Thinking about opening an oil change franchise? Start searching online or speak with a realtor. Location is the number one priority for a fast lube business. A shop should have easy access both in and out, be noticeable with easy to see services and prices.

Another consideration is urban development. Will the oil change franchise receive adequate business? Will traffic be a problem? Is there a street hindrance such as a median or no U-turn nearby which prevents future customers from entering your business or exiting into traffic patterns?

Once a site is established, the shop design is next. There are two ways to design, depending on the city’s building codes and land development: basement or use mechanical lifts to access cars for servicing. Some owners say a full basement is better because lifts slow services, and customers may choose another fast lube instead.

If a basement is used, the designer must decide how many bays the shop will include. Shop owners must research the building size before offering ideas to the building designer. More efficient oil change franchises have multiple bays to service more than one car at a time, offering the ability to service more customers and offer more services. Full basements with catwalks also serve as storage for supplies, bulk oil, cleaning supplies and a break room.

However, to minimize safety hazards, precautions must be installed. Since a basement has open pits, install easy-slide pit covers so customers and employees do not accidentally fall through. The sliding covers are four feet long and slide over each other down to the pit so mechanics need only open the area they are working on. When the automotive service is completed, the covers slide back into place, closing the pit.

Floor type is another safety issue, and should be included in the planning of any oil change franchise. A floor should have rough resistance and have an abrasiveness texture to it. Keeping an organized and clean shop is also just as important. Small spills should be mopped immediately, while a thorough cleaning of the shop should be done every day after business hours.

Convenience and efficiency work hand in hand for the most successful oil change franchises. The flow of traffic in and out of the shop should be an owner’s next consideration. The design of the shop should be convenient for the customer as well as the city traffic. The most efficient and convenient set up is the “one way in, one way out” design. Cars pull into the entrance of the bay and drive out the other side.

After the structure of the oil change franchise is finalized, the next consideration is organization of supplies. Air and oil filters, oil bins and transmission fluids, rags and cleaning supplies can all be stored so it maximizes time on task. Utilizing a basement for all supplies is most efficient. Shelving installed near the mechanics work area will maximize time spent gathering oil and supplies to service the vehicles. Label all shelves with the specific air and oil filter types. This will not only save time for mechanics, but also for restocking items and taking inventory.

Store bulk oil in overhead tanks to pump oil out using gravity; it helps to use all the oil in the tank. Buried tanks tend to waste more oil and need to be filled more often. Tanks that are above ground should have a secondary containment area around it as well.

Although there are many ways to design oil change franchises, efficiency and convenience should be at the top of the list.

Tim LaGanke, Jr. is president of QuickChange Oil, a 10 minute oil change center, with locations across Cleveland, Ohio. QuickChange is currently seeking applicants interested in the oil change franchising business. Please contact LaGanke at gank@quickchangeoil.com for more information.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_LaGanke,_Jr.

I went one step further. I listed everything which would make a perfect engine.

1. Same engine just different sizes for different applications. Generators, food mixers, cement mixers, food blenders, spaceships, lawn mowers, trucks, cars, pick ups, airplanes, boats, no exceptions! Any Brand, any Type.
2. A lot of power, but easily controlled power.
3. Very economical after purchase, no or only a tiny amount of money for upkeep.
4. Easy to work on, Just a few tools.
5. Very small amount of maintenance required.
6. Safe, no or very few moving parts.
7. Safe, nothing radioactive or poisonous.

The engine want list seemed reasonable to me, so I took the next step. I listed everything I did not want on an engine.

1. No fuel-no fuel of any kind, especially not petroleum or propane.
2. No oil-no oil for cooling or lubricating on a massive scale like internal combustion engines. One exception; oil/grease for bearings, a small amount only.
3. No fuel filters, no oil filters, no carburetors or injectors.
4. No pistons, no sleeves, no rubbers, no shims, etc.
5. No radiator, no water cooling system, no antifreeze.
6. No air cleaner, and all that stuff.
7. No transmission.
8. And while I was at it No Clutch.

I was very pleased with my lists. At the first opportunity I presented my Husband with my lists and told him to build the engine. You must understand, my Husband could do anything.

He quietly read my lists, then burst out laughing. He laughed so hard he threw out a rib vertebra and gave himself a tummy ache.

When he could speak without laughing and giggling, he told me “you need a magnetic engine but they do not have much power”, then “If you design it I will build it.”

So I bought books and designs and spent my spare time for the next two years learning and teaching myself about magnets, motors and engines.

To me the flaw in the designs I came across was obvious. I could see that the designs do not allow the power to escape or to run.

