D & S HOLDS FIRST ODYSSEY SCHOOL



St. Louis, MO. - - D & S Car Wash Equipment Co. held their first training program for the Odyssey Soft Touch on July 26th & 27th, 2006 at HTE Technologies in Maryland Heights, MO. New Odyssey carwash owners and D & S distributors from across the U.S. were in attendance for the 2-day course, which covered Odyssey operation, maintenance and wash level programming.

If you were new to car washing or if you were an experienced carwash distributor you would have benefited from the first ever, Odyssey training. The Odyssey is D & S latest in-bay automatic and one of the newest soft touch systems to hit the carwash industry. Not only does the Odyssey provide a very high quality wash, but the Odyssey was designed with some very innovative features and cutting edge technology that will surely prove it to become a leader in its class. “I learned a lot about things that did not even pertain to the Odyssey and I have been a carwash distributor for a long time”, said Brian Merz of Midwest Equipment in Satanta, KS.

The first day of training covered the Odyssey’s various modes of wash operation, wash passes and wash recipe control. A review of the wash diagnostics, system troubleshooting and critical faults explanation gave participants a clear understanding of how to interpret the User interface and simplified wash recipe programming, management and system maintenance. During the discussion, specific information explained how the wash performs when the undercarriage is triggered and how the PLC controls the wash when the In-Position treadle is activated. Speakers illustrated the systems intelligence by explaining the sequence of tasks that are performed as each wash begins and they demonstrated the various wash options and settings that can be controlled or changed to the operator’s preference.

During the first day, many operators shared their experiences about the unusual types of vehicles the Odyssey has washed at their locations. The Odyssey regularly washes everything from taxi cabs and police cars to Hummers and stretch limo’s. One operator talked about how a taxi with one of those ad signs on the top of his roof washed in the Odyssey bay and when the top brush came down, it not only washed the top of the cab but it also cleaned the sign.

“I thought the course was very informative and detailed”, exclaimed Mike Hall of Westech Supply in Lubbock, TX. “Understanding the component names and location of the various parts will make the system easier to troubleshoot” said Mike.

Day two topics covered hydraulics, pneumatics, controllers & sensors and the Odyssey chemical delivery system. HTE systems engineers demonstrated various settings and adjustments of the system and gave attendees a hands-on opportunity to roll up their sleeves and really get into the Odyssey. Mike Schlichtman of Bay Wash in Cassville, MO exclaimed having the chance to take apart the various components and see how they work will allow him to reduce his downtime. “Hands-on course”, stated Mike.

Diagrams covering the pneumatic control block were reviewed to help identify the various solenoids and valves of the Odysseys pneumatic system. “What was most beneficial to me was the pneumatic portion of the training”, stated Brent Ross of Better Carwash Supply in Columbia, SC. “What seemed to be a complicated system was made simple to understand. It was really a plus to meet the HTE team, they are a real plus and will benefit D & S”, Brent added.

Later in the day a discussion about chemical control was lead by Warran Mason of D & S to inform attendees how to optimize chemicals and programming options that can be utilized to improve performance and increase overall wash quality. Each participant of the Odyssey Service School received a comprehensive operator’s manual and a detailed explanation of how to utilize it.

“We spent a great deal of time covering the manual because many of the topics and diagrams that were covered during this course are included in our manual”, stated Jerry Canfield of D & S. “The quality of the manual is excellent”, stated Bob Smith of Smith & Company in Pittsfield, IL. “I learned how simple it is to diagnose the Odyssey and it’s all right inside the manual” Bob also said.