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Presoak on triple foam gun

MANLO

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Which flojet model pump are you using? What size lines are you running to the bay?
G57 flojet...the cheapest model and 3/8 poly line. I went to dema mixrites for my chemicals a few years ago and don’t push chemical through the flojet (this is why I buy the cheapest flojet). I push water through the flojets, which has prolonged the life of the flojets.
 

2Biz

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I run G57 Sanoprene on PS and a procon on TF. I get 4-5 years out of the PS flojet running 60psi air. I'm also a little different than CB80 on the tubing. I use 3/8 all the way from the kip manifold in the ER out to the boom tip to minimize pressure loss. Somewhere I read there is an 8x difference in pressure loss between 1/4 and 3/8 tubing on a 50' run. Makes sense, flow greatly increased when I switched from 1/4 to 3/8.
 

Rookie68

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The curly hose is nice for show but I had trouble with it freezing in the winter. The hose length (35ft) was so long, the chemical/foam would flash freeze in the hose before it could get to the gun. If it made it to the gun, the tip would freeze it. This didn't happen until about 15° or lower. Living in Southern Ohio, it can get a lot colder than that and for an extended period of time. So I switched out all the hoses with straight 3/8 Good Year air hose. Lasts for years and is plenty pliable in colder weather. Its even debatable if there is any difference in performance between straight hose and curly....

FYI, I don't weep or use methanol mixtures...I use a blowdown system using air and washer fluid...The tradeoff is well worth it. I used $75 worth of washer fluid last winter for 8 hoses....(4) guns and (4) foam brush hoses...Not a single freezeup....
Please tell me more about this blowdown system Sir. I am in Michigan. Have two Self Serve Washes with 6 bays each and am learning as I go. Had quite a few freeze ups this winter. Primarily at the tips and at the swivels in the booms.
 

Roz

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Please tell me more about this blowdown system Sir. I am in Michigan. Have two Self Serve Washes with 6 bays each and am learning as I go. Had quite a few freeze ups this winter. Primarily at the tips and at the swivels in the booms.
We have a Polar Guard system that has been discontinued. Uses blowdown and RV antifreeze. We had issues with the lines and went Thru a lot of antifreeze. I think there is a reason that 99% of washes with winter systems use a methanol mix for foam brush and weep for the wand. Our other wash uses the traditional system and we never had an issue.
 

2Biz

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Please tell me more about this blowdown system Sir. I am in Michigan. Have two Self Serve Washes with 6 bays each and am learning as I go. Had quite a few freeze ups this winter. Primarily at the tips and at the swivels in the booms.
 

Rookie68

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We have a Polar Guard system that has been discontinued. Uses blowdown and RV antifreeze. We had issues with the lines and went Thru a lot of antifreeze. I think there is a reason that 99% of washes with winter systems use a methanol mix for foam brush and weep for the wand. Our other wash uses the traditional system and we never had an issue.
Yeah I have a weep system on my wands, and used ethanol for foam brush. Still had lots of freezing issues this winter. Have the Weepmizer at both of my sites, but the "car wash repair man" instructed me not to open my weep valves all the way. This, I believe is what really screwed me this winter. That and the cost of heating the floor of the bays in Michigan. The list of things I wish to upgrade grows by the day. Ha.
 

MEP001

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Yeah I have a weep system on my wands, and used ethanol for foam brush. Still had lots of freezing issues this winter. Have the Weepmizer at both of my sites, but the "car wash repair man" instructed me not to open my weep valves all the way. This, I believe is what really screwed me this winter. That and the cost of heating the floor of the bays in Michigan. The list of things I wish to upgrade grows by the day. Ha.
You might want to invest in a Dixmor WeepMizer. The idea behind throttling back the weep is that most of the time you don't need that much flow, but if it gets cold enough you do. The WeepMizer increases the "on" time as it gets colder so when it reaches the lowest set temperature the weep stays on all the time.
 

2Biz

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Yeah I have a weep system on my wands, and used ethanol for foam brush. Still had lots of freezing issues this winter. Have the Weepmizer at both of my sites, but the "car wash repair man" instructed me not to open my weep valves all the way. This, I believe is what really screwed me this winter. That and the cost of heating the floor of the bays in Michigan. The list of things I wish to upgrade grows by the day. Ha.
I set my weep on the HP wands at 16oz flow per minute per bay. Never have a freeze up. You can do that as long as you have seperate needle valves for each bay. The link I posted above has all the info you need to learn about what it takes to install a blowdown/washer fluid system, which I only use on all low pressure hoses, (4) FB Hoses and (4) PS/TF foam guns...Last winter was long and cold here in Southern Ohio. I used about 75 gallons of washer fluid for the 8 hoses. About $150.00. If I were to weep the LP hoses, it could use as much as 2000 gallons of water a day below 15°. 2000 gallons of water costs me about $20....Not hard to do the math! If you are in Michigan, I can't imagine weeping all hoses or going the methanol route. I tried methonal and it was too expensive and you waste a lot on the warmer days. Or the hassle of switching back and forth. I don't have freezeups using the blowdown/washerfluid method. Definetely has been well worth it!

(1) Programmable Relay or PLC | Page 4 | Car Wash Forum
 

Rookie68

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I set my weep on the HP wands at 16oz flow per minute per bay. Never have a freeze up. You can do that as long as you have seperate needle valves for each bay. The link I posted above has all the info you need to learn about what it takes to install a blowdown/washer fluid system, which I only use on all low pressure hoses, (4) FB Hoses and (4) PS/TF foam guns...Last winter was long and cold here in Southern Ohio. I used about 75 gallons of washer fluid for the 8 hoses. About $150.00. If I were to weep the LP hoses, it could use as much as 2000 gallons of water a day below 15°. 2000 gallons of water costs me about $20....Not hard to do the math! If you are in Michigan, I can't imagine weeping all hoses or going the methanol route. I tried methonal and it was too expensive and you waste a lot on the warmer days. Or the hassle of switching back and forth. I don't have freezeups using the blowdown/washerfluid method. Definetely has been well worth it!

(1) Programmable Relay or PLC | Page 4 | Car Wash Forum
Love it. Can I hire you to design and install this at my wash ?
 

Randy

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Yeah I have a weep system on my wands, and used ethanol for foam brush. Still had lots of freezing issues this winter. Have the Weepmizer at both of my sites, but the "car wash repair man" instructed me not to open my weep valves all the way. This, I believe is what really screwed me this winter. That and the cost of heating the floor of the bays in Michigan. The list of things I wish to upgrade grows by the day. Ha.
At what temperature do you have your Weepmizer set to come on at? If it’s set at 32 degrees you’re going to get freeze ups. We have ours set to begin weeping at 34 degrees and we dump a lot of water, about 14 oz. per minute. We have one diaphragm valve that controls the weep water for both the high pressure and foam brush system, we use a needle valve to control the flow of water to each individual bay. We’ve played with the Ethanol foam brush soap and found it to be a PITA. Your "car wash repair man" is an idiot to tell you to not turn up the water flow to prevent the bays from freezing up. When it gets real cold we shut down the car wash, pump -22 degree windshield into the weep system turn off the power to the bays and go home until it warms up.
 

2Biz

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Correction to post above. My water/sewage is $20 per 1000 gallons. So it would cost me about $40 a day just for FB and PS/TF hoses below 15 degrees.
 
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