GEN 2 I ordered this to dry my cars.

[Jayrod]

I got tired of drying my vehicles, I spent hours researching and finally got a Reverse osmosis setup. Spotless water at home is the way to go. Never having to dry a vehicle again is a major time saver

Do explain this


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[RAPTORSV]

Do explain this


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CR Spotless is the only way to go. Expensive but worth it. I just use for rinse so resin lasts much longer that way. If you buy from Costco you get 1 refill on resin.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q87UxVHRbF8

 

[Jayrod]

CR Spotless is the only way to go. Expensive but worth it. I just use for rinse so resin lasts much longer that way. If you buy from Costco you get 1 refill on resin.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q87UxVHRbF8

Wow that's awesome! So no wiping down?

 

[crash457]

CR Spotless is the only way to go. Expensive but worth it. I just use for rinse so resin lasts much longer that way. If you buy from Costco you get 1 refill on resin.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=q87UxVHRbF8

Made my own for $60.

 

[smurfslayer]

Made my own for $60.

How well does this work for you?

 

[crash457]

How well does this work for you?

I can't compare it to CR spotless, since I've never used one, but I've rinsed my truck in direct sunlight on 100° days and let it sit and have no water spotting.

I used 2 of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DH4LN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KWJLCXS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQK2K6/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
However if Calcium and Magnesium are a problem in your area, you could substitute for these:
https://www.amazon.com/Pentek-155319-03-Ws-10-Softening-Cartridge/dp/B00BI4I0G8/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1498759006&sr=1-2&keywords=10+resin+filter

I made my own mounting bracket ( Culligan's brackets are $15 each) and picked up the brass fittings at Lowes for ~$10.

 

[Azholley]

I can't compare it to CR spotless, since I've never used one, but I've rinsed my truck in direct sunlight on 100° days and let it sit and have no water spotting.



I used 2 of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DH4LN/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

One of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KWJLCXS/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

and one of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQK2K6/?tag=fordraptorforum-20

However if Calcium and Magnesium are a problem in your area, you could substitute for these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BI4I0G8/?tag=fordraptorforum-20



I made my own mounting bracket ( Culligan's brackets are $15 each) and picked up the brass fittings at Lowes for ~$10.

Thanks for listing this out crash.


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[TheWolf]

I can't compare it to CR spotless, since I've never used one, but I've rinsed my truck in direct sunlight on 100° days and let it sit and have no water spotting.

I used 2 of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000DH4LN/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
One of these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00KWJLCXS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and one of these:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQK2K6/ref=nav_timeline_asin?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
However if Calcium and Magnesium are a problem in your area, you could substitute for these:
https://www.amazon.com/Pentek-155319-03-Ws-10-Softening-Cartridge/dp/B00BI4I0G8/ref=sr_1_2?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1498759006&sr=1-2&keywords=10+resin+filter

I made my own mounting bracket ( Culligan's brackets are $15 each) and picked up the brass fittings at Lowes for ~$10.

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.

 

[Azholley]

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.

I feel like Bill Nye after reading that. Soooo what do you prefer then?


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[TheWolf]

I feel like Bill Nye after reading that. Soooo what do you prefer then?


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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.com/product/double-chuck-dark-blue/

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