What is your TDS going into the Filters? Here in Florida where I live its 683 TDS...in NY it was 117TDS and I was getting 0 TDS for about 2years and went up to 50 in 2.5yrs of use..and I maintain my vehicles every other weekend. Now living in Florida, these filters are more like door stoppers because the resin prices are insane. Mine setup failed even with new resin I was getting 150-200 TDS output, spotting started. Best and cheapest way to solve the problem of spotting is to ceramic coat the whole vehicle and all the trim..and then use your water hose to dry the vehicle since water doesn't stay on the vehicle. and just use a quality towel and pickup the droplets that didn't fall off the vehicle. My problem has been solved and saving hundreds of dollars.
Very nice I always dry, but use the spotless so just in case I get pulled away for something or don’t have time I know I’ll be alright. Incoming TDS makes a big difference that’s for sure I would reevaluate and use a reverse osmosis system and store the clean water to be used later if my TDS was that high. Thanks for the info.
I have one I bought early last spring. I used it all season and had zero issues. It dropped my TDS from 150 to 1-2. Very impressive. I have "recharged" mine twice, I wash weekly 2 vehicles and only filter rinse water. It fed my 1800 Karcher cube just fine even in filter mode. Works good for me, I like it. The fittings are a little finicky, takes quite a bit to keep them from leaking.
The fittings are for sure lacking, but they work. Glad it worked out for you. Just about all the systems work as long as it’s sized properly to your water quality and some have to deal with changing more often than others.
@@Vectorr66 Yeah, they finally figured out inflation I guess. Happens to a lot of products I feature especially new ones they get an inventory hit and instantly raise the price. If you go here it’s $240 cheapest price around, but I have no idea if it’s free shipping or not. I think it’s worth $200, but not much more than that it being a single swing arm and not double. oemdiagnostictools.com/bluseal-5-8-x-50-rectractable-water-hose-reel/
Will you try a carbon filter in the first housing and fresh resin filled cartridges in 2 & 3 to see how that works? I see people comment in various places saying adding a pre filter of some sort (many commenters don't specify type) will help with resin life and increase total output. Thanks for all your tests. I'm a mobile detailer and the majority of my work is maintenance washes outdoors and often in the sun. I've been trying to decide between just a small water softener tank or a DI unit, they're just so expensive...so I continue to suffer lol
Chlorine or chloramine Carbon filter will help for sure when dealing with treated city water. With this setup running a carbon will help life, but depends on your tds as you are losing surface area to keep it spotless. I prefer a separate filter housing before the DI system to help deal with Chlorine and Chloramine.
@@CarsWithKeavwould you be willing to make a video on this for us? I want to get a deionizer budget filter system to final rinse my car but also am interested in getting the most life out of the resin. My ppm on tap is 150-160 so I want to ideally drop it to 50 as you do, before hitting the resin.
@@pvmsupra9607 mine is 50 without anymore-filters. They will not change the tds much at all as what carbon filters remove is chemicals which are not solids. You would still be running 150ppm more than likely, but that is good water. It’s well below the national average of 200. If you are a mobile detailer are you using a gravity or pump fed tank? If you are RO water is a good option to really save on resin. They would bring your 150ppm water probably down to 15 or less.
Quick question. I have a mobile detail setup always been curious of di water system but never ran one. It gets super humid in hot weather in sc water spot gets horrible. i currently run 60gal water tank that connects to on demand pump then to pressure washer. If i wanted to run this system. Would I connect this system to water tank first before my water pump. Or would i connect this system after the water pump
Pump before as the pump will try to prime and suck from the filter more than likely aerating the water in the filter housings. Before will help strain on the pump as well since it will be slowed down by this DI system which limits to 2gpm. If you need more flow I would suggest a Waterdrop or an FRP tank filter. I have done reviews on both.
For mobile detailing... So what's the correct hook up? (#1) Water tank to Water pump to DI filter system then to Pressure washer? Or (#2) Water tank to DI system to Water pump then to Pressure washer? I apologize I was confused by the answer. I love your channel and I appreciate the help if you could!! Thanks 🤘
@@J.M.A.D The filter system always has the restriction in flow so it should be at the end just before the pressure washer so you don’t choke the pump. Plus the pump will help push the water volume through the filters which at times can act like vacuums.
@@bluewatermobiledetail Sorry I didn’t respond sooner comments and replies are getting hard Yonkers up with now. Option 1 is the way to go filters should always be after the pump.
Yes, more testing on these smaller portable units is appreciated. I have 280-300ppm from city water and need something. HD often runs the PRO+AQUA system on their daily special which is a one tank system, easy for mobile use. Anyone heard of them or effectiveness? I know Amazon has them as well.
I was wondering if it would be cheaper to fill a 20 gallon tank with filtered water and then you don’t have to worry about getting a high flow rate filter. Kinda like an air compressor, it can refill when you need more water. I really don’t need a huge tank but I am at an apartment and wouldn’t have a normal hose but I figure I could run water from the sink to a reservoir tank in my garage and just store the water I need in a there. I just am washing my own car so I don’t think it will be necessary to have a setup that filters water very fast anyway. I just need enough water to spot free rinse which maybe like 10 gallons at the most, but I would think about 5 would be fine. Any advice on a diy setup like this. Could you get more life out of a filter just be rerunning the same water through the filter again?
I have tried a setup kind of like this for an RO system. Same concept pump from a stored container. This is absolutely a way many do this just most don’t have the room or want store ms water in their garage. ruclips.net/video/BpQmEDUHFRU/видео.htmlsi=lZfzMgdht3qBjm_r
It will work fine with those as long as your TDS is low enough for the filters to keep up with cleaning the water. Most of those run at 1.4gpm with the right nozzle so probably need just 1.6GPM flow to maintain that properly.
@@CarsWithKeav Thanks, what would be recommended more for a budget minded enthusiast? My water is less than 100ppm. I've checked all your reviews and just unsure.
@@milogger7556 100 ppm this one is going to be pretty good just got to replace that first filter a little more often than the other two. There are others close to this price, but they have no bypass. Like the spotbye DI tank. When a deal comes along the Waterdrop can get as low as $240 and if you want to invest the Griots Garage one is good. Just filmed a video on that one. It’s $300, but has bypass and can hold a lot of resin plus it does 4gpm easily.
Quick question, does a DI system depend on being connected to a water hose with pressure or can i use a bucket of water as the source? I'm trying to have a very mobile setup that sometimes doesn't have a hose water source available. Thanks!
Always need to have some kind of pressure for the water to push through can be from a bucket or container, but has to be gravity fed. Might not be much flow to be useful though. A pump is an idea as well.
@@CarsWithKeav Ah I see, thank you for the insight, hmm i wonder if gravity fed from a bucket water source would work with my 600psi ryobi power washer, it's only .7GPM, if can avoid a pump I would because it would impact my goal of being very light weight and mobile.
@@whatarewedoing2024 Is that the ez clean Ryobi? It for sure can pull from a bucket. It comes with a bucket hose just for that. Made a video on that unit I love it. ruclips.net/video/Vot1miL9aes/видео.htmlsi=FI4MhIPug6rSnHI5 If you mean to pull through the DI system with the bucket as the source I think it might be possible as long as you don’t break the self priming. The bucket would have to be at a heigh above the filter and the hose running down. Should work as a gravity feed. I just have not tried to know if it would 100% work.
@@CarsWithKeav Yes I'm using the Ryobi 600psi one, what you said about the gravity feed scenario is what I'm thinking too. I can't find anyone else that has tried it before. I actually bought the Ryobi because of your review. Thank you for everything you do!
you can add one of the Bulk Reef Supply BRS Universal Carbon Block Filter - 1 Micron and it will take care of all the Chlorine and Chloramines before it even hits the resin and make it last alot longer since chloramines will deplete it real quick
Absolutely you could, some people’s TDS might be too high though in order for the two filters to handle all of it. I run Carbon and Chloramine filters on my wall setup.
They got it at Walmart. Here is the link www.walmart.com/ip/Gilmour-Foamaster-Cleaning-Sprayer-Nozzle-1-12-oz/263805436?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222228263805436_14069003552_202077872&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-295289030566&wl5=9011014&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=263805436&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIoW0QaM9WLjf72GtcqhwyQ3W&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj_CrBhD-ARIsAIiMxT90C1_NHZcFuNcrckk3ee164AcdLt6nI5Hc_XvZq0DpBeH6xe6tcfIaAp4pEALw_wcB
What's the flow rate difference with the higher end filtration systems? 5.2 to 2.1 GPM seems high but how does it compare? I've tried running an RV filter on the garden hose that runs into my Generac 3100psi/2.8gpm pressure washer. It's too restrictive and I have to pause the spray every 30 seconds for the flow to catch up. It's unuseable.
Most of the housing systems like these even the very large ones run up to 2.5 GPM. They can go higher, but you lose a lot of efficiency. If you want higher flow you need to go with a tank style system. I just ordered one to review that says it can run 4gpm. Check out US water Allegro on a google search those are real good.
@@CarsWithKeav I purchased US Water Allegro 0.5 cu ft mixed-bed resin system. It's the shortest, decent-sized tank system I could find. They list it as 17" high on their website, but that's the tank itself. The tank sits in a base that keeps it 1" off the ground and the cap with the inlet/outlet ports is 2" tall...so total height is right at 20". I took out the middle shelf on a "Version 5" cart and that gave me 25.25", leaving 5.25" of headroom. The unit fits nicely on the bottom shelf with an Active 2.0 pressure washer. My water is about 110 TDS and a tank of resin is supposed to handle about 1100 gallons of 100 TDS water. At 5 gallons per car for final rinse, it should last about 200 car washes. I haven't run the system yet, waiting for some brass fittings, a single-stage filter housing and a 4.5" x 9.75" carbon block filter (>90% chlorine reduction @ 3 gpm) that should be delivered tomorrow.
From a cost standpoint for the hardware it’s hard to beat now how you value your time when it comes to doing refills is something to think of as well. Also, higher TDS water this might struggle and you’ll be refilling a lot and probably lowering the flow rate.
Thank you. Really looking forward to seeing more videos with this content. It’s really needed on RUclips and you do a great job to make us understand and learn about it 💪
For sure just know you might have to lower the flow since you will only have two resin filters to keep up with the DI work. Depends on TDS as well higher two might not be enough to get hard water to 0ppm
@@CarsWithKeav thanks for the response. Instead of doing that I'm just going to put a 10" x 4.5" carbon filter before the three resin chambers. I appreciate the info!
As they get bigger it does allow you to run more flow due to having more surface area, but biggest thing is just length of time between resin refills. Some of these are restricted to certain flow and other just let you do as much as you want, but too much flow and the filters won’t have enough time to clean. CR Spotless for example can run 2.5 gpm and this one I wouldn’t go over 2gpm and if really bad water might have to run even less.
Hey! I am starting a detailing business but I am experiencing alot of hard water issues, severe waterspots, dries out too fast, soaps not working properly. I want to try and create a diy to be more cheaper since i’m still a student and I want to ask for your tips. Will it work if i just buy a 10" filter housing around 4 and buy some resin filter, sediment filter, carbon block and put it inside and connect the water supply. Will it work properly and do the job done? I really want to improve my business and get customers but i still haven’t got one, one thing i learned from cleaning our cars is that i need to fix my water before i clean the cars of other people for better results. I am still a student and i have very limited money since im starting from scratch and i want to improve my business consistently. I hope that you can help me with my question, thanks!
