[BGM80]

Hey Everyone,

I'm going to go in on a CR Spotless DI Water System (portable) and had some questions.

It seems you really only need it for the final rinse off. I saw someone's setup who created their own bypass of the system, then change the controls to have it pass through the CR system for the final rinse. Alternatively, just thinking about connecting it before the rinse, or just leaving it on for the whole thing and change the filters more often.

Does the stainless steel inlet hose it comes with limit waterflow/GPM at all, or have no impact?

Thanks in advance!

[BlkGS]

I went for a non CR Spotless DI system, but they're basically all the same. Using it only for rinsing saves resin, the resin only can remove so much stuff before you have to buy more. There's benefits to using it for other things, it helps keep your soap from spotting, prevents nozzle build up, etc... but using it for rinse is where the real benefit is.

Bypass wise... You can spend money for Ys and Ts and whatever... Or you can just put a pair of quick connects on and manually move it.

[Pheonix]

I built my own 3 stages DI water system! For some reasons, our water has low TDS (around 50) but has some discoloration so I do Sendiment-Carbon-DI. I retrofit the CR Spotless cart since I use the system to clean the House Windows and Solar Panels couple times a year.
I just use the Shutoff valves and T for bypass. The stainless steel hose appeared not to affect the flow! Also add a flow metter to monitor flow and total consumption.
I spent less than half the price of the CR Spotless.
You could tell the water before and after
One of the best things I purchased. Now I could wash the car anytime and don't have wait for the sun to go down and dont even blow/wipe the cars after unless I apply sacrificial detailer afterwards.

[TboneS54]

I find rinse only method to still leave spots later. I'm starting to move to spotless for more than just final rinse. I'll do most of the wash without it, but I'll incorporate it earlier, like when I wash off soap for the last time, apply a touchless sealant, for example, then a final rinse.

And I don't have bad water at all, TDS of 210 from the source here.

[BGM80]

That homemade system is pretty legit - really nice work on that. I got the CR system and think just putting some quick connects on it seems like an easy way to quickly attach it for the rinse phase. I think I just get a few standard 3/4 hose connects and that will work for each side.

Correct me if I'm wrong - if I'm using regular water for the tires and foam, to then quick connect in the DI system I'll need to turn off the water supply, mostly empty out the pressure washer/hose, then attach the DI System, then turn water back on for the rinse.

Also - when you're done washing and you turn off the water supply (hose) do you then run the pressure washer/DI system a little to drain out the system?

Thanks everyone!

[BlkGS]

I don't think it's gonna hurt anything to use the water that's in the pressure washer after connecting the DI water. Use it on your wheels or something if it worries you.

You could get a little shutoff valve... Or you could be a caveman like me and just fold the hose up 2-3 times to stop the flow of water lol. A shutoff valve before the QC is the nicer option for sure

It seemed like people recommend leaving the DI system wet inside. I'm curious about this too though.

[CTPJ]

Here's my homemade pressure washing station. Although the DI system looks like it came from CR Spotless, only the mounting bracket is from them (it was more substantial than any other ones I could find online). Everything else, other than the 3/4" PEX pipe (which I got at HD), was sourced from either Amazon or Ebay. Additionally, instead of using DI cartridges, I am using an adapter kit that allows me to pour a 1/4 cu ft of resin into each filter for more capacity. Currently, I have it set up with a quick connect to attach it to my garden hose but will be connecting it directly to my house water supply as my next project. I also have quick connections on my Active power washer and an additional HP hose so I can disconnect it and use it for other duties around the house.

[BGM80]

I've put together my CR spotless bypass. Some of the systems I saw online directly had the Y connect on the output, and they say you actually never have to touch those valves/controls.

In my head I think this mixes the tap with the DI water, but I'm guessing there is some chemistry/physics that avoid this? Or does it mix a bit but it clears quickly once you start using the DI water and turn-off the bypass (on input)?

Thanks,

[BlkGS]

That is not how I would do it.

