Professional Carwash & Detailing

CONVEYOR HOT TOPICS

return on investment as well as being the en-
vironmentally friendly thing to do,” he said.
“Because of the ‘Go Green’ and International
Carwash Association’s (ICA) ‘Water Savers
Program’ push, it is also becoming popular
to advertise recycled water. The public is
much more aware and accepting today.”
Nowadays, reclaim systems are de-
signed right into the building plan and are
typically installed by the general contractor
or plumber, Taylor said. And, in existing
facilities “they require processing tanks
that will typically be placed underground.
Digging up parking and driving areas is
common. The equipment will also require
space in the equipment room.”
A good reclaim system for a tunnel wash
will typically cost $40,000 to $45,000 with
tanks and installation. “The 70 percent
savings alone can save thousands of dol-
lars a month in water and sewer costs.
Typical return on investment is one to two

The
savings
alone
can offer
a very
short
return on
investment

DEAN TAYLOR, CATEC

years. After that, the savings goes directly
towards increasing the bottom line.”
He added that implementing a reclaim
system can drastically reduce sewer impact
fees on new construction. “I recently
helped reduce an impact fee of $220,000 to
$77,000, which is a savings of $143.000.”

Get a VFD A.S.A.P

VFDs are something that should be familiar to any owner or operator. Among the 2009 topics for the Wash Week Seminar series was, ‘Saving Money by Going Green,’ wherein a panel of experts stated that VFD technologies are becoming increasingly popular, and while expensive to install, are decreasing power bills significantly.

According to Koo, VFDs basically allow an operator to control a tunnel and adjust how much an engine is working. “That’s how VFDs work,” said Koo, “they control how