You can do that, but if the water is that bad you will be changing it out quite often. You can check out RV mods as well they have a modified tube you can use that allows you to pack straight resin in the housing without needing a cartridge. Gives you way more capacity. Make sure you have a carbon filter in there as well for chlorine among other things.
@@CarsWithKeav okay thanks! One more question, do i need cartridge for sediment filters and carbon block, or should i use cartridge only for resin. I’m quite new with this so i still don’t know alot.
Dude, i wanna know what kind of garage floor you have ..lol.. do you have a video on that? Im a mobile detailer, but wife and i have thought about getting a detached garage on our property for "premium" details.. i said get it so the water drains to the middle with a drain, but your while floor is like a drain 😳
From what I heard, you’d need an RO system with holding tank for more efficiency when TDS is that high and run DI system after if the TDS is still not low enough
It’s sucks to have tds that high. Like mentioned by @pantac4493 an RO system with holding tanks is going to help out a lot. There are drawbacks such as you have waste water to dispose of during the process.
For that ppm of water not much under $200 that could handle that. Most would not get to 0ppm and if they did would not last long. Anything over 200 you have to graduate to the bigger systems to have more resin to clean. Something like the Griots DI system works well, but it $300 and every time to you refill it’s going to cost $150. I’ll be making a video in a week or so that is creating your own cheap and expensive 20 inch filter system and that would handle it, but still be in the $250 range.
Absolutely! Just depends on the tds and if two filters is enough surface area to get to low ppm. If it does carbon filter will extend the resin life if you got treated city water.
That unit is looking like it's still the most affordable refillable one that'll handle 1.5-2.0 GPM flow rate. Once purchased I will see if I can mount the bypass valve onto the top of a pre-filter so I'm only pre-filtering the DI water and not all water.
@@CarsWithKeav parts ordered when I saw the Envig CarWash go out of stock on amazon( back in-stock now)! Nothing I could find in the price range is rated for 2.0 GPM. Also found my water is at 300ppm so now seeking a reasonable pre-filter in the same $20 range as one 10"x5" DI filter cartridge which filters chloramine and drops PPM. No luck yet.
@@CarsWithKeav That'd be great! From what I've seen, some even increase PPM with carbon particulate so one thing to cover in a pre-filter could be percent PPM drop(or rise) then because we're talking DI, how well they remove Chloramine. I also look for is GPM throughput and finally how many total gallons they are rated to be effective for.
@@DoRu42 For sure carbon filters use solids to filter out the chemicals, but the benefit of taking out chlorine is far more beneficial than the added solids. Chloramine eats resin and is becoming more common to treat water just check with your water supplier to see if they use it. If they do a chloramine blocker is needed along with a carbon filter for the chlorine. Carbon filter goes first inline.
Hello Keav, between the Waterdrop and Envig system would you recommend. My TDS is at 320 ppm. I ordered the Spotbye, which I'm planning to cancel. I also order a 2 stage water filtration system as a pre-filter to extend the life of the resin.
@@CarsWithKeav I must have read my TDS wrong the first time. I've been measuring it since I wrote and it's been consistently from 150-160, which is still high. I ordered the Envig and a prefilter, I received them yesterday and will hook them up this next week. I'll post how it works for me. If it doesn't I'll order the Waterdrop. Thanks for all the testing and advice.
@CarsWithKeav reporting on the Envig results with pre-filter (carbon and sediment). Today I tested the tap water, it was at 156 ppm. After the prefilter it dropped to 119. With the Envig total success 0 ppm with a 2.3 gal waterflow. Based on Envig's estimate of 95 gal at 200 ppm at 119 ppm I should be getting around 152 gal of deionized water. Since I do 3 rinseless washes and one full wash per month for 2nd foaming and last rinse I estimate I will be using around 10 gals of deionized water per wash. Therefore the resin should last at least 12 -15 car washes. I will continue testing and reporting. As a retiree, I'm happy with this budget friendly solution!
At 500 TDS this would last only a few washes at best. That is very high and any DI system really you would go through the resin very quickly. You would need a much larger one for more surface area to get the TDS out. At that level RO systems and storing water is what most people do and then they run back through a DI system to cleanup. I just did a video on an RO system. ruclips.net/video/BpQmEDUHFRU/видео.htmlsi=BRpfwq5K3mMO_pws
Waterdrop is far superior in quality and the filters are twice the size so much more capacity. If money was not a problem I would do waterdrop all day over this. This is the more budget friendly option. They both will run an active 2.0 as long as you stay at a 4.0 orifice or less. I will say I think the waterdrop can do much more I limited my test to 2.1 GPM we could have gone higher. The Envig is maxed out at 2.0 and from time to time would drop to 1.9 so it will be at its limit for sure.
You would starve the machine and the system wouldn’t have enough time to clean the water properly. If you want enough for an active 2.3 you would need to go with a tank style DI like the Griots one or something like a CR spotless DIW20.
I need to get me one of those sometime. Love this nice little water feature you're installed in your garage temporarily haha. Add a little light, some fishies in the bucket, you're living fancy now. :D
I should write off that portion, but I don’t at the moment. It’s tough because if I store it and use for personal washes later or watering the lawn it’s not really a write off. If I waste the water somehow that’s a write off. 🤷♂️ in the end though it’s a small amount of the bill. Now watering my grass if I ever made a landscaping channel I would for sure write that off. I’ve had some big bills this past summer.
It is at the limit I have not had an issue with my Active when testing, but with a 4.0 nozzle I get 1.9 or so GPM. If you are getting an actual measured 2+GPM there could be times a drop in pressure on your waterline could cause the unit to run dry and surge. Next option up is the Waterdrop which is amazing and I am testing a tank style one. They both do a higher GPM.
