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Small wash for sale.

M

mcarter1990

Member
Hello Forum member's

Looking for some help. I went to look at a small town wash today. It is a one bay self serv. and one IBA automatic.

My question is the IBA is a DS5000. What is the life span of these? What do I look for?

I posted some pictures for reference.

Thanks
 

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The D&S 5000 is a pretty good machine. Be prepared for a shock if you need any parts. Most of them that aren't off-the-shelf can be fabricated, like the main shaft that used to be $3500 from them I had made for $1100. I'd call them to see if you can still get parts like the drive wheels. I'm pretty familiar with them. The big thing to check to see if it's been maintained is if it bounces going along the rails, and if you can push the bottom of the spinner arms and move it more than a few degrees. Worn wheels and weak springs wear it out fast.
 
MEP001 said:
The D&S 5000 is a pretty good machine. Be prepared for a shock if you need any parts. Most of them that aren't off-the-shelf can be fabricated, like the main shaft that used to be $3500 from them I had made for $1100. I'd call them to see if you can still get parts like the drive wheels. I'm pretty familiar with them. The big thing to check to see if it's been maintained is if it bounces going along the rails, and if you can push the bottom of the spinner arms and move it more than a few degrees. Worn wheels and weak springs wear it out fast.
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What machine do you operate?
 
Real question is age of the machine and how many washes has it performed. Then was the current owner a person who proactively fixed things or reacts to broken parts. That will tell you more about how the machine will hold up.

You should make a decision on the place based on the location potential and current financials. If it is decent location the equipment can be replaced over time with better new or used equipment.
 
Stainless steel arches are a real plus. I’ve got one in use that is a 2006. They do a great job but they use a lot of water and a lot of chemical. I’ve never had a problem with replacement parts (keeping my fingers crossed). It gets heavy usage, I have replaced 2 shafts and 3 sets of drive wheels. I’m on my second set of arches and the second set is stainless which wear much better. I repair as needed and perform preventative maintenance regularly. They are fairly simple to work on but diagnosing a problem sometimes is difficult.
 
I bought a wash with one of these in it.
I gave it away in 6 months
To explain - it was 20 yrs old
(Had the original nozzles in it)
So not overly well maintained
I found a used Razor to replace it.

Vehicle size limits and wash quality was not to my liking. And my utility bill is half what it was when I bought the site!
 
mcarter1990 said:
The machine is DS5000. I am trying to see what to look for if I by this place.
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pretty dependable system, although a lot of them seem to reach the end of their life around this point. What do the customers think of it? Does it get the job done well? Old systems can last a long time as long as care is put into them
 
MEP001 said:
On what experience do you base this statement?
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I don't own a 5000, you are completely right :p. it's not a good idea for me to recommend anything I haven't had experience with either hence why I keep my mouth shut on advice (I am basically on here to read what others have to say and learn from others, as well as ask questions)

I don't want to tell anyone how to spend their $$$. Just from what I have seen out in the field. I should talk to people who own them sometime and get their personal opinion, at the moment I do talk to some wash owners in my area but the ones I have connected with own Ryko, Washworld, and PDQ.
 
It should have a weep system, and it's easy to add one if it doesn't. It should also have electric heat pads to keep the photo eyes from icing over, and you can pump warm water through the rails to melt any ice that builds up.
 
MEP001 said:
You don't own any car wash of any kind, nor are you a service tech with any familiarity. You promised you'd be forthcoming when making any comments like this.
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You're right. I need to watch myself on this, it's sometimes hard. If you need to say anything else PM me.
 
MEP001 said:
No, I will continue to call you out in public. If that's a problem for you, I suggest you stop posting.
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I'm just fine with that, just thought I'd offer something else. No problem with that, it does help me to control my impulses so that is appreciated
 
You're absolutely allowed and welcome to ask questions about and show off your car wash parts. Anything else should seriously be kept to yourself.
 
MEP001 said:
You're absolutely allowed and welcome to ask questions about and show off your car wash parts.
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Thank you, I appreciate knowing that I'm not messing up with everything I post.

It seems you have done a lot for the operator community. You seem to know a lot about everything and I will not hesitate to ask you questions about equipment that you have experience with if I ever do

Currently I am preparing myself to enter the industry as I do have a few car washes that I am going to be applying to work at. It's definitely my goal to own some equipment of my own in the future, so asking about some systems I like as a customer is always helpful for me to learn from the people who operate them!
 
mcarter1990 said:
What about in the winter? Do I put the DS500 on a weep system?
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In addition to heating the arches you can add a blowdown to blow air through the water lines. The blowdown can be set to purge after every wash or can be set on a thermostat. I run my wash down to 25 degrees without doors. Below that I will shut it down until warmer weather. I like the cold weather setup on these machines it’s simple and predictable.
 
It should come with a blowdown that you switch on manually. The ones we installed in Texas all had it.
 
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