Hamilton ACW 4 / ACW 5 Controller pics
I thought this was interesting…. This is a Hamilton ACW controller with v4.23 firmware installed on the chip. With a 49-1200a REV 3 board from 1996. I am assuming this is what Hamilton charges $150 for (The jumpers)? I assume this is ready to upgrade to the “c” version firmware also? You would have to ask super Randy.
I have the stainless case also. If you want to purchase it let me know. I also have the whole ACW part. 
All I want to know is… If this controller is undated to v4.23 wouldn’t my ACW now be a ACW 5? What was the difference? Besides that switch on the relay box?
Hay! What is wrong with people?
The thing I can’t figure out is why the hay was in the car and it was fine….. Then when you get to the car wash you take the hay out THEN put it in garbage bags?
Only thing that makes since is she stole the hay? But how do you even steal hay? Actually where can you purchase hay? What do you use hay for? Why does she have hay in the fist place?
She seemed shocked to found out it clogs up vacuums and I didn’t want her to use mine? Weird…. Maybe this is why she made a huge ass mess at my place of business and not at her house?
Parker Slugbuster Coin Acceptors? Why am I using GinSan Sensortron?
Okay so I acquired some Parker Slugbuster II 2 long drop coin acceptors. Is there a reason why I shouldn’t use the Slugbuster products? Are Ginsan Industries Sensortron acceptors better or worse? Why do all these products look the same as the $20 ebay China coin acceptor?
The Parker is $30 less for the old Slugbuster I (Old Style) $108.33. (They look exactly the same.)
The Slugbuster II quarter only is $107.14. With tokens also $130.94.
All the Slugbuster II models are less then the Sensortron at $137.75? What have I done? :)
What also worries me is in the Kleen-Rite ad for the Sendortron, the info says “with over 100,000 units in service since 1981″. That I am guessing… means they have sold 100,000? That doesn’t seem like very many…. so I think I have been purchasing something everyone knows is over priced and other products are better?
Also if you goto parkers slugbuster website: slugbuster.com (Which BTW is SO BAD and looks like a phishing web site. The clip art also is….. WOW!) They say to fix ANY Slugbuster it cost $65… and a new acceptor has a 2 year warranty? WTF that site does seem like a scam! Or to good to be true! :) I think I have to switch to Slugbuster acceptors…. unless they are POS? I don’t know? :)
Hamilton discontinues there dual stacker…
Which is odd? But WOW they only had 7 in stock! WT#? The stacker goes in all there stuff! That is messed up! Are they in financial troubles like everyone else? Why didn’t they announce that they were discontinuing there XE bill validator also?
But when Rowe of all companies is using and bragging about how good a MEI bill acceptor is…. Things have changed!
National Pride Car Wash are asses and should pull there video!
I understand this looks bad because I hate national pride…. just because they don’t give support after the purchase of meter boxes. Nothing kool or important!
But I have had plenty of meter boxes which have been broken into… the content of a cheap meter box which there comparing there $2000-4000 meter box to? HAS NOTHING OF VALUE IN IT…. UNLESS 25 CENTS IS WORTH IT FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON? PLUS IT SHOULD NEVER BE SUGGESTED OTHERWISE! I understand the top screw mounts probably help just a little! Even on tin foil boxes! But to say that some one has valuable components in there is ridiculous and just a nasty sales ploy and no one should do business with them. Besides the fact they couldn’t be bothered to help a CUSTOMER! What is wrong with car wash companies?
Plus I have seen videos similar to this before. They should have hired someone to open the box and show how much trouble it was. Giving up that fast gives the illusion there product is a pos. If Trent Walker couldn’t last more then 30 seconds that’s fine…. What are they going to do resell the meter box?
Oh and Trent Walker actually says “you have thousands of dollars of components in there”. While I am assuming discussing a meter box. WOW multiple thousands!? Would that be considered a lie?
But they are discussing a meter box with a bill acceptor…. Which does hold money. Just a note for a thief… If you see a car wash with crappy boxes and a bill acceptor in it. Run away! What national pride omitted is the operator has cameras and more then likely an alarm when you hit it. “Not FREE MONEY” like there implying…. With the Vegas payout sound effect.
I need to have no shame also because I have greed and want money! I need a sign “Don’t scratch your car with dangerous brushes from express tunnels you can’t inspect! Come to a self serve!”. Its to long though …. But my statement is at least true! Your depending on the employees there to check the brushes…. Scarry! At a self serve you cam do it yourself!
http://www.nationalpridecarwash.com/pages/videos
Arcadian Chemicals Car Wash chemicals in Alabama – arcadianservices.com
The chemical sales lady had the best lime ever when trying to get a hold of me to sell me chemicals. “Was wondering if you were still in business”….. Nice! I mean as a sales person making cold calls from a book of numbers that has not been touched for 5 years. I know it is annoying… but you should at least act more positive.
