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Vehicle Maintenance
Page 79
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When considering the question of chassis and engine cleaning it can be accepted that the only way of achieving 100% cleanliness is by the use of high pressure steam cleaners and that there is no method of doing the job cold which is fully satisfactory. Only if the fleet is very small or if there is no possibility of capital outlay should a cold method of chassis cleaning be considered. For these cases there is a VVICKHAM SPRAY UNIT using GENSOL No. 6 washed off with mains water which does the job as well and as cheaply as any cold method on the market.
If cold degreasing is to be used the standard can be improved by washing off with high pressure water washers. There are two WICKHAM high pressure cold water washers, one known as the TORRENT priced at £185 and the second known as the TORNADO priced at £245. The TORNADO high pressure washer which has a big output can also be used for the general washing over of vehicles and particularly for the removal of mud, clay, etc.
There are some cold water washers on the market which claim to be as effective as steam cleaning because of extremely high pressures. It is a fact, however, that pressure cannot replace heat and that any pressure at the cleaning jet of 500 lbs. p.s.i. or over is dangerous to the operator in the first place and largely wasted in practice because of splashback. This type of pressure washer is usually of foreign manufacture, does not meet British Water Board Regulations and requires to be fed with more water than is generally available. It is advisable to disregard this type of equipment.
Steam cleaning, over a long period of time, has proved itself to be the only certain way of achieving complete physical cleanliness and is also by far the cheapest way of doing the job. Modern machines are fast, fully reliable and comparatively inexpensive to maintain. The lower cost compared with other methods comes from the saving in time and labour which is at least halved. There are three standard INICKHAM steam cleaners, the HANDY DANDY at £250, the UNIVERSAL at £435 and the MAJOR MARK II at £765. The choice should be made according to the size of fleet being handled. The HANDY DANDY machine at only £250 is usually fully adequate for the average "C" licence fleet.
There is also a WICKHAM high pressure hot water washer known as the TEMPEST which although not as fast in operation as a steam cleaner is capable of doing all the jobs involved in vehicle maintenance particularly with the delivery van type. The special feature of this machine is where the job must be done with as little water consumption as possible or in a confined space with poor ventilation. No steam vapour is given off by this machine and it is therefore particularly suitable for cleaning the insides of vehicles such as bread or meat carriers, etc. The price of the TEMPEST is £235.
There is a full range of GENSOL detergents and degreasants available to users of INICKHAM machines.
Where big fleets are involved it is advisable for body washing to consider a WICKHAM-VACMOBILE coin operated wash and wax machine priced at £395. Discs instead of coins can be used and in this manner the time taken on the job by drivers can be exactly controlled. The WICKHAM-VACMOBILE wash and wax machine is the best proposition on the market for car washing and the cleaning of vehicle paintwork.
The complete range of WICKHAM machines guarantees the best and most modern answer to every problem of vehicle maintenance. All leading Motor Trade Factors handle WICKHAM products. Also, in this particular field, we can state emphatically that British machines are definitely the best.