Pretty sure those kr motors are re-badged electro motor brand
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Buying 1 in bay with 5 SS - not operational
- Thread starter mcwashes
- Start date
Well that makes sense then why they actually last compared to other products they “manufacture”
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Dan kamsickas
GinSan Technician
As Blanco said, any motor with the same operating voltage will work but essentially you get what you pay for. One of the pitfalls that with the "discount" motors that I see operators fall into is that some of the cheap motors are amp draw heavy. A good motor will run at about 7ish amps with an inrush at startup of maybe 8.5 amps. I've seen some of the cheapy ones run at 9+ with an inrush over 12. That not only will lead to shorter motor life but if you have a 2 motor on a standard 20 amp circuit you'll start blowing breakers on a pretty consistent basis.
Also, in looking back at the pictures, that pumpstand is one of our old Champion units. It's long obsolete and not one of my favorites. We haven't build a Waterlover's RO system in about 20 years. Limited parts and service on both. I also haven't seen a pair of Autotrol Magnum softener controls like that in a long time. They obsoleted the 962 controls over 15 years ago.
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Thanks for the feedback. I'm happy to get a better motor. My plan was to pull the tops off the others and clean them up and when doing so, find that motor and buy it for the one that's missing them. But now that I know, I can shop around for a quality one.
@Dan kamsickas - For the RO, I was hoping to reuse if it's working. Still haven't gotten power/water to the site, that's happening next week, so I haven't tested anything. Bummer if I have to spend the $ on a new RO setup.
For the SS pump stand - again @Dan kamsickas - my plan was/is to get power on, test everything, and hope I can get the bays working. I'm replacing everything in the bays so the customer will have a good experience, but I was hoping to salvage and use the champion till I have some cash coming in. Is it a situation that I can't get specific parts for this thing and no other parts are interchangeable? Or its just a clunker and wasn't your favorite but likely I can still get some life out of it?
For the heads, I'm trying to find the brand that will do a twin alternating. Fleck was one I read about on this forum. Any other brands/options you know of would be great.
@Dan kamsickas - For the RO, I was hoping to reuse if it's working. Still haven't gotten power/water to the site, that's happening next week, so I haven't tested anything. Bummer if I have to spend the $ on a new RO setup.
For the SS pump stand - again @Dan kamsickas - my plan was/is to get power on, test everything, and hope I can get the bays working. I'm replacing everything in the bays so the customer will have a good experience, but I was hoping to salvage and use the champion till I have some cash coming in. Is it a situation that I can't get specific parts for this thing and no other parts are interchangeable? Or its just a clunker and wasn't your favorite but likely I can still get some life out of it?
For the heads, I'm trying to find the brand that will do a twin alternating. Fleck was one I read about on this forum. Any other brands/options you know of would be great.
They've been helpful throughout the process. I've talked with them and Petit and just today met a Coleman rep. I know nothing about Coleman so now about to start reading up on them.
So far I haven't selected one yet. Had an issue with the bank wanting to lend on the deal so might have to buy the building cash and figure out the equipment side of things. Hence why I'm trying to salvage the SS equipment for as long as I can. That said, I do think after seeing the Petit and the WW equipment, the Petit seems to wash a bit better, seems faster, and easier to work on. This is coming from a lot of videos produced by petit, but I've also been reading a bunch on here and the Razor owers seem pretty happy as well.
Car_Wash_Guy
Well-known member
If you are looking for equipment financing I've used Bill Baker @ Coast Commercial Credit and it was fast and easy
Im a big coleman fan especially for their self serve equipment and vacs. I think they make the best SS equipment and vacs out there. My opinion obviously. SORRY DAN IS YOU READ THIS!
Im not saying there IBA is bad at all because its not when they actually came out they were way ahead of there time however not much has changed in the last 20 some years but the most important you will get zero supports from factory.
Does wash world or petit have a distributor near you? That is key to becoming successful and making your life easier with an IBA. You cant put a price on a good distributor.
Washworld makes great machines. They are true workhorses. You wont run out of finding happy owners. Petit might seem fast but if you do 4 passes on a WW with multiple chemicals at once like the 4 passes a Petit usually runs then your not really gaining anything in terms of throughput. I will say from what ive seen Petits are built like tanks. All staineless. It's up to you if you think thats worth the extra money or not.
Id look into Oasis also to throw them in the race. For warning I run them and there a good family owned business with different models aimed for differant throughput requirements.
Bottom line though pick one with a local distributor who is knowledgeable. There are distributors who just sell and distributors that sell, install, and service. If the distributor has to have a crew come through from the factory to help him install then RUN because if you can’t install then you can’t service. A good question to ask them.
I purchased my first soft cloth IBA few years back. When I was deciding what machine to go with I simply called each one asked for tech support to see who answers and how long it takes for a call back if they dont. Good place to start to eliminate some off the list.
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Dan kamsickas
GinSan Technician
To be honest with any piece of equipment, it's not a matter of if but when you'll have to replace it. Anyone who says any piece of capital equipment should last forever is delusional. Everything has a useful lifespan.
The logic board for the Waterlover's was designed in the late 90s. We still have them but for how long is anyone's guess. The components used to build them are getting harder to find and eventually we won't be able to. When that happens it's a choice between spending the money to design a replacement or obsolete the board. I can assure you it will be obsolete the board because we don't sell enough to justify the investment.
The Champion unit had a couple of variations. Depending on which one, there are some controls that no longer exist and there really isn't a work around beyond completely rewiring and some re-plumbing. The unit was a very limited run and, to be honest, I'm kind of surprised that unit still exists.
Blanco is entitled to his opinion even if it is wrong.
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That’s fair. Your also entitled to your misjudgment
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Great feedback and thanks for that.
Both Petit and WW have reps here in town and both are super knowledgeable and will install the equipment and service. One of the Petit guys has 5 washes himself (or 5 petits in 4 washes) and So the plan right now is to buy the property, install the water lines again, get power to everything, then test it all out and see what's able to be used. My guess, I'll end up with all new equipment on SS and IBA but won't know till I get utilities. The new stuff would certainly let me focus on the marketing, driving traffic to site, and running the business more than being more maintenance man in 1st year.
@Car_Wash_Guy Thanks for the contact on the lease side - I'll locate a number and give them a ring. I may wait for one of my other properties to sell and just use cash to do it and not have to sweat the potential cash flow shortage due to the terms on those deals. But I could be convinced otherwise.