Why Choose Used Laundry Equipment Over New Laundry Equipment

I had a brand new car – once.  Now we always purchase vehicles that are approximately one-year old.  We have a commercial grade zero-turn lawn mower.  We bought that used too.  I could continue on, but I think you get the idea.  Let’s go back to the car.  We have now purchased our third vehicle from a local business that has proven itself to be trustworthy.  On each vehicle we did our due diligence, researching both the make and model of the car as well as that particular car’s history.  For the mower, we did our due diligence there as well.  If you are like me, no matter what you are purchasing, you want to get a great deal without sacrificing quality or service.

You know, the same thought process and method can be applied to a piece of dry cleaning or coin laundry equipment.  You could purchase new.  Keep in mind that sometimes a new piece of equipment has a manufacturing lead time of 3-6 months.  You could wait and still purchase new, but don’t forget the freight costs that the manufacturer will pass on.  You could wait and pay the freight costs, but think about the long-term implications.  You’re paying a premium for that new piece of equipment that may or may not last just as long or perform just as well as a good-quality used piece of equipment.

What if you did your due diligence and got a top-notch piece of used equipment at a great price?  Both used laundry equipment and used coin operated equipment can save you hundreds of dollars over the price of purchasing new which translates to more money that can either be saved or put toward another project.  Plus used equipment, when properly maintained, can last for years before needing to be replaced.  That’s where Tri-State Laundry Equipment comes in.  We reveal the type of work that’s been done to restore every piece of used equipment to peak physical and functional condition. We like for our used equipment to look new again, too, so that you or your customers can tell the difference.

Not only can we help you with both used laundry and used coin operated equipment, we can help you with replacing your worn-out boiler with a refurbished used boiler so that your business can continue on with all the hot water you need to keep your laundry operating in the black.  What about dry cleaning equipment?  We can help there too.  We refurbish used dry cleaning equipment by cleaning the piece and replacing all the worn-out parts to keep it running in tip-top shape.  And we offer a 90-day parts-only guarantee on every piece of used laundry equipment that we sell.

For more information, please check out the resources section of our web site.  Contact us today if you would like to begin your search by browsing our used dry cleaning equipment products.

Top 4 Reasons Your Boiler Won’t Keep Up

Let’s keep this simple.  Here are four things to check if your boiler isn’t keeping up:

• Do you have a tubeless-type boiler with internal flews? Do you clean them yearly as required by the manufacturer?  If not, clean them (and be sure to put on your soot suit when you do).
• Check your water temperature.  If the temperature is too high, the boiler slows down significantly.  Keep the water around 180 degrees.
• Check your return tank for city make-up water.  Most tanks have a float valve to maintain the proper water level by adding city water to compensate for water loss.  If the tank is constantly being filled by city water, your boiler is trying to boil much colder water extending the boiling point and holding down operation pressure. (Plus your water bill is probably high too.)
• Makeup air is important for proper combustion, so make sure you have enough.  The rule to follow is 1 square inch per 1,000 BTU’s.

If the first four haven’t helped your boiler problem, then have it checked out by a qualified technician.  Be sure they check all the required settings like burner gas pressure, free air, and burner adjustment.  But 90% of the time, these four reasons apply.  So regularly check your boiler and increase production and improve energy efficiency.  If you have boiler issues that you simply cannot solve, feel free to contact us for additional support.

Payment Options – ESD Smart Cards

During my college years, I regularly visited the Laundromat.  Back then, the method of payment was quarters, and I carried a baggie full on each visit.  That isn’t the case today.  Self Service Laundry facilities are changing with the times, and now customers have a number of payment methods available to them.  

One popular method is ESD’s SmartCard System. Here’s what you need for this system: the cards, card slides, value transfer machines, and software.  Below is a simplified version of how it all works:

 

The Cards – This is what the customer uses as their method of payment.  They simply load a dollar amount onto the card, and then they can start doing laundry.  Cards can be plain white or be customized.

Card Slides – This piece of equipment is mounted on a washer or dryer and is adaptable to most equipment brands.  It checks the balance on the inserted card and will then send a signal to the machine to start if funds are available.  Then it deducts the price from the card’s balance.

Value Transfer Machines – The VTM allows the customer to add money to the card with cash or a debit or credit card.

Software – Allows the owner to maintain or adjust pricing, adjust wash and dry cycle times, run specials, run various reports, and change the language the system uses.  

If you have any questions about self-service laundry payment options, contact Tri-State laundry Equipment Co. at 866-882-5218.  We are here to help.

Tips for Maintaining Hotel Washing Machines

Here are a few tips from our experts for maintaining commercial laundry equipment, more specifically washing machines used in hotels. Keeping your commercial washing machine in good condition will help save money in repair and replacement costs, especially if you have multiple pieces of equipment.

Washer-Extractor:

·         Check the door lock and door seal daily for proper operation.
·         Wipe the door seal clean weekly.
·         Inspect the water inlet valve hose connections daily.
·         Allow the interior to dry by leaving the door open at the end of each day.
·         Check the drain discharge line to ensure proper drain operation.

