GEN 2 I ordered this to dry my cars.

[Azholley]

I use the CR Spotless, and won't wash anything without it. It makes washing easier, I don't have to rush, or work around the temps or sun/shade.

And not towel drying means less chance for swirls.

I run the CR Spotless and use it for the entire wash process during the summer months, so I don't have to worry about heat or sun, or trying to hurry before the wash water dries. I got about 12 complete washes out of the resin, which makes for some pretty high ongoing costs.


During this past winter, I only used the DI water for the final rinse and used regular water for the pre-rinse and with the foam cannon for washing. This worked fine as it was often overcast and cool, or just plain cold. Only using the DI water for the final rinse makes the resin last longer, lowering the cost per wash.


The life of the resin also depends on how hard your water is. Mine is not too hard, about 140 ppm. If you are interested in a DI system, first test your water and then use their tables to figure out how many gallons you will get for each resin refill. The last thing you would want to do is drop the big money on the unit only to find that the cost per wash is too high. If you don't want to buy a TDS meter to check your water hardness, you may also try to find someplace that will test a sample, like a store that sells water softeners.


Here's a link to the info on the CR Spotless and there is a table showing the total gallons that can be made based on your hardness. The big variable is how many gallons you would use for each wash.

https://crspotless.com/spotless-water-faqs/


An important thing to remember is that you need to check to make sure the resin is still working when you finish each wash. The CR Spotless unit has a built-in TDS (total dissolved solids) meter, which will read 000 when the resin is good, which means the water has no minerals in it. When you start to see numbers on the meter, it is time to replace the resin. Checking it after each wash also lets you know if you need to completely dry the car so it does not spot. The resin could be fine at your last wash, but then start to get exhausted during the current wash. The last thing you want is to assume the filters are working, only to come back later and find water spots that have to be polished off.

I will also point out that even though you can leave a soaking wet vehicle out in the sun to air dry on not get hard water spots (ie minerals left behind from regular tap water), I did find early on that leaving that much water on the vehicle tends to collect airborne dust in the pooled water and water drops, which then can be seen later. I also found that the water left in the nooks and crannies often contains soap residue, and having this drip out while it is drying results in visible drip-trails. For this reason, I use the Master Blaster (and previously used the Sidekick), to get about 90% of the water off, and to blow out the nooks and crannies, then let the rest dry.

Only downside is the cost of the resin, but the resin cost has actually dropped in price since CR Spotless started their recycling program.

While I have not logged specific usage, I typically replace the resin about 2-3x per year, and that is using it on two vehicles.

Also, they have just released a newer version that is an improvement. It has a more stable housing, and uses color-indicating resin so that you know when the filters are getting close to being spent, without having to check the meter.

If you are going to get one, get the newer version:

https://simplechuck....huck-dark-blue/

There are additional considerations you should make before investing this amount of money. First ans foremost is to test you water, so you can see how hard it is. Having fairly hard water (over 200ppm or so) increases your ongoing costs for resin.

Thank you for breaking that all down! I live in AZ and we have some of the hardest water in the country. I'll have to test my specific city water and see where it comes in. Would you mind posting that link of the new model again? It doesn't pull up for some reason. Thanks again!


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[TheWolf]

Thank you for breaking that all down! I live in AZ and we have some of the hardest water in the country. I'll have to test my specific city water and see where it comes in. Would you mind posting that link of the new model again? It doesn't pull up for some reason. Thanks again!


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Sorry, I just noticed those links were bad and was editing them when you made your post.

Here it is:

https://simplechuck.com/product/double-chuck-dark-blue/

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[Azholley]

Sorry, I just noticed those links were bad and was editing them when you made your post.

Here it is:

https://simplechuck.com/product/double-chuck-dark-blue/

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Thanks! You made me think this thing is going to cost 2k plus lol. I'm good with pricing. Just need to figure out filter life.


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[crash457]

So, those filters are not really going to prevent water spots.

The first filter is just a carbon filter. It will remove iron, color and smells/tastes, but will not remove any dissolved minerals that cause water spots.

