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Water De-ioniser


TomS

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I was looking at these over Winter to save time when washing the car but thinking about it, it makes more sense over Summer!

 

Does anyone use some sort of inline water de-ioniser when rinsing down their car? I've come across a couple on Detailing World and Google but the one that a few people mention I can't seem to find online.

 

For anyone wondering, you stick a de-ioniser between tap and pressure washer, it filters the water removing which means you don't have to manually dry the car. It's the minerals and impurities in the water that cause dry stains on the car, so this way means you just wash, rinse then leave to dry in the sun and it should be mark free :)

 

Ones I've come across and wondering if anyone has any experience with them are -

 

Aqua Gleam - http://www.theultimatefinish.co.uk/aqua-gleam/0ppm-de-ionising-water-filter-30.aspx

DI Vessel - http://www.daqua.co.uk/divessels.htm

Raceglaze Water Filter - http://www.raceglaze.co.uk/race-glaze/400-litre-0ppm-car-washing-filter/

 

I'm assuming the Aqua Gleam is overpriced as it's marketed towards car enthusiasts and a tank with crystals/resin in will be cheaper and do the same job?

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Not sure you can really use them with a pressure washer, they're more for a final rinse. We have one to clean the water for the fish tank, and even with the tap on full blast, it only drips out the other end. These aren't as good at cleaning out the impurities I'm sure, so flow faster, but I'm pretty sure they'll not be fast enough for a pressure washer.

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I think if you buy the correct ones you can use them with a pressure washer. TheRace Glaze one has a few reviews and they mention pressure washer, I think the tanks can go up to 10.5bar. THe Aqua Gleam one looks like a pressure washer can't be used so that one might be ruled out straight away as I don't fancy standing there with water dribbling out the end of the hose.

 

Also found this one which couple of people have bought - http://www.vyair.com/scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=362

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I've just killed off my Aqua Gleam one - it filtered well but I wasn't impressed by how short it's lifespan actually was - I bought it August, used it maybe 8-10 times for the final rinse before waterspots started re-appearing. Tested it with a TDS meter and it went from 38ppm to 114ppm in one use, so when it fails it deteriorates quickly! Tap water was measured at 300-odd ppm though, but although it was filtering most of the impurities out it wasn't anywhere near enough to prevent waterspotting at all.

 

The flow from the Aqua Gleam was fairly similar to tap pressure once it got going but it took a while to fill the filter, so I wouldn't use in on a pressure washer unless you've let it flow for a minute or before hand, but if you're using it to filter the wash water you'll be replacing it every other wash.

 

It's worth considering that the Aqua Gleam isn't re-usable whereas both of the others are, but to be honest I wouldn't recommend the Aqua Gleam any more. It does work well, but it just isn't economical at all.

 

I'm still debating between the Daqua and Raceglaze one next myself.

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Thanks, I thought the Aqua Gleam one might be out of the picture for lack of pressure anyway. If it doesn't last that long and isn't refillable then I'll probably go for a tank of some sort.

 

The fact that you're looking for something else similar means that it does work well then?

Edited by TomS
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Thanks, I thought the Aqua Gleam one might be out of the picture for lack of pressure anyway. If it doesn't last that long and isn't refillable then I'll probably go for a tank of some sort.

 

The fact that you're looking for something else similar means that it does work well then?

 

Absolutely. Whilst it didn't last long at all it did convince me that when it is working it's invaluable, especially more so in the summer with the obscenely hard water around here.

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Has anyone seen the Junkman videos on YouTube? He has done one video where he uses water to dry his car (yup i didn't believe it until i saw it), I'm not sure if his water is filtered (he's based in the USA so not sure of their water quality) but he runs clean water over his car which is so highly polished and waxed that the water takes all residual suds and marks off the paint leaving it unmarked and dry.

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Managed to get something to measure the water hardness, 30ppm which is very low as looking around on DW other people have 250-300ppm. Will have to see if there's any point getting a filter as it's already very low, or the tester is crap!

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That is very low, but it's still enough to leave water marks. The good news is, if that's an accurate reading and if you do get a filter, it should last a long time.

 

You can get calibration fluid for TDS meters for about £5 which are a certain known ppm, or you could try this (no idea if that actually works though!).

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  • 2 weeks later...
Posted · Hidden by Ebized, March 26, 2014 - Trading
Hidden by Ebized, March 26, 2014 - Trading

Evening Gents, firstly let me introduce myself I am the owner of Daqua. Before I talk any more about this subject can I ask any mods on here if it is okay to discuss some of our products in case it offends any other supplier on here. Many thanks Doug.

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I bought one of the water filter from the guy on DW a couple of years back,need to get another actually. Worked pretty well to be honest, and was cheaper than most of the major brands,though you cant use it with a pressure washer. Im on my phone at work, so will get a link up soon

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If your in a hard water area - I.e South/South East of England then your going to have a hardness between 150 ppm - 400 ppm and you will get some bad staining if you dont dry your car off. In my particular area it is 350ppm which is pretty dam bad but have a water softener to combat this. Same principle as the Vessels but this also helps to stop scaling within heating systems, no more staining on worktops/taps etc and lots of savings on cleaning products!

 

Good thing is though we have the softener plumbed in a way that we have got a 3 taps at the back with two on soft ( hot and cold ) and one still left on hard water for watering the garden. Its great for washing cars :)

Edited by Humpy
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  • 3 weeks later...

Arise dead thread and live again, muahahahahaha... er, yes, moving on.

 

In case anyone is interested, I finally got round to replacing my dead Aqua Gleam filter and went with the 11litre Daqua one filled with MB-115 (link in the OP) in the end.

 

Here it is next to the Aqua Gleam for a size comparison;

S0018119_Fotor_zps893ba551.jpg

 

Just a bit bigger...

I ordered it late on Sunday night and it arrived the following Tuesday morning, so the service from Daqua couldn't have been better.

 

So, tested it out today; TDS readings - on the right is water straight out of the tap, on the left it's from the filter;

b5858789-f387-4783-8d00-390cc3476a27_zpsbf5b3364.jpg

 

That'll do me.

 

A couple of things to note; the Daqua filter comes exactly as seen above, there's no hozelock connectors to attach it to the tap/hose like there was with the Aqua Gleam (which also comes as seen above with that little bit of hose and the two connectors), so if you don't have a couple spare then you'll need to buy those separately before you can use it properly (not forgetting the length of hose between the tap & filter of course).

 

Also, I discovered the first time I used the Aqua Gleam filter that it builds up a bit of pressure so when disconnecting it from the tap I experienced what what Debbie must have felt like when she visited Dallas, namely a face-full of fluid. The Daqua filter, being bigger, builds up much more pressure so when you come to disconnect it remember to turn the tap off but let the water flow for a bit before disconnecting anything, especially if you're using a spray gun or have it connected to the pressure washer.

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