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reclaim retrofit
- Thread starter BBE
- Start date
I suppose it depends on budget... I've seen people dump tons of cash on reclaim just to see it not work. And I've seen people put in just a little cash just to see it not work
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Bottom line is the more storage you have, the better off you are. So, if tearing up half of the lot and putting in underground tanks all over is within budget and there is a calculated payback, it can make sense. Since there is self service bays, I would use the reclaim for the weep there - that does save a whole lot if you are in a cold area... And its fun to watch people thinking they are cheating while washing their car with muck water.
. Bottom line is the more storage you have, the better off you are. So, if tearing up half of the lot and putting in underground tanks all over is within budget and there is a calculated payback, it can make sense. Since there is self service bays, I would use the reclaim for the weep there - that does save a whole lot if you are in a cold area... And its fun to watch people thinking they are cheating while washing their car with muck water.
The biggest challenge is the city. The city required heavier more expensive tanks for us that could withstand the weight of a tractor trailer truck. Buying and installing the tanks ate up 2/3 of the budget. Luckily the one spot for the reclaim unit in the equipment room was also the closest spot to where we had the space for the tanks. It was also just after all the bays pits came together to go out to the sewer.
I had hoped to get a meter on the sewer line and to just pay for what we actually discharged, but the city wouldn't go along with that. So I still pay for sewer that I'm not actually using.
JGinther is right about most not working. When my distributor took me to see different reclaim units none were actually being used. That said I do use my system. It has run nearly everyday since September 2009. Because of the high cost of water at that location it took my just over 2 years to recoup the money from the savings. My other 3 locations don't have reclaim because they are located in cities that have more normal water costs and the time to recoup the money from installing reclaim is out more than 5 years.
Some suggestions to operating with a reclaim are: 1) Make one bay weep all the time and you will not have odor issues. 2) You need to add cleaning the catch basket to your daily list of things to do. 3) Most pit cleaning services are not equipped to handle reclaim tanks. You will need to find one with large tractor trailer units to be able to handle the load. 4) If you are not metering your sewer then always pump off the reclaim water when the pits are cleaned. It provides you with a reset on the water and reduces the pit cleaning cost since they will only need one truck.
I had hoped to get a meter on the sewer line and to just pay for what we actually discharged, but the city wouldn't go along with that. So I still pay for sewer that I'm not actually using.
JGinther is right about most not working. When my distributor took me to see different reclaim units none were actually being used. That said I do use my system. It has run nearly everyday since September 2009. Because of the high cost of water at that location it took my just over 2 years to recoup the money from the savings. My other 3 locations don't have reclaim because they are located in cities that have more normal water costs and the time to recoup the money from installing reclaim is out more than 5 years.
Some suggestions to operating with a reclaim are: 1) Make one bay weep all the time and you will not have odor issues. 2) You need to add cleaning the catch basket to your daily list of things to do. 3) Most pit cleaning services are not equipped to handle reclaim tanks. You will need to find one with large tractor trailer units to be able to handle the load. 4) If you are not metering your sewer then always pump off the reclaim water when the pits are cleaned. It provides you with a reset on the water and reduces the pit cleaning cost since they will only need one truck.
carwashireland
Active member
Depending how big your waste pits and tanks are will make a big difference to the retrofit. The underground separation tanks do 95% of the recycling (dirt separation), so these need to be done right. You may already have suitable pits though. If so its just an above ground system! If using reclaim through a high pressure pump you need a 5 micron filter if not then a 30 micron will do
robert roman
Bob Roman
My advice is to contact Bob Koo at Aquachem. Bob's very knowledgeable and very good at help operators understand fundamentals and nuances of retrofitting wash for reclaim.
Bob is a good guy
