[dfwcowboy]

I put together a spot-free rig and although I've only used it 3 times so far, it seems to work quite well. Some of the pieces like the foam cannon and stubby wand were on recommendations found here, so thanks for those.


The basic components of my system are an electric pressure washer, a resin based deionization system, a stubby wand and a foam cannon. There's a few other minor pieces needed to bring it all together. Most of the components you can get on Amazon and the links are at the end of this post. There's a few other misc pieces I picked up at the hardware store like a piece of flat steel, some 3/4" conduit clamps, and a garden hose Y valve.


Some may ask how many washes will I get out of such a small deionizer and the answer is I don't know. I do like using it because it mounts nicely on the pressure washer and makes the whole rig far more portable. You can read the reviews on Amazon as others are doing the same thing with it. You can either buy replacement cartridges or can buy the bags of resin and refill. The latter option makes it just as cheap as any other system, but you'll be refilling more often. If you are washing several vehicles several times per month, you might want a bigger system. I think this one will serve my needs quite well.


One thing I figured out right away is the stubby wand doesn't mount on the Sun Joe pressure washer hose either directly or with the quick disconnect. Although both use a M22 connection, most gas pressure washers are 14mm and many electrics are 15mm. So the adapter I found on ebay makes it work.


The Y valve on the output of the deionizer isn't necessary, but it's handy if you want to bypass the pressure washer and want deionized water to fill up buckets, or for a quick rinse.


I've tried 3 different shampoos and the one that works the best so far is the Chemical Guys one linked at the end. It makes high quality thick foam that really sticks to the vehicle well.





Electric pressure washer


Resin deionization system


Male garden hose adapter for deionization system


Female garden hose adapter for deionization system


High pressure quick connect


Three foot hose


Garden hose quick connects


Car wash shampoo


Stubby wand


M22 adapter to connect stubby wand (only needed for some electric power washers)


Foam canon

[KirkH]

The deion system is much cheaper than any I have ever seen. I will be interested to hear how many washes you get per refill. It seems like $10+ per wash on consumer products is normal. A pro system costs more to setup but the per wash cost is much lower.

[dfwcowboy]

Originally Posted by KirkH

The deion system is much cheaper than any I have ever seen. I will be interested to hear how many washes you get per refill. It seems like $10+ per wash on consumer products is normal. A pro system costs more to setup but the per wash cost is much lower.

I'm not sure how the cost per wash will be lower assuming the same resin is being used for both. X amount of resin will soften Y amount of water regardless of which system is used to drive the water through it. The difference will be how often you'll need to refill.


I have a TDS meter somewhere. I probably should start testing it before each wash.

[KirkH]

Originally Posted by dfwcowboy

I'm not sure how the cost per wash will be lower assuming the same resin is being used for both. X amount of resin will soften Y amount of water regardless of which system is used to drive the water through it. The difference will be how often you'll need to refill.


I have a TDS meter somewhere. I probably should start testing it before each wash.

My pro system was $1000 for the can and light and $230 for resin refills. I havent had to change resin yet so i don't know the per wash cost but I think it will be $1-2.

[bobby35ny]

Dragging out the power washer and dealing with the water line and electric. I decided to run a pvc water line and mount my unit to the wall. My unit had a wet reel so I added an extension hose and wrap it around the whole unit. See pics below.
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[dfwcowboy]

I added another 25' of high pressure hose so I don't have to move the rig after I set it up.
https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...2638_200632638

[KirkH]

Very impressed with BOTH of your setups!

[Badgerbimmer]

If you check out my thread you'll see that I got 7/8 washes out of my set up. Softened water into a On The Go mixed bed tank to the pressure washer (gas 3,800 psi). The tank takes 18#'s of resin. I have now reloaded the tank and changed methodology. I am doing the initial rinse, wash, soap rinse with the pressure washer with soft water only. Then a final rinse with soft water to the tank to garden hose with sprayer on the end. Did one wash worked great. Resin will obviously last for a lot more washes this way as the amount of water through the tank is greatly reduced.

[dfwcowboy]

The cartridges I'm using is also a mixed bed system, but this is overkill for the application. All that's needed is the removal of calcium and magnesium and you can do that with a weak base ion exchange resin which should be cheaper than mixed bed. I'm researching cheaper alternatives.

[Badgerbimmer]

Originally Posted by dfwcowboy

The cartridges I'm using is also a mixed bed system, but this is overkill for the application. All that's needed is the removal of calcium and magnesium and you can do that with a weak base ion exchange resin which should be cheaper than mixed bed. I'm researching cheaper alternatives.

I was thinking same thing. All in need to remove is the sodium from the soft water.

[dfwcowboy]

Originally Posted by Badgerbimmer

I was thinking same thing. All in need to remove is the sodium from the soft water.

If nothing else you can buy the same resin used in the Spotless system which is widely available and should provide for a few refills at least in my system. I know you can get the stuff cheaper, especially if you go with a weak base resin only vs the mixed base resin. The trick will be getting the right size spheres for the flow rate.


As far as how many washes you will get, this will greatly depend on your water source. My local supply usually has a TDS of about 200, which is average.

[BAMF]

AAAAAAAAAANNNNNDDDDD subscribed. I live in an area with very hard water and have struggled with water spots before. The idea of just using the filtered water for the final rinse is very smart.

[KirkH]

I wonder how much spot free water you can fill into buckets from the car wash? Then use one of those bucket pressure washers to rinse. For those not washing lots of cars.

[Vtor_ZL1]

I built similar system using 4 stage RODI filtration system. Double as water source for our marine reef aquarium. I fill a 2 gallon garden sprayer for post wash rinse. Definitely not enough volume to feed a pressure washer! 1.3 gpm x 60 x 24 = 1800+ gpd. But pump up garden sprayer and give car final rinse. When done, place RO cartridge in fridge to preserve it.