@@CarsWithKeav I'm planning to use the Giraffe Tools G20 or maybe Active (but probably G20) which is ~1.7 so should be fine. Between this and the waterdrop system that you also reviewed, which would be your preferred option? I'm trying to decide between those two. I like the CR Spotless, but it's big and I have a very small space to fit the setup into and i would have to buy/build the bypass extra.
I don’t want to deal with acids and that whole process right now. Especially mixed bed you have to separate them first. My time is worth more than the process saves me honestly.
Why 2 filters? This is a 3 filter system and it comes with all 3 filters? Are you even using the product in this video? I’m confused at what is stated, but based on the all caps and the “BS” I’m not sure you want to be helped you can clearly see in the video it worked for me. So many factors involved that could cause you issues such as bad water, connections hooked up wrong, product defect, bypass open or bad resin. Many have used this and love it’s performance so I know it can work.
You would never get 678ppm down to full spotless with this system and really any other system would not be worth it you would be replacing resin constantly. How fast were you running the water? You have to dial it down to 2gpm or the filters will never have enough time to clean. Your only choice really is reverse osmosis and storing the water, but you will get a good bit of bad water as well to dispose. Might want to look into DI tank rental as the only other option.
The wife and kids forced me to do it they hog the washing machine and I can’t risk them being nice and doing it for me then dumping fabric softener all over my microfibers then drying at high heat. 🤣
Weird nobody has Cation in one chamber and Anion in the other in a duel stage. Cation resin removes cations, anion resin removes anions. Cations are positively charged ions, such as ammonium, sodium, calcium, magnesium. Anions are negatively charged, such as chloride, bicarbonate, phosphate. Individually they can be recharged for very cheap. The only issue I see is Lye. Lye pure form isn’t the easiest thing to get. But this would be the absolute cheapest way to go. If you want to do it the way he’s showing I would suggest you also look at a resin packing kit like the one from 3Dprintedreef. They make life much easier. Once you get this on your hands it’s a PTA to get that dry feeling off.
Mixed bed for most is just easier. I myself don’t want to deal with acids, bleach or lye. I only refill once a season, but if I went through resin a lot more I would have to entertain it.
As long as it is not more than 2GPM as that is the highest this can flow. That is the reason I have 2GPM as my goal since that is most electric pressure washers except a few commercial ones that can get more.
Please keep testing different affordable DI filter systems so we can all see which one is the best value or fits our needs the best!
Got you! Just got a small stand up tank one delivered today with some more bam bam.
Hell yeah brother! Can’t wait to see the video on it!
@@CarsWithKeav whats the name of that stand up tank?
@@mr.cabello9214 This one amzn.to/4acdXSB
What is your TDS going into the Filters? Here in Florida where I live its 683 TDS...in NY it was 117TDS and I was getting 0 TDS for about 2years and went up to 50 in 2.5yrs of use..and I maintain my vehicles every other weekend. Now living in Florida, these filters are more like door stoppers because the resin prices are insane. Mine setup failed even with new resin I was getting 150-200 TDS output, spotting started. Best and cheapest way to solve the problem of spotting is to ceramic coat the whole vehicle and all the trim..and then use your water hose to dry the vehicle since water doesn't stay on the vehicle. and just use a quality towel and pickup the droplets that didn't fall off the vehicle. My problem has been solved and saving hundreds of dollars.
Very nice I always dry, but use the spotless so just in case I get pulled away for something or don’t have time I know I’ll be alright. Incoming TDS makes a big difference that’s for sure I would reevaluate and use a reverse osmosis system and store the clean water to be used later if my TDS was that high. Thanks for the info.
I have one I bought early last spring. I used it all season and had zero issues. It dropped my TDS from 150 to 1-2. Very impressive. I have "recharged" mine twice, I wash weekly 2 vehicles and only filter rinse water. It fed my 1800 Karcher cube just fine even in filter mode. Works good for me, I like it. The fittings are a little finicky, takes quite a bit to keep them from leaking.
The fittings are for sure lacking, but they work. Glad it worked out for you. Just about all the systems work as long as it’s sized properly to your water quality and some have to deal with changing more often than others.
@CarsWithKeav how u make the air hose reel work for the water hose
@@matthewmurlin4317 It’s actually a full legit high quality garden hose reel made by Bluseal. It’s on sale right now for $178 amzn.to/41pqaR4
@@CarsWithKeavhilarious that hose reel is now $350
@@Vectorr66 Yeah, they finally figured out inflation I guess. Happens to a lot of products I feature especially new ones they get an inventory hit and instantly raise the price. If you go here it’s $240 cheapest price around, but I have no idea if it’s free shipping or not. I think it’s worth $200, but not much more than that it being a single swing arm and not double. oemdiagnostictools.com/bluseal-5-8-x-50-rectractable-water-hose-reel/
Will you try a carbon filter in the first housing and fresh resin filled cartridges in 2 & 3 to see how that works? I see people comment in various places saying adding a pre filter of some sort (many commenters don't specify type) will help with resin life and increase total output.
Thanks for all your tests. I'm a mobile detailer and the majority of my work is maintenance washes outdoors and often in the sun. I've been trying to decide between just a small water softener tank or a DI unit, they're just so expensive...so I continue to suffer lol
Chlorine or chloramine Carbon filter will help for sure when dealing with treated city water. With this setup running a carbon will help life, but depends on your tds as you are losing surface area to keep it spotless. I prefer a separate filter housing before the DI system to help deal with Chlorine and Chloramine.
@@CarsWithKeavwould you be willing to make a video on this for us? I want to get a deionizer budget filter system to final rinse my car but also am interested in getting the most life out of the resin. My ppm on tap is 150-160 so I want to ideally drop it to 50 as you do, before hitting the resin.
