Anybody ever use RO/DI filtered water to wash their car?

[SuperBee364]

2800 psi is sometimes be gauged based on a particular spary pattern only, like a straight dot the size of an eraser. I got burned on my craftsman pw that said 3000 psi but it meant using the straight dot pattern. besides i always have it on the lowest setting (saves gas and engine life) what should do the cleaning is agitation and chemicals right???

2800 psi at the nozzle is 2800 psi at the nozzle. What you do with it at that point is what matters.. you can spread that 2800 psi out into a 40 degree pattern, so that it spreads that 2800 psi over more area, or you can put on a pencil tip spray pattern, and put all 2800 psi into a very small dot size area. Either way, both are 2800 psi.



I believe that the main forces at work for cleaning are: Thermal, kinetic, chemical. When I wash a car, I do not touch the paint (99% of the time) at all, so I'm dependent on the pressure washer spray to do the kinetic part for me. If you don't touch the paint, you won't mar it. The entire purpose of using a PW for car washing is the added kinetic cleaning.

Actually the filters only do 75-100 gpd (gallons per DAY). So it would actually take 1-2 DAYS to fill all three of my barrels.



However...it doesn't matter to me because I'd only wash my car(s) once a week at most. And I figure I'd probably use 20-30 gallons per wash. So worst case I wash two cars and use 60 gallons...I'd still have 90 gallons left in my tanks.



And the 60 gallons I used would be replenished within 24 hours...so I'd be ready to wash both my cars again the next day if I wanted to.



But your point is taken, one of the disadvantages of using an RO/DI filter is speed of filtering the water...thus the reason I need the 3 barrels of buffer (plus a dual purpose of water storage in my situation).



So that is one advantage to a CRspotless system. You basically have all the instant filtered water available immediately to you.

I'm still very jealous of your setup. I'd trade my CRSpotless for it any day. It sounds like the ultimate car wash setup, really.

 

[SuperBee364]

SuperBee364- Thanks for that link...it's sure a well-done presentation- informative, straight-forward seeming, easy enough to follow.



Guess the disposal wouldn't be a huge issue in my case, I'd just put it down the utility-tub sink.



That said, there's no way I can see myself going through that...just doing the bulk-resin thing is enough of a hassle for me. For somebody with a different hassle/expense viewpoint I can see it being a great way to save money though. Hope anybody trying it uses the proper safety gear, that stuff is nothing to fool around with.

I hear ya. I'm currently trying to get a very large quantity in bulk to bring the price down below CRSpotless's price per cubic foot.

 

[blk45]

I hear ya. I'm currently trying to get a very large quantity in bulk to bring the price down below CRSpotless's price per cubic foot.

Keep us posted on this SB.

 

[YankeeFan]

...just doing the bulk-resin thing is enough of a hassle for me.

:har:......too funny.......



Howard

 

[SuperBee364]

Keep us posted on this SB.

You betcha. I'm hoping to buy 5 cubic feet (that is a lot of resin), and selling three or four cubic feet at my cost.



So far, no one wants to even talk to me about bulk pricing unless I agree to buy a minimum of 5 cubic feet.



After *much* research on this, I've kinda changed my tune about CRSpotless's pricing on both their machines and their resins.



Without getting any bulk pricing, putting an actual CRSpotless DIC-20 together from parts *without* a cart, would cost about 300 bucks. Costco sells the DIC-20 for 370, and they include an entire extra resin set, too. That's about 90 bucks worth of resin. So a home built CRSpotless including all the stuff that the Costco version inlcudes, would run about 400 bucks.



The CRSpotless is very well made, and believe it or not, reasonably priced.



Still hoping to beat their price on the resin, though.



D'oh! sorry for the thread jacking.

 

[bobn4burton]

D'oh! sorry for the thread jacking.

No worries...not too off-topic because my RO/DI filter requires extra DI resin beads as well. Infact...I already picked up a 'bulk' supply for my filter. It consists of about two large zip-loc bags full...so maybe a gallon of beads. That should last me for several years!! :woot2:

 

[blk45]

You betcha. I'm hoping to buy 5 cubic feet (that is a lot of resin), and selling three or four cubic feet at my cost.



So far, no one wants to even talk to me about bulk pricing unless I agree to buy a minimum of 5 cubic feet.



After *much* research on this, I've kinda changed my tune about CRSpotless's pricing on both their machines and their resins.



Without getting any bulk pricing, putting an actual CRSpotless DIC-20 together from parts *without* a cart, would cost about 300 bucks. Costco sells the DIC-20 for 370, and they include an entire extra resin set, too. That's about 90 bucks worth of resin. So a home built CRSpotless including all the stuff that the Costco version inlcudes, would run about 400 bucks.



The CRSpotless is very well made, and believe it or not, reasonably priced.



Still hoping to beat their price on the resin, though.



D'oh! sorry for the thread jacking.

I went through the same process of trying to put together a "cheap" version, and finally gave up and bought the CR.



I would be interested in buying some if you can get a good price on it. Let me know.

 

[ezemsm444]

Actually the filters only do 75-100 gpd (gallons per DAY). So it would actually take 1-2 DAYS to fill all three of my barrels.



However...it doesn't matter to me because I'd only wash my car(s) once a week at most. And I figure I'd probably use 20-30 gallons per wash. So worst case I wash two cars and use 60 gallons...I'd still have 90 gallons left in my tanks.



