One of my customers has a three year old Rapid Wash with the double wash arms. There is a breakaway magnetic prox switch on each arm. Belanger used to use a simple mechanical switch for this, and from talking to techs down here, it worked fine. When they switched to this prox configuration they must have started having issues with them. I say this because one of their factory service centers here simply bypassed this system and wired an impluse to the plc direct, so that a false loss of signal would not shut down the unit. They are about three hours away and probably thought it easier to bypass it than fix it. This sort of leaves the operator at possible customer damage, since if something hits it now, it will just merrily keep on washing. So my question is what do you think of removing the prox setup and putting a simple mechanical switch back on?
Belanger Vector question
- Thread starter mac
- Start date
We have a Vector that is 5 years old and has the mechanical switch. They don't seem to last very long but they do work. (not very long = 10-14 months usually)
I can get them locally for about half the price that my distributor charges. They are not too difficult to replace.
I can get them locally for about half the price that my distributor charges. They are not too difficult to replace.
whitescout
Banned
You could contact a distributor, and ask for a whisker switch. I believe this is the part you are calling a mechanical switch. it looks kind of like the " curb feelers" that were popular in the 80s. I would not bypass the breakaway, as there is a potential for damage to the machine and car.
Another issue that doesn't makw sense to me is related to maintenance. The factory recommended monthly list says to open and grease the air actuated solenoid valves. There are a lot of these things and they're not overly friendly to open. Does anyone really do this? I thought that if it was necessary, why not put an air line lubricator on? The factory didn't think much of this either. What do you do?
whitescout
Banned
MEP001
Well-known member
I don't grease the Lexair valves. None of the smaller ones have had any trouble; both the big ones on the inlet failed twice and I have since "engineered" around them. I couldn't take having the wash not work at all for not replacing two $400 valves twice a year. Greasing those didn't help them last longer anyway, and if they really expected them to be serviced why the f*** didn't they put shut-offs under the tanks?
So on these valves, the manufacturer says to open and grease them, and mr pro says he opens them and hones them. Does anyone else think it just plain stupid to use them in the first place? There are many machines out there that use regular solenoid valves that go for years with zero maintenance. It's not uncommon to see some 10 years old and never opened. When you use an air operated valve you automatically double the number of parts on a machine, because then you need another valve to open and close the air. Am I missing something here?
RykoPro
Technician/Manager
If I were to re-engineer something on the Vector, I would start with the tri foam wax pods! The lexair valves have very few problems after we fix them. Mac, what brand and model# solenoid valves do you use to control 1200 PSI that require zero mantenance?
MEP001
Well-known member
Amen. I'm constantly cleaning them out to keep them spraying evenly. The irritating thing is that I never find anything in them, but they're still always getting clogged. They also freeze, and this year I forgot to disable the top wash and one of the pumps was damaged. I've decided I'm going to take them down and run the tri-foam through the arms.RykoPro said:
Mr pro, if you just look in a Sonnys catalogue, you'll find several to chose from. Or google them. Danfos has a nice line of real high pressure ones, rated to 2400 psi. Magic Wand has been using an Asco one for years. A 3/4 valve seems to run around 3-400, and I can show you some that have been in continuous operation for over 8 years without doing anything but look at them. If these Lexair ones are sooo tempermental, as by the replies here, why not get rid of them? Anytime you have a sensitive piece of equipment in this environment, you are just asking for issues. These things aren't space shuttles that are pumping liquid oxygen at 6000 psi. Of course that's just my opinion. I would rather put something on a customer's machine that didn't need much attention.
RykoPro
Technician/Manager
MEP001 let me know what you come up with. My tech thinks its a volume problem since the lines feeding the pods through the boom are so small.
Mac, we only service 7 or so Vectors and the valves are not a big enough issue to warrent the cost of the electric valve. One of my techs figured out the honing idea (a former diesel mechanic) and it seems to fix the problem.
Mac, we only service 7 or so Vectors and the valves are not a big enough issue to warrent the cost of the electric valve. One of my techs figured out the honing idea (a former diesel mechanic) and it seems to fix the problem.
RykoPro
Technician/Manager
I am not a huge fan of the lexair valve but they do hold up better than the electric solenoid valve when exposed to the harsh conditions of the bay or onboard the machine itself. Electric coils only last so long in these circumstances.
MEP001
Well-known member
The Vector (At least the ones 2002 and newer) can be switched in the e300 between pod application and the spray arms. Going through the arms it just runs one color pump at a time. The three colors are tee'd together into the manifold with the presoak and water.RykoPro said:
