Water Filtration System!

S

Shawn F.

New member
I am looking into installing some kind of filtration system in my shop and have a few to choose from... One is the CS Di-Ionizer that Detailed Image sells (also can get it at Costo for a decent price) and another is from some company I have seen mentioned before on their microfibers that are not your typical microfibers from DF Concours... DF Concours - Water Filter

That is the link to the one that looks decent because of the fact that I can bypass the filter be just twisting the head of it or turn it to have it on or off. I do not need to waste the cartridges while washing the vehicle, only rinse and it seems that the CS Di-Ionizer would be a waste plus the resin is very costly. I have heard mixed reviews on the CS unit but nothing on this DF Concours unit. I understand the de-ionizer is different that a water softening resin filter and probably the best way to go.



Any information or opinions would be greatly appreciated on which type and which brand of unit to go with. Thanks!
 
You may want to check for references before you put your money in DF concours last time I read about them in 2007 here they sort of went dark.
 
Shawn F.- No biggie switching between the regular hose and the deinonizer, just get a "Y" connector with shutoffs one each outlet. You might need to have a pressure limiter on the DI unit anyhow, which you wouldn't want on your "regular" hose.



Regarding which DI to get, the way the larger CRS unit can go through resin, I sure wouldn't want a smaller one for fear of having to replace the resin all the time.



Just FWIW, my system (and I have decent municipal water too) is as follows:



Two media filters (20 micron, 10 micron) to remove sediment, berm filter to remove excess manganese, softener to remove calcium, CRS to deionize (which I only use for rinsing, and only for certain vehicles/situations).



With all the filters and the softener, I don't really need to use the CRS all that much, which is good considering the cost/hassle of resin replacement.
 
Tom Weed- Welcome to Autopia!



Interesting that you get so many rinses out of your CRS, especially running normal pressure into it (note that pressure and volume are different, the restricters don't alter pressure so I have to run a special fitting for that). Your untreated ppm readings aren't all that bad, but I'm still impressed that your resin lasts that long.



I bet that CRS/pressure washer combo is great! Is your Karcher still working?
 
Hey Accumulator,

Well, I wont say I use it all the time, so that's probably when I can get close to a summer out of it... I am average a car per weekend on details but only use it on the car if it's dark colored, I can wash lighter colored vehicles under the canopys and keep them wet until I either dry them or go to clay. I usually wash our vehicles with it which are both black, probably every other week, but I am also a lot of rinseless washings these days too which skew that number somewhat. I have found out my numbers aren't bad compared to lots of other places, but it is still hard enough to spot like crazy here...



Karcher... I will never own another one, went through 3 of them in 2 summers... I then switched to a refurb Campbell Hausfield which I got two summers out of, now I am using a Briggs and Stratton 1800 PSI electric going on my third summer and it's going strong. I would own another one of them...
 
Thanks for the info and review! I am still up in the air on which to go with but your review helped lean me towards the CR Spotless unit a little more... As for the electric unit, where did you buy your Briggs unit at? I am looking for a new electrical unit other than Karcher or the other cheap Northern Tool type brands out there...
 
Shawn F. said:
Thanks for the info and review! I am still up in the air on which to go with but your review helped lean me towards the CR Spotless unit a little more... As for the electric unit, where did you buy your Briggs unit at? I am looking for a new electrical unit other than Karcher or the other cheap Northern Tool type brands out there...
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Hey Shawn,

It's too bad they've raised the prices so much on the CR Spotless systems, I like mine, but would be hesitant to purchase on again at the prices I've seen without exploring my other options.



As far as the Briggs pw goes, I gave 300.00 for it, which is more than the other units I've owned, but it seems to be better unit, hands down. I got it from Pressurewashersdirect, I've seen some others talking about having a bad experience there, but I've not had that issue and have bought my last two from there.
 
I've been very happy with my CRS DIC-20. I have mine set up similarly to what Accumulator laid out (sediment filter > soft water filter > "Y" connector > one hose coming directly off of that and another hooked through my DIC-20). The last time I checked my water with my TDS meter I was over 500 PPM from the tap, about 100 PPM less after the sediment and soft water pre-filters and (of course) "zero" upon exiting the CRS system.