What you're doing here is trying to shove water into the DI system. Presumably, you have a similar y on the other end so there's nowhere for it to go directly out, so it's just all mixing around inside. So you're using up resin and not getting anything out of it of benefit.

If you added a shutoff valve between the Y and the DI system, it would work, you would never close the house side of the y, and close the shutoff at the Din and open the bypass portion of the Y to bypass it. I would duplicate the setup on the output side to

Just my take, I'm no plumber or hydraulic engineer.

[BGM80]

Yeah, I thought the exact same thing as you blkGS. But even when I look at CR Spotless' own bypass system (link below) this is how it's set up. The outlet bypass only has the Y connector. Maybe there is something I'm missing, but I just think when the tap is active it somehow mixes when pushing through the output Y which has to be fully open.

https://crspotless.com/products/bypa...l&_ss=e&_v=1.0

[V1_ROT8]

Pretty easy and cheap fix, though: just add one of these at the outlet of the DI system before the “Y”:

https://a.co/d/bCtAEqa

[CTPJ]

Here are the assemble instructions

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by V1_ROT8

Pretty easy and cheap fix, though: just add one of these at the outlet of the DI system before the “Y”:

https://a.co/d/bCtAEqa

Personally I'd put one at the inlet and one at the outlet. They're cheaper than buying new resin

[Portimao Blue M440ix]

Originally Posted by BlkGS

Personally I'd put one at the inlet and one at the outlet. They're cheaper than buying new resin

I would also add the shut offs before and after as well.

I wonder if there is a check valve on the exit side and thats why the factory set up is the way it is? Its definitely cheaper to add the shut offs to be safe then sorry when buying resin.

[txmav]

Before buying your DI system, please check the specs for it. The performance for some DI systems really degrades (higher TDM) if the input flow rate is too high, and some pressure washers require a certain amount of input flow rate to work properly. Hence, you will want to make sure that your DI system can handle the flow rate needs for your pressure washer.

[monkeytail]

Originally Posted by txmav

Before buying your DI system, please check the specs for it. The performance for some DI systems really degrades (higher TDM) if the input flow rate is too high, and some pressure washers require a certain amount of input flow rate to work properly. Hence, you will want to make sure that your DI system can handle the flow rate needs for your pressure washer.

Thank you

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by txmav

Before buying your DI system, please check the specs for it. The performance for some DI systems really degrades (higher TDM) if the input flow rate is too high, and some pressure washers require a certain amount of input flow rate to work properly. Hence, you will want to make sure that your DI system can handle the flow rate needs for your pressure washer.

Valid point.

I bought a small spotbye system, it didn't state it's GPM rating. I looked at a few others that had built in flow limiters to ensure they could keep up.

IMO, a system with 2.5x10" canisters is unlikely to keep up with much and is only useful if you're filling a tank. The 4x10s may work if you aren't using a super high flow pressure washer. A pair of 4x20 housings like cr spotless uses should keep up without an issue.

[Pheonix]

I tested the CR Spotless (dual Cartridge model) and the flow was around 5.1 GPM. My special setup of 3 Cartridges yields about 4.1 GPM. The Active 2.0 requires about 1.8-1.9 GPM so plenty of flow.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by Pheonix

I tested the CR Spotless (dual Cartridge model) and the flow was around 5.1 GPM. My special setup of 3 Cartridges yields about 4.1 GPM. The Active 2.0 requires about 1.8-1.9 GPM so plenty of flow.

What's your 3 cartridge setup? A carbon filter before the DI ones? That's kinda what I'm thinking about doing.

I bought a $120 dintank system and here I am looking at doing a like $400 setup for DI because someone needs to stop me, lol.

[Pheonix]

See my post (#3) above.
Basically 5 microns sediment-5 microns Carbon- CR SPOTLESS DI resin Cartridge. The main reason, I am running only 1 DI Cartridge because I don't use a lot of DI water and the resin supposedly only lasted 1 year.
I might try to go down to 1 microns filters and also do the RV Mod for the DI Resin when i am ready for filters change.