Building Length

[BLHCW18]

The problem with iba's is that they are slow especially when you factor in the drying time. I have a 41' glass building now and the car waiting can not enter until the car in front has finished drying. It would be much faster if one car could be washing while another car is drying.

I am putting in a second location and was thinking about going to a 49' building and try to move the dryers down so that a second car could start washing while the car in front is drying. But I am not sure if there is enough distance there so that the air from the dryers will not interfer with the presoak going on the next car. This idea would work with a much longer building obviously but my budget has me limited to the 49' building. Has anybody tried this using a 49' building?

 

[lag]

We have some 50 foot bays. We operate LW 4000's & WW High Volicitys. We can have a car loading while a car is drying.

Most customers will wait anyway until the first car is through the dryer.

Sometimes the customer will go ahead and enter the bay. We also get complaints from customers who are mad because they were using the dryer and their car got hit with overspray from the car entering the bay.

 

[rph9168]

There are several systems out there that has a door in between the automatic and dryer. I think Autec and Oasis make them. There may be several others.

 

[pitzerwm]

In my article on the Australia car washes, see "Contact Us" I think that there are some pictures of a location that had the door.

 

[dirty harry]

I've built several 48'-52' IBA buildings, and that leaves us enough room for the dryer at the end, and a tire shiner.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Put the dryer outside! I only have one stand alone dryer and it is about 4' outside the door. I've had it for 5 years and have yet to see a down side. Why is everyone so hung up on having the dryer inside so water can drip off the doorway onto the car?

 

[robert roman]

Because of problems mentioned, Oasis, Autec, Istobal recommend bay length of between 57’ and 60’ for in-bay express. This allows for the opportunity to achieve higher hourly volumes.

The options to wringing more volume from a short bay leading to a material difference in the bottom line are limited. You could install a high-speed in-bay and get maybe 18 to 20 washes an hour or a mini-tunnel (conveyor or moving platform).

With a mini-tunnel, you could expect to produce 35 washes an hour or more within the length of a 40’ building, tire shiner included. Some of the conveyor would extend outside the building.

A number of years ago, I did a study for a self-service owner planning a 50’ drive-through touch-less wash. Sequential lights are placed on side walls to help customers progress through the wash bay.

Unfortunately, any these options would require more of a budget than repositioning a dryer.

The alternative is to tinker with the timing of your existing machine to see if it is possible to squeeze out another car or two an hour.