Water leaks at the car wash

A car wash flooded with water…

On 10 January 2018, the owner of the Dziesiątka BKF car wash chain, at the site on Gdańska Street in Szczecin, was surprised by a water leak.

When we came to work in the morning, we saw several alarms in the Carwash Manager management panel: "Warning! Probable leak at the car wash!". The information about the failure was available immediately in the management panel because the car wash was connected to the internet – recalls a BKF service technician.

A failure notification was also waiting in the mailbox. It was received both by the car wash owner and by the BKF service department.

After visiting the site, the technician made a diagnosis: the leak had been caused by a cracked hose in the reverse osmosis water system.

We estimated that around 600 litres of water leaked out within one hour. If a failure is detected quickly, as happened at this BKF car wash, the financial loss is small. But think about the cost the owner would have to bear if the leak went on for a whole week or even a month.

Drawing on this experience, we installed a water meter at another of our car washes as well. After installing it, we detected worrying and unjustified water consumption we had not known about before. An inspection showed that the leak was caused by a damaged brush circulation solenoid valve. It cost us around PLN 900 in additional expenses.

There is no way of knowing how long the fault had existed before the water meter was installed, because the leak was not noticeable. We only spotted it thanks to electronic water metering. Without a water meter, this kind of failure would have been very difficult to detect within a short time.

Such situations are hardest to detect at a car wash that is not connected to the internet. There, the owner usually notices the failure only after several months, when checking the water bills.

Uncontrolled water leaks at the car wash – what can cause them and what can they lead to?

Car wash parts wear out. Over time, the plumbing may start to leak or malfunction, causing uncontrolled water leaks. Examples include a solenoid valve that does not close fully, a faulty softener head, a cracked reverse osmosis hose or a damaged brush circulation solenoid valve. The consequences of such failures can be very costly for the car wash owner. Remember, too, that the risk of failure grows as the car wash gets older.

How can you protect your car wash against this kind of failure?

We offer our customers an electronic water flow metering system based on a special water meter with a pulse transmitter. The water meter is installed on the main pipe supplying water to the car wash. The pulse transmitter sends the car wash computer information about the volume of water that has flowed through it. As a result, the computer knows exactly how much water is flowing at any moment, and the owner can easily check water consumption and spot any deviations.

With a water meter, the car wash owner has complete information about the amount of water used. When consumption deviates from the expected level, an alarm is generated that alerts the service team to a possible leak or a malfunctioning device.

What are the benefits of a water meter for the car wash owner?

The benefits of a water meter are visible as soon as it is installed. This innovative technology reveals any uncontrolled leaks that you had no idea about before and that were very difficult, sometimes even impossible, to detect. The owner does not have to wait a whole month for the water bill to check consumption. Immediate access to information when a failure occurs can save a considerable amount of money.

How important is online parameter monitoring at a car wash?

Connecting the car wash to the internet is essential. Combining a water meter with online parameter monitoring increases the chances of:

• detecting leaks you did not know about before. It is worth adding that all failures are reported in the controller's alarm system and are visible in the Carwash Manager remote management panel. In addition, the car wash owner receives an email notification about the failure.

• reporting major failures quickly,

• reading average water consumption (per minute, 15 minutes, hour, day).

Investing in a water meter and connecting the car wash to the internet protects it against unplanned downtime. What is more, it saves the owner from having to bear additional costs.

Can a water meter be installed at every BKF car wash?

The current version of the water meter can be installed in container car washes. In the future, however, we plan to extend the system to modular car washes.

Ask our service department about the water meter.

Contact us – our team will be happy to answer your questions.