Tell me about water filters

[Giantvanman]

My TDS is between 304 and 316 and I have just started using the filter for everything….pre-soak, bucket fill and rinse off. I used to try and save the filter/lengthen the Tulson's life and use standard water for pre-rinse but I found that it was a little fraught on sunny days (having to rush) doing it this way. Filter it all and take your time…….and don't forget; you won't need as much shampoo to get a decent lather.

 

[developer]

Well my 11.4 litre vessel filled with Tulson MB 115 arrived today after pacing my order around lunchtime yesterday. Couple of basic questions: Should I use it to dampen the car before washing and to blast any dirt off and also use it for my shampoo bucket or is that a waste of the filtered water? Or, should I just use it for the final rinse? What do you guys do?
For your info, my tap water reads at 306ppm on the TDS meter

You won't regret it - I turned up at TRAX last year, having driven off with the car still wet and the comments from others were very positive.

 

[crockers]

My TDS is between 304 and 316 and I have just started using the filter for everything….pre-soak, bucket fill and rinse off. I used to try and save the filter/lengthen the Tulson's life and use standard water for pre-rinse but I found that it was a little fraught on sunny days (having to rush) doing it this way. Filter it all and take your time…….and don't forget; you won't need as much shampoo to get a decent lather.

I use mine as rinse only....

 

[reflexboy]

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread a few months into DI Vessel ownership.
It worked amazingly for the first dozen or so washes, but it is now starting to water spot a little, which obviously is pretty annoying on a black car. The PPM is now reading about 25-30
I do use it for pre rinse, washing (2 bucket method) and the final rinse and I am relatively generous with the rinsing, but I did really expect it to last a bit longer considering it is an 11.4L vessel. Am I doing something wrong or is it time to buy some more 115 Tulsion resin?

 

[developer]

I'm roughly a year down the road from the TRAX event referred to above (TRAX is tomorrow) and mine is still working, though we do have very soft Welsh water here.

 

[st13phil]

Resin life very dependent upon your water's unfiltered TDS level. Once the filtered TDS level gets to 20+ it will start rising very rapidly, so it's time to change the resin.

 

[reflexboy]

Thanks gents. Think I will change the resin, and only use the filtered water for the final rinse. It just means I can't wash the car in the sunshine.

 

[st13phil]

It just means I can't wash the car in the sunshine.

I use a "rinse as I go" washing method and have no difficulty washing my car in the sunshine. Just start at the top of the car and rinse off the suds on a panel by panel basis as you wash them.

 

[reflexboy]

I normally do that anyway Phil. Just think I need to renew my resin. Thanks for the advice

 

[Giantvanman]

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread a few months into DI Vessel ownership.
It worked amazingly for the first dozen or so washes, but it is now starting to water spot a little, which obviously is pretty annoying on a black car. The PPM is now reading about 25-30
I do use it for pre rinse, washing (2 bucket method) and the final rinse and I am relatively generous with the rinsing, but I did really expect it to last a bit longer considering it is an 11.4L vessel. Am I doing something wrong or is it time to buy some more 115 Tulsion resin?

On a hot, sunny day, anything above 15-20 TDS does tend to leave spots on black cars, unfortunately; we tend to use the panoramic roof as the test i.e. if it spots, time to change resin.
Three to four months using the filter for everything is pretty good on a 11.4l vessel I would say. It is never going to be cheap in monetary terms but the savings are those made in anguish, rushing and failure to attain a good result for efforts…at least that is how I rationalise it.

You could lengthen the resin change time by not filling the wash mitt rinse bucket with the filter…you are only rinsing grit etc off the mitt before it goes back into the wash bucket.

 

[developer]

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread a few months into DI Vessel ownership.
It worked amazingly for the first dozen or so washes, but it is now starting to water spot a little, which obviously is pretty annoying on a black car. The PPM is now reading about 25-30
I do use it for pre rinse, washing (2 bucket method) and the final rinse and I am relatively generous with the rinsing, but I did really expect it to last a bit longer considering it is an 11.4L vessel. Am I doing something wrong or is it time to buy some more 115 Tulsion resin?

Not wishing to rub salt (did you see what I did there) into the wound
but I've had my 11.7 litre vessel for around a year now.

Inital reading upon delivery was 0ppm.

Yesterday I checked again, almost 12 months to the day from when I bought it.

Any guesses on the reading? - I've used it regularly for both initial and final rinse.

Closest answer gets a Monika Lewinsky kneeling pad...

 

[tommytucker]

Before I bought mine the guy at Daqua advised me to buy a 15 litre D I vessel because the water in my area is so hard,hope this helps.

 

[tommytucker]

0ppm?

 

[Herishi]

0ppm?

zero parts per million

 

[st13phil]

Before I bought mine the guy at Daqua advised me to buy a 15 litre D I vessel because the water in my area is so hard,hope this helps.

If that's what he advised, I'm sure it will.

Something else to note is that the effectiveness of a DI vessel will to some extent be flow-rate dependent. The bigger the vessel the higher the sustainable flow-rate at 0ppm TDS.

 

[developer]

0ppm?

zero parts per million

So close - it's 1ppm, which after a year I is well pleased with.

However, it was only 82ppm to start with.

 

[reflexboy]

At the tap mine is 306ppm. Three washes after it was reading 186ppm. Filled the vessel with new MB115 resin and I'm back to 0ppm. Think I will turn down the flow rate from the tap a bit as I have very hard water and I'm using too much.

 

[paulshep69]

I've had my vessel 6 months now, I only use it for a final rinse down, maybe a couple of times a month. Mine is still reading 0ppm as of today.

The lovely soft Scottish water is only at 60ppm going into it, so I expect it to last well past a year for me.

 

[reflexboy]

I've had my vessel 6 months now, I only use it for a final rinse down, maybe a couple of times a month. Mine is still reading 0ppm as of today.

The lovely soft Scottish water is only at 60ppm going into it, so I expect it to last well past a year for me.

Think I may have to re-locate to Scotland. Sounds like you have great water! Oh, and the area is lovely too