New pump stands

[lighthousecarwash]

Purchasing my 3rd location and doing a major renovation. I'm replacing every major component of the wash. The self serve pump stand is going and I am trying to decide which route to go. I know, I can rebuild the thing and it will live forever, but that's not happening. Been there and done that. I recently replaced the same pump stand at my existing wash and installed the D&S self wash system. I like the VFD drives and the concept of the injectors and simplicity of the system. I have had nightmares with getting it to not use so much chemical but I think I have it manageable now. My question is, has anyone just bought a basic pump stand with direct drive pumps and install the dosatron low pressure panels? Do you still have to have a holding tank for the hot water for HP Soap and HP Wax or can it be city fed pressure? Anyone have any experience with the Mark VII Jet Wash as it's quite a bit cheaper than the D&S?

Lighthouse

 

[MEP001]

I recently replaced the same pump stand at my existing wash and installed the D&S self wash system. I like the VFD drives and the concept of the injectors and simplicity of the system.

I hate to tell you, you're going to have trouble with it in a couple years. It may look simple but it has all the same solenoids as most other washes, everything has to be adjusted perfectly for it to work at all, some of the solenoids are high failure, difficult to access, very expensive, and require shutting down the entire wash to service.

My question is, has anyone just bought a basic pump stand with direct drive pumps and install the dosatron low pressure panels?

Dosatron and DEMA Mix-Rite are also pretty high maintenance and expensive to buy and maintain. I would not use them, and I'm in the process of going back to Hydrominders and Procons at one wash because the Mix Rites are unreliable and the city pressure is too weak for the presoak to work well enough.

My wash is basic as can be, simple pump stands, Flojets, solenoids on board mounted on the walls. It's 21 years old and dead reliable other than a Flojet at least once a year.

 

[Gas biz]

Purchasing my 3rd location and doing a major renovation. I'm replacing every major component of the wash. The self serve pump stand is going and I am trying to decide which route to go. I know, I can rebuild the thing and it will live forever, but that's not happening. Been there and done that. I recently replaced the same pump stand at my existing wash and installed the D&S self wash system. I like the VFD drives and the concept of the injectors and simplicity of the system. I have had nightmares with getting it to not use so much chemical but I think I have it manageable now. My question is, has anyone just bought a basic pump stand with direct drive pumps and install the dosatron low pressure panels? Do you still have to have a holding tank for the hot water for HP Soap and HP Wax or can it be city fed pressure? Anyone have any experience with the Mark VII Jet Wash as it's quite a bit cheaper than the D&S?

Lighthouse

I just installed the D&S self serve system and it’s blowing through the foam brush and tire clear soaps. We are using Warsaw products so it’s not cheap. Any tips adjustments I should be making?

 

[Fatboy769]

I just installed the D&S self serve system and it’s blowing through the foam brush and tire clear soaps. We are using Warsaw products so it’s not cheap. Any tips adjustments I should be making?

Can your distributor not help you with fine tuning the chemical ratios for those products? For what you had to pay for that system, they ought to be able to help you adjust it down to an acceptable level.

 

[Waxman]

did you try smaller metering tips on hydrominders? i'd start there

 

[Fatboy769]

If he bought the new D&S IQ Self Serve, the chemicals would be ran through hydraflex injectors. @Gas biz, if you can tell us what color injectors you are using for foam brush and tire cleaner (white or yellow) and what color tip is screwed into the injector, we can tell you what dilution ratio you have.

 

[Gas biz]

Will do and thanks. This industry is still new for me but I’m catching on quick. I’m familiar with the metering tips and which ones to use for the locations I have the traditional mixing tanks but this new system is an entirely different animal. When I read the OP comment that he had a nightmare getting it straightened out it made me think maybe there’s something else to it that I’m not aware of. I’m getting a very expensive lesson on what I would have done differently when it came to redoing my pump stands.

 

[lighthousecarwash]

Unfortunately, I still struggle with the chemicals. Manufacturer recommended to put 2 tips on the injectors. Meaning screw one into the injector and then push one in the tube before pushing on the injector stem. I hate this because it's all just a guess. As mentioned above, I have started to have constant issues with the solenoids and he was right, they are in a hard place to service. I feel like the system needs constant adjustments to keep it working correctly. I have actually thought about pulling all the tips from the injectors and mounting tanks with hydrominders on the wall behind the system and tuning the mixtures at the hydrominder and then inject straight into the tipless injector. This still does not eliminate the solenoid issues but would at least keep the chemicals at a more constant and bearable usage. I don't know......I guess lesson learned! Sometimes the old school guys knew what they were doing!

Thanks,
Lighthouse