DI Filter for rinse using very hard water. Leave hooked up to pressure washer?

[skinnyb]

So I have very hard water at my place. When I get done washing and have rinsed, I have to immediately dry or I get horrible water spots. I bought a 3 can DI filter from Enviq and it has a pressure reducer to make sure the water is filtered properly. It also has a bypass for un filtered water without hooking and unhooking. Has anyone had any experience feeding a pressure washer with this setup? My washer is a 1.9 GPM gas unit, I am afraid it will starve for water when using full speed. Just looking for insight. I can always unhook and rinse without the pressure if I have to but if I can just flip the switch to filtered and continue that would be ideal. I'm also considering getting a smaller electric unit to use just for car washing , maybe a 1.2 GPM unit since I don't need much more.

Sponsored

 

[stungjoe]

So I have very hard water at my place. When I get done washing and have rinsed, I have to immediately dry or I get horrible water spots. I bought a 3 can DI filter from Enviq and it has a pressure reducer to make sure the water is filtered properly. It also has a bypass for un filtered water without hooking and unhooking. Has anyone had any experience feeding a pressure washer with this setup? My washer is a 1.9 GPM gas unit, I am afraid it will starve for water when using full speed. Just looking for insight. I can always unhook and rinse without the pressure if I have to but if I can just flip the switch to filtered and continue that would be ideal. I'm also considering getting a smaller electric unit to use just for car washing , maybe a 1.2 GPM unit since I don't need much more.

I have well water and my TDS count is around 250. I had one of those small DI systems and frankly it was only really good for final rinse and the cartridges went pretty quickly. Save the dough and buy a CR Spotless system I pieced one together from market place finds for about half price. I get about one season from those huge cartridges which are about $165 for the pair. It will flow sufficiently to use with my pressure washer so I wash and rinse with spot free water.

 

[stungjoe]

My cart

 

[skinnyb]

I have well water and my TDS count is around 250. I had one of those small DI systems and frankly it was only really good for final rinse and the cartridges went pretty quickly. Save the dough and buy a CR Spotless system I pieced one together from market place finds for about half price. I get about one season from those huge cartridges which are about $165 for the pair. It will flow sufficiently to use with my pressure washer so I wash and rinse with spot free water.

Yeah, that is the plan. I only plan on using filtered water for rinse. But I don't want to have to hook and unhook since the system has a bypass. I did some research and the DI filter I have flows less than 2GPM when filtering using a restrictor so the resin can work effectively. Its a 3 can filter that is serviceable, I plan to buy the resin in bulk and redo when needed. My pressure washer is actually a 2.7 GPM unit. I just don't want to starve the pump for water and damage it. I guess I could start and stop a few times, only takes a minute or so to do a quick rinse normally. Picture of setup below. And a pic of my pressure washer too.

 

[larr12]

I saw this video from Autofanatic a few days ago.

 

[skinnyb]

I saw this video from Autofanatic a few days ago.

Yeah I saw that one too. I probably could have done something similar. I got the setup I bought from Amazon for a decent price. I hooked up this evening and when in bypass mode the water comes out full strength but when I flip to filtered, the flow is cut in half. Hoping it still is enough to feed my pressure washer. I will definitely try this weekend, I gotta give both my cars a bath

 

[MarkM]

My set up, two vessels just for rinsing, some people do actually use them for washing too but to me that’s a waste. It’s nice to have everything already set up, wash, rinse and dry, makes life so much easier.

 

[DFB5.0]

Ideally, you really want to stay at the high flow rate pressure washers as the flow is what is doing the work when washing cars. For that reason, you would be best to size a filtration system to fit.

The above-mentioned CR Spotless can deal with higher flow rates, up to at least 3.3 gpm when fed by a hefty Kranzle KWS700 and can easily deal with the 1.9 gpm of the K1322 or K1122.

CR Spotless | Water Filtration & Deionizing | Obsessed Garage

Spotless Water Systems Archives - CR Spotless Water Systems

 

[Tinpot]

If you want to extend the life of your DI resin massively then hook it up to the output of a Reverse Osmosis unit. These will reduce input TDS by around 95%. You can't use these with a pressure washer as the output is way too low but they are useful if you're ok with final rinsing by hand.

