Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

[BlackShine]

So other than the Mr. Clean Auto Dry system which doesn't last very long, and aside from the overpriced CRSpotless system (especially over priced in this economy)... what else is out there?

Just would like something to perform well especially since I have 2 black vehicles and am kind of sick of always going to the local quarter wash to use their DI water rinse.

Someone, anyone... please help?

[Murr1525]

Re: Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

I think all of them will have a high 'starting' cost...

The Spot Free Water Softener has been reviewed on here.

You could also look into rinseless washing like ONR, or Mark has a nice video using Last touch, and buy your own clean water in a jug, maybe Brita, etc.

[Blueline]

Re: Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

A friend of mine went and bought one of those whole house filters, the kind you normally install under the sink, and attached it only to his garage line. It takes various size filters, depending what you are looking for (rust, sediment, or dissolved minerals {hard water}) Various micron sizes can be purchased. He plumbed it right in the copper pipe so only his hose water is filtered. The filters are about $5 and lasts months. The unit itself was a bout $30.
Works great. No water spots on his car.
Tried to find a picture, but I cannot. It is a hard plastic blue device you plumb into the line, then there is a clear blue plastic bottom (about a foot long) piece that screws on and off and hold the filter. He picked it up at a hardware store, not a car specialty shop, so the price is right.

[paulcr39]

Re: Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

Tried to find a picture, but I cannot. It is a hard plastic blue device you plumb into the line, then there is a clear blue plastic bottom (about a foot long) piece that screws on and off and hold the filter. He picked it up at a hardware store, not a car specialty shop, so the price is right.

Sounds like the RV filter I use. Bought it at Menard's, but I have a spare that I bought at Wally world, price was about $25.00.

[Jeepster04]

Re: Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

http://www.pwgazette.com/gardenhosefilters.htm

Ive got the carbon filter and resin filter. Works perfect for my needs.

[BlackShine]

Re: Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

Thanks for all the responses guys. I have seen something like that filter before which you posted a pic of jeepster.

Sounds like something more along the line of what I would be interested in as far as price and ease of use.

The CRspotless thing looks nice and all but for almost $400 thats pretty expensive.

What do you guys think of this filter kit?

$95
and heres their deluxe 2-filter kit:

$140
What are your guys opinions and views on these ones? Im just about ready to purchase something, pretty sick of constantly having to drive to the local quarter wash just for their DI water.

I really appreciate all your responses.
Thanks.

[oldmodman]

Re: Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

Here is the post about water filtration I made over on Autogeek.

Due to the incredibly hard water here in Southern California, I went a step farther than most.

First the water goes through a "grit filter" (a small screen filter that I reverse to blow out the crud after every use).
Then it goes through one of the medium canister resin filters to "pre clean" the water.
Then is goes through the largest of the CR Spotless rigs. The pre filter removes a lot of the crud in the water so the lifespan of the resin in the much larger CR canisters last over four times longer. And I found a source for the resin in bulk that got my refill cost down even farther. It's a cumbersome pain in the *** but otherwise I always seem to get water spots.
My "calculated cost" for clean water is down to about $2.80 a wash. Plus about a half hour of my time to haul everything out of the garage, set everything up, and put it away afterwards.
And I only use the filtered water for the soap buckets and the final rinse.

I'd love to move to a warm state that has nice soft water, but there aren't any

I am almost ready to invest in an industrial system that has separate tanks for the anion and cation mediums so that I could actually "re-energize" the resin media correctly with acids and bases and never (or nearly never) have to replace the resin media.

[wwally]

Re: Is there a good "affordable" Clean Water system out yet???

Thanks for all the responses guys. I have seen something like that filter before which you posted a pic of jeepster.

Sounds like something more along the line of what I would be interested in as far as price and ease of use.

The CRspotless thing looks nice and all but for almost $400 thats pretty expensive.

What do you guys think of this filter kit?

$95
and heres their deluxe 2-filter kit:

$140
What are your guys opinions and views on these ones? Im just about ready to purchase something, pretty sick of constantly having to drive to the local quarter wash just for their DI water.

I really appreciate all your responses.
Thanks.

I have the two filter setup from Autogeek. It's pretty good and I've had no spotting since I started using it (though I also dry the car with UQD). I change the resin filter for every wash, though not with a new filter, but one soaked in a container with water and the white "renewal rocks" that come with the kit. You can see how little I understand of the chemistry of this whole thing.

Wally