@@pvmsupra9607 mine is 50 without anymore-filters. They will not change the tds much at all as what carbon filters remove is chemicals which are not solids. You would still be running 150ppm more than likely, but that is good water. It’s well below the national average of 200. If you are a mobile detailer are you using a gravity or pump fed tank? If you are RO water is a good option to really save on resin. They would bring your 150ppm water probably down to 15 or less.
Quick question. I have a mobile detail setup always been curious of di water system but never ran one. It gets super humid in hot weather in sc water spot gets horrible. i currently run 60gal water tank that connects to on demand pump then to pressure washer. If i wanted to run this system. Would I connect this system to water tank first before my water pump. Or would i connect this system after the water pump
Pump before as the pump will try to prime and suck from the filter more than likely aerating the water in the filter housings. Before will help strain on the pump as well since it will be slowed down by this DI system which limits to 2gpm. If you need more flow I would suggest a Waterdrop or an FRP tank filter. I have done reviews on both.
For mobile detailing... So what's the correct hook up? (#1) Water tank to Water pump to DI filter system then to Pressure washer?
Or (#2) Water tank to DI system to Water pump then to Pressure washer? I apologize I was confused by the answer. I love your channel and I appreciate the help if you could!! Thanks 🤘
@@CarsWithKeav I have to same question that @48416catfish has below ...
@@J.M.A.D The filter system always has the restriction in flow so it should be at the end just before the pressure washer so you don’t choke the pump. Plus the pump will help push the water volume through the filters which at times can act like vacuums.
@@bluewatermobiledetail Sorry I didn’t respond sooner comments and replies are getting hard Yonkers up with now. Option 1 is the way to go filters should always be after the pump.
The Colombian bam-bam thing never gets old… :)
Just found another system that actually comes with some so the joke will continue. 🤣
Yes, more testing on these smaller portable units is appreciated. I have 280-300ppm from city water and need something. HD often runs the PRO+AQUA system on their daily special which is a one tank system, easy for mobile use. Anyone heard of them or effectiveness? I know Amazon has them as well.
I am reviewing a small tank style very soon I got on Amazon. Comes with some Colombian Bam Bam as well. This one amzn.to/3Sd0LpG
I was wondering if it would be cheaper to fill a 20 gallon tank with filtered water and then you don’t have to worry about getting a high flow rate filter. Kinda like an air compressor, it can refill when you need more water. I really don’t need a huge tank but I am at an apartment and wouldn’t have a normal hose but I figure I could run water from the sink to a reservoir tank in my garage and just store the water I need in a there. I just am washing my own car so I don’t think it will be necessary to have a setup that filters water very fast anyway. I just need enough water to spot free rinse which maybe like 10 gallons at the most, but I would think about 5 would be fine. Any advice on a diy setup like this. Could you get more life out of a filter just be rerunning the same water through the filter again?
I have tried a setup kind of like this for an RO system. Same concept pump from a stored container. This is absolutely a way many do this just most don’t have the room or want store ms water in their garage. ruclips.net/video/BpQmEDUHFRU/видео.htmlsi=lZfzMgdht3qBjm_r
Smart man Keav, many thanks for all the info on all ur vids!
You’re welcome. We got lots more coming!
Would like to know how this works with some of the $100 pressure washers out there like the greenworks, craftsman, ryobi, etc.
It will work fine with those as long as your TDS is low enough for the filters to keep up with cleaning the water. Most of those run at 1.4gpm with the right nozzle so probably need just 1.6GPM flow to maintain that properly.
Great find, I never considered one of these systems before watching this.
They work as long as your tds isn’t too high. Need bigger system to handle higher tds.
Is this still the one to get for a budget home enthusiast? Thanks!
It’s pretty good just really depends on your water quality. If it’s real hard water this will deplete way too fast.
@@CarsWithKeav Thanks, what would be recommended more for a budget minded enthusiast? My water is less than 100ppm. I've checked all your reviews and just unsure.
@@milogger7556 100 ppm this one is going to be pretty good just got to replace that first filter a little more often than the other two. There are others close to this price, but they have no bypass. Like the spotbye DI tank. When a deal comes along the Waterdrop can get as low as $240 and if you want to invest the Griots Garage one is good. Just filmed a video on that one. It’s $300, but has bypass and can hold a lot of resin plus it does 4gpm easily.
Quick question, does a DI system depend on being connected to a water hose with pressure or can i use a bucket of water as the source? I'm trying to have a very mobile setup that sometimes doesn't have a hose water source available. Thanks!
Always need to have some kind of pressure for the water to push through can be from a bucket or container, but has to be gravity fed. Might not be much flow to be useful though. A pump is an idea as well.
@@CarsWithKeav Ah I see, thank you for the insight, hmm i wonder if gravity fed from a bucket water source would work with my 600psi ryobi power washer, it's only .7GPM, if can avoid a pump I would because it would impact my goal of being very light weight and mobile.
@@whatarewedoing2024 Is that the ez clean Ryobi? It for sure can pull from a bucket. It comes with a bucket hose just for that. Made a video on that unit I love it. ruclips.net/video/Vot1miL9aes/видео.htmlsi=FI4MhIPug6rSnHI5 If you mean to pull through the DI system with the bucket as the source I think it might be possible as long as you don’t break the self priming. The bucket would have to be at a heigh above the filter and the hose running down. Should work as a gravity feed. I just have not tried to know if it would 100% work.
@@CarsWithKeav Yes I'm using the Ryobi 600psi one, what you said about the gravity feed scenario is what I'm thinking too. I can't find anyone else that has tried it before. I actually bought the Ryobi because of your review. Thank you for everything you do!
Thanks for doing all the testing to help us along.
You’re welcome!
you can add one of the Bulk Reef Supply
BRS Universal Carbon Block Filter - 1 Micron and it will take care of all the Chlorine and Chloramines before it even hits the resin and make it last alot longer since chloramines will deplete it real quick
Absolutely you could, some people’s TDS might be too high though in order for the two filters to handle all of it. I run Carbon and Chloramine filters on my wall setup.
