Sonny's noisy mitter experience.

[Earl Weiss]

Sonny's Front to Back Mitter.

Just put in a couple and find the loud "Thunk" when the front end enters the mitter disturbing. One is at top speed and one at middle speed.

Will reduce one to lowest speed and see what happens. Currently have regular cloth. Will a different type of cloth make less noise?

 

[autospa]

We have microfiber on ours. We don't turn ours on until the front of the vehicle comes into contact with the first row of cloth.

 

[Earl Weiss]

We have microfiber on ours. We don't turn ours on until the front of the vehicle comes into contact with the first row of cloth.

I may try that turn on option.

I changed out some regular cloth to microfiber on my Belanger whip across as an experiment to reduce slapping noise and it did not seem to make much if any difference.

 

[briteauto]

Earl,

You can also replace just the first row or two (entrance side) of cloth with something quieter like micro or lammscloth (you don't have to do the whole mitter in a new material.

That will "hush" the traditional strips behind it, until the car is well into the mitter and they become quieter.

I never used Sonny's ftb mitters, but the Belanger mitters have a lot of snap to them, and an early start up, coupled with traditional cloth has the same effect you described. On the older Belanger models - the whipper snapper model, you could replace the front row, as they were hung perpendicular to vehicle travel. Belanger now hangs the cloth parallel to vehicle travel, and there is no more front row - you would have to do the entire front basket.


The whip across models stay noisy as the vehicle travels through, because, they slap the side the entire time. The ftb's get piled up on the car and will get quieter.


Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

[Earl Weiss]

On the Whip across I replaced the outside baskets that slap the sides with the micr clean. No improvement. MAy try the firow or two on Sonny's FTB and see. More likely I will start when bumber touches which is where the initial slap occurs.

 

[robert roman]

Every Sonny’s rack I come across sounds like an old sewing machine. Each one I operated suffered premature wear and tear, especially mitter baskets.

Years ago, Bill Consolo operated with lambscloth, mitter motors turned off, and swore by it. I tried motors off and liked it.

If you are hooked on mitter or don’t like top brush like MacNeil, why not use Belanger or Peco? Their mitts are pretty quiet.

 

[Earl Weiss]

If you are hooked on mitter or don’t like top brush like MacNeil, why not use Belanger or Peco? Their mitts are pretty quiet.

I got these mitters to get rid of the 2 top brushes in the tunnel and the headaches associated with top brushes and Taxi roof top ads. Have another tunnel with an AVW top foam top brush. I would never get another top brush unlessthe short tunnel left me with no choice.

I have 2 Belanfer mitters - wp across at another location. They are not quiet.

The AVW Mitters I have are quiet - circular motion, and do the job.

 

[robert roman]

Well then, if AVW mitter is quiet, why waste time and money trying to make Sonny’s quiet?

 

[Earl Weiss]

Well then, if AVW mitter is quiet, why waste time and money trying to make Sonny’s quiet?

Over the years I have made small changes to equipment with huge results. Seeking input from the net was use of a resource I didn't have in the old days. trial; and error had to suffice.

So, perhaps with little effort and espense good results can be obtained from modifications.

Killing fish with dynamite works too, but spending a little on modifications (Slow the speed, change the material, start function later,) is a lot less costly than buying 2 new mitters, paying for tear out and install, and the downtime cost.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Had 2 suggestions to start mitter later. Have changed timing so it statrts when bumper is at last row of cloth seems to have solved problem which was aloud "Thunk" as all that wet cloth initialy hit the front of the car.

 

[Earl Weiss]

FWIW apparently Sonny's monitors this board. Anthony A tracked me down and offered some suggestions like starting the mitter later and trying the microclean plus a new material they have in the works which is scheduled to debut at the ICA show.