Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Frequently Asked Questions about StingRay Industrial Parts Washers or MART Power Washers

We try to anticipate questions you might have about our StingRay Parts Washer and MART Parts Washer PRODUCTS / SERVICE and provide the answers here. Many of the answers apply to other types of industrial parts washers. If you need additional information please send an email to marct@martwash.com

1. How do I find the serial number of my StingRay Parts Washer or MART Parts Washer?

The serial number of both a StingRay Parts Washer and a MART Power Washer is located in several places depending on when your machine was built. Serial numbers are 4-digit numbers. Machines manufactured after 1997 have an engraved nameplate located in the lower left corner on the face of the electrical control panel. This name plated lists the PWO# which is the serial number. It is important to have this number whenever contacting MART Tech Services for replacement parts or technical assistance. MART Tech Services maintains a database of all StingRay Parts Washers and MART Power Washers by serial number. This database has the part numbers and configuration of your parts washer at the time it was constructed as well as the history records of any repairs made.

Another place to check for the serial number, if your MART parts washer is older, is on the inside of the electrical control panel. Look for a small white label on the face of the white back panel that has a 4 digit number. This is your parts washer serial number. Additional, there is an inspection tag on the inside of the electrical control panel door that should have the serial number hand written on it.

 If you still can not find your serial number inside the electrical control panel try looking outside on the main door frame of the machine. Check at the very top of the left door frame. To do this open the door of your washer and look for a steel stamped number on the face of the door frame about 1" below the top of the frame.

If you can not find your serial number it is still possible to find your parts washer records at MART Tech Services. Please provide as much information about your washer as possible. Start with the diameter of your turntable and the size of the washer main pump motors. Note if there are two pumps or one pump. Also determine what type of heating system your washer uses - gas, electric or steam. These clues will help our Technicians find your master parts washer records

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2. My StingRay Parts Washer or MART Parts Washer won't start. I have water in the parts washer and power connected to the parts washer. What should I do?

Check the following things:

1. Open and close the door and try again. The StingRay parts washer and MART parts washer both have a safety circuit to check that the door limit switch functions. This circuit requires that the switch be cycled after each wash load.
2. If your parts washer has a single pump make sure the compressed air is turned on.
3. Make sure that the solution level is correct. The parts washer will not start unless there is enough water to protect the pump and the heating system. To check: have someone hold the float rod all the way up on the solution level control box and then try pressing the start button. If the parts washer starts then your water level is too low.
4. Make sure the door is completely closed and that the door limit switch is closed. Check that the arm that pushes the limit switch is closing the limit switch.
5. An overload may have tripped and needs to be reset. Check the overloads by pressing the turntable drive jog button - if the turntable jogs then look for another cause as none of the overloads are the problem.

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3. My StingRay Parts Washer or MART Parts Washer starts but shuts off quickly or shuts down before the end of a cycle. I can restart the parts washer but it does the same thing. Check the following:

1. If your StingRay or MART parts washer has compressed air to power the start-up preheat system make sure that you have sufficient pressure and flow. The circuit requires a minimum of 60 PSI pressure and enough volume to not drop out the safety pressure switch. Many times a quick disconnect air line is too restrictive to supply the required volume.
2. Your StingRay parts washer or MART power washer may be running too low of a solution level. Check and make sure that the solution level is correct. To do this open the solution level control box and look at the two limit switches riding on the cam. These switches control the water input and shut down the machine if the level is too low. Check the operation of these two switches and the cam. There is complete information in the StingRay Parts Washer and MART Power Washer operating manual regarding adjustment and setting of these switches. See Product Registration section 3.2.8 Water-Level Control System and Product Registration  section 2.3.

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4. I need a MSDS for Power-Kleen parts washer chemical soap.

StingRay and MART parts washer Power-Kleen chemical and soaps MSDS are available on-line.

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5. I need to know the proper mix ratio for Power Kleen parts washer chemical. I need to know how much chemical to put into my parts washer.

Visit our Wash Chemicals page and select your chemical from the table to determine the proper recommended mix ratio for your particular chemical. To determine the amount of cleaning chemical you need to add you can use our chemical concentration calculator in the SUPPORT section or find the volume of your parts washer reservoir and multiply it by the recommended mix ratio. The volume of the parts washer reservoir for StingRay Parts Washers is listed on the nameplate attached to the face of the control enclosure. MART machines manufactured after 1996 the volume is also listed on the nameplate attached to the lower left corner on the face of the electrical control panel. For machines manufactured before 1996 please call us. For more information on chemicals and the MART Tech Power Kleen technology visit our chemicals section

If you are adding cleaning chemicals to a parts washer to boost the cleaner you will need to perform a titration test to determine the current amount of cleaner in the parts washer. Instructions for performing a titration test for each of the MART Tech parts cleaning chemicals is on our titration instructions page.

