Car Wash De-ionized kit - what works?

[cooolone2]

Here's what I have used... It's great, works well and is easily refillable. I use it for final rinse only! Nothing flashy, but it works!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07H8...b_b_asin_title

[Team Tonka]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

Here's what I have used... It's great, works well and is easily refillable. I use it for final rinse only! Nothing flashy, but it works!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07H8...b_b_asin_title

I like the cost - but looking for something a bit more mobile - like on wheels or something.

The Adam's Polish version they sell looks ideal. But isn't cheap....

[Team Tonka]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

Here's what I have used... It's great, works well and is easily refillable. I use it for final rinse only! Nothing flashy, but it works!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07H8...b_b_asin_title

I was hoping to try something more in-line with my garden hose set-up for car washing. Similar to this concept:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBJZ4238...WxfdGhlbWF0aWM

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by loochy

Really? I just gently empty out as much water as I can and then I just flip the container upside down and dump the rest into a plastic trash bag.

If you were just tossing them out, no big deal but I refresh my own resin. Aside from the tubes popping out I guess it's a me problem

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by Team Tonka

I was hoping to try something more in-line with my garden hose set-up for car washing. Similar to this concept:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CBJZ4238...WxfdGhlbWF0aWM

Keep in mind the water output and volume of resin in the option you choose. Garden hose water could overwhelm those small filters and it'd be filtered water but not spot free.

[Team Tonka]

Originally Posted by louielouie

Keep in mind the water output and volume of resin in the option you choose. Garden hose water could overwhelm those small filters and it'd be filtered water but not spot free.

I was thinking in terms more of a pre-filter prior to going into a de-ionized system....hopefully to save on how often the resin needs to be replenished.

[Team Tonka]

Originally Posted by cooolone2

Here's what I have used... It's great, works well and is easily refillable. I use it for final rinse only! Nothing flashy, but it works!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07H8...b_b_asin_title

How long is it lasting until your TDS gets too high and leaves water spots? Are you just buying new filters on Amazon or re-charging the resin or refilling the resin yourself (if even possible)?

Trying to see if I could make this work - price is good for testing out! Reviews don't seem great, like the water dribbles out of the hose and maybe only shoots out a few feet at most??

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by Team Tonka

How long is it lasting until your TDS gets too high and leaves water spots? Are you just buying new filters on Amazon or re-charging the resin or refilling the resin yourself (if even possible)?

Trying to see if I could make this work - price is good for testing out!

I can usually wash for a year with my setup washing my sedan once a week while only rinsing with DI. I also had sediment and carbon prefilters but have been exploring an RO system with 30 gallon reservoir.

I chemically refresh to resin myself and chemicals are <$15 per refresh. There's extensive articles on how to do this in the aquarium community.

[loochy]

Originally Posted by Team Tonka

I like the cost - but looking for something a bit more mobile - like on wheels or something.

The Adam's Polish version they sell looks ideal. But isn't cheap....

I strapped mine down to a furniture dolly with some steel strapping and some screws and added quick connects for quick connecting between the water source and my power washer. It doesn't look all clean and fancy like some of these setups but it's quite functional.

[sharkymcpeterson]

I had a whole home filter and water softener installed today, anyone have experience with this? Specifically wondering if you’ve seen any improvement with regard to water spots.

Anyone know how comparable the filtration and softener is to the results you’d get from a deionizer?

Thanks for any feedback.

[Team Tonka]

I have both and have since we built our home 13yrs ago.

They won't help your water spots much at all IMO! I would also argue depending on the quality of your well or city water, the whole house filter should be changed every month....

Originally Posted by sharkymcpeterson

I had a whole home filter and water softener installed today, anyone have experience with this? Specifically wondering if you’ve seen any improvement with regard to water spots.

Anyone know how comparable the filtration and softener is to the results you’d get from a deionizer?

Thanks for any feedback.

[Team Tonka]

I'm leaning towards these options:

https://www.amazon.com/Waterdrop-Spo...s%2C241&sr=8-5

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...YB3ZZHGKL&th=1

This guy has tons of good videos:

[whofelt]

You would be surprised what your local car detail stores have in stock, mine charges$230 for DI tank that lasts 400-500gallons and $65 to swap it out with a new tank

[chris719]

Originally Posted by Team Tonka

Considering a de-ionized car wash kit for the final rinse to greatly reduce water spots.

I'd like something mobile on a cart preferably - ease of moving around is my intent.

I haven't found much out there except the two below, they aren't cheap, nor are replacing the filters/resin which concerns me on how long they will truly last until the filter/resin is depleted. I like that they both have a TDS meter/sensor.

What have others found that work?

https://www.amazon.com/CR-Spotless-D...zcF9hdGY&psc=1


https://www.amazon.com/Filterelated-...63b24bcb5&th=1

I do rinseless wash and use ZeroWater filtered water for the pre-spray in a pump sprayer. Tap for the bucket. End up with zero spots even in direct sun.

[Team Tonka]

I ordered the Waterdrop to give it a try....

https://www.amazon.com/Waterdrop-Spo...s%2C241&sr=8-5

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by Team Tonka

I ordered the Waterdrop to give it a try....

https://www.amazon.com/Waterdrop-Spo...s%2C241&sr=8-5

Are you running it with a pressure washer? Looks like there's GPM issues even with the bypass limiting you to 1GPM.

[shimmy23]

Originally Posted by loochy

It is actually pretty simple. You buy the DI housing, which is basically like a big water filter. You either fill it up with a premade cartridge or you just pour in resin from a bag (if you did the tube mod) every 10 washings or so (depending on your water hardness).

every 10 washings? maybe i'm lazy, but i dont want to be emptying out the resin every few months. I thought it was good for 50 washes?

[Team Tonka]

Did you watch the video from the guy that tried it? Seems like it did quite a bit better than that…

Originally Posted by louielouie

Are you running it with a pressure washer? Looks like there's GPM issues even with the bypass limiting you to 1GPM.

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by Team Tonka

Did you watch the video from the guy that tried it? Seems like it did quite a bit better than that…

No, I just took a quick peak at reviews so thought I'd mention it. I bought a DIW20 5+ years ago and it hasn't given me a reason to look for another DI kit.

[Team Tonka]

Originally Posted by louielouie

No, I just took a quick peak at reviews so thought I'd mention it. I bought a DIW20 5+ years ago and it hasn't given me a reason to look for another DI kit.

This is supposed to work just like the DIW20 kit, but better price point….guess I’ll find out! I bought a garden hose in-line filter to help reduce chlorine, which should help it last a little bit longer as well.

[beaups]

This thread motivated me to do some research and (finally) order a DI setup. FWIW I went with the CR DIC-20. Ordered direct from them and got 10% off coupon by providing my email and with free shipping and no sales tax charged (to Ohio) it was $395 all-in. Nicer/larger setup that the water drop kit referenced here and don’t need to buy a TDS meter.

[louielouie]

Originally Posted by Team Tonka

This is supposed to work just like the DIW20 kit, but better price point….guess I’ll find out! I bought a garden hose in-line filter to help reduce chlorine, which should help it last a little bit longer as well.

Good luck! I think it's similar to the smaller volume CR. End of the day they're all just housings for resin.

One thing is avoid turning on water full blast at the start. Surges can cause the resin to wear out faster.