CAR WASH

These days a car wash recycles water. The same water is run through filters and settling tanks, disinfected with chemicals and reused for each wash cycle.

Final rinse in these arrangements is accomplished using 5 to 10 gallons of fresh water to which wax and drying agents are added. This final rinse water helps the system stay full as a portion of the water used in each wash is carried away on the vehicle or evaporates.

Car washes have peak demand times based on customer's life and work schedules. Even at peak demand times the rate at which rinse cycles occurs is limited by belt speed, so it is possible to predict when and how much rinse water will be required.

It is possible for a 1 gallon per minute well operated by a well manager to furnish rinse water for 288 cars per day using a 5 gallon rinse cycle. . By providing adequate storage, a Well Manager could keep up with 500 cars or more on a busy day provided there were days that are slow.

Each area of the country has different weather cycles so a detailed examination of each situation is in order. On rainy days most car wash operations are closed and on very sunny days business can be quite brisk. Week end days and certain days of the week are busier than others.

A Well Manager® is a relentless collector. It doesn't care whether you are open or closed, using water or not. All that is necessary to keep it working is that there is somewhere to put the water it is collecting. Given the proper size storage tank, it will collect 24 hours a day seven days a week.

This means that examining longer cycles may reveal a different picture of the capabilities of a particular water supply. For instance, a 1 gallon per minute well can provide water for 288 washes a day but if you are closed for one day you can collect water for an additional 288 cars. A six day week means there is water for 336 cars per day.

If we look at a one week cycle in this business we find that the well can provide water for 2,016 washes if you buy a system that uses 5 gallons per rinse cycle. If the equipment you are buying requires 10 gallons per rinse, the weekly potential of a 1 gallon per minute well is 144 cars per day or 1008 per week if you are open 7 days and 168 per day if you are open 6 days. In either case storing water a day or two ahead will give you enough for the sunny days when there is a line around the block.

Of course, we would never suggest that anyone make a business plan based on using the entire output of a well. Well yield can and does change throughout the year and it will likely be best in the late winter and worst in July and August when you need it most.

SEE ALSO: INSURING SUSTAINABILITY OF PERFORMANCE IN WELL SUPPLIED SYSTEMS BY LIMITING WITHDRAWALS: There is information here to show how a well that is adequate during part of the year and inadequate at other times can be managed so that you can get the performance you need all the time.

There are other water uses in a car wash in addition to the wash itself. Hose bibs are needed for cleanup and maintenance, rest rooms for the help and customers, etc. But these items can all be factored into a spreadsheet to determine in advance what the water needs will be. The water needs figure, with a safety margin will reveal what the minimum well requirement might be.

There is always some fresh water storage required with a Well Manager® system. The amount of storage needed depends on the yield of the well, the number of cars expected and the comfort factor required. For instance, a 5 gallon per minute well would require very little storage compared to a 1 or 2 gpm well. Once you are storing fresh water, there is comfort in knowing that if the well pump quit, you could call for a water delivery and not have to close down while you wait for a new pump to be installed. Even if the well went dry, it would be possible to operate indefinitely with water deliveries if you have provided for enough storage in the original design.

A car wash can be run using a well that would seem to be grossly inadequate, if you operate the well with a Well Manager®!