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6. How do I determine what pump parts I need?

You need to determine the horsepower and is on your pump. If you have a 10 horsepower pump see the Power Washer 10hp Pump Operation & Maintenance Manual in our support section. If you have a 20 horsepower or larger pump you need to determine which type of pump frame you have. There are two frames for MART pumping systems, 12V or 1530. You also need to know if you have one pump or two pumps. All StingRay parts washers use the 1530 frame.

The easiest way to determine the frame type is to look at the pictures below, find the bearing cap and count the bolt holes on the upper pump frame bearing cap: The 12V frame has 4 holes, The 1530 frame has 8 Holes

General StingRay and MART parts washer Pump components parts

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7. What is the best way to clean out my StingRay parts washer or MART power washer?

The best tool to help clean out your industrial parts washer is a MART tech sludge pump. It has high solids capability so it will not clog with sludge and junk from the industrial parts washer reservoir. It can handle the alkaline solutions without damage.

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8. How do I know when my industrial parts washer nozzles need to be changed?

Three out of four times you can't see the conditions that cause spray nozzle problems in your parts washer. Clogging, caking and wear can often take place internally and may not be visually apparent. Improper re-assembly and misalignment after cleaning can pose problems too. Misapplied Teflon sealing tape on spray nozzles threads can clog wash nozzles. Parts washer nozzles that are not aligned properly in a parallel arrangement can interfere with each other wasting impact pressure and cleaning energy. Also, damage can occur accidentally due to damage from slamming parts during loading or washing into the wash machine nozzles.

Parts washer Spray nozzle maintenance and inspection frequency depends on a number of factors including the washing application, the chemicals used and soils removed. MART tech recommends that a visual inspect for clogging or damage be performed every week your parts washer is operated. A monthly test of the amp draw on the washer main pump motor is recommended to track wear. As wear increases so does the amp draw on the main pump motor. In determining replacement frequency, the cost of the new washer nozzle must be weighed against the costs of wasted electricity and chemicals as well as the deteriorating cleaning results and unexpected shutdowns due to motor overloading. For more information visit our SUPPORT area and read the Service Bulletin about Nozzle wear.

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9.  I am having trouble getting my part or parts clean like I want in my industrial parts washer. What are some things I can do to improve my parts cleaning?

There are many factors that affect the cleaning in a parts washer. These include washing chemical, mechanical energy, wash time and wash temperature. Please see our Service Bulletin on Parts Cleaning Theory as a starting point in resolving your cleaning trouble.

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10.  What are your recommendations for the gas burner flue?

 Our current standard for flue pipe installations and recommendation is to install a gas flue pipe that is 2" inches in diameter larger than the gas flue pipe stub on top of the washer.  This size should remain constant all the way to the outside of your building.  We do not recommend the installation of a draft inducer.  These recommendations are appropriate for gas flue installations that have a minimum of 10 feet and a maximum of 50 feet of total rise with a maximum of 3 or 4 elbows.  If your installation is outside of these parameters then a different size flue may be required.  The thing you are trying to achieve with the flue size, run length, run height and number of elbows is a neutral draft condition.  Remember that a gas flue has a column of hot air rising and this develops a natural draft based on the height of the total rise.   A taller flue pulls more draft than a shorter flue all else being equal.  The size, run length and number of elbows all have frictional losses that act as restrictions to the flow of flue gas.  Ideally the friction is balanced by the draft.  A HVAC guy that knows his stuff should be able to calculate the best size for your specific conditions to achieve a neutral draft.  Our recommendations are based on averages.

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11.  I have a gas burner on my StingRay washer or MART washer.  What are acceptable combustion flue gas readings for the parts washer?

