For more than 50 years, the Kleen-Rite car wash supplier has focused on providing car wash owners with the widest selection of commercial car wash supplies and equipment at the best possible prices. Kleen-Rite is committed to your complete satisfaction with its service and selection. Every day the company lives by the Kleen-Rite creed of being “Your reliable supplier for the car wash industry” and providing “The best for less!” because its customers are the foundation of its business. Whatever your car wash needs — from pumps and pump accessories to vending products and vacuums — you will find it at Kleen-Rite Corp. Kleen-Rite’s car wash superstore truly is a one-stop shop for all of your car wash supply needs. For more information visit www.kleen-ritecorp.com or call toll free 800-233-3873.
Low pressure car wash pump systems gained in popularity in the car wash industry when customers and competition demanded more functions, both for automatic tunnel car washes and also self-serve car washes. These systems added foam brush and tire cleaners first, then as options increased so too did the different types of products needing to be pumped.
Today, options have increased to include spot free, tri foam, tire dressing, presoak, engine cleaner, tire dressing and bug removers, to name a few. These options now provide almost half of the functionality at today’s modern car washes, and they are important because these extra functions generate the additional income needed by a car wash while at the same time provide a cleaner car for the customer. Listed below are some of the pumps that, over the years, have improved the reliability of the car wash equipment and provided chemical products to the low pressure side of the car wash bay.
Early on the car wash industry struggled to find pumps to deliver chemical products to the bays, mostly because of the corrosiveness of the chemicals being pumped. Failure of pump seals, motors and internal pump parts was very common. These early pumps, could either not sustain the constant use or would fail internally because of the chemicals being pumped through them.
Car wash low pressure systems have more components than just pumps to make them work. In this article we want to focus in on the pumps — the most critical part of the process. Below we would like to cover some of the pumps that have worked their way to the top of the list for being reliable, and also some of the new pump designs that have proven themselves to be quite useful in our industry through innovative ways to mix and pump chemicals. While we could list many more pumps, because there are many different manufacturer applications, here are some of the pumps car wash owners have either upgraded to or have purchased new systems employing these pumps.
Flojet pumps, now a division of Xylem after its spinoff from ITT Corporation, has shaped its pump line by using its unique, different business units to its advantage by sharing application knowledge to improve its pumps. Flojet air operated pumps, being smaller in size, fit the need to be able to mount a pump in small spaces while still providing gallons per minute needs to supply our low pressure systems. Reliable with a variety of different types of seals these pumps can handle moving some serious chemicals. They handle air pressures to 100 psi, and have a patented shuttle valve to eliminate stalling, with leak resistant radial seals.
For over 80 years, Aro has been the leader in positive displacement pumps and systems. With that legacy of ingenuity and design ARO provides fluid handling equipment for customers worldwide. ARO pumps are available in larger sizes and can pump much higher gallons per minute very reliably. They have models that will pump well over 11 gallons per minute and come in different seal configuration depending on what product is being pumped. Some touch-free automatics use these pumps in their design to pump presoaks and tire and wheel cleaners. Tunnels have benefited from these pumps with their high gallons per minute output; most operators utilize them in soap applications, triple foam, tire/rim cleaners and drying agents. These pumps keep up with car throughput needed in busy tunnel locations.
Dosatron created the water powered dosing pump in 1974. It fit our market by being water powered and combining chemical dilution at the same time. While it’s not a pump that many car wash owners are used to, it fit perfectly into delivering precise chemical management by eliminating most of the dilution tank and injecting the chemical with water to the delivery point. These pumps have very precise chemical mixing capabilities and are used in many different car wash chemical applications including presoaks, engine and tire cleaners, bug removers, waxes and foaming brush soaps. Dosatron pumps are easy to install and maintain, which means less time focusing on equipment breakdowns, plus they help save money on chemical and energy consumption.
Procon has manufactured pumps since the 1950 and has been the benchmark in both performance and value in the car wash industry. Procon pumps manufacture pumps that handle 250 psi with flow rates to 11 gallons per minute. They are available in both brass and stainless steel materials and can pump a variety of clean liquids, and handle most of the less corrosive chemicals very well. Most car washes rely on these pumps to delve reverse osmosis water or spot free rinse water reliably at constant pressure, trouble-free. When you need a pump to deliver water or product at very constant flow and pressure, you cannot go wrong with a Procon. Procon pumps utilize electric motors to drive them and have several different mounting configurations.
Dema MixRite Water Powered Chemical Dosing Pump
Dema Engineering, well known for its solenoids, was formed in 1956 out of a request from its customers to produce a device to dilute chemicals accurately and automatically. Dema also has a line of chemical dosing pumps used in the car wash industry to dilute water soluble chemicals automatically as the water flows through the pump housing; this serves as the source to draw chemicals at dilution rates up to 10% with flow rates from 0.09 to 11 gallons per minute. Chemical dilution rates may be easily changed in the field without the need for any tools. Induction rates remain constant without regard to fluctuations in flow and pressure. The Dema Mix Rite is a low maintenance pump that is easy to install and service.
