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VAC IT UP SYSTEM Questions

mjwalsh said:
I am referring to https://www.carwashforum.com/threads/politicians-on-the-take-one-tx-carwash.18718/ post #6 & its accompanying gutless cheerleaders!
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I am one of those gutless cheerleaders! I'm sorry MJ, I hope you participate on this forum forever. Its like a "Where's Perry" moment that long time readers can spot and predict and it always makes for a giggle. Thanks for adding to its unique character! BTW, I use dollar coins! I'm out of the closet!! (not that anyone cares)..
 
I just want to learn about Vac it up systems myself and I ain't trying to be a smart*as but this thread got derailed big time I wish some more guys would chime in about the vac it ups. Alot of washes near me have them tied into bottom of meterboxes all pipes exposed.
 
We have a vac it up at one of our locations. It was put in when the building was being built(11+ years ago) so all the lines are under ground. It is connected to all the self serve bays(3) and the vacuums(6). The only real issue is when the motors go out and you don’t catch it until you have a coin jam and find it all clogged. As long as you install it with the traps this is usually not a big deal. We get replacement motors from KR, they are just vac motors. We might have replaced one relay and timer. The owner wished he would have set it up to drop right into the changer but didn’t think of it at the time. If you do that you will want to make sure you put the busy self serve on the busy side of the changer.
 
JCM said:
The only real issue is when the motors go out and you don’t catch it until you have a coin jam and find it all clogged. As long as you install it with the traps this is usually not a big deal.
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That's why I mentioned installing 180 fittings inside the safes, if something goes wrong you could just pull off the fitting and use the safe.

I worked on a wash that had the entire run from the box to the room done in schedule 80 pipe, and they used conduit sweep 90's at the top of the columns. The coins bashed holes in the 90's and they were still coming up the pipe and flying out of the holes and landing all over the roof. I replaced the sweeps with 1½" polybraid hose which never had a problem.
 
I have a home-made coin vac, bays only. Pipes are underground into a safe in the ER. As MEP pointed out, the only issue I have is the occasional coin jam, but they're rare and I deal with it, no different than a leak or anything else.

I view the coin vac as one small piece of my security strategy, specifically in the prevention category. I have no doubt that when people see me carrying around buckets of quarters, they get ideas. So I would not and do not visibly handle cash at the car wash (or at the bank) during rush hour, on busy saturdays, etc. The coin vac eliminates the need for anyone to see my collecting quarters from the bays, so yeah, I think it makes a difference.
Would it be the first security tactic I'd implement? No. But if I didnt already have one, I'd eventually add it.
 
My vac it up system was built in to the bay columns when this wash was built in 2006. The traps are close to ground level and had a 1 ft x 1 ft steel access door with a medco lock on it. All standard pvc pipe run up through the front column onto the roof going back to the equipment room where it feeds two hopper style safes.

When I purchased the wash I fired the system up worked fine but installed in bay coleman safes just to keep it simple. Had my guys spot weld the access doors shut and called it a day. I didn't want another system to jack with and the wash has plenty of maintenance items so figured I'd get rid of some moving parts.
 
Rfreeman said:
My vac it up system was built in to the bay columns when this wash was built in 2006. The traps are close to ground level and had a 1 ft x 1 ft steel access door with a medco lock on it. All standard pvc pipe run up through the front column onto the roof going back to the equipment room where it feeds two hopper style safes.

When I purchased the wash I fired the system up worked fine but installed in bay coleman safes just to keep it simple. Had my guys spot weld the access doors shut and called it a day. I didn't want another system to jack with and the wash has plenty of maintenance items so figured I'd get rid of some moving parts.
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I have a prediction that you will be rich one day and find streaks of silver in the columns of your wash one day. I have had a Vac-It-Up system in my site for over twenty years. It's a 5/2 with four double vac islands. The system has been close to "flawless", it's entire life, but it is possible to clog a line and you'll be rich when you clear the clog and might recover a half a five gallon bucket of quarters.