Replacement resin can be expensive but I think it's a moot point regardless of the size of your filtration. Yeah, it may be "cheaper by the refill" on smaller cartridges but as was pointed out earlier, smaller likely means you'll just have to replace it more often. ....and then there's the consideration of how much flow/pressure you can send through your set up while still allowing the media to effectively filter the water. For example, for the larger DIC-20 model with the two 20" filters it is recommended that you keep your water flow below 4 GPM. For their small DIC-10 with two 10" filters the instruction call for 2.5 GPM.



....btw, one of the cheapest sources for resin I found is here:



Windows101 LLC



I don't know why it is shown in "euros" but that should be $115 (plus shipping and tax if applicable) for one cu. ft. In fact, I just ordered another bag since my supply is getting low.
 
Kean- Sounds like the upstream-from-CRS filters are helping out, huh?



I sometimes wonder whether the softener really makes any diff (exhanging calcium for sodium/potassium is just exchanging; does the CRS know the difference?) but I don't have any convenient way to experiment with it.
 
Accumulator said:
Kean- Sounds like the upstream-from-CRS filters are helping out, huh?



I sometimes wonder whether the softener really makes any diff (exhanging calcium for sodium/potassium is just exchanging; does the CRS know the difference?) but I don't have any convenient way to experiment with it.
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As far as the TDS readings it seems to be in that respect. ....but like you said, I have no idea how the swap of components in the water actually affect the DI resin. Maybe it can lead to shorter life? .....I dunno. I'm hoping the pre-filtration actually helps but I wouldn't bank on it without proof or input from someone more knowledgeable about such things.
 
Tom Weed, thanks for the info on the pressure washer! I think I may purchase this thing within a month or two tops. How much do you use yours? I will be using mine about 4 hours a day minimum so need something very reliable. I do have another electric Karcher and 3 gas powered ones for backup but would prefer not to pull the gas powered ones out since 2 of them are for pressure washing homes and large items at 5 GPM.
 
The increase in Sodium (salt) levels in the water can be significant, especially when treating very hard water; therefore a water softener would be somewhat of a compromise when it comes to vehicle washing



A water softener does not remove the minerals (calcium Ca and magnesium Mg) that are responsible for ‘water spotting’, softened water tends to strip wax by increasing the effectiveness of detergents; the softener doesn't get rid of all the minerals. The only way to get truly "clean" water is distilled or de-ionized water



I think a pre-filter may be of some help, but IMO a water softner is unecessary in conjuction with a CRSpotless filter system
 
TOGWT said:
The increase in Sodium (salt) levels in the water can be significant, especially when treating very hard water; therefore a water softener would be somewhat of a compromise when it comes to vehicle washing



A water softener does not remove the minerals (calcium Ca and magnesium Mg) that are responsible for ‘water spotting’, softened water tends to strip wax by increasing the effectiveness of detergents; the softener doesn't get rid of all the minerals..
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My (definitely imperfect!) understanding is that the calcium ions are replaced with sodium ions and the resulting water thus contains a different type of mineral. Again, I don't really know what I'm talking about here.



But I *DO* know from the functional, end result effect of using/not softeners as I went from a "hard water shop" to my current setup with the softener.



The "soft" water definitely doesn't spot the way "hard" water does in my case. Any water spotting is easily wiped away, which was not the case with hard water; with the hard water any spotting was *VERY* difficult to QD/etc. away and sometimes it would require some pretty extreme measures (oh, the fond memories of having to fix this after driving home from that shop!).



Also, I've had zero evidence of my soft water being hard on my LSPs. While my detergents do indeed work better, my LSPs actually last *longer* than they did when I washed with hard water. I can imagine numerous variables in play here though, so I bet YMMV can apply.



I think a pre-filter may be of some help, but IMO a water softner is unecessary in conjuction with a CRSpotless filter system[/COLOR]
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Right with regard to not needing the softener if using the CRS, but I'll add that one would need to use the CRS quite effectively lest hard water remain in nooks and crannies, to drip out later. Deionizing *all* the water used for a wash would be quite something, better have a lot of resin on hand!



The prefilters are probably a situational thing; when I see the [stuff] that mine catch, no way would I ever want to be without them. I'm talking solids you can hold in your hand :eek:



As always, not intended as an :argue:
 
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