What are the advantages and disadvantages of using weep systems versus anti-freeze soap for your foam brush?

When winter arrives, it’s time to think about freeze protection.  For your high-pressure guns, it’s simple -the only option is to weep them.  It gets a little more complicated with foam brush.  You can tie the brushes into the same car wash weep system you use for your guns, or you can change over to anti-freeze detergent when the temperature starts to drop.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Weep Systems

The advantage of weeping the brushes is that you don’t have to switch chemicals when the temperature drops, and you use much less chemical than you would with anti-freeze detergent.

There are a number of disadvantages to weep systems, though. Your water use will obviously be higher. Also, the water that weeps through the brush ends up on the floor, causing problems with ice in your bays which could cause accidents and lawsuits if you don’t have an adequate floor heat system to keep it from freezing. Another disadvantage of weeping is that it causes a delay in your foam brush soap getting to the brush. The weep water in the line has to be pumped out before you see soap in the bay.  Finally, with a weep system, there’s the possibility of a mechanical issue which could result in failure of the weep system leading to a freeze-up.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Anti-Freeze Detergents

One advantage of anti-freeze detergent includes quick delivery of soap to the bay, since you don’t have to wait for the weep water to clear the lines before getting chemical. Another advantage is that using anti-freeze eliminates the problem of the weep water running onto the ground and freezing up in your bays, which in turn means it takes less oil to run your floor heat.  Additionally, you for the most part, do away with the possibility of equipment failure leading to freezing.

The biggest disadvantage of car wash anti-freeze detergent is the chemical cost. You will go through anti-freeze soap much faster than with your normal foam brush soap. Another disadvantage is it’s somewhat more hands-on than weeping. If you want to avoid using more chemical than necessary, you must change the metering tip in your proportioner as the temperature drops.