By: David Howard

Motor controls driving your local car wash

Taking your car to the local car wash can be a fun experience, especially if you have kids with you. For some reason, kids love to ride through car washes. Of course, the real reward is a quickly cleaned car at the end of the tunnel. But what most people fail to consider is all the technology that goes into making and keeping a modern car wash running. There is significant electrical maintenance performed at car washes to help keep things operating smoothly. Electrical contractors depend upon their local electrical wholesaler to have the right products on the shelf for those quick repairs.

Motor controls abound in a car wash system.

From the roller-based conveyors to modern belt drives, a car wash is a complex mechanical system driven by various motors. Hydraulic motors move the brush, spray, and blower arms while other motors spin the brushes and control the flow of water. It's a whirlwind of activity that cleans your car - and amuses the kids.

Electrical contactors control these motors, starting and stopping them on demand, and managing the flow of power. The ability of electrical-mechanical contactors to handle either DC or AC current, high voltages, along with the ability to work in harsh environments, makes them the perfect solution for car wash applications.

A ballet of electromagnetic controlled mechanical systems

So the next time you stop by the local car wash and you're traveling through the tunnel; as the soap lathers your car, and brushes buff away the road debris, and your kids giggle and laugh...remember to pause and appreciate that the orchestrated movements are controlled, in large part, by electrical contacts...opening and closing...hundreds of times a day. Or, simply sit back with the kids and enjoy the show.