Washers (Front- and Top-Load):

·         To avoid that "musty odor," let the washer drum dry by leaving the door open when not in use.
·         Every year, check the fill hose filter screens for debris or damage. Clean and/or replace the filters as needed.
·         Each month, check all of the hoses to each machine for signs of cracks, blisters, or significant wear. Replace worn or torn hoses immediately.

Keeping all of the parts of your hotel washing machine properly maintained helps reduce repair and replacement costs down the road. (Notes: if repairs are needed, we can help locate laundry parts). Also, though a hotel may have multiple machines, there is nothing worse than losing a machine and slowing down the process.

If your hotel also has self-serve coin laundry equipment, follow these same tips to keep them up and running!

If you have additional questions about maintaining your commercial washing machine, contact us today.

The End of a Fantastic Press

For years, Tri-State Laundry Equipment installed and serviced the Model-A Pants Topper from Cissell Manufacturing.  That particular pants topper was in just about every dry cleaning plant from coast to coast.  It was incredibly easy to operate and super reliable.  Super reliable except for one little weak link – the return spring that tensioned the expander.  The part lasted for several years, depending on the pant volume, but then would wear out over time.  It was a pretty simple fix.

Several years ago, Alliance Laundry Systems purchased Cissell and stopped manufacturing the Cissell line of finishing equipment.  That also means that the return spring stopped being manufactured as well.  Suddenly dry cleaners everywhere were on the hunt for this little but important part.  In fact, it is probably one of the most sought after dry cleaning parts in the U. S.  

If you have a Cissell Model-A Pants Topper, you might want to start thinking about your next step.  There are some terrific options out there by Unipress, Forenta, and Sankosha.  As always, be sure to do your due diligence before making your decision.  If you have questions, you can call Tri-State Laundry Equipment at (336) 992-5218 or reach out to me on LinkedIn.

And on a side note, I have to admit that I get a little sentimental when I see a Model-A Topper in great shape, with the exception of the return spring, on a truck heading to the scrap yard. 

Commercial Washer Extract Speeds

Spin, extract speed, G-force -- what does all that mean to your business? Those words are crucial in having a more efficient commercial laundry production, reducing utility costs, and reducing your impact on the environment. Today I want to touch on the first two benefits.

I’ve been in the commercial laundry and dry cleaning business for almost 30 years now. I remember when utility expense hardly impacted the bottom line, perhaps because our volume was so high that we operated full force all day. But with the change in fabrics and dress style, volume isn’t what it used to be. And as a result, many of us may need to consider making changes to improve efficiencies. One way to do that is by updating our commercial washers.

Today’s commercial washers are in one word – impressive. They offer options that can fit any situation and budget. They have extract speeds, which is really the key to production and energy savings, anywhere from 90 to 450 G-force. Of course the higher the G-force, the higher their cost. But in evaluating washers, you must consider the long-term payback in both production time and utility savings. For example, a 100-G extract machine’s all cotton load will require around 39 minutes to dry in correctly matched dryer to washer while a 450-G extract soft mount washer, the load will dry in around 27 minutes. Those 12 minutes per load, over the course of a day, can make a huge difference in pounds per shift, per person and so on.

There is so much to discuss in relation to the latest in commercial washers and extract speeds. Look forward to future posts where we will examine more closely how these savings work and a bonus benefit – longer linen life due to reduced drying times.

How Well Do You Treat Your Boiler?

I often interrogate dry cleaning and laundry operators about their boiler maintenance procedures, and I typically get interesting and troubling answers.  Here’s how it usually goes:

 

You have a blow down regimen – right?  Oh yeah, we blow it down at least once a week in the afternoon.

 

Do you treat your water?  Umm….no….it’s too expensive.

 

When’s the last time you cleaned your flues and burners?  I didn’t know you needed to do that.

 

So you get the idea.  Proper boiler maintenance is huge - it can save you LOTS of money and headaches.  How?  Water contains impurities that coat the water jacket or tubes in your boiler causing it to need more gas (higher utility bills) to boil the water in order to make steam.  Those impurities also coat the internal water and safety probes causing the pump to fail (think repair costs) and create problems like cutting off on low water safety because it can’t measure the water through continuity.  Properly maintaining your boiler, like blowing it down regularly, not only eliminates the problems I just mentioned but also the ones I haven’t even gotten to.

 

If you’ve been neglecting your boiler, here’s what I recommend:

 

1. Get a chemical company to analyze your water so you know what’s in it.  Using two companies is ideal so you can compare their findings and recommendations.

2. Based on the findings, you can then come up with an appropriate blow down regimen.  Follow it religiously.

3. Consult your owner’s manual for recommended flue and burner cleaning and follow it too!

 

So now your boiler is clean.  Your flues and burners are clean.  Your boiler is running efficiently, as it was designed to do, and the heat can penetrate the metal to get to the water without those impurities slowing the process, ultimately creating more steam at a LOWER utility cost.

 

Not only can you enjoy lower utility costs, you can also increase the life of your boiler.  We like Parker Boilers for their fast start ups, low cost of ownership, and ease of repair.  The average cost to install a boiler is anywhere from $2,800.00 to $4,000.00.  Add in freight in the rage of $700.00 to $3,000.00 depending on size. I haven’t even mentioned the cost of the equipment yet.  Taking all these things into account, doing things like treating your water doesn’t seem so expensive and properly blowing down doesn’t seem so taxing.