Spot Free Water system

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tdrake2406

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Hey guys! I am in the market for a water filtration system so I can use it at my home. I have two cars that I wash every 1-2 weeks and sometimes more if it rains. I would like to purchase a system that could handle that amount and possibly a little bit more. I am not looking to build a system, just purchase a premade one. Any help would be greatly appreciated and thank you ahead of time.
 
I've looked into this in the past and sounds awesome. How often do you typically need to change the resin and filter? How many washes with a pressure washer could I expect?
 
jarred767 said:
I've looked into this in the past and sounds awesome. How often do you typically need to change the resin and filter? How many washes with a pressure washer could I expect?
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I've had mine for 2yrs, this will be my 3rd year and I've yet to replace mine. The meter on it shows you when to replace it. I'm likely due this summer and already have my stash ready in case.

All depends on flow rate. I have a setting on sprayer that came with mine and it puts out about 2.5gals per minute and it takes me about 1-2 minutes or just a bit less to give my car a full final rinse using this water. I work fast when rinsing it for the last time. Can't say how often I wash my car/cars.
 
Please lookup my previous posts on deionized water systems, to get a detailed breakdown of what you are in for. But in short, it is the BEST thing I have ever bought.

Get the CR spotless. AND a pressure washer. You NEED a pressure washer with the cr spotless.

A normal garden hose uses 10-20 gpm of water which would deplete your filter like crazy, in a matter of a few uses. Instead, hook it up like: Spout > Hose > CR spotless > Pressure Washer.

The PW uses only 1.1- 1.7 gpm which cuts water useage to a fraction. I've had my unit for 6+ months of many many washes, and still dont have to replace the resin.

Final word of advice is to buy the resin in bulk from windows101. You will get 1 cubic feat for 150 shipped and will last you at least 3 years, if not much longer.

I NEVER dry my cars by hand any more, I just use the deionized system and it saves my a ton of drying rags\time\work PLUS keeps my finish from being scratched.

Win win totally worth it
 
pdqgp said:
I've had mine for 2yrs, this will be my 3rd year and I've yet to replace mine. The meter on it shows you when to replace it. I'm likely due this summer and already have my stash ready in case.

All depends on flow rate. I have a setting on sprayer that came with mine and it puts out about 2.5gals per minute and it takes me about 1-2 minutes or just a bit less to give my car a full final rinse using this water. I work fast when rinsing it for the last time. Can't say how often I wash my car/cars.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, that's great to hear. Wonder how long it lasts when washing 1-2 cars a day? Is the added expense worth the time saved from drying?

QuickCln said:
Please lookup my previous posts on deionized water systems, to get a detailed breakdown of what you are in for. But in short, it is the BEST thing I have ever bought.

Get the CR spotless. AND a pressure washer. You NEED a pressure washer with the cr spotless.

A normal garden hose uses 10-20 gpm of water which would deplete your filter like crazy, in a matter of a few uses. Instead, hook it up like: Spout > Hose > CR spotless > Pressure Washer.

The PW uses only 1.1- 1.7 gpm which cuts water useage to a fraction. I've had my unit for 6+ months of many many washes, and still dont have to replace the resin.

Final word of advice is to buy the resin in bulk from windows101. You will get 1 cubic feat for 150 shipped and will last you at least 3 years, if not much longer.

I NEVER dry my cars by hand any more, I just use the deionized system and it saves my a ton of drying ragstimework PLUS keeps my finish from being scratched.

Win win totally worth it
Click to expand...

Thanks I really appreciated that! I read through your other thread too and theres great content in there. I feel like now that I have a shop and the ability to have one of these wall mounted, it's almost a no brainer (there wouldn't have been room in my HHR for the cart mounted one). If I'm washing 1-2 cars/trucks a day, using a pressure washer that has a GPM of 1.4 and use it only for final rinses, what might you estimate the longevity of the DIW-20 might be before I need to replace the resin?

Really appreciate the tips and advice, this could make washing and drying so much easier and quicker, just let the exterior dry on it's own while I detail the interior:dblthumb2:
 
It all depends on your water hardness. In SOCAL its like 450ppm, in arizona it may be worse. Just depends. The water hardness + gpm rating determine resin consumption.

I did all those calculations for a diyer for home cars. If you run a shop, I would use DI water for everything except for the buckets. I would fill the buckets with reg water but do all of the snow foam and rinse downs with DI water.

Good luck. Just buy the cr and a pressure washer and you wont regret it.
 
Been looking into the CR Spotless system for a while now. The cost is the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger. Anyone here rig up their own filtration and water softener setup?
 
What about just getting a whole house filter & softener system?
 
98LowRanger said:
Been looking into the CR Spotless system for a while now. The cost is the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger. Anyone here rig up their own filtration and water softener setup?
Click to expand...

I would love a CR Spotless setup, but living in a condo & in a county where water usage is heavily monitored means it's out of the question. Since I'm but a weekend warrior, a faucet filtration system is the best option. I have a Culligan FM-15A. For around $20, I get approx 200 gal of filtered water between cycles ($13 for a replacement cartridge). So far it's working quite well for my needs.
 
