hi pressure soap problem

[alan]

i have owned my carwash for about 3 years. ever so ofter someone tells me they arent getting any hi pressure soap. i will give them there money back and when they leave i go to that bay put my money in switch to soap, pull the trigger and in about 8 seconds go by and soap starts coming out, i just shake my head and go on.
well last night i was at my carwash trying to figure it out and came across something. if you put your money in switch to soap ,pull the trigger it takes about 8 seconds for the soap to come out , but if you switch to soap and just let it run about 15 seconds with the trigger released and then pull the trigger it takes about 20 seconds for soap to start coming out. if you let it run 15 seconds with the trigger released and pull the trigger 2 times , soap starts coming out in about 8 seconds.
this is where my problem is but i have no clue why. anyone out there ever come across this.

 

[MEP001]

What type of equipment do you have? Can you post a picture of the pumpstand?

You may have a bad check valve somewhere sticking closed.

 

[Jeff_L]

Are you force feeding the soap into the line at the pump? Or are you using a Zero Pressure Regulator to suck in the soap?

 

[Plow Guy]

Alan, let's start your hydro minder tank where your soap is mixed. On the bottom of the tank you should find a ball valve, turn it off, just after the ball valve you should find an in line strainer. Hold the main housing of the strainer firm in one hand while you unscrew the Bowl with the other. Inside the bowl you'll see a rubber square O-ring and a stainless steel strainer. Thoroughly flush the strainer and the bowl with clean water be careful not to lose the O-ring. Two things at this point make sure the O-ring is completely in its gland, if you choose to lubricate the O-ring do not over tighten the bowl and be sure to use a backup on the main housing again. Six months ago I had an employee clean my stainless strainer. The O-ring came loose during installation and pinched it didn't leak enough water to show that it was leaking but it would suck air at vacuum into my soap causing my pump to pulsate. Your strainer is a problem common to all, in other words if you have soap problems with all of your bays look at your hydro minder blending properly, this includes your check valve in your soap tank working intermittently needing to be replaced, or a grain of sand intermittently plugging your hydro minder proportioning orifice or your strainer being plugged. If your soap issue is with one bay and not the others I would recommend replacing that solenoid for that bay, it's not expensive and it's always better to troubleshoot with the new part rather than a rebuild part.

 

[Plow Guy]

After your solenoid your soap flows to your pump at this point you will see a check valve or a pressure regulator-injector. If you have a check valve replaced it with a new one if you have the pressure regulator-injector you should be able to clean it rebuild it or replace it. Look in your Dultmeier catalog part number fl pr1000a. This is a very general answer to a very general question. If you're a little more specific with your questions, explaining your system a little more thoroughly, possibly even including a few pictures, we can save you time and effort identifying your problem quicker and easier. All the best, Pete.

 

[alan]

thank yall for the advice. my carwash is a older colman carwash. i think JEFF L might be on to something. my system sucks the soap and wax into the pump.
i was thinking about this today and might have figured it out. on the bottom part of my pump head some brass pipeing about 5/8" by 5" long with a small manifold are attached to it. i dont know if colman designed this little manifold are not but on the front of it there is a fitting and a 1/4 hose comes off of that and runs up to the top of my pump head to a regulator. on the back side of this small manifold is a fitting for my soap and wax.
i think when you start up the pump and turn on soap but dont pull the trigger on the wand , water flows thru the regulator down the 1/4" hose into that small manifold and builds up some pressure. i dont think its a lot of pressure but its enought that when you hit the trigger it takes a while for the pressure to be relieved and to start pulling a suction. i dont know what kind of regulator that is on my pump but will look into that and thank yall.

 

[MEP001]

It sounds like it's a zero-pressure regulator. Does it have a stainless steel disk attached to a square brass fitting with a knurled nut on the opposite side? When the piston erodes, it no longer regulates properly and no soap is drawn.

Can you post a picture?