Where to get metal troughs

[JMMUSTANG]

My 25 yr. old metal trough on the roof needs to be replaced.
Any ideas where to get them from and cost.
Is there any that comes pre insulated?

 

[Randy]

The few times that we used them we had to have them specially made by a HVAC sheet metal shop. We had to insulate them ourselves. I don't remember what they cost. We no longer use the troughs anymore., we run everything in the attic.

 

[Rfreeman]

My 25 yr. old metal trough on the roof needs to be replaced.
Any ideas where to get them from and cost.
Is there any that comes pre insulated?

I am in the same boat the best I have seen is a hat channel custom ordered in a large enough size for your hoses.

 

[soapy]

I run everything through 6 inch PVC pipes. Waterproof electrical boxes in each bay for the manifolds.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Soapy are you running the pvc under the roof or on top of the roof?
In the 70’s and 80’s we built the washes to run the pvc under the roof.
In the 90’s we built the trough system on top of the roof because of the ease in fixing lines.
The company we used in the 90’s is not in business any longer and I’m having a tough time finding troughs that are reasonable in price.

 

[soapy]

I am running mine under the roof.

 

[MEP001]

I've never seen a wash with all the lines in 6" PVC, but I've worked on washes with everything inside 3", and it's an absolute nightmare to repair anything. The lack of room was the problem - I tried pulling a new high pressure line attached to the old one and the fittings snagged on everything.

Coleman washes have a big galvanized channel on the roof with a lid. It's a lot heavier than duct metal but unless you walk on it I would think duct stuff would hold up and would be a lot less expensive.

 

[Earl Weiss]

Is metal required by code? If not is there a reason you would not use wood? Anyone using wood?

 

[soapy]

I have had the 6 inch pvc in all my washes for 25 years and not had a problem with pulling new hoses etc. 3 inch is way too small for anything more than 1 or 2 bays.

 

[acbruno]

I have a wood trough that runs to 4 bays one one side from the ER and another 3 bays on the other side. It is 16 inches wide by 8 inches tall and has plenty of room I added foam insulation a couple years ago. It works well but I have to service the lines so much, the insulation has been damaged in many places and the top of the troughs have plywood panels that were never cut right and have many gaps.

 

[OurTown]

Ours is a Super Wash built wash and has the 6" PVC (not insulated) under the flat roof with large insulated sheet metal boxes for the manifold area. I think all the Super Washes around here are built like that. When they were built they only had five functions and three hoses for each bay. (no foam brush) There is plenty of room in there for three bays worth of hoses even after adding foam brush. Super Wash told me that they go to an 8" PVC pipe when they add several functions but it seems unnecessary if adding only a dozen 1/4" or 3/8" poly tubes.

 

[mjwalsh]

We put a stainless steel continuous hinge on a cut out section of our PVC for better access for pinpointing a leak or whatever.

 

[srr5008]

Is metal required by code? If not is there a reason you would not use wood? Anyone using wood?

We have a wooden trough. Made entirely from plywood with hard foamboard insulation lining the entire inside. The lid is just plywood with foamboard screwed to it, and lifts up to service lines. This is installed in our attic, and works great.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

Mike did you just cut the pvc in half and use the stainless steel hinge to connect the pieces?
Did you insulate it and if so how?
Do they make pvc in a square or rectangular?

 

[mjwalsh]

JM,

We used a jigsaw & cut out about a third of the 4" PVC & pop riveted the hinge on the part cut out. No insulation because we have doors on both ends for our north dakota winters. The PVC pipe was still strong enough the unistrut still worked etc. Our ceiling is prestressed hollow core concrete flat roof with rubber membrane on top of the roof. One of our early competitors went with 3" PVC with their slightly pitched metal roof ... too small ... a mistake it seems. Each 4" PVC is housing hose & tubing for only 3 bays.

I have seen plastic wire organizer squarish but they are meant for wires to come in & out & have continuous open slots.

 

[Dan-Ark]

I used PVC pipe under the roof of my truck bays, cut 1/3 of the circumferance off off all but the last 6 or 8 inches of each end, on several pieces of PVC pipe (think I used 4" thin wall like is used for french drains) then I cut the ends off of half of them with the longer windows cut out which left me a snap on cover for the long windows I cut in each. had no problem strining hoses, tubes, etc. Sorry I didnt take a picture. I guess it would take a thousand words to describe as well. my Carpel Tunnel wont let me write that long. I will add a few, imagine 2 Cs with one reversed and snapped over the other.

 

[Dan-Ark]

Also ran a heat cable through the pipe and out to the manifolds over the bays. we had a mild winter but wash would still run good at around 25 degrees overnight

 

[soapy]

I used a T coupler on my PVC were I needed to put a bay box. Then I would cut a round hole in a large hinged electrical box for the outlet to slide into, Mine are not insulated but I do have self regualting Heat cable in each pipe and run into each bay box. I have been using this for 25 years and never had a freeze within the trough at temps up to -40 and usually wind throughout winter.

 

[cantbreak80]

Use a local sheet metal company to produce 10' lengths from sheets of 20g galvanized sheet metal...with little-to-no waste.
The dimensions are 9" x 6" with a 1" return on the 6" side.
This provides an L shaped finished product.
2 pieces make up a 10" trough...

Lay the L on the long dimension and screw it down to the roof.
Insulate with your choice of product (Owens Corning Formular Poly-Iso, for example)
Run the plumbing and drill your penetrations.

Once installed, the second L is placed over the top and side, creating a rectangular trough

This design provides "swing room" for wrenches, pliers, etc.
And, only one part number for the fabricator...with only 2 brake bends per piece.

 

[Noob]

Soapy, do you care to shoot us a picture whenever you get a chance? What size electrical boxes are you using?