New owner

[obzenmatt]

Hello, my name is Matt and I have inherited a 7 bay SS, 6 bay SS, and 4 bay SS out in Southern California. I'm new to all of this, I've been working for about 10 months now and I was interested in picking your brains. First of all, I see the Cat 310 gets a lot of love here. We have 310's and 623's. The 623's give me a lot less problems and seem to keep up pressure better. Is there something I'm missing? Another question I have is high pressure hoses. We use the (I think formerly goodyear) now continental hoses and they seem to break more often than I'd expect something rated for 3000 lbs. Are the double wires worth the extra money? How about swivel? We currently order the kleen rite swivels but they seem worthless, they always leak and have to be rebuilt constantly. I appreciate your time in advance.

 

[Rfreeman]

Are you sure the pumps are getting enough water? Additionally do the valves have the o rings or back up rings in place on the valves. Any leaks, any size any where that would let air into the system?

As far as the hoses, where are they failing at? Same location? How long are they lasting you? I use the single braid hose seem to get good time out of them.

For swivels I switched to mosmatics, yes they're expensive, but you get what you pay for.

 

[Randy]

There’s a huge difference between the Cat 623 and the Cat 310. We run our Cat 310 pumps at 1500psi with a 1505 nozzle, a Cat 623 is only rated at 1200psi. Have you checked the heads on the 310 pumps for wash out? We have very few pump problems.

As far as high pressure hoses. We use the Continental hose, we buy it in bulk and put the ends on ourselves. They last years. How long are you getting out of your hoses?

Swivels we use the KR ball bearing swivel SWV500 on both the gun and the foam brush handle. They again last years. You won’t get any longevity out of the SWV38 or the SWE100 swivels.

 

[obzenmatt]

Are you sure the pumps are getting enough water? Additionally do the valves have the o rings or back up rings in place on the valves. Any leaks, any size any where that would let air into the system?

As far as the hoses, where are they failing at? Same location? How long are they lasting you? I use the single braid hose seem to get good time out of them.

For swivels I switched to mosmatics, yes they're expensive, but you get what you pay for.

They seem to fail in the bay mostly. Maybe it's just wear and tear or i got a bad spool of hose. So the inlet pressure is set with a PRV. We use a PRV at the inlet and a unloader on the outlet and a tee on the inlet that the unloader recirc goes back to. We set the unloader to 1000 with the trigger off and the PRV to where outlet with trigger pulled is 1000. I've went through the whole pump, nothing is missing. The stationary seals just fail a lot more often than the pistons on my piston pump do. Thank you for the swivel recommendation I'll check it out.

 

[obzenmatt]

There’s a huge difference between the Cat 623 and the Cat 310. We run our Cat 310 pumps at 1500psi with a 1505 nozzle, a Cat 623 is only rated at 1200psi. Have you checked the heads on the 310 pumps for wash out? We have very few pump problems.

As far as high pressure hoses. We use the Continental hose, we buy it in bulk and put the ends on ourselves. They last years. How long are you getting out of your hoses?

Swivels we use the KR ball bearing swivel SWV500 on both the gun and the foam brush handle. They again last years. You won’t get any longevity out of the SWV38 or the SWE100 swivels.

What is washout? Is that like when the stationary rings fail? I'm not getting as long as I'd like but I think I got a bad batch maybe or my 10 months have been an unlucky time. Our bays run at 1000 so both work for our setpoints. I'll check out the SWV500 swivels. Thank you very much

 

[2Biz]

What is washout?

Great thread showing what washout is...

(20) Washed out 310 manifolds - With pictures | Car Wash Forum

 

[Greg Pack]

You should be getting years out of a set of seals on a 310 if the pump is healthy and the plumbing is set up right. Look for washout as suggested above and make sure you aren't starving the pump for water. The hose shouldn't vibrate too much if conditions are right, but if it is vibrating and rubbing against something that could be a cause of premature hose failure..

 

[obzenmatt]

Great thread showing what washout is...

(20) Washed out 310 manifolds - With pictures | Car Wash Forum

I'm reading through this. Is washout when the clearances in the head erode away to where software such as o rings etc stops working? I see cat has some fancier plunger pumps with ceramic cylinders. Or I can do those swap outs they do. I'll check out my 310's today and see what's going on

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Is washout when the clearances in the head erode away to where software such as o rings etc stops working?

That's a fancy way of saying it. The metal around the seals and/or valves gets eaten away and the water travels around them. It's not something mysterious. You can look down in the hole and see and feel that the areas that mate against the seal or valve is eaten away. Usually around a valve it will tend to cut a groove, right where the o-ring was broken. The seal area usually pits and erodes a larger area.

 

[obzenmatt]

That's a fancy way of saying it. The metal around the seals and/or valves gets eaten away and the water travels around them. It's not something mysterious. You can look down in the hole and see and feel that the areas that mate against the seal or valve is eaten away. Usually around a valve it will tend to cut a groove, right where the o-ring was broken. The seal area usually pits and erodes a larger area.

I see that many people think its caused by chemicals. What are the chances that sediment in municipal water causes this? Is it worth putting a filter on the inlet of the pump?

 

[obzenmatt]

You should be getting years out of a set of seals on a 310 if the pump is healthy and the plumbing is set up right. Look for washout as suggested above and make sure you aren't starving the pump for water. The hose shouldn't vibrate too much if conditions are right, but if it is vibrating and rubbing against something that could be a cause of premature hose failure..

When I switch everything over to 310's I'll test it out

 

[MattieCatlett]

Replying for the update.

 

[Axxlrod]

Hello, my name is Matt and I have inherited a 7 bay SS, 6 bay SS, and 4 bay SS out in Southern California. I'm new to all of this, I've been working for about 10 months now and I was interested in picking your brains. First of all, I see the Cat 310 gets a lot of love here. We have 310's and 623's. The 623's give me a lot less problems and seem to keep up pressure better. Is there something I'm missing? Another question I have is high pressure hoses. We use the (I think formerly goodyear) now continental hoses and they seem to break more often than I'd expect something rated for 3000 lbs. Are the double wires worth the extra money? How about swivel? We currently order the kleen rite swivels but they seem worthless, they always leak and have to be rebuilt constantly. I appreciate your time in advance.

Where in Socal? I can help point you to some repair resources.

 

[obzenmatt]

Replying for the update.

It'll be a minute before I'm able to check them. I'm sorry, I will update asap. For now I'm going to switch over my swivel brand on everything as it breaks

 

[obzenmatt]

Where in Socal? I can help point you to some repair resources.

Ventura county

 

[ShinePro]

Hoses and swivels
I m a huge fan of the Mosmatic comfort hoses and their swivels.
Very light weight- very Customer friendly
No wires- and they look nice and last for a very long time.
They are pricey and most everybody on here buys the cheaper KR brand. I have found that they are well worth the price!
You can get them from KR also.

 

[obzenmatt]

Hoses and swivels
I m a huge fan of the Mosmatic comfort hoses and their swivels.
Very light weight- very Customer friendly
No wires- and they look nice and last for a very long time.
They are pricey and most everybody on here buys the cheaper KR brand. I have found that they are well worth the price!
You can get them from KR also.

I will check those out. Thank you.