I kept seeing a picture in my mind of the inside of a rifle barrel. The rifling is those spirals cut into the metal of the barrel. The purpose of the rifling/spirals is to spin the bullet, improving it’s trajectory, distance and accuracy.

One day I decided I was ready to design the Magnetic Vortex engine.

The shaft was straight, slightly tapered at both ends, for pressed on bearings. One end was splined for a yoke. The u-joints would mount on this. Drivelines could be extended or a second driveline could be fitted where the transmission and clutch assembly and housing had been or direct, for example, into a generator unit.

In front of the splines was a carrier bearing fitted into one end of a stout housing. The whole housing was a cradle. The rear housing held the bearing and the loops’ guide rods, the bottom was straight, to the joint in the middle of the cradle, you have to separate it to mount the shaft and loops and of course whatever kind of mount receivers you require, to the front end of the housing, which held the bearing and the loops’ guide rods.

The shaft was steel and everything but the loops were steel. The shaft in front of the rear bearing and housing was drilled in a reverse double rifling/spiral and fitted with magnets positive side down. This was for going in reverse. Note; as I found out later, hang the loops before fitting magnets into shaft.

The next portion of the shaft was straight and clear, this was the place the loops “rested” in non-operating mode. Be sure to allow a generous clear area in front and rear of the loops.

In front of this clear area of the shaft was drilled in a forward double rifling/spiral fitted with magnets, positive side down, approximately 4 times the rifling/spirals, 4 times lengthwise the reverse rifling/spiral.

In front of this rifling/spiral area is the front carrier bearing and front housing. In front of this the shaft is cut with key ways for pulleys, for example, alternator, powersteering, etc.

Be careful to balance the yoke weight with the pulley weights to reduce vibrations. The strength of the magnets, the thickness of the shaft, the strength of the housing obviously vary depending on application. Your blender would not require reverse, use your heads people.

Magnets can be made. Use square or round keystock. Cut to lengths that you want the magnets to be. Touch positive to one end and negative to the other end. Just a quick zap. Be careful!

It will work. Not super long life, but it will work and cheaper than other magnets. Use the better quality magnets for moving equipment/vehicles. Magnets depending on quality will last for hundreds, or more, of years.

The loops were made of aluminum, drilled to receive magnets positive side down, towards the shaft, and drilled again to allow allen screws to act as keepers for each magnet.

I used 5 loops just wide enough to securely hold one magnet and keeper. These magnets fitted in all around the inside of the loop/circle. The next loop/circle had the magnets slightly offset from the first loop and so on, like the rifling/spiral inside of a rifle barrel.

The loops were separated by spacers but bolted together as one unit. The loops were hung on guide rods, running from the rear housing to the front housing. The loops were controlled by a push rod lock and set inside the vehicle and by the floor throttle spring.

The push rod lock and set was a rod which (in direct line with the loop guide rods) you push forward to engage forward, brought back to the right to lock/unengage moved further right and back to engage reverse. A simple sideways flattened Z.

The throttle shaft and spring took over once the rod was “unlocked” and engaged forward. If the throttle spring broke, the rod spring would act as a hand throttle. No more runaways!

I made a “quickie” shaft from a wooden dowel and magnets. I drilled the dowel and popped in the magnets. I used packing tape to hold them in place.

I punched holes into aluminum tubing and shoved in the magnets. I did not use any formula, just drilled and stuffed. I did not test my design, so sure was I that it would work.

I presented my plans/designs to my Husband.

He was very quiet and spent over an hour studying them. I then presented him with my demo model.

I had made my shaft and put it in a box, then made the loops and put them in another box. They were flimsy and I did not want them to fall apart.

He had a very strange look on his face and made some unkind remarks. I responded by grabbing the loops with my left hand (thank God my fingers were out of the way) and brought up the shaft.

I had barely gotten the shaft level not even into the loops, almost but not quite and it was gone.

The shaft left a hole slighly more than 1 inch in diameter through the office trailer wall. The loops had grabbed the shaft and pulled it through and shot it out the other side.

My Husband spent the next two days walking and thinking. He would not even talk to me, except to tell me to talk to no one.

Finally he came to me. My Husband said “They will kill us. The only way this can be done is for thousands or better millions of people to know how to do this. They must know all at once, worldwide. There is no way. I will not build the Magnetic Vortex Engine, you will never speak of this again. I forbid you to experiment with this.”

That was twenty years ago, my Husband has passed away. The internet is the answer to the dilemma of how to share this information fast and worldwide.

Take hard copies of this and share it with everyone you know.

I give all patentable rights to all people.

Rhondalyn Teel is a researcher and correlator. Search Rhondalyn Teel on http://www.lulu.com or on Kindle at http://www.amazon.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rhondalyn_Teel