Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
By the way guys, contrary to what I've read I'm hearing Istobal tech support will indeed work with an owner. They also have a class you can attend to learn more about the unit.
Istobal Washes? Who owns one? FLEX5??
- Thread starter WashSingh
- Start date
Good question Ginther. In some ways they probably were. There's a line from a famous philosopher that said basically we have become more clever, but not more smarter. The very first Ryko units had one small panel that did all of the operating controls and held the pneumatics. It used a drum wheel programmer like was used in clothes dryers, and a few relays. And guess what? It did the same basic wash the their new machines do but with electronics out the wazoo. When you design any object for a specific purpose, they tend to all look alike no matter who builds them. So for any new machine you want something that looks different enough to set you apart, yet similar enough so your customers recognize it. And when it comes to "old" technology, Trump said it well when referring to the wall as being old tech, he said the wheel is old technology, but you still see a lot of them around. Food for thought.
soonermajic
Well-known member
If somebody on here knows Mac, ask him to gimme a call about this thread (& Istobal in general). 409)200-(hoop (4667)
Coach B
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I.B. Washincars
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Sorry for the delay guys.
I ended up purchasing my Flex 5, five brush system this summer. My local distributor did an incredible job tearing out my old system and putting in the new machine. My thoughts on it - it is a great machine. I have four wash packages, cheapest/fastest being their new "express" solution. 2 Passes. First Pass is Soap in the front end, brushes, and wax & water on the back end. Yes all happening at the same time. The Second Pass is the dryer back to home position. Total Express wash time is 3:5 minutes. Definitely a lighter wash, but gets the job done for the locals looking for a quick wash.
My Ultimate wash (top wash) is six passes, total time is 5.5 minutes. Still pretty fast for a top wash.
So far it has been a good system, but as it is a new machine/system there have been a few bugs that have been (and still need to be) worked out. The support is great, and they are working on the items I have expressed concern about. I went to Bristol, VA for a few days and dove into the course they offered. Sharp engineers, and very much available when you need them.
I'll try to share some pictures sometime soon. Overall good machine so far - will keep you posted. Shoot over any questions if you have them.
I ended up purchasing my Flex 5, five brush system this summer. My local distributor did an incredible job tearing out my old system and putting in the new machine. My thoughts on it - it is a great machine. I have four wash packages, cheapest/fastest being their new "express" solution. 2 Passes. First Pass is Soap in the front end, brushes, and wax & water on the back end. Yes all happening at the same time. The Second Pass is the dryer back to home position. Total Express wash time is 3:5 minutes. Definitely a lighter wash, but gets the job done for the locals looking for a quick wash.
My Ultimate wash (top wash) is six passes, total time is 5.5 minutes. Still pretty fast for a top wash.
So far it has been a good system, but as it is a new machine/system there have been a few bugs that have been (and still need to be) worked out. The support is great, and they are working on the items I have expressed concern about. I went to Bristol, VA for a few days and dove into the course they offered. Sharp engineers, and very much available when you need them.
I'll try to share some pictures sometime soon. Overall good machine so far - will keep you posted. Shoot over any questions if you have them.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Spent some more time with the three brush unit. Two brush passes cleans extremely well, still not happy with limiting factors in programming such as brush tilt working on one direction only, tire brushes must be utilized from front to back. Although possibly unfounded the galvanized frame causes concern for me. Also, the tire brushes are too low and the small rails gotta go. My friend's wash is just a couple months old and both units have been already struck and incurred minor damage. I didn't even think to see if the scratches penetrated the galvanizing. This is probably an ideal unit for a C store or an operator who isn't a tweaker and doesn't mind these relatively minor things. I haven't written it off because I will likely get standalone blowers so that will give me some extra passes to play with.
I will say that it definitely cleans well. It even cleaned the voids in the tailgate of my truck. You will get NO complaints about cleaning. It cleaned better than any tunnel or auto I've ever seen. I'm anxious to see how well it does during bug season.
I will say that it definitely cleans well. It even cleaned the voids in the tailgate of my truck. You will get NO complaints about cleaning. It cleaned better than any tunnel or auto I've ever seen. I'm anxious to see how well it does during bug season.