It’s also funny how you can order chemicals from 5 states away and its cheaper then 50 miles away.
Worse customer service? US Para Plate sale@usparaplate.com
I understand that all companies are not created equal. I understand that sales departments aren’t either. All sales people should have to call Weber… makes me want to purchase a new grill just thinking about them. :) I actually use US Parapalte unloaders. I don’t think I will purchase one again though.
I think that every customer is lazy now…. I don’t want to talk to Bob or Marty at Para Plate. YEAH I’M LAZY! That is also why everyone has quit going to self-serve carwashes and going to express car washes… there lazy. So if I don’t want to talk to Bob, I email Bob and maybe Bob can just answer my easy question? Right?
I did the same thing the other day to Dixmor (which BTW probably has the best customer service) and they emailed back twice and it fixed the problem! :) I also sent them stuff to fix and they don’t kill you on repairs? WHAT? Which is a nice touch (hint IDX…. that’s why I don’t use there coin acceptors anymore, also Hamilton).
So I emailed sale@usparaplate.com a question:
Could you please email me a manual for your 24400 timer?
Thanks
The reason I had to email them is because either their site it terribly out of date? Or the manual has trade secretes? (More to come… :)
This was Bob’s response:
Just confirming. Are you a user of the 24400 timer?? Please provide your company name and location. Thanks, Bob
Yeah? Really? For a $70 timer? NO! How about rereading my email… but I was nice. :) My response:
What are you talking about? I was going to purchase one? You don’t have a link on your web page. Why would I email otherwise?
His response:
So he emailed the manual… why not just do that in the first place? Also the manual has no competitive intelligence at all. It’s one page! It has no schematic? No pin outs for the display? No protocol for the display? In fact I would argue the manual has zero differentiating information except the reference to the T24500 display which Bob did not answer a question about…. maybe tomorrow? There are 10 or more vendors that sell vacuum timers…. the only thing that makes this only mildly special is the display you can NOT find.
So I should add them to companies I dislike because they are unhelpful: National Pride, Ryko, U.S. Para Plate
BTW: I emailed with National Pride in 2010 and told them that their 2007 catalog link was broken. Still broken. They also didn’t help which how to install the meter doors they sold me. NICE! :)
UPDATE: 10 Days later Bob never emailed back for some reason? Probably just a sales person that doesn’t care about selling stuff?
HydraFlex Hydra-Cannon water question?
I have always been fascinated with there product. Maybe for the wrong reason. :) My Dad purchased two also and they are stupid expensive. But what I don’t get is if I put a bunch of injectors together on my system everyone would laugh and make fun and say injector are a bad idea. Make them expensive, fancy and oh also GREEN! You have a product! That’s why I enjoy marketing. :)
My actual question is not the injector there all the same ss or these fancy kevlar (I think?). It’s the HydraFlex setup. The picture shows I assume 4 functions. If 2 or 3 functions or even 4 are in use at one time…. wouldn’t this reduce the threw put of water thus pulling to much or to little chemical? Which is one of the problems with using injectors in the first place? Thus the 27% chemical savings would either go up or down? In another picture they have 5 functions? Even worse? I might be missing something here…. please let me know. I’m going to build one. LOL :)
Also I understand that they use those big well pumps to regulate the water…. which is very important with injectors. Also the bigger units have 2 pumps I assume it’s a fall over but I really don’t care it doesn’t matter. I would just think the pressure can’t be consistent on all functions if pulling water at the same time? I just don’t see it? Unless it’s just good enough and doesn’t matter?
UPDATE: The water intake is 200 psi and the output is anywhere from 60-80 psi like the injectors are rated at or 40 psi like some operator said his has at. Not even sure how you would know that unless there was a gauge on them? Maybe the color denote the psi also?
cashwash.com what the?
Okay maybe I have never seen carwash.com new website until today. I’m a little behind. This carwash stuff is trying to kill me. So I went to their site and it’s a new color red? But they got rid of their forum and started over! REALLY! Didn’t they have a really large forum? I really can’t remember I HATED the layout! Also why on earth didn’t they convert it? The matter what it COULD be converted… I guess the decision was not to. Which seems interesting. As a programmer I was given really bad crap to convert so I know there is no why it was not doable.
Do could I have the old forum carwash.com? Well if you are the ones that had a forum in the first place.
Ryko Code-A-Wash IV Manual…. Come and get it! :)
LOL Just kidding!
Why would Ryko publish their Code-A-Wash 4 Manual? or what every their entry unit is called? I forgot the name of the thing which I OWN!
I actually called Ryko they said they do not have it in PDF format… BUT I can purchase it! I think it was $50-100? NICE! Why would they put it online?