Do you happen to have a link to your Gilmour Gareden Hose Sprayer, can't seem to find the one you use, I like it....keep up the great videos!
They got it at Walmart. Here is the link www.walmart.com/ip/Gilmour-Foamaster-Cleaning-Sprayer-Nozzle-1-12-oz/263805436?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222228263805436_14069003552_202077872&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=m&wl3=42423897272&wl4=pla-295289030566&wl5=9011014&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=263805436&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIoW0QaM9WLjf72GtcqhwyQ3W&gclid=Cj0KCQiAj_CrBhD-ARIsAIiMxT90C1_NHZcFuNcrckk3ee164AcdLt6nI5Hc_XvZq0DpBeH6xe6tcfIaAp4pEALw_wcB
Great review, very helpful when looking at alternatives to the CR
Thank You, this market is just starting to take off the options will continue to get better as well.
What was the TDS of your water going into the spotless setup? Just curious how much it knocked it down.
6:35
Mine is pretty low at 57 tds
What's the flow rate difference with the higher end filtration systems? 5.2 to 2.1 GPM seems high but how does it compare? I've tried running an RV filter on the garden hose that runs into my Generac 3100psi/2.8gpm pressure washer. It's too restrictive and I have to pause the spray every 30 seconds for the flow to catch up. It's unuseable.
Most of the housing systems like these even the very large ones run up to 2.5 GPM. They can go higher, but you lose a lot of efficiency. If you want higher flow you need to go with a tank style system. I just ordered one to review that says it can run 4gpm. Check out US water Allegro on a google search those are real good.
@@CarsWithKeav Awesome! I'm on a well, my water is treated but it's running at about 50 TDS, which is OK for the house but not for the car. Thank you!
@@CarsWithKeav I purchased US Water Allegro 0.5 cu ft mixed-bed resin system. It's the shortest, decent-sized tank system I could find. They list it as 17" high on their website, but that's the tank itself. The tank sits in a base that keeps it 1" off the ground and the cap with the inlet/outlet ports is 2" tall...so total height is right at 20". I took out the middle shelf on a "Version 5" cart and that gave me 25.25", leaving 5.25" of headroom. The unit fits nicely on the bottom shelf with an Active 2.0 pressure washer. My water is about 110 TDS and a tank of resin is supposed to handle about 1100 gallons of 100 TDS water. At 5 gallons per car for final rinse, it should last about 200 car washes. I haven't run the system yet, waiting for some brass fittings, a single-stage filter housing and a 4.5" x 9.75" carbon block filter (>90% chlorine reduction @ 3 gpm) that should be delivered tomorrow.
This seems to be a great price for what it offers. Do we still think this might be one of the most cost efficient? Thanks!
From a cost standpoint for the hardware it’s hard to beat now how you value your time when it comes to doing refills is something to think of as well. Also, higher TDS water this might struggle and you’ll be refilling a lot and probably lowering the flow rate.
Thank you. Really looking forward to seeing more videos with this content. It’s really needed on RUclips and you do a great job to make us understand and learn about it 💪
I can’t stop buying stuff so I got plenty to review.
Hey Keav, awesome video. Do you think a carbon 10x2.5 drop-in filter could be installed in the first stage to help with chlorine? Thank you!
For sure just know you might have to lower the flow since you will only have two resin filters to keep up with the DI work. Depends on TDS as well higher two might not be enough to get hard water to 0ppm
@@CarsWithKeav thanks for the response. Instead of doing that I'm just going to put a 10" x 4.5" carbon filter before the three resin chambers. I appreciate the info!
@@MB-js4us That will work and you won’t have to change that one for a long time.
With the bigger units that have the large filters, are you getting more water pressure? or is it just lasting longer?
As they get bigger it does allow you to run more flow due to having more surface area, but biggest thing is just length of time between resin refills. Some of these are restricted to certain flow and other just let you do as much as you want, but too much flow and the filters won’t have enough time to clean. CR Spotless for example can run 2.5 gpm and this one I wouldn’t go over 2gpm and if really bad water might have to run even less.
Can you use a pressure washer with this unit
You should be able to use most electric pressure washers with it that run less than 2gpm
Hey! I am starting a detailing business but I am experiencing alot of hard water issues, severe waterspots, dries out too fast, soaps not working properly. I want to try and create a diy to be more cheaper since i’m still a student and I want to ask for your tips. Will it work if i just buy a 10" filter housing around 4 and buy some resin filter, sediment filter, carbon block and put it inside and connect the water supply. Will it work properly and do the job done? I really want to improve my business and get customers but i still haven’t got one, one thing i learned from cleaning our cars is that i need to fix my water before i clean the cars of other people for better results. I am still a student and i have very limited money since im starting from scratch and i want to improve my business consistently. I hope that you can help me with my question, thanks!
You can do that, but if the water is that bad you will be changing it out quite often. You can check out RV mods as well they have a modified tube you can use that allows you to pack straight resin in the housing without needing a cartridge. Gives you way more capacity. Make sure you have a carbon filter in there as well for chlorine among other things.
@@CarsWithKeav okay thanks! One more question, do i need cartridge for sediment filters and carbon block, or should i use cartridge only for resin. I’m quite new with this so i still don’t know alot.
Dude, i wanna know what kind of garage floor you have ..lol.. do you have a video on that? Im a mobile detailer, but wife and i have thought about getting a detached garage on our property for "premium" details.. i said get it so the water drains to the middle with a drain, but your while floor is like a drain 😳
I did do a video on these tiles here ruclips.net/video/HV8xDwMUctk/видео.htmlsi=5Df92EmBiS_K8YkT
Always liked the idea of getting a DI system but with my ppm being around 400 I would burn through that resin big time
From what I heard, you’d need an RO system with holding tank for more efficiency when TDS is that high and run DI system after if the TDS is still not low enough
It’s sucks to have tds that high. Like mentioned by @pantac4493 an RO system with holding tanks is going to help out a lot. There are drawbacks such as you have waste water to dispose of during the process.