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Carwash_Guru
New member
You should be able to use the scrubber in either direction. Unfortunately the tilt is not a customizable feature, a 5 brush machine does both simultaneously.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Bump to the top. Any updates WashSingh: still love it?, any problems? I'd also like to learn more about their express solution.
Traveled a couple hours to see a flex 5 five brush unit wash a few cars today. The cars were dirty, like "drive home on a unpaved road" dirty. I saw the same cleaning deficiencies almost all brush units have- The tag well, and others backs of crossovers around the top shroud were not cleaned. The cars were so dirty the spots stuck out like a sore thumb, which was actually good to see. I think my buddy nearby with the three brush unit cleans better so maybe the chemistry may have had some impact on effectiveness. Do you guys use a high ph presoak on or before the first brush pass?
Edited 5/27: I did go watch my buddy's three brush and I think it cleaned the back better. My guess is a configuration problem on the five brush. Casual observation might be the three brush unit made two passes on the back of the car with the top brush vs just one on the five brush. Not 100% sure
Also, I will comment I don't think I've talked to an unhappy flex5 owner yet. One owner has told me an incident and it sounds like the factory provided him with excellent customer service.
Traveled a couple hours to see a flex 5 five brush unit wash a few cars today. The cars were dirty, like "drive home on a unpaved road" dirty. I saw the same cleaning deficiencies almost all brush units have- The tag well, and others backs of crossovers around the top shroud were not cleaned. The cars were so dirty the spots stuck out like a sore thumb, which was actually good to see. I think my buddy nearby with the three brush unit cleans better so maybe the chemistry may have had some impact on effectiveness. Do you guys use a high ph presoak on or before the first brush pass?
Edited 5/27: I did go watch my buddy's three brush and I think it cleaned the back better. My guess is a configuration problem on the five brush. Casual observation might be the three brush unit made two passes on the back of the car with the top brush vs just one on the five brush. Not 100% sure
Also, I will comment I don't think I've talked to an unhappy flex5 owner yet. One owner has told me an incident and it sounds like the factory provided him with excellent customer service.
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Greg you hit on a couple of things. Some of the recesses on cars today are simply not cleanable with a brush. When we set up a machine we use the same chemicals as a touchless machine. It really does make a difference. Most of the machines we sell have some high pressure manifolds that really help with the places the brushes don't get. And we stopped selling the tire brush long ago for the reasons mentioned here. The spinning nozzles clean just as good with the right tire cleaner and you get more washing area as the spinners are inside the frame.
Carwash_Guru
New member
Dear Greg, there is a way on the Istobal's to resolve not cleaning tag wells. The machine is equipped with an option to reverse the brush rotation on the back of the vehicle to help with that problem. As far as being under the spoiler in the back, that really is a hard place to get too so in my opinion it would be more dependent on chemicals to clean that area. If you have any questions on them feel free to ask away.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Thanks! Can you do that on a single pass on a five brush machine?
Carwash_Guru
New member
Yes sir you can, that’s really those whole selling point of the 5 brush over the 3.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Just dragging this thread along- hope you guys don't mind.
Well, I'm still considering a flex five and am having a hard time finding any owner unhappy with their choice. The original poster in this thread bought a flex5 five brush last year and I spoke with him on the phone. He is happy with his choice and istobal customer service. My friend bought his two Flex 5 three brush units back in December and he still loves them. They are impressive machines to watch when set up right. It operates smoothly and the cars are coming out looking great.
As mentioned earlier in this thread I still think the guide rails are too small. I saw a near collision with a tire brush from Grandma, and the rails are so small that trucks with larger tires might not even know they're on them or over them. I think Mac puts down reflectors, I might consider those plastic bumper blocks that some have used in the bays if I go with the high pressure wheel blaster option..
As far as throughput- it appears the five brush unit cuts around 90 seconds off the time vs. the three brush unit by negating the need for a second brush pass with different brush angles. If throughput becomes an issue Istobal offers the ability to field convert the three brush flex five machine to a five brush unit. Not sure how much that would cost but my guess is probably around 20-25K. The profiling onboards take blowers right at 2 minutes vs. only 1 minute for a standalone but as we know standalones require the driver to drive through correctly to get a good car. Although slower than I like , the profiling onboards produced a very good car.
