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Hydrominder troubles

A

Alleycat21

New member
I have just built a new car-wash with 1 automatic bay and 1 self-serve. I am having problems with my pump cavitating when the self-serve bay is in the soap position. I have dema hydrominders and it looks to me that when the hot water is flowing into tank that the flow causes air bubbles and the pump pulls them in and causes the cavitation.I would like to know if I can replace the hose that comes off of the water valve with a rigid plastic pipe so that I can control the direction of the flow.
 
You can use a longer hose and direct the end off to the side... But I doubt that is the problem, as the pull of soap from the tank is very minimal. If its the rinse tank you are talking about, you can move the hose or put on a pipe. But if that was the case, you would have problems on rinse also then. So I bet you have a leak on the soap solenoid or the tubing going between the solenoid and the pump.
 
Can you post a picture? It sounds like you may be confused about what's in the tanks and where the problem is happening. For future reference, Hydrominder is a brand of proportioning valves, something Dema also makes. By your description, I can't tell if you're talking about the water valve in a hot water tank or the proportioning valve in the soap tank.
 
Does it happens with cold water? If so you are trying to solve the wrong problem.

No I'm not being a wise guy, I actually have a similar problem; or maybe the exact same problem you have.
Dissolved gasses in the water start to come out of solution when the water is heated, and the accumulation of all these very very tiny bubbles cause a minor air problem in my pumps. I switch to cold water, the problem goes away. (Its my rinse water gravity tank, not the soap/wax.) Its not bad enough for me to spend $ to solve, but noticeable and annoying on busy days. So please do let us know how you solve this :)
 
Do you have a PVC pipe and Tee extending down into the water from your Float Valve outlet? I had all kinds of float tank issues till I did this. It might help minimize air and bubbles getting into the water.
 
PaulLovesJamie said:
Does it happens with cold water? If so you are trying to solve the wrong problem.

No I'm not being a wise guy, I actually have a similar problem; or maybe the exact same problem you have.
Dissolved gasses in the water start to come out of solution when the water is heated, and the accumulation of all these very very tiny bubbles cause a minor air problem in my pumps. I switch to cold water, the problem goes away. (Its my rinse water gravity tank, not the soap/wax.) Its not bad enough for me to spend $ to solve, but noticeable and annoying on busy days. So please do let us know how you solve this :)
Click to expand...

Are you sure your suction line isn't too small or being restricted. Most pump seals are rated to around 160 degrees, so the water must be cooler than that. You would have to be much hotter for the pump to create cavitation boiling... So I bet you have a suction line problem. Try hooking up a larger hose directly to the tank, and I bet the problem goes away.
 
Thanks for the help, the problem was in the hot water tank that mixes with the soap, I have a cold water rinse with from a different source. I solved the problem by putting a plastic pipe on so that it shoots the water straight down away from the suction.
 
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