And the 60 gallons I used would be replenished within 24 hours...so I'd be ready to wash both my cars again the next day if I wanted to.



But your point is taken, one of the disadvantages of using an RO/DI filter is speed of filtering the water...thus the reason I need the 3 barrels of buffer (plus a dual purpose of water storage in my situation).



So that is one advantage to a CRspotless system. You basically have all the instant filtered water available immediately to you.

I feel so stupid of course it was gpd. I didn't realize what I had typed, sorry man.

 

[ezemsm444]

2800 psi at the nozzle is 2800 psi at the nozzle. What you do with it at that point is what matters.. you can spread that 2800 psi out into a 40 degree pattern, so that it spreads that 2800 psi over more area, or you can put on a pencil tip spray pattern, and put all 2800 psi into a very small dot size area. Either way, both are 2800 psi.



I believe that the main forces at work for cleaning are: Thermal, kinetic, chemical. When I wash a car, I do not touch the paint (99% of the time) at all, so I'm dependent on the pressure washer spray to do the kinetic part for me. If you don't touch the paint, you won't mar it. The entire purpose of using a PW for car washing is the added kinetic cleaning.









I'm still very jealous of your setup. I'd trade my CRSpotless for it any day. It sounds like the ultimate car wash setup, really.

Wow so you can wash a car without touching it, what about the stuck on stuff? When i bought the pressure washer i had assumed that it would do 2800 psi in a 40 degree pattern just as powerful as the pencil tip but since the pressure divides i guess i would have needed a stronger pressure washer for that.

 

[jet_m3]

I got the crspotless about 3 years ago but only used it less than ten times. You guys think the refills are worth the cost or should I just sell the unit? Our water is pretty hard but car doesn't have much water left on it at the drying stage.

 

[the other pc]

... But I can't help but think how an RO systems produces *so* much waste water....

I always figured that if I set up an RO system in the garage I’d plumb the waste out to the yard, maybe even add a booster pump and sprinklers.





PC.

 

[SuperBee364]

Wow so you can wash a car without touching it, what about the stuck on stuff? When i bought the pressure washer i had assumed that it would do 2800 psi in a 40 degree pattern just as powerful as the pencil tip but since the pressure divides i guess i would have needed a stronger pressure washer for that.

Yeah.. other than a few test areas, my car hasn't been polished with an abrasive for over a year. I have done a few ONR washes, but 90% of my washes are completely touch free. I have zero swirling or paint marring because of this. It took me quite a while (and more cash than I'd care to divulge in case my wife reads this) to develop a completely touch free wash that works. The pressure washer is definitely a requirement, though.

I got the crspotless about 3 years ago but only used it less than ten times. You guys think the refills are worth the cost or should I just sell the unit? Our water is pretty hard but car doesn't have much water left on it at the drying stage.

I bet you wouldn't have any problem at all selling it.

I always figured that if I set up an RO system in the garage I’d plumb the waste out to the yard, maybe even add a booster pump and sprinklers.





PC.

PC, that is a great idea. RO waste water would be put to good use. If I ever do an RO system, I'll be watering the lawn with the waste water.

 

[jb1]

Another vote for bulk resin. I actually just PMed Supe about bulk resin before I even read this thread. So all we need is mixed bed resin or is there more to it than that?

 

[ezemsm444]

Yeah.. other than a few test areas, my car hasn't been polished with an abrasive for over a year. I have done a few ONR washes, but 90% of my washes are completely touch free. I have zero swirling or paint marring because of this. It took me quite a while (and more cash than I'd care to divulge in case my wife reads this) to develop a completely touch free wash that works. The pressure washer is definitely a requirement, though.

What stuff do you use and how, or is it a secret???

 

[SuperBee364]

What stuff do you use and how, or is it a secret???

I can't keep a secret.. Just ask blk45.



I've just posted about it so many times that I think the regulars around here would shoot me if I posted yet another time about my touch free wash method.

 

[SuperBee364]

Another vote for bulk resin. I actually just PMed Supe about bulk resin before I even read this thread. So all we need is mixed bed resin or is there more to it than that?

I think that pretty much any mixed bed resin will work. Some of the pharmaceutical grade resins get really pricey in a real hurry, though. As of now, I still can't find a way to beat Costco's price on the resin.

 

[jb1]

I think that pretty much any mixed bed resin will work. Some of the pharmaceutical grade resins get really pricey in a real hurry, though. As of now, I still can't find a way to beat Costco's price on the resin.

Supe,

Do you remember the price you got on 5 cubic feet? Yeah, I saw while I was browsing that we don't need "too" good of a grade, but good enough for purified water.

 

[SuperBee364]

I'm still waiting for that guy to return my message.



I'll keep after this as much as I can. Maybe if there's enough interest we can ask DavidB if it's OK to organize a group buy. The more we buy, the better the bulk pricing.

 

[jb1]

I'm still waiting for that guy to return my message.



I'll keep after this as much as I can. Maybe if there's enough interest we can ask DavidB if it's OK to organize a group buy. The more we buy, the better the bulk pricing.

Excellent - thanks for the info!

 

[jet_m3]

I bet you wouldn't have any problem at all selling it.

Thanks Sb, is there a more cost effective solution to getting the replacement filters/resin from cr directly? I've been following your posts (and rydawg's) regarding jeweling and what not, good stuff. Now if only ryan would respond to my pm! :lol