Also what really bugs me is on their website they state under “Ryko Advantage” “Proprietary Technology”? WHAT! Shouldn’t customers demand the exact opposite? If the Car Wash industry demanded better standard products maybe we would have products like the vending industry? With interchangeable parts? With DEX and MDB? Instead we have dumb proprietary stuff and expensive proprietary parts and are enslaved to one vendor like a sucker sucked into the sales pitch…. the end
Yeah I don’t have my own products! After looking at the swipe and clean though I should have made one. But I can have my own options for now. The full service controller companies are the worse with over priced stuff. But the market is just so small.
Make your Fortune Washing Cars – A book? Car Wash people can read? JK :)
Interesting name of this guys book: Make your Fortune Washing Cars
Actually the people that are going to do good now are all the people purchasing these foreclosures! Any advice on building new is pretty dated information. But click on the link above and look at the cover of the book. :)
Plus how is it a good “investment” to build new when there is a new wash struggling or the bank owns one next door? Plus so what if you have cash? It’s still a stupid investment. Does anyone ever stop and think that a sales person “might” make money off you! :) Why do you think they call you so much and they are “trying” to be your best friend…. until they get all there money?
If I write a book it needs to cost less then his… then I will name it “SO…… YOUR STUCK WITH A CAR WASH….. oh and there’s 100 down the street! :)”
Cities Weigh Taking Over From Private Utilities
….. and so it begins! Next Car Washes…. I wouldn’t mind a cushy Government job! :) Or just purchase them! :) Maybe if my Car Wash printed money like utilities?
Recent Comments
I just built a system that fixes the problem of pressure you are referring to. The answer is 2 fold. 1.VFD+ Pressure 2.Monitoring Sensor. Set up where VFD runs at say "40%" putting out 150psi. Then have a sensor that is inline (before manifold) to when a second bay calls for product, and pressure drops, it senses this, and increases the VFD to say 50% to make up for the difference, and retain the 150psi. So on, and so forth depending on how many bays you have. It will take some tweaking, but once it is set, it is set. Also, you only can have a maximum of 5 ports open at once, even if you have 6 different functions, as each bay can only have one selection running at any given time. Email me, and I can give you more info, and / or if you want to buy one rather than build one. It is a very expensive "trial and error" job, as the VFD, pump, and sensor have to do the job right, and give the correct pressures. They will not share any of their tech, as they want us all to buy from ...
Did you know.... You can purchase the "quick disconnect" injectors from "Hydraflex™®? ©" (don't want to infringe on ™®? or © :P) , however you cannot purchase the quick disconnect adapters from them. Hmmmmm? Isn't that nice? Why not? Oh, that's right you can, if you purchase one of their "Aqualab™®? ©." TEN THOUSAND dollar units. Then, they will sell replacement parts for it, which include the quick disconnect fittings. Very frustrating to say the least. IN A STORY NOT RELATED -> If you want to never ever ever worry about check valves again, look into the icheck magnum series which you can buy from Kleen Rite (low ph, high ph, and high pressure) Also, if you are tired of replacing brittle, cracked, sun-drenched, winter haggard poly line, step up and buy the parker (or equiv.) "air brake" line (type B, reinforced). it will last for over 20 years in a carwash, and will outlast stainless steel when running corrosive product thru. I have been running HF thru it for over...
I love your sense of humor, but everything is in the details of any business what separates the strong from the weak is just a few minor details. But that few can be huge, for instance I love Arbys for their sandwiches, but many years ago their facilities were just run down and dirty, back then I would never go to the bathroom in one. Instead I went to Mcdonald's to go the rest room. Now in current time Arby's has gotten the idea that a very clean and modern facility with upgraded equipment will bring in customers. They even have open wifi in many, so that being said a business is the true salesperson it projects an image. Now one must ask yourself what image do you want to project to the public. You yoursef as a owner of a car wash or any business must be the salesman, because without a sale no one has a job. Mike...
I don't think you read the post. Maybe since your not a car wash owner you didn't get the joke? But your a sales person so... :) Maybe in Ohio the government is more restrictive I don't know? But when the government lets people start businesses that they want. Unforgettably to many people have built car washes because of sales people. Which makes them bad investments... so depending where someone is from you will get your desired remarks. Also you are selling a high priced item so only car washes with money would call you... another fact. So of course they would be making money. I also disagree with 90% of your statements except the place should be clean. You do not have to purchase top "knotch" equipment. You can run a super car wash with any equipment on the market. But again your a sales person. :) But I strangely want to purchase a boiler now.... JK LOL :)...
I have met many car wash owners that do make money in the car wash industry. Here is what I have found they are very organized, they buy top knotch equipment, they maintain it everyday, they check their water everyday, they ask for help when needed. Many are true salespeople they get out and meet the customers give them hugs and attend community events. And lets not forgot about having a very clean facility, customers love neatness. Mike Simmons, Vice-President...