A flue gas analysis that shows more than 200 PPM (parts per million) of CO (carbon monoxide) is very bad.  CO is a killer, CO is invisible, odorless and deadly.  A little will harm people and a lot will kill you.  It should be no more than 200 PPM max with less than 50 PPM being the desired amount.  Be sure your flue is sealed and vents to the outside of the building.  When natural gas is burned with air it produces known by-products linked by chemical equations.  When the mixture of gas to air is just right so that there is just enough oxygen to completely burner the gas fuel it is call stoichiometric combustion.  At this balanced condition the flue gas contains CO2 (carbon dioxide), H2O and Nitrogen at known percentages.  The maximum CO2 is about 12% and can never go higher.  If we add more air to the combustion process we end up with less water and CO2 in the exhaust gases and more oxygen.  If we do not add enough air to the combustion process and do not burn all of the gas we end up with the bad stuff,  CO (carbon monoxide).  The CO is produced because there is not enough oxygen to make the CO2. This is why it is always recommended to adjust the combustion process variables so there is a little excess air making sure all of the fuel burned and creating only CO2.  You must have qualified people with the proper measuring equipment adjust the variables of your gas combustion burner.

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12.  When titrating, why diluting the sample doesn't change the titration results:

The sample taken of the reservoir bath is specified to be exactly 12.5 ml .
This sample contains a specific amount of alkaline chemical atoms.
The titration test determines the number of atoms in the sample.
Diluting the sample does not change the number of atoms in the sample.
The titration results measure the number of atoms in the sample regardless of how much the sample is diluted.
Thus, the dilution has no effect on the amount of alkalinity in the reservoir.

For example:

A reservoir contains a 5% solution
When a 12.5 ml sample is taken; this sample has a specific amount of alkaline “gremlins” in it.
Titrating the sample counts the number of “gremlins” in the sample.  The number of “gremlins” in the sample stays the same whether the sample is diluted or not.  Doubling or quadrupling the dilution of the sample does not change the total amount of alkalinity “gremlins”.  Thus when the titration is performed the resulting drop count is the same and the concentration in ounces per gallon of the original solution can be calculated based on the 12.5 ml sample.

Well what if I dilute the original reservoir bath by half.  Won’t the titration be the same?

NO.  If the reservoir bath is diluted by doubling the water then the 12.5 ml sample will contain half as many of the alkalinity ”gremlins” and result in a titration that shows ½ as many gremlins per ml of solution.

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13.  I have a natural gas burner:
            How much flue discharge will I have in cubic feet per hour?
            How much combustion air is required in cubic feet per hour??

By Example: The amount of air required by the gas combustion burner on the StingRay 6048 Parts Washing machine.  This machine ships with a 380,000 BTU/hour capable burner. The amount of air required to burn natural gas is a fixed amount.  Adding in 3% excess air for safe combustion the rule of thumb is that it takes 10 cubic feet of air for every cubic foot of gas.  Unless you know the BTU/cubic foot of natural gas in your area another rule of thumb is to use 1000 BTU/cubic foot.

Abbreviations:
Hr = Hour
CFH = Cubic Feet per Hour
Cu ft = cubic feet

So the things you need to know are:

The burner firing rate - assume burner is adjusted fire at 380,000 BTU/hr
Natural Gas Specific Heat - assume 1000 BTU/Cu ft
Assume 10 CFH of air per CFH of gas

We then have for the flow rate for the fuel and the flue discharge:

FUEL: 380,000/1000 = 380 CFH of gas

FLUE EXHAUST: 380 CFH gas * 10 cu ft of air/cu ft of gas = 3800 CFH of air.

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14. Is it practical to reclaim the exhausted steam?  For instance with a secondary heat exchanger and then drain back the cleaning solutions. Will this save energy?

You could capture the heat but if you drain back the water you will significantly shorten the rinse.  The detergents don't go up the steam exhaust only the water does. Detergents are like salt - they are dissolved in the water and don't vaporize at the machine operating temperature so only the water evaporates.

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15. Why doesn't adding the rinse water as make-up water to my parts washer reservoir dilute the cleaning detergent in the reservoir?

Great question about rinse water dilution.  The rinse water does NOT dilute the chemical concentration in the parts washer reservoir. Wash detergents are made up of alkaline salts and they act and behave like plain old table salt.  Put a tablespoon of salt in a pot with a gallon of water and boil all of the water out.  The salt remains.  Add another gallon of water and you still have the same concentration of salt in the water as when you started.  Exactly the same thing happens in the Power Washer.  The rinse water not only rinses the parts but also replaces the water in the reservoir lost to evaporation.  The StingRay rinse doesn't dilute the cleaning chemical. Your cleaning chemical is mainly used up by combining with the grease and oil that washes off of your parts. Using rinse water as make-up water is very efficient and that's what makes the StingRay parts washer a closed loop zero discharge system.

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MART Tech Services
2450 Adie Road, Suite 100
Maryland Heights, MO 63043

Phone: (314) 567-3705
Fax: (314) 567-6318
Toll Free: (800) 543-6278
Email: service@marttechservices.com