Metro Master Blaster or CR Spotless De-Ionizing Water System: Best Drying Tool?

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imported_samjake

New member
I am trying to decide which drying tool is best and appreciate your input, especially if based on personal knowledge. There is a wealth of postive feedback for both of these tools but I have not located any head-to-head comparison review. Time and money are the primary considerations for me. As for money, the Metro Master Blaster is not cheap but other than an occasional replacement filter, there are no consumables to purchase after the initial investment (aside from mechanical failure/replacement parts and assuming the intended outlet can handle the 19 amps needed to drive both motors). The best CR Spotless system initially costs more than the Master Blaster and the system requires regular and costly resin replacements (system components can also break or wear out for this tool, as well). The Master Blaster appears to be the more economical choice. For me, the real question is which of the two systems gives provides spotless drying faster, assuming the same amount of physical effort is required to use both tools. Thanks.
 
The Master Blaster appears to be the more economical choice. For me, the real question is which of the two systems gives provides spotless drying faster, assuming the same amount of physical effort is required to use both tools.'





CR Spotless







Most economical?

Blaster
 
The CR spotless can still spot on you, its not a fix-all in all cases.



Forced air will improve your efficiency and eliminate "the drips" so while the Metro Blaster isnt compulsory, spending your dollar on something that will help you dry a vehicle completely is a good idea.
 
I have a CRS and an Air Wand. I could get by with just the Air Wand. It's cheaper than a Metro.
 
Yep it's the whole Weed Eater-Air Wand kit. I've had for several months now and I can see why Accumulator favors it. It really does do an impressive job of stripping a car of most of the water. You could follow up with a mini blower like the kind used for motorcycles for seams and door jams,but since my Accord is a coupe,sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. This combo will come very close to eliminating all of the water but AFAIK no blower will eliminate it totally 100% so you do need to follow and finish very briefly with a drying towel. Total drying time is substantially reduced and it makes the washing process even more fun!
 
Between the two I'd go with the forced-air. Not sure if the MetroVac is the perfect solution or not, I use the AirWand and my compressor



I have good/soft enough water that I don't have to use my CRS all that often, but I do use forced-air *every* time I dry. Simply no way to get all the water out of nooks and crannies without it.



With the CRS, you'll still have non-DI water in the nooks and crannies, unless you use DI water for the whole wash, and you'd sure go through resin fast if you did that.
 
autoaesthetica said:
The CR spotless can still spot on you, its not a fix-all in all cases.
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Yup, for sure on that. A CRSpotless removes all the *minerals* in the water, but not all the *particulates*. Running RO water through a CRSpotless (RO water is close to mineral free, but not quite) will get you there, but wow, that would be expensive. I've moved three times in the past two years. Each time, how spotless the CRSpotless would leave my vehicles has changed. At my current house, it's very close to completely spot free, but not quite. The good news is that whatever "spots" it leaves are not mineral based, hence much easier to remove.



Accumulator said:
Between the two I'd go with the forced-air. Not sure if the MetroVac is the perfect solution or not, I use the AirWand and my compressor



I have good/soft enough water that I don't have to use my CRS all that often, but I do use forced-air *every* time I dry. Simply no way to get all the water out of nooks and crannies without it.



With the CRS, you'll still have non-DI water in the nooks and crannies, unless you use DI water for the whole wash, and you'd sure go through resin fast if you did that.
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Yeah, that's for darn sure. In the summer, it's over 100 degrees here, with humidity often times in the single digits. Try washing your car without sections drying on you under *those* conditions! ;) So yeah, I have to use CRSpotless water for the entire wash (which is why I got in to recharging the resin). Unfortunately, I'm cramped for space in the current rental house, so recharging resin is on hold... for now. :)



Honestly, if you want to get the best results drying your car without touching it, get both: a CRS and some sort of forced air drying. You'll be glad you made the investment. I wouldn't give up either one for nuthin'.



The CRSpotless is very handy. Especially when the wife wants the outside windows washed. It's also nice for mixing up ONR and diluting detailing chemicals (QD's, APC's, etc.). I believe costco.com still has the best price on CRS's.
 
I'm gonna have to check out this Air Wand business. first I've read about it. Mainly because I do ONR in my garage, but sometimes I like to do conventional washes when it gets really dirt.
 
