Recovery Method

[James S]

I don't know if this should go under wastewater or not but here is my problem. I've been washing fleets for over five years. I've been really blessed to pick up accounts that already have wash pits in place to capture all water. We do vacuum trucks, dump trucks, all sorts. I gotta call the other day for a company that has 26 vac trucks and trailers. They do not have a wash pit. Now, being that I'm experienced in washing vac trucks, I know how nasty they get and I know how much water we use. What I don't know is how much of the water can I expect to recover? Take into account how muddy these trucks stay. If I wash 20 trucks, (water is on-site), we can expect to use somewhere around 4200 gallons of water that day. Lets say we recover one third of this, that's 1400 gallons of water. Pretty much, that's a whole other trailer with a 1500 gallon tank on it. Extra fuel, extra cost, extra price per truck. Plus, if we have to leave while washing to dispose of it. I've come to the point, to expand, I will have to start recovering. Sump pump, wash mat, filters for mud and grease, all that is not a prob. I've looked into evaporators and water filtration systems and I could never get that to pay off being as no one around here seems to recover water. What I want to know: am I stuck with having to take two trucks everywhere I go or is there a simpler solution to my problem?

 

[DAFF]

Move on. Too much outgoing cash vs incoming. If I had to id try making recycled water as you use it , fresh for the finial rinse. Have them sping for the wash pit!!!! Yes, that is the best solution.

 

[biodude]

Stupid question: You're going to recover tha water because you have to do it or because you want to do it? Second question: 4200 gallons of water for 26 pieces? That seems like a lot of water. Although I haven't washed a vacuum truck I am familiar with their size, and I have washed a lot of garbage trucks, so I'm going to guess that it would take a similar amount of water to clean them. I don't know if I would even use a third of that amount of water to do a A-1 job. Am I missing something?

 

[James S]

Somehow I knew I would get a post like yours....yes, you are missing something. Garbage truck=bobtail with bed, mud from land-fill, leaking garbage. Vacuum truck=off the road a lot, lots of leaks from pump and rear-end housing, lots of build up...vacuum trailer, 40 foot long, all the mud and dirt from truck is sprayed up and down both sides of the trailer...not to mention the top of the trailer where all the seals are and the front pot where there's always major build-up. Oh yeah, and then there's the railings on the cat-walks of the trailer..they catch everything. To answer your first question, yes, they do require recovery. Not only that, there shop is in the middle of a large production field and the epa is always running around so it would be stupid not to consider this. To add to this, I also turned down a large account last month because of recovery concerns.

 

[Christopher]

James, why not discuss with them and put the monkey on their back. You probably don't have a waste hauler's permit do you? Here in Texas you have to have one.

Do the washing and re-use what you can but when you get to the water that can't be re-used, why not talk to them about pumping it into one of their trucks and let them dispose of it since that is their specialty.

I am sure they would have no problem disposing of it.

 

[James S]

You know I didn't really think of that. They do always have some extra trailers sitting on the yard and I'm sure they could do that. They're not as worried about price being as how they are paying drivers to drive to the truck wash (20 miles) and paying over $200.00 per truck to get them washed. With fuel, driver pay plus workers comp, and the cost to wash the truck, they're probably spending close to $450.00 per truck.

 

[Mike Gwas]

James,
There are about 10 ways to do this, none of which I will post but if you want to e-mail me with your number I will go over them. abelwash@comcast.net

 

[Christopher]

Mike, send me an email, I would like to compare notes. I also know of many ways to do this and would like to keep it private. Thanks.
chris969@swbell.net

 

[Big Bill]

Vac Trucks

James, what are these vac trucks used for? Are these oilfield trucks? Being an ol' roughneck, I have seen hundreds of these over the last 25+ years. There is no way I would be cleaning those nasty dirty trucks without recovery. If I were you, I would purchase the wash pit, recover the waste-water, and ask if you could use one of their trailers for disposal tank. It's a win / win situation for both you and the company.

 

[James S]

Yep...these are used for exactly what you're thinking and you know how bad those lease roads are after just one day of raining. That's the conclusion I've come to is buying the wash mat and recovering the water into one of their trailers.