The box you had your guys weld up was the access box that contains the pea trap for the piping system from each drop to your equipment room vault. When you have a clog, you just open the cover and remove the trap to gain access to the pipes. The real fun begins when trying to unclog the pipe and you'll be surprised at how tightly quarters can pack together. It will only take once and you will learn and have a whole box of specialty items to get the pipe unclogged. Of course, with your case, it may also take a torch, to open the access door to get to the pipes. Little things I have accumulated include coat hangers, harbor freight sewer snakes, but the best has been the Rigid Vac that looks like a large tackle box, but it really sucks hard. I wouldn't have a wash without a Vac-It-Up system. It's cheap insurance to not be hit in the back of your head when bent over at a coin vault.
 
LOL I wish your prediction would come true but unfortunately I already checked the lines and they were empty. My wash sat foreclosed for about 3 years before I purchased it otherwise I'm sure I could have found some in the lines. The system did seem to work flawlessly when I purchased it however the original owner came by and told me that more than a few occasions he had people climb onto the roof at night to cut the PVC to try and access the quarters going through therefore he recommended I shut it off and I did.
 
Bob Koo said:
you'll be surprised at how tightly quarters can pack together. It will only take once and you will learn and have a whole box of specialty items to get the pipe unclogged.
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The good news the clog was rare. I can't help wondering if any Canadian operators have the system & it there is any difference when larger coins are also vac'd up & not just quarters.
 
I have vac-it-up at 4 locations. I would not build a wash without it. 2 washes have it for bays and vacs, and 2 washes have it for bays only. It is worth the extra money to run it out to vacs.

I give A++. Systems installed since 2000.
 
KleanRide said:
So, are you talking about...like, maybe...DOLLAR COINS?!?!?!
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There used to be a number of Canadian Operators on this forum ... not sure how many left? I specifically was referring Canadian Operators which would mean Loonies & Toonies. But now that brought it up ... it could logically apply to dollar coins. Thanks for your suggestion!
 
Bob Koo said:
The real fun begins when trying to unclog the pipe and you'll be surprised at how tightly quarters can pack together.
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I've dealt with some clogged vac-it-up systems myself, the worst of which used 1-1/4" pipe. I couldn't get anything down the tube to vacuum out the coins that the coins would still fit through. I ended up using a 4-prong snake snare and pulling them out a few at a time, which took a couple hours. The clogs were always caused by a failed motor.
 
MEP001 said:
I've dealt with some clogged vac-it-up systems myself, the worst of which used 1-1/4" pipe. I couldn't get anything down the tube to vacuum out the coins that the coins would still fit through. I ended up using a 4-prong snake snare and pulling them out a few at a time, which took a couple hours. The clogs were always caused by a failed motor.
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4 prong snake, yikes. I use well casing. Fit is *almost* perfect, a little bit tight, but it does fit. Cut the tip at an angle. wd40 spray makes it slide around the curves better. Try not to let the casing kink, when that happens throw it out.
 
When I have a clog out on the long runs I do this: I have a 100 ft 1/2 inch 200 psi air/water line. I hook one end to the bottom of my air compressor, the other to the 1.25 inch vac-it-up line (I use pvc 1/2" by 1.25" female adapter, glued in a 1.25" coupling) I attach this fitting to vac-it-up line, drill a small hole all the way through fitting and vac-it-up line. I stick a small screwdriver all the way through. Then I pull the line off the vault system in the room. I put the line in an empty 5 gal pail, lay a towel over everything. (this keeps coins from flying back out). Then I have another person blast the air. We do this in a couple of air blast, and line is easily cleared. Just be prepared to hold on to that line and pail, as those coins come flying in with force.

The very first time I used this procedure, I did not remove the line from the vault in the room. When I blew the air, the force knocked the line off, and it was literally raining money in my equipment room. We were picking up coins for months.
 
I use the regular Domel vac motors. They never fail, I only have to change the brushes every two years. I would definitely use Domel on a vac-it-up system since the biggest problem I've seen with them is clogs due to a failed motor.
 
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