Speaking of no prep......

[thoffmanjr]

We built a robot: http://youtu.be/ihQ6uJCXfsY

We've had a "culture" of over-prepping for decades. Mostly for the northeast winter months with ice and snow and salt caked on the cars and wanting the best quality for our customers. That all sounds great but prepping the whole car and brushing the back ends is alway inconsistent and slow and frustrating as hell. So this past Monday we fired up a WashWorld in our tunnel. I wrote the software and our talented guys added some custom fabrication and installed it. It has exceeded our expectations. We are only hand spraying a little bug cleaner on the cars before sending them. No more prepping and no more brushing. More about it on the YouTube description.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Noticed some of your wraps use the Blue flex coupler and some the metal ones. Any reason for the difference?

Also notice the log Chain conveyor. Is this the chain you use on all your roller conveyors?

Any thoughts on how the WW will hold up? I would guess the tunne; will do 4-5 times the annual volume of an IBA.

 

[thoffmanjr]

Noticed some of your wraps use the Blue flex coupler and some the metal ones. Any reason for the difference?

Also notice the log Chain conveyor. Is this the chain you use on all your roller conveyors?

Any thoughts on how the WW will hold up? I would guess the tunne; will do 4-5 times the annual volume of an IBA.

We just installed a 2nd set of AVW wraps and included the Vaughan coupler, which I think is an enhancement. That's a new Hodge conveyor with the log chain conveyor and Pro Tunnel's rollers. 3/4" steel top deck. I think my grandchildren will have to replace that conveyor. I don't even have grandchildren yet, thank God. Very impressed with the Gallop Brush Co's foam wash material. With all the unlimited washing we have I feel much better running that and it seems to be washing well. The WW holding up? I think it will. Well engineered and so smooth. I addressed that concern with their engineer at the last ICA show and they thought it would be fine. Now that I've seen it in action I'm confident it will hold up. The customer reaction to a robot passing around their car has been fun to watch too. They notice new equipment.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Tom do you know how much water does it use per car?
Is WW making this for tunnels now?
Does Vacutech make the Hodge conveyor now?

 

[thoffmanjr]

We just installed a 2nd set of AVW wraps and included the Vaughan coupler, which I think is an enhancement. That's a new Hodge conveyor with the log chain conveyor and Pro Tunnel's rollers. 3/4" steel top deck. I think my grandchildren will have to replace that conveyor. I don't even have grandchildren yet, thank God. Very impressed with the Gallop Brush Co's foam wash material. With all the unlimited washing we have I feel much better running that and it seems to be washing well. The WW holding up? I think it will. Well engineered and so smooth. I addressed that concern with their engineer at the last ICA show and they thought it would be fine. Now that I've seen it in action I'm confident it will hold up. The customer reaction to a robot passing around their car has been fun to watch too. They notice new equipment.

Correction: They are AVW couplings on the AVW wraps, not Vaughn's.

 

[thoffmanjr]

Water: We are using reclaim and there are 13 nozzles size 3.5. 4 shut off for smaller, lower cars. If all thirteen run for 20 seconds (our car length at 150cph) that's 6.8 gallons per car. A 3.5 nozzles uses 1.57gpm at 800 psi.

WW is not currently making these for tunnels.

Hodge is made by Vacutech.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Correction: They are AVW couplings on the AVW wraps, not Vaughn's.

That is what I thought. Had some of those and they began to fail at about 100K cars. Now only use the steel ones.

 

[Ric]

Tommy,

Why not another belt conveyor?

 

[thoffmanjr]

Tommy,

Why not another belt conveyor?

We feel that conveyors are more reliable for our operations.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I addressed that concern with their engineer at the last ICA show and they thought it would be fine. Now that I've seen it in action I'm confident it will hold up. .

Please report back in 150K cars or so.

 

[RAATCB]

Who makes a hodge conveyor? I have never heard of them.

 

[washnshine]

Please report back in 150K cars or so.

Don't forget, one wash in an IBA setting could be potentially 6-8 passes around the car with several trips back and forth on the rails. The way Tom set this up in the tunnel, there is much less movement going on per car - fewer arch and gantry movements.

 

[TEEBOX]

Hi, Out of curiousity, what's in the equipment room to operate this wonderful service? Also, about how much is an investment like that?

It looks awesome!

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Vacutech makes the Hodge conveyor ask for Fred Grauer

 

[Earl Weiss]

Vacutech makes the Hodge conveyor ask for Fred Grauer

Dio they make other Hodge equip as well? I knew Hodge to be a pioneer in wash equipment design and when I visited a Car Wash Express in Denver they told me some equipment was "Hodge" and that Mr. Hodge had some ownership interest in the washes.

 

[washnshine]

Dio they make other Hodge equip as well? I knew Hodge to be a pioneer in wash equipment design and when I visited a Car Wash Express in Denver they told me some equipment was "Hodge" and that Mr. Hodge had some ownership interest in the washes.

Here is some Hodge equipment from the wash in Denver:

https://www.facebook.com/SplishSpla...5780819147179/826690784056176/?type=1&theater

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Earl they make all the Hodge equipment.

 

[rph9168]

I have known Bob Hodge for many years. The last I heard he was living in Coeur d'aLene, ID and still involved in equipment design. He designed and built the new equipment for Bill Martin's washes in Boise. He is probably best known for the Hodge Arch which was one of his early designs still used today in many tunnels. The wash in Denver was his first but I am not sure he is still involved in the ownership. I thought he sold his interest years ago when he moved to Colorado Springs.

 

[thoffmanjr]

Teebox: We build our own tunnel controllers using Omron PLC's (programmable logic controllers). The PLC runs the tunnel, six self service bays, the robot, the heating and air conditioning, and every other thing that needs electrical controls. I've been writing the software for all our control systems since 1985. I'm getting older so we have two other programmers on staff now. Our IT manager and our maintenance manager. Our IT manager went to Chicago for one week to pick it up (he's a .NET programmer so he picked it up pretty easily) and Shane, our maintenance manager, has been messing around with PLC's for over 10 years and is really good too.

So the back room: two 20 hp D35 hydrocell pumps that are running at 25 hz most of the time and three VFD's (variable frequency drives) for the Razor. A small stand alone PLC could run it. I am surprised how little programming it takes to run it, line of code wise. It only took me 30 years of practicing. It's really dialed in now. Width measurement and height measurement to save power, water and chemical and improved passenger side distance blasting effectiveness. We've saved labor by at least 2 man-hours per hour when we are busy. We are ordering another one tomorrow for our next location. It seems like a slam dunk.

How much? I was just told that too and I'm not sure. I think we have about $60k into it but remember we do it all in house except the WW components.

 

[robert roman]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCgRbmhW3k4