Anybody ever use RO/DI filtered water to wash their car?

**bobn4burton** · 03-23-2009, 03:24 PM

OK...so I`m looking for some input here from the Pro`s!

I currently have three 50 gallon barrels of water in my garage used for water storage. Here`s my idea. I`d like to use my RO/DI (Reverse Osmosis/De-Ionization) filter to fill these barrels. Then I tie all three barrels together with syphon tubes (so I can add RO/DI water in the first barrel and it feeds all three barrels).

So now I have 150 gallons of RO/DI (essentially distilled) water at my disposal. Then what if I got a pressure pump along the lines of this:

Pump at Harbor Freight

This pump will draw water out of the last barrel and give me pressurized water (~70 psi) to wash/rinse my car with.

With the RO/DI water...I should get a spot free rinse everytime I wash my car!!

This idea would essentially kill two birds with one stone. I could have a spot free rinse for my car. I also wouldn`t have to recycle the water in my storage barrels every 6-12 months to keep it fresh (cuz I`d be recycling the water by just washing my car weekly)

Any thoughts on this?

Here are some questions that I don`t have definite answers to...chime in if you do...

1. Would that pressure pump linked above work with the small pressure tank it has? Would I need a larger pressure tank after the pump?

2. Would RO/DI water work well for the `washing` part of the car? Does soap work very well mixed with pure water?

3. How much water do you typically use for a car wash? I`m guessing 20-30 gallons? I could be way off here???

4. Is there a better pressure pump suited for this type of situation?

5. I was thinking of getting the Gilmour foamgun from amazon. It seems they are a good deal and would be helpful for washing the car. Do people generally prefer the foamaster II (all plastic) or foamaster (with brass)?

Thanks for any input on this idea you may have!

**Envious Eric** · 03-23-2009, 03:47 PM

IMO too much work for car washing! just pick up a CRspotless system and attach to the hose...problem solved!

Personally, I dont it all that big of a deal to have a spotless system when washing! I used to wash conventionally (hose and bucket) and I never really had a problem with potting, except for when the sun was at its highest during the summer. Since switching 100% to ONR, I NEVER have a problem

**bobn4burton** · 03-23-2009, 04:31 PM

Interesting...I hadn`t actually seen those CRspotless systems before.

Although I still like my idea better for the following reasons.

1. Not really a lot of work as I already have the barrels and RO/DI filter in place. Basically I`d just have to attach the pump on the output of the barrel.

2. For my particular system, it actually cuts down some of my work as well since I won`t have to manually recycle my water storage every 6-12 months.

3. My proposed system is a lot cheaper. I haven`t shopped CRspotless systems much, but just a quick look shows one at Costco for $350. Then DI refill beads are 150. Using DI beads to filter water is actually a very expensive route. It works well and quickly...but with very hard water at all (city water varies greatly but will probably be in the range of 200-900 ppm) you can go through beads pretty quickly. The RO/DI filter is great because the majority of filtering comes from the RO filter (which lasts a long time and can be flushed, although you DO waste water this way). Anyways...my proposed system will only cost me about 130 bucks for a pump. And filtration media costs will be tons cheaper in the future. I guess if you were starting from scratch and had to buy the RO/DI filter, pump, barrels then it might add up to about the same as a CRspotless system, 300-400 bucks.

So it might be a hassle to do from ground up. But for my particular situation where I already have barrels setup, RO/DI filter I can use, a need to recycle my water barrels anyways...it seemed like a good idea??

Pardon my ignorance...but what is "ONR"?? I`m new here... And feel free to correct any thing above that I may have assumed incorrectly...like I said, I`m a noob!

**SuperBee364** · 03-23-2009, 04:38 PM

Wow... I`m very jealous of your system! It`s hard to know for sure, but it does look like that pump would be just the ticket for your setup, although since you`ve already taken it to this level, you might as well take it to the next: get yourself a pressure washer and a foam cannon. A foam cannon makes the gilmore foam lance look like a Tinker Toy.

Also, a good gas powered PW will only draw 3 gallons per minute from your tanks. You`d be able to do washes using DI/RO water for the entire wash, instead of just the rinse (which is what I do).

A foam cannon can only be used with a pressure washer, btw, where as the Gilmore just attaches to the end of a regular garden hose.

**VroooomCrash** · 03-23-2009, 04:39 PM

Just use buckets and OCW? :-p

**SuperBee364** · 03-23-2009, 04:47 PM

Originally Posted by bobn4burton

Interesting...I hadn`t actually seen those CRspotless systems before.

Although I still like my idea better for the following reasons.

1. Not really a lot of work as I already have the barrels and RO/DI filter in place. Basically I`d just have to attach the pump on the output of the barrel.

2. For my particular system, it actually cuts down some of my work as well since I won`t have to manually recycle my water storage every 6-12 months.

3. My proposed system is a lot cheaper. I haven`t shopped CRspotless systems much, but just a quick look shows one at Costco for $350. Then DI refill beads are 150. Using DI beads to filter water is actually a very expensive route. It works well and quickly...but with very hard water at all (city water varies greatly but will probably be in the range of 200-900 ppm) you can go through beads pretty quickly. The RO/DI filter is great because the majority of filtering comes from the RO filter (which lasts a long time and can be flushed, although you DO waste water this way). Anyways...my proposed system will only cost me about 130 bucks for a pump. And filtration media costs will be tons cheaper in the future. I guess if you were starting from scratch and had to buy the RO/DI filter, pump, barrels then it might add up to about the same as a CRspotless system, 300-400 bucks.

So it might be a hassle to do from ground up. But for my particular situation where I already have barrels setup, RO/DI filter I can use, a need to recycle my water barrels anyways...it seemed like a good idea??

Pardon my ignorance...but what is "ONR"?? I`m new here... And feel free to correct any thing above that I may have assumed incorrectly...like I said, I`m a noob!

And as you know, RO systems don`t just remove minerals.. they filter out darn near everything.

My CRSpotless just arrived at my doorstep today. This was after trying to decide between a small RO system, a housewide RO system, or just the CRSpotless. I`d already made a small, dual filter home-made CRSpotless type filter, but I wasn`t able to flow water through it at a fast enough rate and still have really spot-free water. So I caved in and got the CRSPotless. There are instructions on the internet for rejuvenating DI resins, but you have to use lye and muriatic acid. It`s not as easy as rejuvenating regular soft water resin, (which just uses salt) but it is cheap. A gallon of muriatic acid and a pound of lye is enough to rejuvenate *a lot* of resin.

ONR = Optimum No Rinse Wash N Shine.

I`d love to see some pics of your setup when you get it going.

**Relaited** · 03-23-2009, 07:19 PM

We use an RO system to get spot free water that we then add to our "waterless` wash. Kind of funny ... adding water to waterless.

Works fine

-jim

**bobn4burton** · 03-23-2009, 08:37 PM

Originally Posted by SuperBee364

I`d love to see some pics of your setup when you get it going.

Of course! I see you are from Salt Lake City. I live in Farmington...haha...you could even come over and see it in person if you really wanted to!

You make a good point. Now I need to decide between the Harbor Freight pressure pump + Gilmour Foamaster or go with a pressure washer + foam cannon.

I haven`t followed the PW + foam cannon stuff much. Anyone know what is the current favorite `bang-for-the-buck` PW? Something in the 100-200 range?

Also...what is a good foam cannon for PW?

Is it ok to use a pressure washer on a car? Is there any scare of damage with such high pressures?

I`m excited to get my system up and running with Spring upon us. Now hopefully I can get some good input on whether to go PW/Cannon or pump/foamaster!!

Thanks for everyone`s input so far. Glad I found this forum.

**ezemsm444** · 03-23-2009, 08:45 PM

Do you have a carbon filter in front of your RO?? Chlorine tears the membrane apart. when you are using a ro/di the ro is the first step through the filtering process then i passes through the di filter. this in turn makes the di filter last alot longer since it doesn`t work as hard.

**PedroDaGr8** · 03-23-2009, 09:27 PM

By the way, you do know that DI water will turn slightly acidic if left to sit due to the lack of any buffering media (the ions). Typically it will drop to around 6, which is weakly acidic. This should not be an issue but should be known.

