Does triple foam system increase income enough

[wendy's wash]

Morning. Can anyone tell me if I ad triple foam to 6 bay wash will the customers use it enough to pay for it's self? How long would it take to get your investment back? Has anyone added it an seen increase in income and think it is due to triple foam? How long does the 3 five gallon buckets of triple foam polish last?
Thanks

 

[MikeV]

Wendy's, I haven't added it to my wash yet, but all the washes that I have installed over the years all have the tri-foam and it seems to be a big seller. How long it will take to make the payback depends on your current volume and the added volume due to the tri-foam.

 

[jloebker]

I installed tri-foam about 3yrs. ago. When it worked it was a hit with customers. "When it worked" More often than not I had only 1 color or a blend of 2 colors. Lately I would find no colors, just the clear cleaning liquid. So this month I went back to the old system. I'll just use a different color when I change jugs. I doubt I ever got my investment back.

 

[IBFLYIN]

I put tri foam in a rather busy wash I built. I didn't go through one single bucket of concentrate in the 2 years I owned that wash. I wouldn't even consider putting it in my older washes.

 

[Waxman]

The %age of customers who use it seems low.

5 gal. pails last forever at my place.

I like it though. It leaves a nice scent and the visual appeal is cool when it runs down the car.

I'd probably spend the $$ in a surer bet, though. A Shurvend 51 or even in-bay dryers would be $ spent that would more quickly pay you back, I think.

 

[Greg Pack]

I had income monitoring at one of my washes. Triple foam accounted for 4% of sales. You can probably figure additional rinse time to just about double that number to 8%.

 

[rph9168]

If the system works well it can generate decent revenue. The problem I have seen that many do not work well. These units are rather touchy as far as setting it with the proper mix of air, water and product and in many cases needs to be checked often to keep looking good. They either sputter putting out sporadic foam or put out lousy looking foam that is both too watery and not appealing to the customer.

As far as adding it to an existing bay I don't think I would do it because I do not think it would generate enough income to justify the expense of adding it. Make your foam brush a triple foam unit if you want tri-foam. If I were building a new wash I would probably include it in simply because it would be an extra "whistle and bell" for customers to play with and the initial cost would be less since it could just be another part of the package that includes installation.

 

[soapy]

I had it at one location and it use was less than 5%. I switched over and put RainX in all 3 buckets and advertised it in the bays. Use of the function doubled to about 10% of overall time. I would not put tripe foam in again.

 

[MEP001]

I'm convinced that with a good, reliable system, the payoff is short. You need the right tips to deliver a lot of foam (Customers aren't going to keep using something that takes too long to cover their car), a good chemical that puts on a great show and makes a noticeable difference, proper labeling and signage (A name-brand chemical doesn't hurt) and the extra gun in an easy-to-spot location. The mistakes I've seen are: Cheap hose that kinks at the bottom; Chemicals that stain; A tip that makes a thin stream instead of a fan; Poor adjustment that sputters; The gun at the farthest corner from the meter box.

I don't have any system to meter the use of ours, but on a busy day I'll hear it running about half the time. I designed and built the system myself - it's simple and has been 100% reliable. The three pails last about four months.

Think about the payback time: let's say a six bay wash that does $2,000 per bay per month, average use of the tri-foam is 5% of total use. That's $7,200 a year in use alone, not counting the extra rinsing involved.

 

[DavidM]

I have a system that dispenses all three colors at once so it looks more like what you get at an inbay or tunnel. Customers like it and it gets used. Like MEP said, use a good product and make sure it looks good in the bay.

 

[captain cw]

I would invest my money into in-bay dryers.

 

[coincarwash.ca]

I have triple foam and in bay dryers and they both do very well. I just recently added an in bay vac to two of my bays and it does great and people don't mind that it costs 50% more to do it in the bay...it's on the dial at .75 cents a minute as opposed to .50 cents per minute in the parking lot.

 

[Waxman]

Tell us more about your in-bay vac! Better yet, post some pictures and tell us.

Thanks!

 

[coincarwash.ca]

I installed a mosmatic air boom in the bay and bought a 6.5 hp shop vac from Home Depot. I put the shop vac in the rafters and cut the cord on the shop vac and wired it to the coin box with 24 volt to a contactor and plugged it in an outlet. Works like a champ, great suction and very quiet in the bay. The only part that sucks is emptying out the dirt, oh well at least I am getting paid 50% more to empty it out.
It also is great on a rainy day when customers are not usually using the vacs.
I do not have any pics handy, but it is pretty strait forward.
My total cost including the boom and all fittings and hose was less than $700 per bay. I could not find a "vacuum" circle for my faceplate...I am not sure if they make them.
I am not sure of the exact numbers on the usage, but I can tell from the dirt in the shop vac it gets used....I also see alot of customers using it as I walk by.

 

[dbrewer]

I installed it in my new wash in 2002.It performed well for a year or so then my flowjets began to give out on me(water in air system)so I changed back to one color.Customers never complained(to me)so I guess they were satisified.My income remained about the same.Flojets are good pumps if you have dry air but water sure messes them up.Got'a go.

 

[randr2010]

Why don't you try raising your price up from 25 cents startup and 25 cents per minute setting first? That will increase the amount you would make per car and reduce your energy cost. It takes over a year to go through 5 gallons of triple shine in the area we are in and hasn't been a huge draw. The Shurevend idea is a good one considering after putting in my in wall unit, my vending revenue went up over a 150% and that was with the cranky D&H Vend Master (I worked out the bugs).