De-ionized water sure makes a big difference as far as foam thickness...

[WRAPT C5Z06]

A seal on Culligan DI tank broke last week, so I had to use tap water. I’ve been using Carpro Reset in my foam cannon at 1:28. With my 2800psi 2.5 GPM pressure washer, this combo made nice and thick foam. When I used the exact same dilution with tap water, it was way less foamy. Very noticeable difference. Generally speaking, Reset isn’t known as a high foaming soap, but minus the DI water, it was a relatively worthless as a snow foam. Glad my DI tank is now back in action!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JCDetails]

is the culligan setup any more cost effective than something like the standard CR Spotless cartridge system or a Doublechuck?

If nothing else it seems like a time saver. I just have a hard time bringing myself to spend $4-500 on it.

[DTruck]

The reason it's less foamy is most likely due to surfectants in the tap water - more than likely from normal organics found everywhere in water.

[WRAPT C5Z06]

is the culligan setup any more cost effective than something like the standard CR Spotless cartridge system or a Doublechuck?

If nothing else it seems like a time saver. I just have a hard time bringing myself to spend $4-500 on it.

I had CR Spotless before and find myself spending WAY less money with the Culligan tank. I rent it for $15/month and swapping out tanks is $95. I'm a weekend detailer and use it from start to finish when washing. Last tank lasted me 4 months and still read 0.00 PPM. CR Spotless would have not lasted nearly that long. DI water is the best investment I've made. Nothing like not having to chase water spots. I can wash cars in 100 degree heat with no problems.

[Coach Steve]

I agree totally.
Having spotless water at your disposal is game changer.
I bought an On-The-Go dual bed(2 tank) system a couple of months ago because I was losing my mind trying to get high profile vehicles that wouldn't fit in my garage dried before the sun dried them for me and leaving water spots, of course. My water ranges between 750-900 PPM TDS! It's a nightmare! When I bought the OTG system, the first thing I did was wash a black truck and rinse with DI water and stood back and watched it dry. As the water droplets evaporated leaving NOTHING behind, I just smiled, which became a sh!t-eaten-grin, which literally turned into me giggling. Corny, I know but when you've dealt with water this hard in the Arizona sun for as many years as I have.... well, it was almost spiritual.
Unfortunately, the super high TDS depletes the resin in the system very fast and ends up costing something like $2.00 per gallon to produce. After burning through the resin within a month, I decided to go with local DI water company, Purtec. It's a little bit less expensive than what you pay for the Culligan setup but I get far more spotless water out of a tank than I ever would or could with the OTG system.
Yeah, foaming a vehicle is a totally different experience with DI water.

My OTG dual bed system is for sale if anyone is interested. The details are linked below.
Dual Bed Deionizer Standard Model - On The Go - Portable Water DI

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I agree totally.
Having spotless water at your disposal is game changer.
I bought an On-The-Go dual bed(2 tank) system a couple of months ago because I was losing my mind trying to get high profile vehicles that wouldn't fit in my garage dried before the sun dried them for me and leaving water spots, of course. My water ranges between 750-900 PPM TDS! It's a nightmare! When I bought the OTG system, the first thing I did was wash a black truck and rinse with DI water and stood back and watched it dry. As the water droplets evaporated leaving NOTHING behind, I just smiled, which became a sh!t-eaten-grin, which literally turned into me giggling. Corny, I know but when you've dealt with water this hard in the Arizona sun for as many years as I have.... well, it was almost spiritual.
Unfortunately, the super high TDS depletes the resin in the system very fast and ends up costing something like $2.00 per gallon to produce. After burning through the resin within a month, I decided to go with local DI water company, Purtec. It's a little bit less expensive than what you pay for the Culligan setup but I get far more spotless water out of a tank than I ever would or could with the OTG system.
Yeah, foaming a vehicle is a totally different experience with DI water.

My OTG dual bed system is for sale if anyone is interested. The details are linked below.
Dual Bed Deionizer Standard Model - On The Go - Portable Water DI

Awesome post!!!

Your PPM is HIGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[FUNX650]

The reason it's less foamy is most likely
due to surfectants in the tap water -

more than likely from normal organics
found everywhere in water.

I’ll agree that both surface-water(s), and
tap-water(s) will contain varying degrees
and types of surfactants; but, don’t surfac-
tants lower/reduce “surface tension”?


{BTW: Deionized water has
high “surface tension”.}



Bob