The second filter is just a sediment filter. It will remove physical particles of stuff, like sand or silt, but any dissolved minerals will go right through it.

Now, the third filter does soften the water, but it will not prevent water spots, it will only reduce their severity. This filter exchanges "hard" dissolved minerals (like calcium and magnesium) for "soft" minerals, in this case sodium. Dissolved sodium will still leave water spots when the water drops dry, but this mineral is not as harmful to the clear coat, and will not etch it, but the spots will still be visible.

Since you have not been getting spots, my guess is that your water is not hard to begin with. I would suggest getting yourself a TDS meter and check your water. This meter measures Total Dissolved Solids, but does not distinguished between hard or soft minerals.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VTQM70/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

With this meter, I tested my raw water at about 140ppm, and at this level, water spots do occur. I will also point out that after the raw water goes through the water softener in my house, the TDS is still 140ppm, since all that happens is the hard minerals are exchanged one-to-one with sodium.

The CR Spotless is a deionizing filter (DI water), which means that it removes all of the dissolve minerals, hard and soft. It does this by using a resin which attracts both positively and negatively charge ions. This type of resin media eventually gets used up when the dissolved minerals "use up" all the charge spots to stick to.

Also mentioned above is the reverse osmosis filter. This type of filter uses a membrane which acts kinda like a sieve, in that it has microscopic holes in it that allow water molecules to pass through, but not dissolved minerals, which are larger molecules. This type of membrane filter also gets exhausted, when it gets plugged up. This RO filter also uses a lot of "waste water" which passes over the membrane to flush off the minerals that don't go through. There is often 3-4 gallons of waste water that go down the drain for every gallon of RO water that ends up in the container. This can get expensive too, just like replacing DI resin.

Lots of good info as always. I'll have to pick up a meter. I know the biggest problem with my water is a high chlorine content. I run mine through the sediment filter first to remove any solids since they are fairly cheap to replace, then through the carbon filter for the chlorine. I think my lack of water spots plays into a couple different factors. First, my paint is well protected (paint sealant and wax) so most water rolls right off. I never wash when the surface is hot (on hot days, it stays in the garage for a few hours before I pull it out to wash it) so that the water is never sprayed onto a hot paint, eliminating rapid evaporation. Lastly, I do not try to let the water evaporate off. I usually pull it into the garage after the wash to dry with air and followed with a good microfiber towel and a Meguiar's spray wax. Before the new filter setup in direct sun it would dry and water spot quickly. Sometimes bad even etching the clear coat (had to polish those out). With the new setup, any water spots left (rarely see any) are easily wiped away with spray wax and a microfiber towel. I agree that my setup is not as efficient as DI water and may not work for everyone (depends on the condition of their water), but for the cost spend ($60 plus ~$40 a year for filters replacement) its benefits make it an easy decision.

What are your thoughts on this?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045LSI2M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Seems like adding a this and a third filter canister to my setup could be more effective and still under $100.

 

[TheWolf]

Lots of good info as always. I'll have to pick up a meter. I know the biggest problem with my water is a high chlorine content. I run mine through the sediment filter first to remove any solids since they are fairly cheap to replace, then through the carbon filter for the chlorine. I think my lack of water spots plays into a couple different factors. First, my paint is well protected (paint sealant and wax) so most water rolls right off. I never wash when the surface is hot (on hot days, it stays in the garage for a few hours before I pull it out to wash it) so that the water is never sprayed onto a hot paint, eliminating rapid evaporation. Lastly, I do not try to let the water evaporate off. I usually pull it into the garage after the wash to dry with air and followed with a good microfiber towel and a Meguiar's spray wax. Before the new filter setup in direct sun it would dry and water spot quickly. Sometimes bad even etching the clear coat (had to polish those out). With the new setup, any water spots left (rarely see any) are easily wiped away with spray wax and a microfiber towel. I agree that my setup is not as efficient as DI water and may not work for everyone (depends on the condition of their water), but for the cost spend ($60 plus ~$40 a year for filters replacement) its benefits make it an easy decision.