My biggest reservation is lack of a local tech. My distributor is 3.5 hours away, but where I'm at that is a problem with most brands- Only Ryko and MarkVII have techs in my area. Factory support is there if needed contrary to what I've heard. I would likely buy the most common repair parts and stock on the shelf because this is a decent volume site and I have kept downtime to a minimum on my other units. I'm just getting to that stage in life where I wouldn't mind paying someone to work on things every now and then, and my distributor has zone charge fees of several hundred dollars due to the drive, plus same day or even next day service is not likely.
Bottom line, I think the final product a car wash customer would get out of this unit would rival or surpass most express tunnels in both cleanliness, dryness, and gloss.
Well, I'm still considering a flex five and am having a hard time finding any owner unhappy with their choice. The original poster in this thread bought a flex5 five brush last year and I spoke with him on the phone. He is happy with his choice and istobal customer service. My friend bought his two Flex 5 three brush units back in December and he still loves them. They are impressive machines to watch when set up right. It operates smoothly and the cars are coming out looking great.
As mentioned earlier in this thread I still think the guide rails are too small. I saw a near collision with a tire brush from Grandma, and the rails are so small that trucks with larger tires might not even know they're on them or over them. I think Mac puts down reflectors, I might consider those plastic bumper blocks that some have used in the bays if I go with the high pressure wheel blaster option..
As far as throughput- it appears the five brush unit cuts around 90 seconds off the time vs. the three brush unit by negating the need for a second brush pass with different brush angles. If throughput becomes an issue Istobal offers the ability to field convert the three brush flex five machine to a five brush unit. Not sure how much that would cost but my guess is probably around 20-25K. The profiling onboards take blowers right at 2 minutes vs. only 1 minute for a standalone but as we know standalones require the driver to drive through correctly to get a good car. Although slower than I like , the profiling onboards produced a very good car.
My biggest reservation is lack of a local tech. My distributor is 3.5 hours away, but where I'm at that is a problem with most brands- Only Ryko and MarkVII have techs in my area. Factory support is there if needed contrary to what I've heard. I would likely buy the most common repair parts and stock on the shelf because this is a decent volume site and I have kept downtime to a minimum on my other units. I'm just getting to that stage in life where I wouldn't mind paying someone to work on things every now and then, and my distributor has zone charge fees of several hundred dollars due to the drive, plus same day or even next day service is not likely.
Bottom line, I think the final product a car wash customer would get out of this unit would rival or surpass most express tunnels in both cleanliness, dryness, and gloss.
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Carwash_Guru
New member
Greg, the guide rail issue can be solved. Istobal offers a 3-inch guide rail as well as lighted guide rails which are substantially bigger in size. Only issue is if you have the wheel scrubber I believe the actual scrubber hits the guide rail. Normally if you decide to hook up the remote access function, you can call either your local distributor or Istobal and they can help you figure your issue out right away. However, the machines are usually troublefree especially if you keep the machine clean and you keep your bays cleaned out, you can expect really good life out of one, and if you decide to you to go with on board dryers, while it maybe slower that do a phenomenal job at putting out a dry vehicle vs a off board dryer.
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I.B. Washincars
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Greg, I know you’re better at the technical stuff than me, but a distributor that far away I wouldn’t even consider. I’m well pleased with my 16 month old Mark VII, and Ryko’s reputation is very good. I would limit my choices to those two, but you’re a pretty smart guy and I don’t doubt your abilities to keep your stuff going.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
I took this video last week at a flex 5 with three brushes last week at a car wash in Georgia. It is the top wash which has three brush passes, The third brush pass is brushing in the premium wax. Its not the best video, but for those that haven't seen the unit run and are interested in it it might be worth watching. My truck is big so it takes a while. I'll try to get a better video soon.
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Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
No, it was dead when I went by the other day. This is a premium wash with a total of three brush passes. The third pass is where the premium wax is brushed in. A standard wash would have two brush passes, making it around 90 seconds quicker, and a five brush unit would only need one brush pass for cleaning, which is approximately another 90 seconds.
I've seen a video of wash with one pass of dryer as quick as a little over three minutes with a five brush unit.
I'll try to get some more videos. With the new forum software and a YouTube account it's easy to post now.
Greg Pack
Wash Weenie
Another unedited crappy video of a three brush unit with wheel scrubs and conturing dry
