Starting The System #
Prior to powering up the system, verify that all physical connections (water, electrical) are installed correctly as per the instructions in section 4.
A slow backflush is required to wet the filter media. Once the tank is full of water, it needs to sit for 12 hours before performing a manual backflush cycle. This ensures the media fines are flushed from the filter. Once media is wet, run a full flow backflush before going to Reclaim Mode.
Offline Mode
- When the external power switch is in the ON position, the HMI will show the Main screen and the unit will start in the Offline mode (fig. 5 – 1)
- In this mode, the PLC is ON but it does not turn on any other devices (solenoids or pumps).
! CAUTION !
When the external power switch is in the on position, 480v three phase power from the facility will still be energized in the control box along with the 24VDC power transformer and 24VDC command signal from the tunnel controller.
At no time should the controller housing be opened with the external power switch (located on the side of the controller box) in the ‘on’ position.
If maintenance for any component of the controller or wirings is required, lock out / tag out procedures must be used. Failure to utilize safe maintenance procedures could lead to injury or death from electrical shock or potential arc flash as a result of working on an energized controller.
fig. 1 – 1 – HMI Main Screen
Start Up
- Press the red start up switch to begin system operation
- Once the system starts up, it will run a purge to force out air
- Following the system purge, the system will either go into Recirculation or Reclaim Mode depending whether or not the system receives a tunnel signal.
- If no tunnel signal is present, the system will enter into Recirculation Mode. If there is a tunnel signal, the system will enter into Reclaim Mode.
Recirculation:
In Recirculation mode, the system will run the following sequence:
- Recirculation > Run to pit > Run Reclaim > Idle > Recirculation
- Settings for each step in the sequence are programmed in the Idle Mode Cycle section of the Settings screen (fig. 5 – 2)
fig. 1 – 2 – Settings Screen & Idle Mode Cycle Settings
Reclaim:
The system will enter into Reclaim mode as long as there is a tunnel signal and the system is not running a flush cycle.
Flush cycle settings are configured on the Settings screen. The system uses 2 methods of flushing:
- Based on the differential pressure of the filter or based on the time of day.
- This selection is made with the toggles in the Idle Mode Cycle section of the Settings screen.
- It is possible to command a flush based on both differential pressure and time of day.
- When in Reclaim or Flush mode, the Overview screen will display the process (fig. 5 – 3-4)
fig. 1 – 3 – Overview screen in Reclaim mode
fig. 1 – 4 – Overview screen in Flush mode
System Settings & Screens #
The unit is designed to allow a number of operator selectable features. These features are all controlled by the Settings screen (fig. 5.2 – 1) and allow custom settings based on wash volume and seasonal changes in the water including temperature and amount of contamination coming off vehicles into the drain water.
In general warmer weather will require added dosing and a reduction in the amount of OFF time during the overnight or when belt is not operating. Colder water will allows reduction in dosing and permit longer periods of pump off time.
Tank odors can occur rapidly when water is not flowing through the system. The bacteria can double every 15 minutes in a static tank so turning unit off overnight or for even a few hours will lead to increased wash odors. It is recommended to run system 7 days a week and check for odor on a daily basis.Â
Reclaim & Flush Settings #
fig. 1.2 – 1 – Settings screen
Car Wash Closed Time (24-Hour Clock): Time of day when your car wash is closed
Flush Delay After Close (Minutes): Length of time delay prior to running a flush cycle after closing
Flush Pressure Differential (PSI): Differential pressure of the filter that will command a flush
Time at Differential Pressure Before Flush (Minutes): Length of time delay at differential pressure before commanding a flush
Post Flush Reclaim Run (Minutes): After the municipal water flush, this mode puts unit into Reclaim Mode and doses the water to prevent municipal water from sitting in the filter overnight.
- Dosing the municipal water after the flush is a critical step in the process to prevent untreated water from sitting in the filter overnight.
- It is recommended to dose for 5 minutes at 15 pulses per minute (Standard Flow) to treat the media and eliminate odors at start up
Flush Time (Minutes): Length of the flush cycle in minutes.
- 10 minutes is timed for an 8 minute backflush and a 2 minute rinse cycle. 15 seconds before the flush cycle starts municipal water will run continuously until 15 seconds after the entire cycle.
Startup Air Purge Time (Seconds): Length of time the system will purge at startup
Odor Elimination #
The system features a manual ‘Odor Elimination’ setting, which can be activated by the toggle on the the Overview screen (fig. 5.4 – 1).
fig. 1.4 – 1 – Overview Screen and Odor Elimination toggle
Manual Odor Eliminator Time (Minutes)
- Length of time the unit will dose when the Odor Elimination button is selected.
Odor Eliminator Dosing Perecent
- Dosing level for the time the Odor Elimination process is active.
- Percentage is based on the dosing pump’s maximum output, which is selected on the dosing pump dial.
Maintenance Screen #
The Maintenance screen allows the user to manually activate reclaim, shutdown, recirculation and flushes. The user can also activate and deactivate pumps, as well as set the dosing pump pulses per minute (PPM).
Reclaim Dosing Percent
- The reclaim PLC has a relay which sets up a pulse during operation.
- In order to ensure dosing levels are consistent, the manual dial on the dosing pump should always be set to 100%.
- Pulse frequency can be adjusted between 1 and 110 pulses per minute.
- Each pulse delivers delivers .81 ml of the dosing chemical to the reclaim or recirculation flow.
Dosing the Reclaim System at 10 ppm is recommended. If you encounter smells from the reclaim water or tank, then increase dosing by 5 pulses per minute.
Baseline settings should start at 10% for Reclaim, 0% for Recirculation and 10% for Flush. If there is a smell in the tunnel, increase the values for each. The dosing values will vary from wash to wash based on amount and type of dirt rinsing from cars, water temperature in the tanks, and number of cars through the tunnel per day.
If you have access to a handheld dissolved oxygen meter, the smell should diminish as the dissolved oxygen reaches 50% or greater. The maximum dissolved oxygen is greatest in cold water and reduces as the water temperature increases. Therefore, the PPM Of DO needed will change as the water temperature changes.
Solenoids
- Solenoid A – Solenoid to Recirculation
- Solenoid B – Solenoid to filter
- Solenoid C – Solenoid from filter
- Solenoid D – Solenoid for clean municipal water feed
- Solenoid E – Solenoid for dirty flush water