Spot Free Water Filter and Softener

I did a search before posting and someone (forget who) posted about this late last year, but there were no responses. C'mon guys. Is no one even interested in this? It seems like the perfect Autopian product! :)
 
I just recently got a Spot Free 1000 unit. It works great, and really helps to reduce water spots. Before I got the filter, I used aprox two gallons of water and two ounces of car wash soap. Now, I only use one gallon of water and one ounce of soap. The softened water really helps to increase the sudsing action of the soap. I can also dry cars much quicker because every last bit of moisture does not have to be removed. It was definitely worth the money.
 
Not exactly a review of the system you listed, but I have a very similar portable soft water filter system from boji . It uses a resin based filter that can be regenerated with a brine solution and the differences between the Spot Free are mainly cosmetic. The Boji provides me with about an 85-90% decrease in water spotting when drying my black Audi vs. my standard tap water.



I decided to go with the Boji because I preferred the upright design of the filter housing and thus it takes up less room when stored than the Spot Free. When I purchased mine ~ 3 years ago, both systems were comparable in price when you took capacity into account. It appears that the Boji is now being sold online for slightly less than the Spot Free system. I don't think you would be disappointed with either, but anyone interested in reducing water spotting needs to understand that these types of systems only reduce water hardness. In order to get truly spot free drying, you still need something like a DI system.
 
I have something similar and it works good BUT after the water go through the first filter you have hardly any water pressure coming out of the hose...at least on the system I have.
 
I have a pwgazette water softner on my hose, and it helps tremendously. Our water is horribly hard. I am thinking of getting a CRspotless and having the water softner pretreat before the DI water process. I really don't notice a huge loss on water pressure, but then again, I don't feel you need a lot of pressure for washing.
 
Not real familiar with this unit, but I'll be testing at least one water filtration system in the near future.



EDIT: I just noticed that he estimated 300 gallons of water for one wash...that's insane. Roughly, it would be like letting the water hose run freely for 2 hours.
 
This unit has a 1000 gallon capacity for filtered water compared to the 300 gallon unit of the CRSpotless.



Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm under the impression that you can recharge the spot-free filter yourself? Free of charge?



If that's true, I would rather do a simple QD after the flood rinse than pay for filter recharges with the CR system.
 
n2_space said:
I have a pwgazette water softner on my hose, and it helps tremendously. Our water is horribly hard. I am thinking of getting a CRspotless and having the water softner pretreat before the DI water process. I really don't notice a huge loss on water pressure, but then again, I don't feel you need a lot of pressure for washing.
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I have been using the CR Spotless for 4 months and love it!

I have a Culligan soft water system, but that still would leave some water spots.

The water pressure is more than enough with the CR.

The customer service at CR is also great. You won't regret getting one.



Ara
 
Although I have not recharged my Spot Free system yet, the process is supposed to take only 15 minutes using commonly available water softener salts. The unit came with a recharge cartridge, but I think it can only be used once. After that, it needs to be filled with more salt.
 
Yes, much cheaper. All I know is that my tap water tested hard, according to the test strips that came with the Spot Free filter. After the water ran through the filter, the water tested at the lowest range on the scale. A definite improvement. It sounds to me, as if both units use the same process to filter water; ion exchange.
 
Zane--The water quality of DI vs. soft water is not comparable. DI water will have << less total dissolved solids than any soft water system alone could ever achieve.



The biggest advantage of the CR Spotless or any DI water filter is that you can wash a car in direct sunlight. Using enough DI water to rinse removes mineral laden water off of and out of any cracks/crevices and you can allow the car to air dry. It could also be an advantage for those worried about towel induced marring. Or, it may be worth the extra cost to those who are interested in not having to dry vehicles after a wash and see this as a time savings.



As already pointed out, if you are purely concerned about filtered water's cost/gallon, DI is always going to be more expensive compared to just a soft water filter system.



The biggest trade off between DI and soft water remains that soft water is never = spot free.
 
I guess you get what you pay for.



DI allows for a spot free rinse.



Soft water allows for an almost spot free rinse, and probably needs a follow up QD to get rid of the spots.



And since I already QD while I dry, the soft water filter doesn't make much sense for me I suppose.



Question: Would a rinse with a pressure washer filled with DI water (I suppose soft water either) after a day or two of driving (so light dust has accumulated) be enough to take off all the dust? Or would I still need to QD afterwards...



-Mark
 
chml17l said:
Zane--The water quality of DI vs. soft water is not comparable. DI water will have << less total dissolved solids than any soft water system alone could ever achieve.
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This has been my general understanding, too.



I've had experience with reverse osmosis water, but I rarely get a totally spot free dry with it.



Soon I will be reviewing a CRSpotless system and a water softener filter system (from Autogeek). I'll be doing real world testing on different vehicles, TDS testing, etc.



Stay tuned... :)
 
chml17l said:
Zane--keep us posted. It's always good to get some real world comparisons.
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Well, they are going to be individual reviews. I'll make comparisons if/when relevant, but pre-judging by functionality and price point they can easily co-exist.



:)
 
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