CharlieS
06-04-2003, 04:13 AM
I just went up to Wascomat for their level II service seminar. (Great, by the way, highly recommended). Since I am in the market for a few used washers, I decided to haul my trailer and drop in on NY Laundry. Like most of you, I have read their ads. The few references I have received is mixed. Generally, there is a question as to how good the equipment really is, and how good a job do they really do on rebuilding the Gen 4 washers. Do they really replace the bearings if they seem tight? How thorough is the job?
I had talked with "Steve" (really Joe Jr, Joe's son, who uses the phone name of Steve because customers confuse him with his dad otherwise), who had offered a pretty decent deal on some used Gen 5 3 phase machines. However, I had not told him I was coming, only calling for directions about 15 minutes out. In addition, we had discussed the used Gen 5, not the rebuilt Gen 4.
Upon arriving, Steve gave us a complete and thorough tour of the entire facility. We went through literally every inch, and looked at all of the equipment. Its a small operation, with Joe and Steve, plus 3 mechanics. Essentially, they buy out stores, closing for a variety of reasons, and resell the equipment, repairing as obviously needed, or rebuilding. The whole operation is out of a small lot, with about 6 or 7 storage trailers, and about 3,000 square feet of office, shop, and additional storage. Getting there is a bit of a bear, but is within about 15 minutes of JFK and the Wascomat facility, out on Long Island.
The Rebuilds - First, some background. I'm a licensed aircraft mechanic, highly mechanical, and used to inspecting equipment for possible damage and problems which are unknown, as well as highly critical of the quality of work. The being said, I was very impressed with the quality of the Gen 4 rebuilds. It is important to understand what they do and don't do, and what is reasonable to expect. The old equipment is very obvious, and shows its wear and tear. The rebuild final product shows a significant amount of effort in refurbishing these machines.
Essentially, they remove the drum, replace the bearings, clean and repaint the bearing housing and rear drive pulleys. They clean the drums, remove, clean and reseal the rear drum cover. While these are out, they clean and sand the side and front panels, and remove the corrosion from the frame, as much as possible. Then they repaint all of these. The top front operating panel is removed, cleaned, sanded, painted, new decals, new sight glass, etc. The stainless steel tops (and fronts if applicable, the ones we saw were all stainless fronts) are sanded clean. The coin boxes are removed, along with the coin mechs, and that area is cleaned and repainted. The electronics tray is removed, cleaned, sanded and painted, as are the cross frame members. The soap box liner is replaced unless very clean, (I didn't even realize these had a liner until I saw them) but the soap box itself is usually repaired and rehung with new hangers. The rear panel is not touched, other than minor cleaning. All electrics in the tray are reinstalled, and the wiring cleaned up. Timers, motors, water valves, fill valves, door locks, delay circuits, relays, door glass, door hinges, etc. are all reused unless bad. The drain valve is cleaned up and the mounting bracket replaced as needed (it usually is) I don't know how thoroughly the wiring is checked, but it is well organized, usually tie wrapped, and looks good. According to them, all units are then run and checked. We couldn't verify that, since none were in that process stage, but it seems reasonable.
I carefully inspected all of the 124 rebuilds. There were lots of W74s, but I didn't spend any time with them. It was pretty clear that on all, that the drums had been removed, and the entire bearing area completely worked over. They insisted that bearings are always replaced, and my inspection of the end product would support that, short of actually removing the bearings. All were tight with no play.
All in all, I was very impressed with the quality of the rebuild. I don't know if a primer was used on the metal, or the quality of the paint, but these are carefully worked over, not just a bunch of spray paint over rust. The entire job looked like it was well done, with considerable care and consistency. It is important to recognize that these are nonetheless 15 year old machines, with many older components, that might fail the first day you get them. But overall, they have done a very adequate job of refurbing this equipment, and it looks great.
Next - Used Equipment
Tell them you saw them on Coinwash.com
I had talked with "Steve" (really Joe Jr, Joe's son, who uses the phone name of Steve because customers confuse him with his dad otherwise), who had offered a pretty decent deal on some used Gen 5 3 phase machines. However, I had not told him I was coming, only calling for directions about 15 minutes out. In addition, we had discussed the used Gen 5, not the rebuilt Gen 4.
Upon arriving, Steve gave us a complete and thorough tour of the entire facility. We went through literally every inch, and looked at all of the equipment. Its a small operation, with Joe and Steve, plus 3 mechanics. Essentially, they buy out stores, closing for a variety of reasons, and resell the equipment, repairing as obviously needed, or rebuilding. The whole operation is out of a small lot, with about 6 or 7 storage trailers, and about 3,000 square feet of office, shop, and additional storage. Getting there is a bit of a bear, but is within about 15 minutes of JFK and the Wascomat facility, out on Long Island.
The Rebuilds - First, some background. I'm a licensed aircraft mechanic, highly mechanical, and used to inspecting equipment for possible damage and problems which are unknown, as well as highly critical of the quality of work. The being said, I was very impressed with the quality of the Gen 4 rebuilds. It is important to understand what they do and don't do, and what is reasonable to expect. The old equipment is very obvious, and shows its wear and tear. The rebuild final product shows a significant amount of effort in refurbishing these machines.
Essentially, they remove the drum, replace the bearings, clean and repaint the bearing housing and rear drive pulleys. They clean the drums, remove, clean and reseal the rear drum cover. While these are out, they clean and sand the side and front panels, and remove the corrosion from the frame, as much as possible. Then they repaint all of these. The top front operating panel is removed, cleaned, sanded, painted, new decals, new sight glass, etc. The stainless steel tops (and fronts if applicable, the ones we saw were all stainless fronts) are sanded clean. The coin boxes are removed, along with the coin mechs, and that area is cleaned and repainted. The electronics tray is removed, cleaned, sanded and painted, as are the cross frame members. The soap box liner is replaced unless very clean, (I didn't even realize these had a liner until I saw them) but the soap box itself is usually repaired and rehung with new hangers. The rear panel is not touched, other than minor cleaning. All electrics in the tray are reinstalled, and the wiring cleaned up. Timers, motors, water valves, fill valves, door locks, delay circuits, relays, door glass, door hinges, etc. are all reused unless bad. The drain valve is cleaned up and the mounting bracket replaced as needed (it usually is) I don't know how thoroughly the wiring is checked, but it is well organized, usually tie wrapped, and looks good. According to them, all units are then run and checked. We couldn't verify that, since none were in that process stage, but it seems reasonable.
I carefully inspected all of the 124 rebuilds. There were lots of W74s, but I didn't spend any time with them. It was pretty clear that on all, that the drums had been removed, and the entire bearing area completely worked over. They insisted that bearings are always replaced, and my inspection of the end product would support that, short of actually removing the bearings. All were tight with no play.
All in all, I was very impressed with the quality of the rebuild. I don't know if a primer was used on the metal, or the quality of the paint, but these are carefully worked over, not just a bunch of spray paint over rust. The entire job looked like it was well done, with considerable care and consistency. It is important to recognize that these are nonetheless 15 year old machines, with many older components, that might fail the first day you get them. But overall, they have done a very adequate job of refurbing this equipment, and it looks great.
Next - Used Equipment
Tell them you saw them on Coinwash.com