Reclaim tank sizing?

A question for all those Reclaim System users or those that have plumbed for it.

What size and configuration of tanks do you have in the ground?

I have heard anything from 3 - 1000 gallon single chamber tanks to 3 - 3000 gallon 3 chamber tanks.

I have a 100ft tunnel and expect to do 35K cars/yr.

Thanks

35,000 cars a year in a 100 ft. tunnel? That's way, way off what you should be expecting to do.

In a normal situation that you are describing, you would use 3 Reclaim Tanks that could be around 1,500 gallons working volume each. As a cost savings measure, stick with standard baffled septic tanks. The size of the tanks will dictate dwell time of water in the tank to settle heavy solids or trap free floating oils. The reason I would state standard is many tank companies will have standard molds already made and you are really buying concrete from them. Standand just means they will not have to make a new mold and the cost of building the new mold will not have to be passed on to you.

Since you are are inquiring as a tunnel operator, determine if you plan to hold water in your conveyor trough since this will serve as additional clarification (settling) time. If you are holding a few thousand gallons of water in the trough, this could serve as an additional tank.

A closing thought would be to remember, it may seem like a lot of water being held in the reclaim tanks, but the tanks always keep getting smaller since we are in the buisness to wash vehicles and the actual service we provide is leaving us with all of the "dirt" washed off of the vehicle. This dirt does not disappear, but will be trapped in the conveyor trough or reclaim tanks, and they keep getting smaller until they are pumped out to remove accumulated solids.

Hopes this helps and I'm sure others will post their opinions

Sorry MEP1 what do you mean by way, way off??? How would you even be able to predict what my volumes could possibly be when you don't know where I'm located, what my traffic counts are, what competition, speed limits, additional services, etc.

Going by reported averages, including a very recent thread here which reports 80-110 CPH. Seems like your "expected" numbers might be a little low and your reclaim could be undersized based on that.

Northwash,

Thoses number are about reflective of my site. Bob and I live only 1 county away here in Florida. Bob knows his reclaim systems.

My site: 105' Sonny's tunnel (100' conveyor), 6 years old. 40,000 CPY.

When I design my reclaim system (engineered, sealed and stamped) this is what was certified. 3 tanks, 1000 gal standard septic concrete, 2 without baffles, 1 with baffle. If you can't get a 1000 gal tank, use the 900 gal. Some company's will hve molds or tanks leftover you can bargin with. Bigger is not always better as water circulation can be more problematic if you are slow and odor becomes a problem.

The tanks are in the following series:

2 1000 gal tanks side by side. 1st tank is settling tank that overflows to second tank. Second tank has suction line to reclaim pump/filter. The water recircs this system in the front 1/2 of the tunnel. Oil is trapped in the 1st tank as the drain line is below the water level. Oil this way will never enter the reclaim system (unless you mess around with the floats). The dam between the 1st part and second parts of the tunnel's conveyor shelf separate the rinse water from the wash water. This prevents the waxes and soaps from reacting. This rinse water goes to another 1000 gallon baffled tank. The Baffle works to separate the oil based on a "dwell time" based on your volume and gallons of water useage. If I can recall I said I was using at the time 30 gallons of water per car and was doing 130 cars/day. The oil needs so many mins to float up before the water was pumped out to the Cities sewer line.

If you are connecting to the Cities sewer line, check their requirements for certification on the oil separator. This cost me an addition $3-$4000 in engineering fees! In all toll, Engineering cost me $25,000! Meeting regulatory statues is one reason I get so pissed off at mobil detailers and my Cities lack of enforement of codes when they dump waste water in ditches and sewers! It cost me 10's of thousands of dollars for what you are about to do.

If I can save you any money, head aches or frustrations.... I'd be glad to help. My lack of experance cost me dearly, but I was done right. I pump my tanks now less than yearly. If you clean your trogh, pits and do maintenance the tanks (varring with your areas conditions) will stay cleaner longer.

I would also aerate the tanks at night to keep the bacterai alive. It will only cost you $600-$700 to install.

I understand MEP1...You've got a conveyor that will do well over 35k cars a year so I would size the reclaim with that hope in mind. It takes a hard working and experienced operator to make money at a full service site that does less than 60k a year. I know from my own experience of owning one for 50 years.

I agree with Benswash and Bob that 3 - 1,500 are good sizes.

Here's a pic of what Bob helped me build. 3- 1500 cone bottom tanks, that automatically dump from the bottom 3 times a day. I get my tanks from www.tankdepot.com