Which DI system do you recommend for 300ppm water for under 200$
For that ppm of water not much under $200 that could handle that. Most would not get to 0ppm and if they did would not last long. Anything over 200 you have to graduate to the bigger systems to have more resin to clean. Something like the Griots DI system works well, but it $300 and every time to you refill it’s going to cost $150. I’ll be making a video in a week or so that is creating your own cheap and expensive 20 inch filter system and that would handle it, but still be in the $250 range.
will this run a domestic pressure washer
It can run the lower 1.2 GPM ones. None of the higher end ones for detailing that do 2.0 gpm.
Couldn't a carbon filter be used in lieu of filling one of the tubes with resin?
Absolutely! Just depends on the tds and if two filters is enough surface area to get to low ppm. If it does carbon filter will extend the resin life if you got treated city water.
What type of resin do you use for the water filter
These come pre-filled, but it is 50/50 mixed bed DI Resin.
That unit is looking like it's still the most affordable refillable one that'll handle 1.5-2.0 GPM flow rate. Once purchased I will see if I can mount the bypass valve onto the top of a pre-filter so I'm only pre-filtering the DI water and not all water.
Pre-filter is always a good idea. Hopefully your TDS is low enough to where you won’t be changing filters often.
@@CarsWithKeav parts ordered when I saw the Envig CarWash go out of stock on amazon( back in-stock now)! Nothing I could find in the price range is rated for 2.0 GPM. Also found my water is at 300ppm so now seeking a reasonable pre-filter in the same $20 range as one 10"x5" DI filter cartridge which filters chloramine and drops PPM. No luck yet.
@@DoRu42 I plan to do some type of testing around pre-filter effectiveness just have not figured out what to do yet.
@@CarsWithKeav That'd be great! From what I've seen, some even increase PPM with carbon particulate so one thing to cover in a pre-filter could be percent PPM drop(or rise) then because we're talking DI, how well they remove Chloramine. I also look for is GPM throughput and finally how many total gallons they are rated to be effective for.
@@DoRu42 For sure carbon filters use solids to filter out the chemicals, but the benefit of taking out chlorine is far more beneficial than the added solids. Chloramine eats resin and is becoming more common to treat water just check with your water supplier to see if they use it. If they do a chloramine blocker is needed along with a carbon filter for the chlorine. Carbon filter goes first inline.
Hello Keav, between the Waterdrop and Envig system would you recommend. My TDS is at 320 ppm. I ordered the Spotbye, which I'm planning to cancel. I also order a 2 stage water filtration system as a pre-filter to extend the life of the resin.
Waterdrop all the way at that tds and pre-filter is a must. I just got a spotbye tank delivered today to review.
@@CarsWithKeav I must have read my TDS wrong the first time. I've been measuring it since I wrote and it's been consistently from 150-160, which is still high. I ordered the Envig and a prefilter, I received them yesterday and will hook them up this next week. I'll post how it works for me. If it doesn't I'll order the Waterdrop. Thanks for all the testing and advice.
@CarsWithKeav reporting on the Envig results with pre-filter (carbon and sediment). Today I tested the tap water, it was at 156 ppm. After the prefilter it dropped to 119. With the Envig total success 0 ppm with a 2.3 gal waterflow. Based on Envig's estimate of 95 gal at 200 ppm at 119 ppm I should be getting around 152 gal of deionized water.
Since I do 3 rinseless washes and one full wash per month for 2nd foaming and last rinse I estimate I will be using around 10 gals of deionized water per wash. Therefore the resin should last at least 12 -15 car washes. I will continue testing and reporting.
As a retiree, I'm happy with this budget friendly solution!
@@joemarcial6619 That is great news! Keep us posted on updates and thanks for contributing to our DI filtering community.
I live in an area with 500 tds. How long do these things last before i have to refill the resin?
At 500 TDS this would last only a few washes at best. That is very high and any DI system really you would go through the resin very quickly. You would need a much larger one for more surface area to get the TDS out. At that level RO systems and storing water is what most people do and then they run back through a DI system to cleanup. I just did a video on an RO system. ruclips.net/video/BpQmEDUHFRU/видео.htmlsi=BRpfwq5K3mMO_pws
Can someone tell me if a flow pump can be added? And if so should it be before or after the filter?
You can use a flow pump and it should always be before the filter.
Can this run with an Active 2.0? What are your thoughts on this setup compared to your video back in September with the Waterdrop system?
Waterdrop is far superior in quality and the filters are twice the size so much more capacity. If money was not a problem I would do waterdrop all day over this. This is the more budget friendly option. They both will run an active 2.0 as long as you stay at a 4.0 orifice or less. I will say I think the waterdrop can do much more I limited my test to 2.1 GPM we could have gone higher. The Envig is maxed out at 2.0 and from time to time would drop to 1.9 so it will be at its limit for sure.
Does this mean I can't get 2.3 GPM if I get the active 2.3 since you could only get 2.1 GPM ?
You would starve the machine and the system wouldn’t have enough time to clean the water properly. If you want enough for an active 2.3 you would need to go with a tank style DI like the Griots one or something like a CR spotless DIW20.
I need to get me one of those sometime. Love this nice little water feature you're installed in your garage temporarily haha. Add a little light, some fishies in the bucket, you're living fancy now. :D
I might just have to add some rubber duckies to the pond feature next review. 🤣
Can u suse this on my presure washer to wash windows qith a water feed pole ?
For sure you can as long as you don’t exceed 2gpm.
Do you right off your water bill since u use so much water for these videos?
