Belanger Vector question

[briteauto]

I was out of town last weekend and saw a Belanger Vector - the first one I have seen in person. The owner was not around, so I could not ask any questions, but was hoping someone here could help.

With the two arm set up, does the machine adjust for width? I saw some very slight side-to-side adjustment as the cycle was starting, but with two arms set at a fixed position from each other, it seemed like it was splitting the difference, and not really getting close to either side.

It was set up with only 1 hp pump, so there was only one side hit with the hp at once, but there was not adjustment to the other side when it switched over.

I liked the two arm application for presoak, clear coat, spot free, and the triple foam coverage was great with four foamers, but I would have some reservations about the extreme distance these arms seemed to be from the car on the hp cycle.

It seems like any of the single inverted L machines operate at a much closer distance.

Any thoughts?

 

[I.B. Washincars]

I can't see where the side distance issue would be any different than a gantry style machine.

 

[DavidM]

The Vector with one pump does (should) adjust for width on HP cycles. It uses sonar mounted on the arms to find the side of the vehicle.
The arms center to apply low pressure functions and take turns on HP functions. When the driver's side arm is spraying HP it should be in close to the car and when it switches to the passengers side the shuttle should move over so it is close on that side.

The shuttle motion (left to right) can be disabled if there is a problem or if an operator wants to save a little time on each wash.

David

 

[MEP001]

With the two arm set up, does the machine adjust for width? I saw some very slight side-to-side adjustment as the cycle was starting, but with two arms set at a fixed position from each other, it seemed like it was splitting the difference, and not really getting close to either side.

With the original and later single-pump models the machine does (or should) shuttle side-to-side to get the high-pressure as close as possible to the car. It also shuttles sideways front and back to prevent leaving a dirty strip down the middle. The 2-pump system does center over the car but doesn't move during the wash process. It sacrifices cleaning effectiveness for speed.

I liked the two arm application for presoak, clear coat, spot free, and the triple foam coverage was great with four foamers, but I would have some reservations about the extreme distance these arms seemed to be from the car on the hp cycle.

We run a Vector and I like it for these reasons. There's little chemical waste because it isn't stopping to turn a corner and spraying on the ground like a Laser, and it purges on the car. I have it set up so it completes the purge as it completes the pass so there's an even coverage all the way around. As far as the distance from the car, if it's working properly it should maintain the same distance from all sides on high-pressure regardless of the size or length of the car.

 

[briteauto]

I can't see where the side distance issue would be any different than a gantry style machine.

I think the difference I noticed was that the gantry style machines generally have zero or five degree nozzles that oscillate. The Vector has pretty wide fan spray nozzles, which tend to loose a lot of impact with distance.

David M. -

Thanks for clarifying that. I guess there would be a little bit of a trade off going with the double pump, but you really can save a lot of time with two arms on the low pass cycles. That speeds things up a lot, even without the double pumping system. I'd probably opt for the single hp pump if I went with a vector for my next machine.

Thanks also MEP001 - I think I was looking at a pretty early model. You input has helped.