My chemical salesman got to set up the chemical on a new D&S IQ. He was impressed with the way it washed. He thought the the first pass is a dry pass so it can image the car, this seems like a wasted pass but it may change since its a new machine. Overall he thought it really looked good. He hasn't seen the touchless operate as of yet.
New D&S Automatics
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That was exactly what I thought when I watched the video. I would hope you would be able to combine the imaging pass with either a pre-rinse or detergent application.
The machine will naturally be a bit slower, being only a three brush unit that stops at the front and rear of the car for both side brush and top brush washing. I'd want to save a pass wherever I could.
Very good looking machine on the video - looking forward to seeing one live.
8flyer
Member
I went to St. Louis today to view the new IQ soft touch. The first pass is an imaging pass and cannot do anything but that as it needs to get a clean image. This machine is an impressive piece of equipment. It washed a 4dr Ford F250 diesel in 6 minutes on the top wash. It did a good job and removed every bug on the front! I probably will order this machine for a wash I'm in the process of purchasing.
DiamondWash
Well-known member
I wish they had a video of it, all they currently have is of the soft touch and to eliminate the first pass they should create a arch at the entrance to map the vehicle but with people driving in too fast might make that difficult.
8flyer
Member
It has to image the car while stopped as it locates the wheels and tells the car where to stop. (acts as the treadle)
Waxman
Super Moderator
Sounds too complicated. The more time I spend in this business, the more I want to simplify everything; processes, machinery, chemical delivery, everything.
Even the most simple in bay automatics are robots. One wire gets chafed (my problem / currently I am fixing) and the machine will not operate properly.
An imaging pass? Too complex!
Even the most simple in bay automatics are robots. One wire gets chafed (my problem / currently I am fixing) and the machine will not operate properly.
An imaging pass? Too complex!
8flyer
Member
Sounds complicated but it isn't. This machine is completely electric w/ no hydraulics at all. every part on the unit is gauranteed with a minimum 2 year warranty and the whole thing weighs less than 850lbs. It cleans better than anything I've seen in the industry so far.
chewy007
New member
I find it interesting that DS has pretty much abandoned there Quicksilver touch free that was brand new in 2007..
The engineer that originally designed the IQ machine is no longer with DS, so I would give it at least three years on the market before I would consider it. My biggest problem with the IQ is the there is no good friction setup for cleaning wheels... I operate several Mark IIV IBA (soft wash and XT's) and all of them have the "Hub Scrub" wheel brush and they do a good job of cleaning.
If I were in the market for a new IBA I would look at PDQ's tandem or Mark IIV, that is coming from my DS dist.
The engineer that originally designed the IQ machine is no longer with DS, so I would give it at least three years on the market before I would consider it. My biggest problem with the IQ is the there is no good friction setup for cleaning wheels... I operate several Mark IIV IBA (soft wash and XT's) and all of them have the "Hub Scrub" wheel brush and they do a good job of cleaning.
If I were in the market for a new IBA I would look at PDQ's tandem or Mark IIV, that is coming from my DS dist.
DiamondWash
Well-known member
I like the PDQ concept 1 side brush 1 top brush but when you have 6+ vehicles lined up what is the real world thoughput of this unit? and what I have always had a issue with is if you speed the unit up and it does a crappy job it has to do a full revoultion to reclean that area same thing with a inverted L unit.
DiamondWash
Well-known member
Does anybody have a new video of the D&S Touchfree unit?
I don't know if you saw it, but there are links to youtube videos earlier in this post. If you already saw them and are looking for something else - sorry, that is the only one I know of.
Mike