Ok guys, correct me if I am wrong, but I want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. Most of these de-ionization systems consist of two canisters. One appears to be just a filter and the other contains the resin. I have a filter under my house, but what if I mounted another filter right after my water spigot. Leave it hooked up all the time (so water for my wash buckets as well as water for rinsing all gets filtered again) as filters are less costly as resin. Then from the filter, a hose goes to a portable resin filter that I only attach inline (right before my pressure washer) during rinsing. Will this system work well?
 
I will be purchasing the CR system myself in the coming weeks.

Just a suggestion for when not using a hose and bucket system.
For spotless car washes, use distilled water and a rinseless wash solution of your choice.
Use proper technique immediately followed by a drying towel with some form of drying aid.

YXUrUWdb.jpg
 
Ebg18t said:
What about just getting a whole house filter & softener system?
Click to expand...

Water softeners only exchange ions. Your PPM readings would be virtually the same. De-ionizers pull all minerals out of the water so your PPM is zero. You also don't want to drink deionized water.

BrutalNoodle said:
I would love a CR Spotless setup, but living in a condo & in a county where water usage is heavily monitored means it's out of the question. Since I'm but a weekend warrior, a faucet filtration system is the best option. I have a Culligan FM-15A. For around $20, I get approx 200 gal of filtered water between cycles ($13 for a replacement cartridge). So far it's working quite well for my needs.
Click to expand...

This is for drinking water. It will not remove all minerals from your water and can still spot on the paint surface. It may help a little, but it's not a deionizer

98LowRanger said:
Ok guys, correct me if I am wrong, but I want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. Most of these de-ionization systems consist of two canisters. One appears to be just a filter and the other contains the resin. I have a filter under my house, but what if I mounted another filter right after my water spigot. Leave it hooked up all the time (so water for my wash buckets as well as water for rinsing all gets filtered again) as filters are less costly as resin. Then from the filter, a hose goes to a portable resin filter that I only attach inline (right before my pressure washer) during rinsing. Will this system work well?
Click to expand...

The CR-Spotless uses 2 tanks. Both are identical and filled with resin. The filters on your home are not the same as a deionizer.
 
QuickCln said:
Please lookup my previous posts on deionized water systems, to get a detailed breakdown of what you are in for. But in short, it is the BEST thing I have ever bought.

Get the CR spotless. AND a pressure washer. You NEED a pressure washer with the cr spotless.

A normal garden hose uses 10-20 gpm of water which would deplete your filter like crazy, in a matter of a few uses. Instead, hook it up like: Spout > Hose > CR spotless > Pressure Washer.

The PW uses only 1.1- 1.7 gpm which cuts water useage to a fraction. I've had my unit for 6+ months of many many washes, and still dont have to replace the resin.

Final word of advice is to buy the resin in bulk from windows101. You will get 1 cubic feat for 150 shipped and will last you at least 3 years, if not much longer.

I NEVER dry my cars by hand any more, I just use the deionized system and it saves my a ton of drying ragstimework PLUS keeps my finish from being scratched.

Win win totally worth it
Click to expand...

This is why the CR-Spotless kit contains a sprayer to attach to the end of your hose. You do not need a pressure washer, you just need a sprayer attachment that reduces flow. A pressure washer is great but it's an added cost some may not want to invest in.

System Requirements:

  • Standard garden hose bib
  • Need to restrict water flow to 4 gallons per minute or less with supplied nozzle on FLAT pattern or optional pressure washer
 
Rasky, it depends. going from 4gpm to 1.7 gpm is a major difference in consumption. You get more than 100% more DI water using a PW than the trigger that comes with the CR. Honestly, any electric pressure washer would do, you can get one for like 120 bucks or less. Its worth it, because it will eventually pay for itself. Plus, you could attach a snowfoam cannon to it later on if your so inclined.

IF you live somewhere where water is soft, it doesn't really matter either way. I live with 450 ppm water, so PW makes a world of difference.

BTW I have actually tried a water softener, but its not the same. It will still leave as many if not more water spots. You need DI-resin, same stuff that window washers use.

Also, you CAN build your own. Its very easy, just buy a big blue house filter and buy an empty canister, fill it up with resin and attach it to your PW\hose.

Problem is that even when you build it yourself, you are saving maybe 80 bucks at best AND you DON't get an inline PPM reader, which is key. That is why you are better off just buying the cr or similar pre-made device.
 
I been wondering, if you use filter system, can I rinse water, let it air dry and still get away with water spot free car?
 
QuickCln said:
Rasky, it depends. going from 4gpm to 1.7 gpm is a major difference in consumption. You get more than 100% more DI water using a PW than the trigger that comes with the CR.
Click to expand...


You will get more than a 100% increase in the amount of TIME the water is exiting the tip if the Pressure Washer.


You will not see an increase in the AMOUNT of water that the unit will process before the PPM is too high.
 
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