# Do auto-car washing stations really scratch paint?



## GBPackerfan1963 (May 5, 2006)

Joe-BMW said:


> Can you use these things with a pressure washer?
> 
> I have no problem with the price tag of almost $500 bucks, but $299 per filter replacement is hard to swallow.


Yes, I do. I paid $400 for mine and the cartridges were $119/each. Their supposed to last over a year.


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Depends on how much hard water you put through, not time. 

My 3/4 cubic foot resin column treats 1,000 gallons before needing regeneration. I manually override to regenerate once per week and use 40# NaCl in about six weeks, 6# per regeneration.


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## GBPackerfan1963 (May 5, 2006)

Doug Huffman said:


> CRSpotless is a conventional zeolite resin water conditioner exchanging hard water ions MgCO3 and CaCO3 for salt NaCl that spots just like hardwater. Ask anyone living on the seacoast.
> 
> In any case, always rinse with distilled water. It’s $20 / five gallon carboy from the Culligan Man, or $1 / gallon (for baby formula) at the grocery store. It takes less than a gallon to rinse my X5.


Whatever it is, it works for me.


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## GBPackerfan1963 (May 5, 2006)

Doug Huffman said:


> Depends on how much hard water you put through, not time.
> 
> My 3/4 cubic foot resin column treats 1,000 gallons before needing regeneration. I manually override to regenerate once per week and use 40# NaCl in about six weeks, 6# per regeneration.


That's true. My system goes through my residential water softener before the deionization filters. So mine should last a long time considering I just wash my vehicles and RV with it.


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## Joe-BMW (Dec 28, 2007)

GBPackerfan1963 said:


> Yes, I do. I paid $400 for mine and the cartridges were $119/each. Their supposed to last over a year.


Thanks for confirming the pressure washer. I am tempted. I was looking at the Simple Chuck and the filters are $299 for this unit and are supposed to last for 400 gallons of water. I wonder if the effectiveness decreases as filter capacity decreases. $119 isn't too bad for the other models though









Simple Chuck Filter Set - CR Spotless Water Systems


Filter Installation The filters were designed with the flow in mind so this means one ‘points’ down and the other points up. Another way to say it is the blue cap is on the top of the gold filter and on the bottom of the blue filter (don’t forget- the blue one goes on the… Read More »




crspotless.com


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## GBPackerfan1963 (May 5, 2006)

Joe-BMW said:


> Ah, I was looking at the Simple Chuck and the filters are $299 for this unit and are supposed to last for 400 gallons of water, but we all know there are other variable. I bet the effectiveness decreases as filter capacity decreases. $119 isn't too bad for the other models though
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah I got the DIW20. This is my set-up.


Joe-BMW said:


> Ah, I was looking at the Simple Chuck and the filters are $299 for this unit and are supposed to last for 400 gallons of water, but we all know there are other variable. I bet the effectiveness decreases as filter capacity decreases. $119 isn't too bad for the other models though
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah I got the DIW20. This is my set-up.


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## Joe-BMW (Dec 28, 2007)

GBPackerfan1963 said:


> Yeah I got the DIW20. This is my set-up.
> 
> 
> Yeah I got the DIW20. This is my set-up.
> ...


Very cool. I have always been tempted. I see these all the time on Obsessed Garage. I'd be more than happy to retire my blower!


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

Joe-BMW said:


> … supposed to last for 400 gallons of water. I wonder if the effectiveness decreases as filter capacity decreases.


Yes, as the zeolite resin exchange is exhausted the hardness of the outlet water increases. 400 gallons for some nominal input hardness. The resin is rated for some absolute number of grains times throughput grains per gallon (traditional unit) of hardness (equals 17.2 ppm).


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## Ps2cho (Feb 7, 2012)

I have a 50gal tank of RODI water that I keep topped up...

I wonder instead of spending $500+ on a DI unit (that would burn through SUPER fast here in AZ with TDS well above 600-1000 depending on the time of year). I wonder how I could utilize water already stored? Pump sprayer maybe? Any ideas?


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## Doug Huffman (Apr 25, 2015)

I wash with almost free hard water then rinse with distilled water $1/gallon and a microfiber cloth. One gallon easily does the car. Air dry with a leafblower. Wipe down with an ethanol soaked MF before application of coating.


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