Need input- refurb chemical delivery system for 3 SS bays / 1 IBA

[OurTown]

We are adding Foamy Brushes, Foaming Tire Cleaner, Foaming Wax and Air Shammys to the SS bays. There are no empty tanks available for the new chemicals.

Current setup: Three stainless steel tanks serving PS, HP Soap, and HP Polish through Hydrominders. This system runs the SS and IBA. Our IBA uses everything except HP Soap.
Since our auto only uses presoak, it has to look nice and foamy so we have air injection. We plan on replacing our auto in 6 months or less so we don’t want to spend much on it. Ideally we could continue to share PS delivery with the SS bays. Presoak is pumped to the bays by shallow well jet pumps. (I know, weird system, but it works.)

We changed our presoak (for those who remember us before the Great Server Armageddon of Fall 2017 when our profile was lost) from the Super Wash hopper powder mixing system to a hydrominder and tank with a liquid presoak. We’re finally happy with the results of this product and can say we’ve found something better than the Super Wash Super Soap. We are injecting a PH booster into our presoak and that’s been the best solution for our situation. (we’re using JBS Action High Presoak with Action High PH booster.)
Also for those who remember us, we decided to keep the Super Wash polish and add a wax from the JBS Action line to give our SS customers more options in the bay.

We are considering delivering the HP soap, HP Polish and the Presoak through proportioning valves (leaning towards Dema Mixrite) to free up the tanks for the new low pressure chemicals.
We’d really like to hear from others who’ve done something like that.

 

[mac]

I would discourage using the self serve presoak in the automatic also, unless it is a friction machine. The reason is that in a self serve bay you want it to look and smell nice, with some cleaning. In automatic bays that are touchless, we use a kick butt presoak that actually cleans. Smell and looks are secondary. The same product in a self serve bay could get it sprayed on people. Ouch.

 

[loewem]

I'm installing Mix Rites for my self service functions. So far I've set up Mix Rites for my Foaming Conditioner (triple foam, but I only run one color) and for my Foaming Tire Brush. My initial reason for trying the Mix Rites was to do away with the mixing tanks to free up space in my pump, so that I can add a second automatic wash. I've found that I like the output of the Mix Rites better than my previous set up of pushing the chemical with Flo Jets. The output is smoother and it has been much easier to adjust output across all bays. This is especially true for the foaming tire brush. I had a tough time getting good foam without excessive spitting. Now I get good foam with minimal spitting.

You need to pick the correct mix rite for the chemical ratios that you need. https://www.kleen-ritecorp.com/imag...ring/MR572CW/MixRite double sided 7-27-11.pdf provides a good summary of the models and the ratios they handle. I think that models 1405 and 1410 have replaced models 574 and 575.

I had a problem with water pressure. Initially I had the Mix Rite hooked up to a tap in my pump room and then I set the PSI to the Mix Rite with a Pressure Reducing Valve. The triple foam works well when the water pressure is 45 PSI. When my automatic rinse tank fills my water pressure drops to about 30 PSI and the Mix Rite gets choked out by the air. I solved this by using a Flo Jet to supply water the Mix Rite. This has worked out well. I don't need the Pressure Reducing Valve and I don't have to worry about losing pressure. I've got the Flo Jet for the Foaming Condition set to 45 PSI and the air set to 35 PSI. I've got the Flo Jet for the Foaming Tire Brush set to 30 PSI and the air set to 10 - 15 PSI. I'm using KIP solenoid manifolds. The chemical manifold is metered and air manifold is not metered. The meter screw on the Foaming Conditioner is open about 3/4 of a turn and the Foaming Tire Brush is open about 1/2 of a turn.

You don't need all of the stuff that they show you in the Mix Rite manual. If you have consistent water pressure you might need to adjust the pressure to the Mix Rite depending upon the chemical that you are using (possibly reduce the pressure depending upon the pressure you have). If you use a water tank and a Flo Jet then setting the pressure is pretty simple. Initially I wasn't happy that I had to use Flo Jets, but I've come to like it for the consistency it provides. You will need a check valve on the inlet side of the Mix Rite to keep the chemical from leaking back into the water supply line. The chemical doesn't really backflow....just tints the water line a little. I found a 3/4 female NPT x 3/4 Female NPT PVC check valve at Lowes for $10 that stopped any trace of the chemical leaking back into the supply line. You might be able to get away without the check valve. You will also need an inline strainer to keep the water supply clean. Dema sells one specifically for the Mix Rite, but I just bought a less expensive 1/2 inch inline strainer from Kleen Rite. Made by SMC I think.

I found plastic/vynal plumbing fittings at store named Agri-Supply. On the inlet side I'm using a 3/4 Male NPT by 3/4 Male MPT (garden hose threading). I might go to 3/4 Male NPT by 1/2 barb. You can use the fittings supplied with the Mix Rites, but they are 3/4 and I don't see a need for that large of a hose. Regardless, if you decide to use different fittings there are a variety of plastic/vynal available to meet your needs.

My setup is temporary and I hope to have my final solutions for everything in place by the end of next week. I'm including a few pics of my temporary set up and will post pics of my final solutions when I'm done. A video on youtube of the output is also included.

Hope this is helpful.

View attachment 1035View attachment 1036


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORR5pPZmRyw&feature=youtu.be

 

[OurTown]

Do you think it's possible to run foaming wax through the wand, rather than add a foam gun?

 

[MEP001]

You can, I've seen it done, but you can't get a high volume foam out of a bay spray tip. It would have to be a watery, slightly foamy wax. The tip used for trifoam CCC systems is 10-15 times bigger than a high pressure tip.

 

[loewem]

I agree with MEP. I switched my bug off and pre soak to my triple foam gun because I was never happy with the output via the HP gun. 2Biz suggested this to me and I tried it on one bay. It worked well so I switched over all of my bays. A benefit of using the triple foam gun instead of the HP wand is the chemical arrives in the bay much quicker. With the HP wand, LP functions have to clear the line of water or hp soap, etc....and that can take a while. With the trifoam gun the product is coming out about the time that the customer gets the gun to the car.