Year: 2016

It is all a sales pitch…. just a sales pitch.  There pump is no better just more expensive upfront and more expensive for parts.  (Assuming the Arimitsu can last as long as a Cat pump?  Not sure anyone knows yet?  LOL 🙂  How ironic.  Maybe they will last longer…. I would hope so.)

Look on the chart below where Arimitsu correctly quotes stats of their pumps.    http://arimitsupumps.com/html/interchange1.php  (I assume the Arumutsu 313 is correct?  Also the Cat stats?)

Next chart they use their same Arimitsu 516 pump…. but claim an alternate gpm.  This 5 gpm is also quoted sometimes as normal specs when it is convenient (marketing or error who know).  But the problem with this is….

Both the Cat pumps compared in the top chart can actually do the same exact configuration.  In fact…. both pumps can do it cheaper upfront and are cheaper on the seal and valve kits.  Except for the 5CP2120W valve kit which is more expensive but that pump is the cheapest.

So if you hate charts the Cat 5CP2120W is the best pump and the best value.  The reason these pumps are compared is because everyone thinks they need 5 gpm…. which I believe is not needed at a self serve.  But this is just what everyone always “has to have” or argues is better about the Arimitsu pump.  The majority of operators use Cat 310 pumps I would guess?

Arimitsu 516: 705 Valve kit: 116 Seal kit: 95
Cat 310: 586 Valve kit: 63 Seal kit: 78
Cat 5CP2120W: 565 Valve kit: 179 Seal kit: 82

So ask anyone why they would purchase an Arimitsu  516 pump and besides being fooled by the marketing their answers will be:

1.  Quiter  (I do not actually accept this as an answer…. absolutely the silliest answer ever.  Who cares?  Really…. Who?)
2. Easier to work on?  (Whaaaa?  Unless they fit themselves?  I am not sure what this even entails?)

Seriously…. anyone who advises you to purchase an Arimitsu pump got them when they were $150-200 cheaper than Cat pumps.  This is the only way they made a good educated decision.  I am sorry the truth hurts sometimes.  Or just let me know…. I asked the question on a forum and not even Greg let me know what the selling points were.  I had to guess on the 2 selling points above.

You know I would purchase an Arimitsu or any other pump in a second if they cost $200-300 less than a Cat pump…. I actually looked at these pumps 5-8 years ago when they were cheaper.  That is why I remember their selling points.  Cheaper pumps and cheaper seats and valves…. yeah it is supply and demand.  Just like the College system in this country.

 

 

I do not think CustomKraft would mind this plug and me reposting some of their pictures. I think more companies should act like they are run by real humans. I really like it. It also seems like they have a small factory…. but lots of employees. Also no welding in any pictures?

A side note…. when I started with website development/programming. All my sites were super fly and had frames…. well…. just like poor old CustomKraft’s website. 🙂 Give me a call CustomKraft I will redo it for you. 🙂 Plus…. please get rid of the noise when you click things! 🙂

http://www.customkraft.com/equipment/pdfs/multi-pressureinsert.pdf

So I was emailing someone about CustomKraft equipment and did not remember the company’s name…. why would I? I have never actually seen their equipment in real life. Do you know why? The person I was emailing said it cost $77k for a 6 bay unit. LOL 🙂 To put that in perspective a Jim Coleman pump stand would cost $50k for the stand and an extra $12k with the spot free. Then the cheapest cheap stuff (Which looks like resturant shelves…. might not be but the design is repurposed from somewhere…. or worse design ever…. I believe.) Etowah Valley Equipment cost $22,699.85 supposedly they come off the price also (this is list).

Anyway I like the idea of CustomKraft equipment but since every car wash basically has the same system as described in their patent I am not sure how they got a patent…. sure they are describing bypassing and low and high pressure but no one ever did this? Well it does not really matter anymore…. their patent expired on or before August 31,2010.
http://www.google.com/patents/US4327866

The present invention generally provides a car wash pumping system which can dispense any number of additional chemicals at a low-pressure utilizing a high-pressure pump without the necessity of an additional pump, pumping controls, and fluid lines to the boom and wand assemblies. The present invention may be easily installed within existing car wash systems and is of a low cost and low maintenance design. Further, the present invention does not require additional lines to be run to the boom and wand assemblies thereby not requiring additional means to prevent the freezing of these lines, such as the application of heat tape or a closed loop system, both of which are time consuming to install and expensive to operate. Further, the present invention allows for the application of cleaning chemical solutions at a low-pressure to prevent the unnecessary waste of these chemicals as well as reducing the hazard of splashing these chemicals upon the operator.

One thing that is funny…. the only thing I have heard around this system is it is “wasteful”. Personally I understand the argument and yes purging the lines it technically wasteful but their system is still very high tech for old crusty 1982 tech! LOL 🙂

Also if you ever wondered how their system worked…. well I guess check out the patent?
US4327866

One of the problems I have with the Jim Coleman Super Savers are that none of the tanks have a drain at the bottom of the tank. This part would be a nice add on drain…. a weldless bulkhead. My problem is it would stick up to much…. a weld on version would be nicer. But a weldless bulkhead will be cheaper than a welder fixing Coleman’s equipment because an operator did not design it. 🙂