up around your age...

 

[OurTown]

I've heard that the years click off faster, up around your age...

After a certain point all you can do is hold on and scream.

 

[Eric H]

Great looking face plates! Tell me all about the stop button and how you have this wired. I had Etowah valley CC timers and the customers are used to the “turn the knob to Stop to end CC”. They are still getting used to “push the green button to stop” for the Cryptopay timers. Whoever decided to use Green for stop should be fired!

 

[OurTown]

Great looking face plates! Tell me all about the stop button and how you have this wired. I had Etowah valley CC timers and the customers are used to the “turn the knob to Stop to end CC”. They are still getting used to “push the green button to stop” for the Cryptopay timers. Whoever decided to use Green for stop should be fired!

Remove the back plate on the swiper
Remove the green button
Install black dummy button in its place and did not connect to anything
Make up much longer (8"?) 24 gauge wires, tin the ends and push them into the board terminals
Drill larger wire exit hole in back plate
Route them out through the swiper back plate hole with the other six wires and seal around them and the back plate with silicone caulk.
Now you have a 10 wire swiper. LOL!
I soldered four wires on the new red stop button and put heat shrink over the terminations and the two that are not used
Drilled a 7/8" hole for new button in each meter box door
Connected wires with Wago 221 lever nuts for easy replacement

The wiring on the new button is the same as the old green one. There are two wires for the LED and two for the switch.

Black dummy button:
CIT Relay and Switch part #BH16NFBBX
https://www.digikey.com/en/products...MC1xy0bpDtVrx1q27PQaAp0QEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Red stop button:
E-Switch part #PV7F2Y0SS-311
https://www.digikey.com/en/products...MC1xy0bpDtVrx1q27PQaAp0QEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I see Digikey is currently out of stock on these buttons.

I'll try to look for some photos of the wiring inside the swiper.

If I were to do this again I might consider getting the buttonless swipers as Cryptopay says they have the same board inside. Also, someone on here said that you can now use a swiper and the Cryptotap Plus with its external stop button.

 

[OurTown]

This is all I can find in my photos and is just for reference of how the old wires were connected.

 

[OurTown]

 

[OurTown]

IIRC the red is DC+ for the LED, black is DC- for the LED, and the gray wires are interchangeable and for the normally open contacts. I swear I had a photo of the new wires in the swiper board contacts but I can't find it.

 

[OurTown]

Somewhere I have a green button that I can test and study to tell you where those different colored wires would then go to the board. Then I could refer back to this thread the next time I need the info. I'm embarrassed to say how many times I have had to reference back to the forum to find the info I discovered years before.