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  1. #1
    Super Member Route246's Avatar
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    CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    I have my own home-made DI (de-ionized water) system but this is relevant to CR Spotless, Simple Chucks or any other DI system. My objective in this post is to suggest how to save a lot of money on mixed bed resin.

    My water is very hard well water (450-500 TDS total dissolved solids) so the resin doesn't last long. There are some basic common sense things that I learned after using up my first cubic foot or resin.

    A description of basic mixed bed resin:

    Mixed bed resin is an industrial grade ion exchange resin which removes
    the total dissolved solids from water and is recommended in applications where
    reliable production of high quality water is needed. Excellent for aquariums,
    laboratory use, window cleaning and car washing.

    Mixed bed resin is 1:1 volumetric ratio of a strong acid cation resin in Hydrogen
    form and a strong base Type 1 anion resin in a Hydroxide form.



    1. Mixed bed resin is expensive and the harder your water the quicker you consume it
    2. Regenerating mixed bed resin using lye and hydrochloric acid is difficult, expensive and not cost-effective
    3. There are no "cheap" sources of mixed bed resin
    4. Invest in a TDS meter ($10-$25) and you can see your resin degrade as you use it
    5. MOST IMPORTANTLY - treat your DI water like you would any expensive fluid - that is, use it sparingly and use it for what it is good at and don't waste it


    The objective is to save money. I invested in a Y-adapter and use two sources of water for rinsing. Hard water for rinsing dirt, suds, soap and DI water to rinse the hard water. Don't make the mistake I did which is to use the DI water to do all of the rinsing. This is an expensive waste of DI water. It was like taking bottled water and using it to flush your toilet. The only value of DI water is that it dries spotless.

    ​Comments welcome.





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  3. #2
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    I got tired of playing the hard water/CR dance, and piped my inside soft water (from water softener) to the outside faucet I use for car washing. It's not "spotless" but the spots come off. A lot easier than rolling the CR in and out (and up from the basement), and worrying about resin. A few bags of salt from Home Depot 2 or 3 times a year.

    May not be an option for you since I know some areas of CA they don't allow water softeners, and your water is twice as hard as mine so that means more regens and more salt refills.

  4. #3
    Super Member sudsmobile's Avatar
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    So much disinformation about CA abounds everywhere. You can have water softeners here, hell every customer's house we go to has one, just not salt based. You want to ruin your environment, be our guest.

  5. #4
    Super Member Route246's Avatar
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    Quote Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy View Post
    I got tired of playing the hard water/CR dance, and piped my inside soft water (from water softener) to the outside faucet I use for car washing. It's not "spotless" but the spots come off. A lot easier than rolling the CR in and out (and up from the basement), and worrying about resin. A few bags of salt from Home Depot 2 or 3 times a year.

    May not be an option for you since I know some areas of CA they don't allow water softeners, and your water is twice as hard as mine so that means more regens and more salt refills.
    We have a softener and I used to use soft water for rinse and the spots do wipe off easier but I wanted spot free because of the sun. Spot free is definitely easier to work with.


    Sent from my iPhone X using Tapatalk

  6. #5
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    Quote Originally Posted by sudsmobile View Post
    So much disinformation about CA abounds everywhere. You can have water softeners here, hell every customer's house we go to has one, just not salt based. You want to ruin your environment, be our guest.
    What kind of water softener is not salt based?

    Is it disinformation if I was talking to someone who lives in CA and he told me where he lives they aren't allowed to have water softeners? I wouldn't have brought it up if I didn't think this guy was legit.

  7. #6
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    Its just the salt based softeners that are outright banned. My lake cabin uses a pelican combo non salt based softener and it works great.

  8. #7
    Junior Member Scott in Houston's Avatar
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    I use a Worx Hydroshot and source distilled water.
    Cheap and easy.
    The added bonus is that it’s portable, so I’ve even taken on toad trips.
    I get some funny looks in hotel parking lots, but it’s a small price to pay.

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  10. #8
    Super Member Azure's Avatar
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott in Houston View Post
    I use a Worx Hydroshot and source distilled water.
    Cheap and easy.
    The added bonus is that it’s portable, so I’ve even taken on toad trips.
    I get some funny looks in hotel parking lots, but it’s a small price to pay.
    I used this method last summer but I bought a pressure washer over the winter. I bought a Griots Garage portable water deionizer setup and am really shocked at how fast the resin was spent. My water is super hard here (~450ppm) and after 6 uses (rinsing only) I'm up to ~330ppm with the deionizer system open. I was really hoping to get a washing season out of the resin, but having to replace it every month or so is ridiculous lol. I'm looking to see what my options are going forward.

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  12. #9
    Junior Member Scott in Houston's Avatar
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    Quote Originally Posted by Azure View Post
    I used this method last summer but I bought a pressure washer over the winter. I bought a Griots Garage portable water deionizer setup and am really shocked at how fast the resin was spent. My water is super hard here (~450ppm) and after 6 uses (rinsing only) I'm up to ~330ppm with the deionizer system open. I was really hoping to get a washing season out of the resin, but having to replace it every month or so is ridiculous lol. I'm looking to see what my options are going forward.
    When I'm home, I use a Ryobi pressure washer to wash and initial rinse, then rinse again with the Hydroshot and distilled water. So much cheaper than the CR setups.

  13. #10
    Super Member Azure's Avatar
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    Re: CR Spotless or other DI water systems

    Quote Originally Posted by Scott in Houston View Post
    When I'm home, I use a Ryobi pressure washer to wash and initial rinse, then rinse again with the Hydroshot and distilled water. So much cheaper than the CR setups.
    It was such a pain getting all the gear out though and I always wanted a pressure washer. I may go back to my Hydroshot-distilled water method until I figure out how to move on after spending $300 on the water de-ionizer (really $400 with all the different fittings to get to a leak free setup LOL).

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