**bobn4burton** · 03-24-2009, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by ezemsm444

Do you have a carbon filter in front of your RO?? Chlorine tears the membrane apart. when you are using a ro/di the ro is the first step through the filtering process then i passes through the di filter. this in turn makes the di filter last alot longer since it doesn`t work as hard.

Yes, I have the carbon pre-filter before the RO.

You can get nice 5 to 8 stage RO/DI filters on ebay for pretty cheap.

**SuperBee364** · 03-24-2009, 08:51 AM

Originally Posted by bobn4burton

Of course! I see you are from Salt Lake City. I live in Farmington...haha...you could even come over and see it in person if you really wanted to!

You make a good point. Now I need to decide between the Harbor Freight pressure pump + Gilmour Foamaster or go with a pressure washer + foam cannon.

I haven`t followed the PW + foam cannon stuff much. Anyone know what is the current favorite `bang-for-the-buck` PW? Something in the 100-200 range?

Also...what is a good foam cannon for PW?

Is it ok to use a pressure washer on a car? Is there any scare of damage with such high pressures?

I`m excited to get my system up and running with Spring upon us. Now hopefully I can get some good input on whether to go PW/Cannon or pump/foamaster!!

Thanks for everyone`s input so far. Glad I found this forum.

LoL, my boy says we need to go see your system in person so we can go to Lagoon.

I think that even if you get the pressure washer, you`ll probably still want to get the pump, `cause most pressure washers require positive pressure to them.

It`s kinda hard to recommend a cheap pressure washer. I went through around six or so of the cheap electrics before I finally ponied up the cash and bought a John Deere gas powered pressure washer. If I would have just bought the JD first, I would have saved about six hundred bucks. If you do decide to get a cheap electric, Costco usually has them about this time of year for cheap. Electric pressure washers don`t have the flow rate of gas ones, either. Think of rinsing your car off with a hand held spray bottle... That`s the difference between gas and electric. Try to get the highest flow rate you can. 2.0 GPM should be minimum. Lowes and Home Depot also have some cheaper gas powered models that would be far better than an electric. If you can, try to get a triple piston pump and a Honda engine.

As long as your careful, you won`t have to worry about damaging your car with a PW. I have mine cranked up to 2,800 psi and have yet to even lift up a corner of a clear bra or the vinyl decals which are all over my car.

This....Foamer Attachment Camspray is the foam cannon I use. It`s kind of spendy, but it works very well.

**Accumulator** · 03-24-2009, 10:38 AM

Interesting ideas... :think: But I can`t help but think how an RO systems produces *so* much waste water. Eh...OK, water is cheap and plentiful in some areas (mine included) but it sounds like a lot more hassle than my CRSpotless.

SuperBee364- That rejuvenating idea sounds like a huge hassle too. I *suppose* it`s OK to flush the lye/hydrochloric acid down the drain, but, well, I dunno...

**SuperBee364** · 03-24-2009, 11:15 AM

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Interesting ideas... :think: But I can`t help but think how an RO systems produces *so* much waste water. Eh...OK, water is cheap and plentiful in some areas (mine included) but it sounds like a lot more hassle than my CRSpotless.

SuperBee364- That rejuvenating idea sounds like a huge hassle too. I *suppose* it`s OK to flush the lye/hydrochloric acid down the drain, but, well, I dunno...

Here`s how to do it.....How to Recharge DI Resin by David Sanders - Reefkeeping.com

As for disposal, I would definitely call and find out about toxic/hazardous materials disposal, although the lye is actually sold as a drain opener, so I`m sure it`s legal for it`s intended use, but still.... no need to add a haz mat to the environment if it`s not necessary.

**Accumulator** · 03-24-2009, 11:33 AM

SuperBee364- Thanks for that link...it`s sure a well-done presentation- informative, straight-forward seeming, easy enough to follow.

Guess the disposal wouldn`t be a huge issue in my case, I`d just put it down the utility-tub sink.

That said, there`s no way I can see myself going through that...just doing the bulk-resin thing is enough of a hassle for me. For somebody with a different hassle/expense viewpoint I can see it being a great way to save money though. Hope anybody trying it uses the proper safety gear, that stuff is nothing to fool around with.