Deionized Water Car Wash System

[securityguy]

How do u wash and how. Long does a filter last how many washes

You don’t wash the car with DI water. You wash your vehicle as normal and use the DI water to do your final rinse.

 

[Cummins3]

Correct but how many rinses can u do???

 

[J-Cooz]

It depends on the TDS of your water. I've had mine for a year and it still is good. Buy a cheap TDS meter on Amazon to get an idea of what you're dealing with.

 

[Sonnie]

If you have high TDS you may get by cheaper buying a 5 gallon portable sprayer/washer and loading a couple gallons of distilled water for .80 cents/gallon at Walmart to do your final rinse. I am seeing where people get 40-50 final rinses with lower TDS water... and that's with $300 worth of resin material. With higher TDS in the 4-500 range, you get maybe 20-30 rinses. So for $300, if you used 3 gallons per final rinse, you would get 100 rinses. It's my understanding you can get a final rinse with 2 gallons, which would then yield you 150 rinses for $300. You would have to make up the initial cost of the sprayer (about $265-275) because you don't get any initial rinses like you would with the deionizers. However, most of those that get you 40-50 rinses cost $400-500 initially. So you may still do better going the distilled water route. I would no doubt test my water and investigate before making a final decision.

 

[securityguy]

If you have high TDS you may get by cheaper buying a 5 gallon portable sprayer/washer and loading a couple gallons of distilled water for .80 cents/gallon at Walmart to do your final rinse. I am seeing where people get 40-50 final rinses with lower TDS water... and that's with $300 worth of resin material. With higher TDS in the 4-500 range, you get maybe 20-30 rinses. So for $300, if you used 3 gallons per final rinse, you would get 100 rinses. It's my understanding you can get a final rinse with 2 gallons, which would then yield you 150 rinses for $300. You would have to make up the initial cost of the sprayer (about $265-275) because you don't get any initial rinses like you would with the deionizers. However, most of those that get you 40-50 rinses cost $400-500 initially. So you may still do better going the distilled water route. I would no doubt test my water and investigate before making a final decision.

Not exactly Sonnie. Please allow me to set the record straight with highly accurate numbers.

#1, a resin refill is about $100, not $300. The initial purchase of the main unit may be around $300 and includes the resin. With HIGH levels of TDS around 400, you'll get about 175 gallons of DI water. @200 = 350 gallons. @100 = 705 gallons and @50 = 1400 gallons. I think you'll agree the DI system and resin is a far cheaper option then buying jugs at Walmart.

I hope this helps everyone make a better educated decision

 

[J-Cooz]

I just bought new resin for my Griots and it was $130 CDN. My resin is still good after a year but with my increased washing lately I bought it just in case.

 

[securityguy]

I just bought new resin for my Griots and it was $130 CDN. My resin is still good after a year but with my increased washing lately I bought it just in case.

Yep...$95 US currency

 

[Sonnie]

If I could find some consistency to believe those numbers, sure, but I've not seen any consistency from anywhere. I've read a lot of reviews. Lots of folks talk about how great it is, but no one gave any numbers, except the ones that did not get very many uses with it. I've seen quite a few reviews stating they only got 20-30 final rinses. Maybe they are using more than 1-2 gallons of water. If you've used it for a year, do you wash your vehicle once a week, every other week or once a month... you get either 52, 26 or 12 uses, and where is your TDS level after that year. Is anyone really keeping up with it to verify they are getting what's advertised. Those are the ones I've not found. I've seen a lot of generalities, but nothing of any verified substance.

I was also looking at the other units that hold a lot more resin and have split valves... they are more than the cheap units, and they did not get near those kinds of gallons, not at least according to reviews I've read. What I found was 1 cubic foot of resin at $300. If your unit only holds 1/3 cubic foot, then $100 would indeed be correct. Or maybe there are cheaper resins out there that I did not find.

I did say "if" your TDS is high, around 400-500... you "may" get by cheaper... and it may be worth investigating before making a final decision.

As with anything you buy like this... YMMV.

If anyone here works for one of those companies and can guarantee me those gallons of 0-20 TDS water based on my TDS, I might just buy one myself. But until I get a guarantee or substantial proof, I don't think I'd bite at this point. I just got done drying my truck a little bit ago. A spot free rinse would have saved me a lot of sweat, that is for sure.

 

[securityguy]

The highest quality resin you can buy for a cubic foot is $215 from DI Rinse. You can also buy a 1/3 cube for $95 from Griots. Sonny, nothing in life is a guarantee except that you will pay taxes and you will die. There are a lot of stupid people buying these things and using them to wash their entire car/truck and not just rinse. They then post that they only got 20 uses out of their resin...morons! The last time I rinsed my truck, I used 3.5 gallons of DI water (I have a digital water meter connected to the output of my Griots unit). My TDS ranges around 250ppm. Therefore, if I get about 300 gallons out of my resin, that's about 85 rinses or a little over $1 a rinse cycle. There is data on the web to validate what I posted in post #25. You can either believe it or not...your choice

 

[Sonnie]

So this is the absolute first review I've read with any measured data to back up manufacturer claims. I've actually been wondering if anyone had metered the water usage. I believe you, have no reason to doubt you, and you are probably right, there are apparently a LOT of people not using it to the fullest benefit, thus they don't get many rinses. I've definitely seen more negative about the longevity of the resin than positive. 99% of the positive reviews simply verify it works and doesn't leave spots. And anyone can copy and paste data from a website, doesn't make it factual. I viewed that same data on one of the manufacturers sites. What you are doing with the meter is much more believable than claims by a manufacturer advertising their products.

How high to you allow your TDS to get before you replace the resin?

Sounds like DI Rinse is the way to go with the resin... $71.50 vs $95, and you know you got the best.

FWIW... many things in life are guaranteed, that does not mean they will happen (death is for sure, but taxes are not). However, if those making the guarantee stand behind it, then the end result is as good as the guarantee.

 

[J-Cooz]

So this is the absolute first review I've read with any measured data to back up manufacturer claims. I've actually been wondering if anyone had metered the water usage. I believe you, have no reason to doubt you, and you are probably right, there are apparently a LOT of people not using it to the fullest benefit, thus they don't get many rinses. I've definitely seen more negative about the longevity of the resin than positive. 99% of the positive reviews simply verify it works and doesn't leave spots. And anyone can copy and paste data from a website, doesn't make it factual. I viewed that same data on one of the manufacturers sites. What you are doing with the meter is much more believable than claims by a manufacturer advertising their products.

How high to you allow your TDS to get before you replace the resin?

Sounds like DI Rinse is the way to go with the resin... $71.50 vs $95, and you know you got the best.

FWIW... many things in life are guaranteed, that does not mean they will happen (death is for sure, but taxes are not). However, if those making the guarantee stand behind it, then the end result is as good as the guarantee.

I don't meter mine, but I don't use the DI untill the final rinse. I foam cannon, two bucket wash, rinse, and then a final DI rinse. I do all this with my power washer so it uses less water than a straight hose would. Perhaps thats why mine lasts long.