TEEBOX
Member
I currenly do not have reclaim or RO in my site. I don't know anything about reclaim. What steps are involved to install reclaim? Would the investment save me a lot in water? Are talking 5-10 gallons a car?
Reclaim
- Thread starter TEEBOX
- Start date
robert roman
Bob Roman
This will get you started.
https://www.carwash.org/docs/defaul...udy/ica---water-quality.pdf?sfvrsn=c271db4b_2
https://www.carwash.org/docs/defaul...udy/ica---water-quality.pdf?sfvrsn=c271db4b_2
br549ms
Member
I have reduced my freshwater GPV from an original rate of 110 gallons per car to currently +/- 40 GPV utilizing Reclaim and Reject water.
TEEBOX
Member
As an existing wash, what steps did you do to start? Did you put tanks inground or above? How did you get it started? Thanks in advance!
TEEBOX
Member
TEEBOX
Member
More info would help:
65K a year Exterior, gallons now 57 GPV. I just reduced every single nozzle to 0565 on all wraps and 03's on chemical.
br549ms
Member
TEEBOX, We planned ahead when building an put in the reclaim tanks and plumbing from the trench. The building construction company recommended them, as we were ignorant when it came to reclaim technology.
After opening a few years ago, we soon realized our profits were literally going down the drains. Water and sewer rates in our area among the highest in the state (if not the country). We could not get the local water department to give us any discounts for volume or for evaporation and carry off water. Only help we got from our chemical supplier was a quote on an over the top reclaim system.
We decided to research the issue ourselves, talked to reclaim manufacturers, carwash owners using reclaim and went to trade shows with reclaim as our main technology to review.
We settled on a packaged unit, chose one that best reflected our car per hour in gallons per minute output needed. We negotiated a deal, which included delivery, installation and startup. (don't forget they will negotiate, stick to you guns).
Back to your question, I would go with in-ground tanks if at all possible and they will have to be cleaned out (sucked) periodically to remove sediments and oil. Rough guess:The cost of new systems can range from 20K to 50k plus installation for 50 to 100 gpm systems. Looks like you only need a fraction of that if you already only use 55 to 60 gallons of fresh water per car. By the way, that is very good for not having a reclaim.
We use our reclaim on high pressure rinse, wheel blaster, initial rinse bar and cleaning tunnel, (some washes us it on HP prepping). We use the reject water from the RO on wet down for brushes and final rinse before DA and RO Rinse. We have not reduced any nozzle sizes from our original design.
I did have a spotting issue when we first started reclaim, but realized it was from High pressure rinse, we relocated and redirected the nozzles and solved that issue. Still working on reducing freshwater usage.
Water bill is steadily going down.
After opening a few years ago, we soon realized our profits were literally going down the drains. Water and sewer rates in our area among the highest in the state (if not the country). We could not get the local water department to give us any discounts for volume or for evaporation and carry off water. Only help we got from our chemical supplier was a quote on an over the top reclaim system.
We decided to research the issue ourselves, talked to reclaim manufacturers, carwash owners using reclaim and went to trade shows with reclaim as our main technology to review.
We settled on a packaged unit, chose one that best reflected our car per hour in gallons per minute output needed. We negotiated a deal, which included delivery, installation and startup. (don't forget they will negotiate, stick to you guns).
Back to your question, I would go with in-ground tanks if at all possible and they will have to be cleaned out (sucked) periodically to remove sediments and oil. Rough guess:The cost of new systems can range from 20K to 50k plus installation for 50 to 100 gpm systems. Looks like you only need a fraction of that if you already only use 55 to 60 gallons of fresh water per car. By the way, that is very good for not having a reclaim.
We use our reclaim on high pressure rinse, wheel blaster, initial rinse bar and cleaning tunnel, (some washes us it on HP prepping). We use the reject water from the RO on wet down for brushes and final rinse before DA and RO Rinse. We have not reduced any nozzle sizes from our original design.
I did have a spotting issue when we first started reclaim, but realized it was from High pressure rinse, we relocated and redirected the nozzles and solved that issue. Still working on reducing freshwater usage.
Water bill is steadily going down.
robert roman
Bob Roman
According to a study I participated in some years ago, I would suspect ROI for your situation (going concern, medium volume) might be hard to get. Besides price of system there is additional plumbing and water treatment to ensure clarity and avoid malodor. Moreover, after-the-fact install costs more.
Pollution prevention means reducing waste at the source instead of treating it at the smokestack or drain pipe. For example, reducing nozzle size to lower water volume like you did is one tactic. Another would be to substitute friction (wheel and tire brushes) for high pressure (wheel blaster).
High pressure in tunnels accounts for at least 25 percent of fresh water per car and up to 20 percent of full load amps. Brushes also cost a lot less than pump stations.
TEEBOX
Member
Thank you Very Much for the info.
Which vendors should I start looking at for quotes? Just a direction please!
br549ms
Member
Talk to Larry Jacob <jacobljj@aol.com> or Bob Koo, sorry I don't have Bob's contact. Maybe someone here does, we met at the ICA show in Vegas. I am not advocating for either one of these. However, both helped me greatly.
PEI
Active member
Larry Jacob and Bob Koo are both excellent people to learn from. When we did our research we came down to Con-Serve and Purwater. Ultimately we went with Con-Serve because their series 3 unit fit into our equipment room better. We opened up the asphalt installed four tanks, plumbed everything in, set the unit and closed everything up for around $87K about 9 years ago. The city required we have tanks capable of supporting the weight of a tractor trailer with a full load of gas for the nearby gas pumps, this ran up our cost at least $10K. Prior to the install our average monthly combined water and sewer bills were about $5K. Now our average is about $600.
Our ROI was about 2 years at this location, but we have 3 others where the ROI is about 8 years. Those 3 sites don't have reclaim. The rule of thumb is figure you will save between 75% and 80% from your current water and sewer bills. Then with those savings see how long it takes to recover the initial cost and decide if it is worth it.
Our ROI was about 2 years at this location, but we have 3 others where the ROI is about 8 years. Those 3 sites don't have reclaim. The rule of thumb is figure you will save between 75% and 80% from your current water and sewer bills. Then with those savings see how long it takes to recover the initial cost and decide if it is worth it.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Bob Koo has been around a while and is very helpful and knowledgeable. He is a member here. I will text him and tell him to check this post
