CR Spotless DI-120 Simplest RV & Car Wash System, Spotless Rinse Works for All Vehicles, Motorcycles, Bikes, Boats, Planes, Yachts, Deionized Water System, Towel Drying Eliminated

Yep. It works. I was worried about how often I would have to change the resin (which is $40 per hit, I believe), but so far have been happy with how long this puppy is lasting. Here's how it works: There is a small digital readout near the top that will measure the resin and let's you know when it's time to be changed. It's a little confusing at first... Every time you turn the digital readout on it will read double-zeros ("00"). You would think it would start at 100 or 10 or whatever then work it's way down to zero...but that's not how it works. It's actually measuring the effectiveness of the resin...so as you use it the numbers will eventually change from "00" to 1, 2, 5, 15, etc... The instructions say once the number reaches "20" or more then it's time to change the resin. You can still use it, of course, but it will not be as effective at deionizing the water, thus leaving water spots behind on your vehicle. I live in Louisiana. We have hard water which other reviewers have stated will eat the life out of the resin. But I bought this thing about 10 months ago and have probably put 8 or 9 car washes on it (full-size F-150 super crew) so I use lots of water to "rinse" my truck after I wash it. And so far I'm still at double-00 on the readout! So if I can get about a year's use out of one canister of resin I would gladly pay $40 a year to not have to dry this beast of a truck. Worth every penny. Here's why I can't give it 5 stars.... 1. This thing is a PITA to move around. It's sneaky-heavy and awkward to carry because of the steel frame. Can't we get some wheels?? There is a $400 or $500 unit that has 2 canisters and a handle with a couple of nice, large wheels so you can move it around. For $250 bucks they need to put a handle and a pair of wheels on this thing so you don't pull a hammy moving this thing around the yard, good grief. 2. It comes with a cheapo water nozzle, which is all good and fine. But the instructions are adamant about making sure you DO NOT EXCEED A FLOW RATE OF 2 GALLONS PER MINUTE through your water hose. Then they tell you to use the nozzle that is included but only use it on the "Center" or "Flat" setting. I assume they hope that by giving you a $5 cheap nozzle and setting it to "Center" or "Flat" you will not have to worry about your water pressure exceeding 2 gpm. Well my friends, this is complete gobbleygook. You will need to purchase a FLOWMETER on Amazon. This will measure your GALLONS PER MINUTE (flow rate): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00880R5OI/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Super-simple to use and ready to hook up to your hoses so you can measure flow rate, or gpm. The GALLONS PER MINUTE issue is paramount to making sure you get the most bang for your buck out of your canister of resin. If water pressure is TOO HIGH then the resin will not work properly and you get water spots. Then you'll send the unit back and complain on Amazon that it doesn't work. It does work...IF you have the right tool to measure flow rate. But...they don't give you the tool to measure it??!! I have no idea why the makers of this product cannot include this as part of the system. To me it's a no-brainer. They could probably even wire it to the existing digital readout so you can test the unit, get the flow rate set, then get to washing and "drying" your car. The digital readout times out after a minute or two so you don't have to worry about leaving it on and draining the battery. How, you ask, can you set the flow rate?? Well, you just turn on the water at the spigot while holding the nozzle open full-blast (on the "Flat" setting which I find works best). Then you look at the flowmeter and turn the spigot slowly to the right or left until you see the dial inside the meter measure 2 gpm. Easy breezy nice and cheesy.

Love this unit. Yes it is a little heavy. I keep it near the exit to my garage. It removes one step, wiping down the vehicle after a wash and the potential micro scratches that come with that process. I use it on two cars and a motorcycle. Makes drying the motorcycle especially easy as they have a lot of cracks, crevices and odd surfaces. I just rinse and let it dry. Perfect every time. Here is how I use mine to get the most out of it and make my car wash process easy. 1. I use a Flow Restrictor so it never goes past 2 gpm. With a flow restrictor on the inlet I can use any spray nozzle or soap foamer and not have to worry about the setting (this should be included in the package but oh well). I use this $10 flow restrictor: Neoperl 30 0640 5 3/4" PCA Garden Hose Adapter, Female 3/4" x Male 3/4", 2 GPM Maximum Flow Rate, Not Plated, Lilac Flow Regulator, Not for Drinking Water 2. I attach the kit's supplied washer hose to the inlet side with the restrictor installed. I keep this hose connected at all times. When I bring the filter outdoors I connect my water hose to this high quality hose. With that I don't have to keep reattaching to the plastic connector on the filter saving the life of that connector. 3. I use a Y-valve at the outlet. (

