What a roller coaster ride Mother Nature is giving us in Southern Ohio and just about everywhere really....We've had about 20" of snow and bitter cold that we haven't had in many years. Reminds me of the winter of 2015 where I documented temperature for the months of Febuary and March to post how efficient my new Takagi Demand Heater for floor heat was compared to the old 350K btu Jarco....See link post 126...
(54) Tankless Water Heater For Floor Heat | Page 7 | Car Wash Forum
Back then and until about last year I stayed open during the most bitter cold, even without doors on my bays. Mainly because I was younger and wanted to see just how cold I could stay open without freezing up, which was a tested -16°....And to gain new customers because I was the only wash that stayed open in my area below freezing...It worked!
Fast forward to last winter and even more so this winter....I am a lot older and wiser and finally saw the light that Randy has been turning on for years! I have all bays replumbed so you can valve off every bay hot and cold feeds from the gravity tanks, valve off each bay individually for weep, valve off each bay individually for SFR, and turn off power to each bay individually....I have a seperate switch for the weep solenoid that allows the secondary weepmiser relay to control floor heat and trough heat...I also have a semi automated washer fluid injection system that lets me purge the water out of all the HP hoses and leave each hose full of WF. Takes about 10 minutes to complete...I've tried in the past to purge then blow out with air, but when reopening it poses problems with the nozzles plugging 50% of the time. Leaving washer fluid in the hoses eliminated the issue. All the LP hoses are protected by a fully automated washer fluid injection/air blowout system, thanks to Cantbreak80 for the help in getting me headed in the right direction for that project!!! I am forever grateful!
A huge nugget. If you don't have individual valves for every water source, if you have even the slightest drip in the bays, your bay will freeze up over night! Ask me how I know!? So it is extremely important to shut off every water source to each bay to where you don't have any syphon effects or drips...That one should make the light come on!
So the advice Randy has given over the years has finally sank in, I don't have to prove any more to see how cold it can get and still stay open...I close 2, 3, or all 4 bays now depending on how long the temps stay below freezing. Not to mention now my water and sewage rates has increased 56% in the last three years which is another determining factor...About $20 per thousand gallons now...I can weep almost 1000 gallons a day through just the 4 HP bay hoses....Not hard to do the math there for the little bit of revenue I get below freezing!
I am posting this for all the newbs (and even older operators) out there getting caught with their pants down with this bitter cold spell...Make changes during the warmer months that allow you to deal with the bitter cold easier so you can rest easy...And the fact that I feel I'm reaching the end of owning the carwash, I have no problem sharing what I've done to own and run a successful (and less stressful) CW! The next guy is going to have it easy compared to what I had to overcome! He's just going to have to learn what was in my head!
(54) Tankless Water Heater For Floor Heat | Page 7 | Car Wash Forum
Back then and until about last year I stayed open during the most bitter cold, even without doors on my bays. Mainly because I was younger and wanted to see just how cold I could stay open without freezing up, which was a tested -16°....And to gain new customers because I was the only wash that stayed open in my area below freezing...It worked!
Fast forward to last winter and even more so this winter....I am a lot older and wiser and finally saw the light that Randy has been turning on for years! I have all bays replumbed so you can valve off every bay hot and cold feeds from the gravity tanks, valve off each bay individually for weep, valve off each bay individually for SFR, and turn off power to each bay individually....I have a seperate switch for the weep solenoid that allows the secondary weepmiser relay to control floor heat and trough heat...I also have a semi automated washer fluid injection system that lets me purge the water out of all the HP hoses and leave each hose full of WF. Takes about 10 minutes to complete...I've tried in the past to purge then blow out with air, but when reopening it poses problems with the nozzles plugging 50% of the time. Leaving washer fluid in the hoses eliminated the issue. All the LP hoses are protected by a fully automated washer fluid injection/air blowout system, thanks to Cantbreak80 for the help in getting me headed in the right direction for that project!!! I am forever grateful!
A huge nugget. If you don't have individual valves for every water source, if you have even the slightest drip in the bays, your bay will freeze up over night! Ask me how I know!? So it is extremely important to shut off every water source to each bay to where you don't have any syphon effects or drips...That one should make the light come on!
So the advice Randy has given over the years has finally sank in, I don't have to prove any more to see how cold it can get and still stay open...I close 2, 3, or all 4 bays now depending on how long the temps stay below freezing. Not to mention now my water and sewage rates has increased 56% in the last three years which is another determining factor...About $20 per thousand gallons now...I can weep almost 1000 gallons a day through just the 4 HP bay hoses....Not hard to do the math there for the little bit of revenue I get below freezing!
I am posting this for all the newbs (and even older operators) out there getting caught with their pants down with this bitter cold spell...Make changes during the warmer months that allow you to deal with the bitter cold easier so you can rest easy...And the fact that I feel I'm reaching the end of owning the carwash, I have no problem sharing what I've done to own and run a successful (and less stressful) CW! The next guy is going to have it easy compared to what I had to overcome! He's just going to have to learn what was in my head!
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