 

[kilobravo]

Gas pressure washers are generally not used for car washing because the output pressure is so high. Even with a wide tip, you have to be careful. On top of that, the DI cans are not keeping up with the demand so it MIGHT damage the pump. (I recommend using "Pump Saver" after every use for lubrication and corrosion resistance.)

What I would do is sell the Stihl and get a good quality electric unit that only puts out up to approximately 1500psi vice 3000. Your DI rig may work fine with one of those.

 

[DFB5.0]

Gas pressure washers are generally not used for car washing because the output pressure is so high. Even with a wide tip, you have to be careful. On top of that, the DI cans are not keeping up with the demand so it MIGHT damage the pump. (I recommend using "Pump Saver" after every use for lubrication and corrosion resistance.)

What I would do is sell the Stihl and get a good quality electric unit that only puts out up to approximately 1500psi vice 3000. Your DI rig may work fine with one of those.

This!

Look at AR Blue Clean AR630-TSS and Kranzle K1322 or K1122 for the top end machines, which you dial the pressure in to around 1000-1500psi to achieve 1.9 to 2.3 gpm.

Mid to low end machines, look at Karcher K1700 Cube (1.1 gpm), Active VE56 (1.8 gpm) or Active 2.0 (1.9 gpm). The Active's in particular outperform everything else in terms of flow at this end of the market.

 

[skinnyb]

Gas pressure washers are generally not used for car washing because the output pressure is so high. Even with a wide tip, you have to be careful. On top of that, the DI cans are not keeping up with the demand so it MIGHT damage the pump. (I recommend using "Pump Saver" after every use for lubrication and corrosion resistance.)

What I would do is sell the Stihl and get a good quality electric unit that only puts out up to approximately 1500psi vice 3000. Your DI rig may work fine with one of those.

Yeah I have been contemplating that for a while now. I have had the Stihl for a few years and it is WAY more washer than I need. It has been in storage for quite a while and I just started using again this season for car washing. I did clean my concrete driveway when I moved into my house 3 years aga and it made short work of that LOL. An electric one is a lot more convenient for sure.

 

[skinnyb]

This!

Look at AR Blue Clean AR630-TSS and Kranzle K1322 or K1122 for the top end machines, which you dial the pressure in to around 1000-1500psi to achieve 1.9 to 2.3 gpm.

Mid to low end machines, look at Karcher K1700 Cube (1.1 gpm), Active VE56 (1.8 gpm) or Active 2.0 (1.9 gpm). The Active's in particular outperform everything else in terms of flow at this end of the market.

Thanks for the recommendations. I definitely want an electric unit. One that is adjustable would be ideal. Turn up for most washing and then turn down for the DI final rinse. The DI system I got is low flow but in my budget, I will only use for the final rinse so hoping the resin lasts a while. I typically wash at least every couple weeks, maybe more if I am out in rainy weather.

I am hoping to sell my gas unit and use the funds to offset the costs of an electric unit. I will probably start out with a low end unit at first then work up from there down the road. Will be nice to take up less room in my garage.

 

[DFB5.0]

Thanks for the recommendations. I definitely want an electric unit. One that is adjustable would be ideal. Turn up for most washing and then turn down for the DI final rinse. The DI system I got is low flow but in my budget, I will only use for the final rinse so hoping the resin lasts a while. I typically wash at least every couple weeks, maybe more if I am out in rainy weather.

I am hoping to sell my gas unit and use the funds to offset the costs of an electric unit. I will probably start out with a low end unit at first then work up from there down the road. Will be nice to take up less room in my garage.

The Kranzle and AR can be dialed back pressure wise by the unloader valve, but I was mostly referring to changing the nozzle orifice size to decrease the pressure output, in turn allowing for a higher flow rate. I can go into that more if you need.

 

[DFB5.0]

This video explains nozzle orifices, unloader valves, pressure, flow and the CR Spotless in one hit. Its was made a while ago, but the basics are still the same.

Sponsored