Specialty Marine describes how Omegasonics improved their marine carburetor repair service while saving money on cleaning costs.
BUSINESS TYPE:
✓Marine engine sales and repairs
PART/PRODUCT CLEANED:
✓Carburetors
SUBSTANCE(S) REMOVED:
✓Fuel varnishes, Particulate matter, Rust
OMEGA CHEMISTRY USED:
✓OmegaClean
OMEGASONICS SYSTEM USED:
✓Omegasonics 4775
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY CREATED:
✓Increased carburetor cleaning business due to customer satisfaction with results
MONEY/TIME SAVED:
✓Approximate 50% time savings when cleaning multiple carburetors
✓Elimination of aerosol solvents
✓Increased personnel safety
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A Sea Change for a Shop Owner
In 2002, Eric Peterson opened Specialty Marine in Oxnard, CA, about fifty miles north of Los Angeles. Before going into business for himself, Eric worked as an air quality engineer.
Oxnard was a good choice for his shop. The seaside town looks out at California’s Channel Islands with numerous desert and mountain lakes an easy drive away. Eric’s mainstay is selling and repairing marine engines, including Yamaha and Honda lines.
Offseason is a Messy Business
It can be said that a boat’s owner and engine are happiest on the water. The offseason can take an especially heavy toll on carburetors that sit idle. Fuel, sometimes mixed with water, thickens into a varnish that gums up the carburetor passages.
Cleaning clogged jets and air passages is a rite of a new boating season and a major portion of Specialty Marine’s business. Approximately 40% of the engines repaired need their dirty carbs scoured.
Getting Blown Away
At first, Eric and his staff used aerosol solvents to clean carburetors. They sprayed chemicals into carburetor passages and parts and followed up with blasts of compressed air to push out the residue.
The process was conducted over open trash barrels to catch the dirty, oily mist discharged from the carburetors. “I didn’t need 14 years in air quality management to know aerosol solvents were an environmental mess,” Eric confirmed.
Not only did the aerosol solvents affect breathing and skin, they also represented an eye hazard if the spray shot backward due to any carburetor misalignments when injecting the solvent.
Omegasonics 4775 to the Rescue
Eric found a superior way to clean when he went to a dealer trade show and stopped by the Omegasonics’ booth. There he saw the Omegasonics 4775, a tabletop unit with a 7.75 gallon capacity.
“I knew it was the answer right there,” Eric confirmed. “We clean a lot of carburetors and were definitely looking for a better way to go.” For his cleaning solution, he chose OmegaClean, an Omega Chemistry product that removes oil, grease, carbon, and contaminants from a variety of metals. OmegaClean’s buffers protect aluminum finishes and its silicates guard against flash rusting.
Quality Enhanced, Time Reduced
Eric immediately found multiple benefits to using Omegasonics. “When you’re cleaning a carburetor manually, there’s always the chance you’ll miss something. The Omegasonics 4775 doesn’t miss a thing,” he said. The Omegasonics 4775 thoroughness has virtually eliminated carburetors that require re-cleaning due to something missed the first time.
Doing a better job takes less time with the Omegasonics 4775. “We can put a number of dirty carburetors into the ultrasonic cleaner at the same time. That way we can complete repairs for more customers in less time,” Eric explained. Eric estimates a 50% reduction in cleaning time when he has several carburetors to clean during one shift.
Customers Notice and Pay for the Difference
“The Omegasonics 4775 cleans the entire carburetor, inside and out. When we were cleaning manually, we would only worry about the inside,” Eric revealed. “Now, when a customer pays for a carburetor cleaning, he gets back a unit that looks brand new. Customers are impressed with the finished product and know they got their money’s worth. That ensures repeat business.”