I should write off that portion, but I don’t at the moment. It’s tough because if I store it and use for personal washes later or watering the lawn it’s not really a write off. If I waste the water somehow that’s a write off. 🤷♂️ in the end though it’s a small amount of the bill. Now watering my grass if I ever made a landscaping channel I would for sure write that off. I’ve had some big bills this past summer.
The US Water Systems Allego promises 2.5 and 5 gph for $230 and $360. So far they are the unit to beat
I’ve been looking at them. I picked up a similar one on Amazon for $160 and will be trying it out. Added bonus it comes with some Colombian bam bam.
Can the output be connected to a pressure washer?
Yes it can as long and you don’t exceed 2gpm you should be good.
Is this enough water pressure to drive a 2gpm pressure washer?
It is at the limit I have not had an issue with my Active when testing, but with a 4.0 nozzle I get 1.9 or so GPM. If you are getting an actual measured 2+GPM there could be times a drop in pressure on your waterline could cause the unit to run dry and surge. Next option up is the Waterdrop which is amazing and I am testing a tank style one. They both do a higher GPM.
@@CarsWithKeav I'm planning to use the Giraffe Tools G20 or maybe Active (but probably G20) which is ~1.7 so should be fine. Between this and the waterdrop system that you also reviewed, which would be your preferred option? I'm trying to decide between those two. I like the CR Spotless, but it's big and I have a very small space to fit the setup into and i would have to buy/build the bypass extra.
Would like to see some 440i content from you Kiev! Upgrades suspension whatever you've done.
440 probably will not have any upgrades. It’s my wife’s car so just wrap and wheels for the foreseeable future.
How long do you think it will last if you already have a hard water system in your home
That’s hard to say not knowing the tds coming out of your softener system.
Another great video! Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this one. Love the bloopers. Must have warned the neighbors this time,lol
If you film late enough they can’t see the flowing water. 🤣
Bigboi larger D-IONIZER2SET test would be awesome.
The minute it is available to purchase I will be getting it to review.
I love your videos bro please keep em coming
Thank you for the kind words!
if i got this id add a large 1micron filter. why you keep buying build a reactor and Regen yourself
I don’t want to deal with acids and that whole process right now. Especially mixed bed you have to separate them first. My time is worth more than the process saves me honestly.
@CarsWithKeav
I have mine set up so they stay separate in 4x20's and automated the regen using an extra set of housings.
Works really well
@@ZoeyR86 That’s pretty cool something I will be looking into at some point as I will be switching to separated resins.
Killin it!
Thank You
I TRY 2 FILTERS AND DID NOY GET ANY CHANGE AT ALL, JUST BS
Why 2 filters? This is a 3 filter system and it comes with all 3 filters? Are you even using the product in this video? I’m confused at what is stated, but based on the all caps and the “BS” I’m not sure you want to be helped you can clearly see in the video it worked for me. So many factors involved that could cause you issues such as bad water, connections hooked up wrong, product defect, bypass open or bad resin. Many have used this and love it’s performance so I know it can work.
I just returned one of these units. My tap water is extremely hard at 678 ppm, but this unit only brought is down to 652 ppm.
You would never get 678ppm down to full spotless with this system and really any other system would not be worth it you would be replacing resin constantly. How fast were you running the water? You have to dial it down to 2gpm or the filters will never have enough time to clean. Your only choice really is reverse osmosis and storing the water, but you will get a good bit of bad water as well to dispose. Might want to look into DI tank rental as the only other option.
Are you selling Columbian Bam Bam? Or is there a link for the BAM BAM 😂😂😂😂
Great video!!!
Always a link! Found a cheap di tank setup that comes with more bam bam. 🤣
When an obsession results in a separate washing machine purchase for towels...
I like the cut of your jib sir.
The wife and kids forced me to do it they hog the washing machine and I can’t risk them being nice and doing it for me then dumping fabric softener all over my microfibers then drying at high heat. 🤣
@@CarsWithKeav oof... blaming the family...
Well played :)
Colombia bam bam😂😂😂😂😂
That Bam Bam just keeps showing up I swear I don’t got a problem. More in future videos too just because it’s such an affordable substance. 🤣
Lol trust me I enjoy watching, and the bloopers just a plus 🤣
Please lose the cRap tunes….
Doesn’t matter what music I use somebody won’t like it so I’m good with what I’m using.
That's a lot of money for a bag of fruit loops
You just don't know how good these Fruit Loops are though. LOL
Weird nobody has Cation in one chamber and Anion in the other in a duel stage. Cation resin removes cations, anion resin removes anions. Cations are positively charged ions, such as ammonium, sodium, calcium, magnesium. Anions are negatively charged, such as chloride, bicarbonate, phosphate. Individually they can be recharged for very cheap. The only issue I see is Lye. Lye pure form isn’t the easiest thing to get. But this would be the absolute cheapest way to go.
If you want to do it the way he’s showing I would suggest you also look at a resin packing kit like the one from 3Dprintedreef. They make life much easier. Once you get this on your hands it’s a PTA to get that dry feeling off.
It's probably mixed resin i.e. It has both
That’s what I do. I just regenerate my resin. I’m literally doing it right now only cost me $40 to do it for 1/2 a cubic foot of resin.
Mixed bed for most is just easier. I myself don’t want to deal with acids, bleach or lye. I only refill once a season, but if I went through resin a lot more I would have to entertain it.
Mixed for sure.
CHECK YOUR INLET HE WILL HAVE THE SAME READING, JUST DONT WORK AT ALL WITH 2 FILTERS, I TRY
I responded on your other comment.
Can you put POWER WASHER on the OUTFLOW SIDE??? You never mentioned power washer.
As long as it is not more than 2GPM as that is the highest this can flow. That is the reason I have 2GPM as my goal since that is most electric pressure washers except a few commercial ones that can get more.