The Ultimate No Touch Drying System - Invisible Chamois

L

laynlow

New member
First, let me say that I am not affiliated with the company that manufactures this product in any way. I first saw this system a couple of years ago at a car show and have been wanting one ever since. I have family in the city where they are made and serviced, so this weekend on a visit I took the plunge. It turns out it was worth it....



This little guy is called the Invisible Chamois.



System.jpg




The system consists of the main filter, the input water line and the exit water line and sprayer. I also got a total dissolved solids meter. It will tell you, in PPM, the number of dissolved solids in your water.



TDSMeter.jpg




Here is the meter reading my tap water:



TapWaterPPM.jpg




This filter produces deionized water that is free of all mineral deposits. The manufacture calls it ultra pure water, and it is. We tested tap water in their building (375 PPM), reverse osmosis water (5 PPM), and DI water from this unit (0 PPM). The filter contains a plastic resin that filters the water via ion exchange producing pure clean water. Over time the resin will become unable to filter the water as effectively, and the manufacture will regenerate the unit for a fee and send it back out to you. They recommend sending the unit in when the meter reads 10 PPM. If you don't use the meter, you just send it in when the water begins to spot.



There are three different sized units, mine is the medium. Washing once per week and using five gallons as a final spot free rinse, this size unit is rated for 54 washes. This number will vary depending on the hardness of your water, and I believe that number was based on the 375 PPM rating of their city water. Mine should last longer because my water is not as hard.



So how well does it work?



Here is the filtered water out of the unit:



DIWater.jpg




After washing the truck normally, I did a final rinse with the DI water. Here you can see it drying on the bed cover.



BedCover.jpg




Here is a dry section of the truck.



QuarterDry.jpg




I am extremely happy with this purchase. I no longer have to worry about water running from the door handle, mirror, or emblems and spotting the paint. There is no doubt this system is an investment, but after the initial cost, it works out to about 1.50 per use. That won't be bad over the long haul. I remember the days of spending eight bucks at the car wash! :xyxthumbs
 
It's simply a water filter isn't it? You didn't mention what it costs but I use this and it performs flawlessly for less than $40, never a water spot, even when drying in the sun.
 
DFTowel said:
It's simply a water filter isn't it? You didn't mention what it costs but I use this and it performs flawlessly for less than $40, never a water spot, even when drying in the sun.
Click to expand...
You had to post that didnt you jerk!! Another $40 out of my bank account.



How long does the filter last Leo?
 
I have one of those too. They are not even in the same league. A carbon block filter removes allot of things and a sediment filter will remove dirt, rust, and so on, but neither do a particularly good job of removing calcium carbonate. If your water doesn't spot, consider yourself lucky! I wish my water was that soft.



My system runs 349. That price point is similar to other so called spot free filters, but most others are really only water softeners. They are great for wash water and rinse water, but for a spot free rinse you either need RO or DI water. I have a drinking water system that uses two carbon block filters. It will purify better than the whole house filters we are both using, but it does not remove minerals or do anything for the hardness of the water.
 
DocHoliday said:
You had to post that didnt you jerk!! Another $40 out of my bank account.



How long does the filter last Leo?
Click to expand...



:lol



I use two filters a year. I only use it when washing the cars and that's a couple of times a week, sometimes three.
 
laynlow,



Looks like a nice unit.



From the pix the fittings look to be 3/8". How's the flow and pressure drop? Are you feeding a pressure washer with it or just using a nozzle on the outlet?



When the media's expended how do you go about getting it re-charged (or is it just replaced)? How much does media re-charge/replace cost?





PC.
 
When using the garden hose filter, do you actualyl dry the car or just leave it to dry itself? Curious about this, as the filters are cheap and reusable it looks like.
 
laynlow-- Thanks for making us aware of another DI option.



From the system's decsription at their website it is still just a a deionizing filter. It's a little different from the CR spotless in that you have to return the entire unit to have them replace/recharge the DI resin bed. This would seem to be a little redundant/expensive given the added return shipping costs. It seems to me that having a user serviceable filter would be more cost effective, but until you do the math, you can't really see how it compares to the price/gallon of the CR spotless.
 
Nice post! I have a TDS meter also and my tap water reads about 203ppm. I also have a 5 stage ro/DI filter system for use with my tropical aquariums. Ive wondered about how I use the "good" water for a final rinse? The unit makes 85GPD, but produces it rather slowly.



So when using the DI rinse do you dry at all?
 
I use faucet water. And try to dry as fast as I can.





lol. Seriously, I'd love to have that luxury... but I don't see it in the near future. There are still things pending that I need before I need a ultra-purifying rinse water stage.
 
DFTowel said:
It's simply a water filter isn't it? You didn't mention what it costs but I use this and it performs flawlessly for less than $40, never a water spot, even when drying in the sun.
Click to expand...





Yes, I have one of those and am pleased. I can't say it performs flawlessly, that all depends on the mineral content of the water you are starting out with, but I must observe it drastically reduces spotting down here with my water. :up
 
Bill D said:
Yes, I have one of those and am pleased. I can't say it performs flawlessly, that all depends on the mineral content of the water you are starting out with, but I must observe it drastically reduces spotting down here with my water. :up
Click to expand...

Ditto... I have HORRIBLE hard water (indiana limestone), and it helps tremendously just using a water softner catridge. I may use it in conjunction with a DI system in the future.
 
Sorry it took so long to get back to this thread. Thanks for the interest guys!



The price between this and the CR is comparable. Mine will run 270+ gallons (the 270 is based on 375PPM) before regeneration. The CR is rated at 300. Mine costs 79 bucks for the regeneration and shipping to the manufacture is included. Return shipping is not. The CR filter pack is 100 bucks + shipping.



This unit is the filter. There are no cartridges inside. The tank holds the resin bed. If you were to crack open the top, you would see the resin inside. The manufacture cleans the resin making the filter perform as new. When and if the resin needs replacing, that is included in the regeneration fee, it is not extra.



There is a slight pressure drop, but this is a final rinse and it does that well. There is plenty of pressure to push the unfiltered tap water off leaving only the DI water behind.



I normally do not dry by hand after rinsing with this unit. There is no need most of the time and that is the whole point of having one really. If the day is windy and dust is blowing, I might hit the spots that are not quickly evaporating. After all, the dust in the wind could still be trapped by the drying water droplets and left on the paint after the water evaporates. The base of the windshield has a plastic molding that will trap pools of water, and I will sometimes sop those up too. For the most part though, I do not hand dry after rinsing. That shot of the quarter panel is air dry after a DI rinse. No QD or any other product was used after drying.



Any other questions or comments are welcome.
 
Would using the water softener before the CR/invisible chamois unit extend the resin life and basically increase the amount of DI your unit can put out?



-Mark
 
Would using the water softener before the CR/invisible chamois unit extend the resin life and basically increase the amount of DI your unit can put out?
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No. Softened water will not have a lower total dissolved solids. Softened water just replaces the Ca/Mg chlorides and carbonates with sodium so there is no net decrease in TDS.
 
mrecktid said:
Would using the water softener before the CR/invisible chamois unit extend the resin life and basically increase the amount of DI your unit can put out?



-Mark
Click to expand...



Softener, no. Carbon block filter, yes. The carbon block filter reduces the level of chlorine entering the DI filter, and chlorine is one of the chemicals that reduce the lifespan of the resin. So by using a cheap whole house filter like those mentioned in this thread with a carbon block filter you can extend the intervals.
 
What about the door jambs and under side of hood and boot etc. Still have to hand dry those
 
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