I feel the two (forced air and DI filtration) go hand in hand. ....at least it seems to work that way for me.



As Mike (AA) mentioned, even with the CRS you can still get some spotting from crevices/recesses that may drip after the final rinse. While I'm pretty thorough with flushing these problems areas (typically mirrors, door handles, around headlamps, body panel seams, etc.), I found some vehicles can pose their own unique issues. A good example is the tailgate section of my wife's Forester (below the window). Seems I always get two persistent drips of partially unfiltered water that come out from that trim piece no matter how well I attack it with the DI water and blower. The good news is that any water spotting I might get is limited to few areas, is relatively soft and easily wiped away with a QD and plush MF towel.



I don't know about component wear as I haven't had a problem with my CRS DIC-20 after 2 1/2 years of continual use. However, the system really isn't that complex anyhow. ....leakage/seal failure might be the most likely problem but something that seems would easy and cheap enough to address.



As for resin replacement, the cheapest source I have found is Windows101. For about $140 I can have a cubic foot of resin shipped to my door. I'm on my 2nd bag and find it performs just as well as the resin from CRS (for much less).



The water in my area is especially hard (measures ~500 on my TDS meter). To be honest, I have bought other tools I have either regretted or didn't find as useful as I thought I might. However, I'm happy to say my CRS doesn't fit in that category. ....it's been a valuable addition to my regimen.
 
I have yet to use my CRS again after a second resin cartridge failed on me and sent resin gushing out of the hose :eek: CRS replaced it with no problem and told me to no longer use the metal washers inside the cartridge housings. Apparently that will help regulate the water pressure and not lead to the cartridge failure. I will proceed with caution when I have the need to fire up my CRS again
 
Bill D said:
I have yet to use my CRS again after a second resin cartridge failed on me and sent resin gushing out of the hose :eek: CRS replaced it with no problem and told me to no longer use the metal washers inside the cartridge housings. Apparently that will help regulate the water pressure and not lead to the cartridge failure. I will proceed with caution when I have the need to fire up my CRS again
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....curious. What model do you have? Also, how are you regulating your pressure (that is going through your CRS unit) now?
 
I have the DIC-20 and I had the unit for about a year before the first cartridge failure and the second was only about three months later. I had it hooked up to my normal household water spigot and the pressure is standard-not particularly high nor low and I never have it turned on all the way. CRS told me my cartridge housings may have been manufactured slightly off spec and therefore the washers won't be needed. Whatever the cause, I just hope this is the end of any cartridge failures. I don't really think I need any type of water pressure reducing device but if there is an easy one to use on a regular household spigot, I can look into it for good measure :nixweiss:
 
Bill D said:
I have the DIC-20 and I had the unit for about a year before the first cartridge failure and the second was only about three months later. I had it hooked up to my normal household water spigot and the pressure is standard-not particularly high nor low and I never have it turned on all the way. CRS told me my cartridge housings may have been manufactured slightly off spec and therefore the washers won't be needed. Whatever the cause, I just hope this is the end of any cartridge failures. I don't really think I need any type of water pressure reducing device but if there is an easy one to use on a regular household spigot, I can look into it for good measure :nixweiss:
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....I've been looking into a regulator myself (something I could use inline with my setup). For the last 2+ years I've been using the fan setting on my nozzles as CRS suggests to keep the flow under the required 4 gallons per minute. ....just been too lazy.



I hope the washer solves your issues. I know I would be disappointed as well.
 
lostdaytomorrow said:
I'm gonna have to check out this Air Wand business..
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Note that there's a significant learning curve to using the thing efficiently; I probably took at least two dozen washes to figure out what works best for me, and I'm not exactly slow about such stuff ;) And it works a lot better with some LSPs than with others.



Bill D said:
..I don't really think I need any type of water pressure reducing device but if there is an easy one to use on a regular household spigot, I can look into it for good measure..
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I probably suggested this before, but I went to the local RV store and got a regulator made for hookups at campsites/etc. Turned out to be the right max pressure, and the thing just screws in between the spigot and the CRS inlet. Cheap too, maybe...oh I dunno, what...$20 or something.
 
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