What are your thoughts on this?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0045LSI2M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Seems like adding a this and a third filter canister to my setup could be more effective and still under $100.

That DI filter does not have the capacity to be much use for washing cars or trucks.

The recommended flow rate is 0.25 gallons per minute, which is about 10x less than what you would be getting out of a garden hose sprayer. Even with a small pressure washer that might only use 1.2gpm, that is still 5x the recommended rate. When the water flows too fast through the filter, then not all of the dissolved minerals get removed.

If the TDS on your water is very low, then adding that might be some benefit, but keep in mind there is not much resin it it, so you would be replacing them more often (like maybe every 2-3 washes).

Note that the dimensions on that filter is 10" x 2.5", not much bigger than a bottle of water. The CR Spotless filters are 20" x 4.5" and there are two of these in series. Even with these bigger filters, CRS recommends 2gpm max water flow. Of course, this depends on the water quality, the more dissolved minerals in the water, the more contact time with the resin is needed to remove them.

If we just compare volume of resin, the filter from Amazon would have about 49 cubic inches. The CR Spotless has about 575 cubic inches. This means you would really need about 12 of those in a row to match the resin capacity of the CR, and at about $43 each (filter and housing), that is $516 for a approximate equal setup. With the current sale, the CR Spotless Double Chuck is $333.

 

[RAPTORSV]

Water hardness and TDS are 2 separate things. You can have soft water but high in TDS. The water here is fairly soft (does not leave scale at faucets etc), but is high it TDS. I don't really understand this, but this is what I have read.

I only use CR Spotless for rinse, so it lasted me close to a year before I had to refill. I the meter read 3 before I changed resin. Even at 3 it did not leave spots, but I changed anyway.

I looked at the cartridge exchange, but it didn't seem like that large of savings and just a big pain, so I just bagged it up and put in the resin in the trash.

Also nice to use to clean the engine with so you don't have to worry about water spots on your engine.

When using a pressure washer, you only need to open the faucet 1/4 turn or less, so you really don't use that much water.

 

[TheWolf]

Water hardness and TDS are 2 separate things. You can have soft water but high in TDS. The water here is fairly soft (does not leave scale at faucets etc), but is high it TDS. I don't really understand this, but this is what I have read.

I only use CR Spotless for rinse, so it lasted me close to a year before I had to refill. I the meter read 3 before I changed resin. Even at 3 it did not leave spots, but I changed anyway.

I looked at the cartridge exchange, but it didn't seem like that large of savings and just a big pain, so I just bagged it up and put in the resin in the trash.

Also nice to use to clean the engine with so you don't have to worry about water spots on your engine.

When using a pressure washer, you only need to open the faucet 1/4 turn or less, so you really don't use that much water.

Correct, TDS does not measure water hardness, which is the amount of dissolved hard minerals in the water.

The TDS measures Total Dissolved Solids, which can be both the hard and soft minerals, if present in the water.

Since any dissolved minerals will cause spots, even softened water, that makes the TDS measurement important for this subject matter.

If you are just looking to soften the water, then Total Hardness is important, since the softener needs to have the capacity to replace all the dissolved hard minerals with dissolved soft minerals (typically sodium).

Kits like this can test total hardness:
http://a.co/cOLUv3X

 

[cmacclel]

I use a Ego 56v blower. If anyone wants a Master Blaster I have one with maybe 15 minutes of use with the long hose I'd sell

 

[Bullishone]

I use a Ego 56v blower. If anyone wants a Master Blaster I have one with maybe 15 minutes of use with the long hose I'd sell

Told ya

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[pjones]

Anyone considered getting a ro/di system and use it to filter water output it to a plastic container, then adding a pressure pump with a hose bib output? I have a 5 stage system that I use a few years ago for me reef tank and while the 4x water rejection is sort of wasteful, the waste water be used to water your plants, etc. More importantly, this was pretty cheap to run, probably about 1000 gallons before replacing the resin, which can be had pretty cheap if you buy it by the pound and just refill yourself. The problem is, the output is very low, so you have to dump into a container and use with a pump.