Tips & Tricks

[Bubbles Galore]

This is one of those threads that should always be near the top. Post some things you do at your wash to help make things easier on yourself. For example:

I take a heat gun and blow hot air into my BA-50 acceptors 3x's at 15 second intervals at least once a day. Even with my heaters inside the changers, they still get a little stiff in the cold weather. This helps keep them accepting bills on the first try.

Nothing major, but it could help someone out there. Let's hear what you have!

 

[washme1]

With a street angle and long nipple, I attached a second eductor with a ball valve to the hydro minder in my foamy brush tank. That way I can draw methanol in with the foamy brush soap or shut the methanol off with the valve. I can change tips based on the outside temperature.

 

[Wally]

When it gets cold at night like we are gonna have this Fri. and Sat. night, I take the trigger guns off, drop the lines at the pump bench with the quick disconnect couplings, run some air through them, go over to the flow jet for the foam brush drop the inlet hose, attach a hose from a bucket of methanol go out and purge the brushes until I see pink, lay them on the grate to get the loop out of the hose just incase the methanol isn't strong enough or whatever, pull the cables across the drive ways and go to the house. This takes about 30 minutes and the next day I can open without any ice on the floors. And by the way I cut pump breakers off because in the past I've had people drive across the lawn and start a pump up with no gun on it. I'm in the south and people are reluctant to washing when it gets real cold. If we get an inch of snow they close the schools and people will say out of work jut to stay off the roads.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I always make sure that our vacs hoses are clean and not covered in ice and snow during the winter months. People have definitely taken notice of that. It's something small that alot of operators around here don't notice, but I try to look at it from a customer perspective.

 

[dclark3344]

I have one bay, the lowest volume bay, for mudders. I also ask any customer that wants to wash out there pickup bed to pull up in the bay where everything blows out in the pit or at least confined to the bay. If there are nails then they must wash them to the pit. If they get ugly I ask them where they live and how they would like to find all this stuff in their drive way. They are never forthcoming about where they live but it really gets their attention when you pull out at pen and paper and repeat their tag number out loud with the make and model of pickup. One teenager really had a change of heart cleaned the bay and walls then came and appolgized and asked me to inspect. Said his parents had raised him better than this.

 

[MEP001]

I always make sure that our vacs hoses are clean and not covered in ice and snow during the winter months. People have definitely taken notice of that. It's something small that alot of operators around here don't notice, but I try to look at it from a customer perspective.

That's something that irks me the most about customers that use the wash during foul weather, mainly rain: they often leave the vac hoses on the ground, then the rain spatters them with dirt. You'd think that rain would help clean things, but I end up doing more work after a rain than if it stays dry. For that reason I'm more likely to check on the wash during a rain than waiting for it to end.

 

[mac]

The next time you see an old speaker by the curb, take it and remove the permnent magnet inside, and tie a small rope to it. Keep it handy for the next time you drop a tool down through the floor grate,

 

[Bubbles Galore]

That's a great one. Does anyone have any suggestions for cleaning the lenses on my MH fixtures? They are plastic, so I know they won't come really clean, but what do you guys use?

 

[MEP001]

It depends on what's on them. If they're yellowed, there's nothing to do but replace them. If it's buildup from overspray, CLR should work, just test it first. Some acids will melt plastics.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I was checking them out last night. They are definitely yellowed. Is there a place where I can get replacement lenses at a decent price?

 

[MEP001]

It depends on the make/model - Kleen-Rite has replacement lenses for the most common Hubbel fixtures, I think they can even get glass lenses that will never yellow again. If they were mine and only the plastic lenses were available, I'd replace the whole fixture with something all glass and metal. There's enough work to do and money to spend around the wash without having to worry about lenses "going bad".

 

[Wally]

Bubbles , I've got a couple of new plastic lens that I don't need any more.
PM me.

Wally

 

[Waxman]

A trick that failed.

I got some ice on my auto. door track, entry side, down near the floor. It popped one of the rollers out from the track. We jacked with it awhile yestery and then went to the hardware store and bought some heater tapes to install on the bottom 6 ft. of door track on each side of entry door.

I came in this morning and it was iced up. All that work running cables, cords, etc and spent about $100 and it didn't keep any ice off at all.

Are there a better brand of heat tapes I should get? I already have the wiring in place, so changing out to a better type heat tape wouldn't take too long.

With floor heat and doors, all else in the bay stays un-frozen except this one spot.

 

[soapy]

Put a flat plate of metal behind the cable so that it sandwiches it to the door track. You may have to drill a hole through the door track and use a carriage bolt to hold the plate in place. You also can just take a hammer and give the door track a hit once a day to get rid of the ice. It only ices up in the coldest weather right?

 

[dclark3344]

Dear Wax,
I would consider getting some of that liquid the state sprays on the bridges and overpasses. Sorry I can not remember what it is but I bet you can google it. I have seen the big plastic tanks with the name on it but just can not recall. Did you ever get the private message I sent you?

David

 

[Waxman]

Thanks. No I didn't get a pm.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I had one of my flojets freeze up. Since then I got one of my work lights out and put it near my flojets with a 100 watt bulb and so far it has kept anything from freezing up. I have never had a problem, but with this cold snap we experienced, a few things started popping up, that was the most major problem.

 

[Dirt]

I use a hydrominder as a float valve for my rinse tank. Sometimes, hydrominders don't come on. After a few episodes of the tank running dry, low water cutoff, angry customers, refunds,......, I installed a second float valve in the same tank. One float is set higher than the other so water isn't splashing everywhere. Every once in a while I check that both are working, and if not , just repair the one that isn't.

 

[dclark3344]

Dirt,
I replaced my rinse tank hydrominder with a walters float valve it works so much better. I think tobacco farmer replaced his with a CASA valve. Either of these valves lets the water be throttled into the tank as needed instead of the full blast or nothing that the hydrominder gives. When I had the hydrominders I would occassionally find my equipment room flooded when the hydrominder stuck open. No problems like this with the Walters valve at worst when it is starting to go bad it will overfill the tank with a very small stream and I have never gone dry in 5 years.

 

[Dirt]

dclark3344,
I had a Hudson float valve on before. Nothing but problems. It had something like a big black button on the bottom. Is the Walters or the CASA similar to that design?
Thanks, Ben.