This system is a game changer for my car washes. Where I live there is *very* hard water. So that means if I walk away from the car for a second or *any* water dries I have really bad water spots. If you're shopping for this, you're probably like me and you like having a car without water spots. It's also nice to be able to take my time washing the car, and not have to waste extra water constantly wetting down the car. Some things to note about the DI-120. For the filter to work optimally you have to use a nozzle that is <= 2 gallons per minute (GPM) in flow rate. The filter comes with a small cheap nozzle supplied that you can run in either "Flat" or "Center." I however had planned to use this product with the Chemical Guys Foam Blaster 6. The FB6 doesn't come with any indication of water flow rate. At first I was googling around, but then remembered basic science and math. If you want to measure a particular nozzle's flow rate do the following. Mark off 2 gallons in your 5 gallon bucket. I did this by using the fact that 1 gallon = 16 cups. In my kitchen we have a 4 cup glass measuring cup. I just filled that up 8 times to fill my bucket with 2 gallons. I then used some duct tape to mark the water line at 2 gallons in my bucket. Some buckets might have lines, so then you wouldn't need to do this. Then I took my Foam Blaster 6, ran it fully open while timing it. Noted the time then do the following calculation flow rate = <gallons> / <time in minutes> to get the flow rate. This will work with any nozzle. So I finally hooked the product up to my hose which was easy. It comes fully assembled in the box. The directions are very clear. The water pressure out of the filter is great, the water coming out IS TOTALLY FILTERED. I literally had 0 water spots. I have to say the product is very sturdy, and well built. If you're on the fence about this, and like having spot free washes just buy the filter. It's worth it. One disclaimer is that I've used it only once, so I don't know how often I need to replace the resin in the filter cartridge. So that could change my opinion once I understand the overall running cost.

I read up on this and bought it for the express purpose of not having to hand dry my cars after washing. Not just to save the effort but to avoid the scratches drying causes. I have to say that this filter absolutely does what it claims. I could hardly believe that it could work but my cars dry without a spot on them, even the glass. I will offer this advice about this filter: READ AND FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS!! It isn't rocket science. Just please take the time to learn how it works and you will be rewarded. Some reviewers have complained of setting the flow rate. Simply time how long it takes to fill a gallon jug. If it is 30 seconds or within a couple of seconds either way you are at 2 GPM. Easy! Then just use that water for your wash bucket, no reason to waste it! Mine came completely assembled except for the inlet hose. I did have to tighten the canister as it leaked slightly from the top the first time it was used. No other issues with the filter. I wondered, as many other reviewers have, how long the filter might last. This was actually very easy to determine. If you go to the manufacturer website there is a chart that answers this question. The filter life is a direct result of how much material it must remove from the water. In my case I went to the website for my city and looked up the water quality reports. This will show the quantity of TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in the water. Then just compare that number with the chart on the CR website. Find it under the FAQ. In my case the TDS is 150 so the unit I have will process about 259 gallons. I use about 8 gallons to wash my car so that's 30+ washes with no hand drying of the car! Sweet! Since you are already looking at the CR Spotless website make sure to check out the resin recycle program. The resin and cartridge are recyclable. They even ship it for free and provide a return label for the old one all for a very reasonable. So if you are on the fence about a CR Spotless unit I would recommend checking the TDS in your water supply first. If it had been really high in my water I would not have bought a deionizing filter. I am pleased with it. Period.

Did a lot of researching for a DI system for spotless car wash.. CR is product targeted at the car detailing/ enthusiast market. The reality is, DI filter systems are widely used in other industries such aquarium and window washing. You can assemble a comparable filter system for much less by buying the filter canisters, DI resin and interconnecting them for probably about $100. That said CR has done a nice job of creating a turnkey consumer product, although expensive. The one thing you should know is that the cost of the system is really not what you should worry about. (It is the cost DI filter replacements as it's kind of like Computer Printers, the real expense is in the ink!). Depending on your water quality, and assuming you use the product correctly you get may 8 to 10 washes. So the DI resin replacement gets expensive.. So you need to understand that going in.. Lots of folks complain about it, but that is the nature of the technology. However you can get Mixed Bed DI resin much cheaper than what CR charges from other industry suppliers for about half the cost and it is just as good.. Personally I'd stick with the DI-120 as it is the most cost effective unit and is a little smaller. CR tries to steer you to the more expensive units, but there is little advantage in operating cost. (they use more DI but it lasts a little longer, so to me the smaller unit makes more sense). Also know that you must only run at about 1 GPM, you can't just turn the hose on full blast. Most of the people who say the product doesn't work don't understand proper operation. By doing that you quickly deplete the Resin and it works poorly anyway at higher water flows. You should use the product for final rinse only and use a nozzle that regulates the flow. The best way to use this is actually though a small inexpensive pressure washer.