Hot Water Feeds?

[dogwasher]

What options at your SS wash are fed by hot water?

Thanks

 

[MikeV]

I use hot water for all the high pressure functions. Not that I really want to, but maybe its because I'm not interested in adding switching valves to all 5 bays. I use 1 Takagi instant water heater and mix in some cold water to keep the temp down a little. Works for me.

 

[Earl Weiss]

I have 6 tanks Rinse, FB Soap, HP Soap, Wax, Tire Soap, Pre soak. All have a hot and cold water line 't' d in. Rinse holds about 10 gllons. All else hold about 5 gallons.

Weep also has hot and cold 't'd in.

 

[washnvac]

HP soap and HP wax is hot. Rinse is cold.

 

[Kevin James]

We don’t have any Hot water. When the gas bill hit $400 plus a month we secured the hot water boiler and went all cold. It has had absolutely no affect on business what so ever. The wash volume is still the same.

 

[MEP001]

Hot soap and wax, cold rinse here also. If we were in a colder climate I'd probably have a convenient method of switching between hot and cold rinse for winter months, but I don't feel hot rinse works any better than cold since it's just displacing soapy water. I've seen washes using cold wax, and have even changed over a few to save on the gas bill. I'm sure some waxes work better in hot water, so that would be a consideration.

 

[Reds]

I turned my hot water off when my gas bill was $3114.56 for the month of January 2008. I keep a copy of the invoice with me to show customers who ask why the SS water isn't hot any more.

 

[Jeff_L]

HP Soap = Hot
HP Wax = Hot
HP Rinse = Cold

All low pressure soaps are mixed in the tank with hot water.

High gas bills? You betcha.
Customer satisfaction by holding on to a warm hose in the dead of winter? Priceless.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

Customer satisfaction by holding on to a warm hose in the dead of winter? Priceless.

Then why don't you use hot rinse?

I do agree that customers definitely notice an ice cold hose in the winter and that is the reason that I have hot rinse during the winter. From about June thru September I turn my water heaters off altogether. No one ever seems to notice during hot weather.

 

[washnvac]

I gotta disagree with you guys not using hot water. Hot on the soap cycle helps get the car clean. Ever wash your hands in cold water ?

 

[MEP001]

I don't see in this thread where cleaning was discussed, so you're not really disagreeing with anyone. dogwasher only asked who uses hot water for what functions, not why. Let's not turn it into something.

 

[Jeff_L]

Then why don't you use hot rinse?

I do agree that customers definitely notice an ice cold hose in the winter and that is the reason that I have hot rinse during the winter. From about June thru September I turn my water heaters off altogether. No one ever seems to notice during hot weather.

I never considered it. I guess it's something I would think about if I had a message board or something similair to advertise it to be a differentiator from the competition.

 

[Tpoppa]

All my HP functions are gravity fed by an elevated tank. The tank has a hot and cold feed. I run it about 5:1 cold to warm in the winter, just warm enough for the customer to notice. I turn off the hot water completely from April to November. I have been considering running all cold water.

 

[rghyska]

I have my hot water boiler on a timer during the wnter months. I have it set to come on around 7:00am and turn off around 10:00pm. Plus I don't set the temp real high, just warm enough to make it feel warm. During the summer I turn it off completly except for wax and HPsp.

 

[dogwasher]

Thanks for the good ideas! I piped a cold water line into my hot water holding tank, I like the idea of lowering the hot water temp in that tank. This holding tank sends hot water to pre soak, high pressure soap and high pressure wax. Some of the customers know about the high pressure wax with hot water and spend the hole time on that selection in the winter.