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After 28 years and 29 days I am out of the car wash business. Today was my last day. I enjoyed my self service wash and would have been glad to stay for a while. The money was very good and I liked the work. But my wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in February. She has had her chemo and an...

I’ve got a friend looking at purchasing a self service car wash to buy with the following financials. $116,000 gross sales based on a three year average. (slightly increasing each year.) $35,000 direct expenses needed for day to day operation. $81,000 EBITA This is also before any wages or...

I have an 8 camera Lorex system that uses BNC cables. The 2 farthest cameras are almost 300 feet from the base. They have lower resolution and one of them goes out intermittently. I've been told that there could be too much voltage drop over that length of cable. Lorex supplies one 12 volt...

I'm going to start dispensing a few tokens along with my dollar coins. Does anyone sell a stock decal that says that? I've looked in the Dultmeier and Kleenrite catalogs and don't see one. I hate to have one or two custom made. Thanks: Keith

I tried to call Frank at BACA today and the phone has been disconnected. I'm looking for some parts for my Rowe changer and he's helped me out before.

Hello all: I have a Takagi T-K2 that won't fire up at all. It's used for my floor heat. It has full flow going through it, and the power source is verified. The control board green light is on solid, but no red light at all. There is not a code combination like this in the owner's manual...

I finally had to turn on the weepmizer and floor heat today. I don't keep records, but I don't believe I've ever gone this far into the year without setting up for winter. Usually, we have had a hard freeze in mid October or earlier. We have been playing golf twice a week up until last...

Last December I had the slowest month in 5 years. Then in March it was the busiest month in over 14 years. You can do all you want to increase sales, but the weather really makes or breaks this business.

Hello all: I replaced my 1000 watt HPS lights last summer with 144 watt LEDs. Here's the data after 3 months: Sept. through Nov. in 2013 averaged $391.00 per month. The same period in 2014 averaged $295.00 per month. The demand revenue charge did not change any. It is still a constant...

I'm going to replace my 1000 watt HPS lights this summer with 400 watt pulse start on my 30' poles. Right now, all of the outside lights come on by a timer. I am considering adding a photocell to each of the 5 fixtures and still leave the lights on the timer circuit. That way I could turn on...

I collected my vac money from my Adams vacuums this morning and three coin boxes had little or no money in them. They have an ABUS lock on the security box and a brass pin lock holding the money box in. That means the thief had to have both keys, because nothing is damaged and he put the locks...

While cleaning up today I swept up a couple of home pregnancy tests. I think that is the first time I've ever seen those on a bay floor. It did make me wonder though, if one of the condoms I swept up 6 to 8 weeks ago might have had a hole in it. Keep smiling...

I don't know any details, but the local news said there was a fire at Hamel Manufacturing on Friday afternoon. No one was hurt, but the building might be a total loss. http://www.ketv.com/news/27723620/detail.html Keith

I welded some bolts to the sides of the pits and laced cables through the grates and back to the bolts. This won't stop them, but maybe it will slow them down a bit. If they have to take longer, they may go somewhere else. If this doesn't work, I'll replace the next ones with fiberglass. The...

Does anyone use the 1.5 inch thick fiberglass grating that Kleenrite sells for pit grates? I have to span 40" by 58". I'm reluctant to put steel back into there because steel scrap prices keep going up. Any ideas? Thanks: Keith

I lost 2 pit grates today sometime between 8:30 in the morning and 6:30 tonight. I've heard of other washes losing them recently in the Omaha area also. Keith

How many of you store a barrel of methanol at your car wash? I'm thinking of making my own foam brush antifreeze mix this winter, but I've heard for a long time that it's too explosive to keep on site. No one around here seems to want to sell it in smaller quantities than 55 gal. Has anyone...

I was having a top ten day last Saturday at my 6 bay self serve. The place was full for almost the whole afternoon. Since it was built as a drive in back out car wash, I find its usually a good idea to be around to help direct traffic and be of other assistance on days like that. Someone...

Who sells parts for MARS validators? A friend of mine had one damaged in his vacuum. The optical sensor and outer housing were ruined. The local distributor was no help, and I can't find a parts list for it anywhere. Its a model # 250002162 110 volt. Thanks

Someone hooked a rope or cable over one of my vacs overnight and tried to drive off with it. They didn't get it, but ruined the vac. This is the first time it's ever happened to me, but there was quite a bit of it going around Omaha about two years ago. It could be that that person just got...