All this talk about the auto dry has made me want to post some info about a true ro system. The idea behind the Auto Dry is basically just an advanced mini RO (reverse osmosis) system. So many people on here seemed to love it so much, or at least the idea of it, that I thought I would make this post. This is an idea I have had for a while, just never tried it out to see if it works. This is very lengthly I know, just try to skim through it and read the bottom. If your interested read through the whole thing.
The RO systems the dealers have are large and designed to filter a lot of water in a short amount of time. For home use this is unnecessary. Reverse Osmosis systems for homes have been available for a long time, sold at many places, and you may have one in your home and not even realize it. A RO system consists of 3 different chambers (some offer 4) which consists of a carbon chamber, sediment pre filter, and the RO membrane itself. Those that offer 4 typically add a de ionizer as the fourth chamber. Now like I said, you may have one of these units under your sink and not realize what it is. If you have one under your sink it probably will come with a small cylinder that looks almost like a mini propane tank. This reservoir is necessary because the RO membrane can only filter water at a slow rate, can be from 5 gallons a day to 160.
The idea I am discussing here would be using a home RO unit to filter water for the car. Most home unit’s small reservoirs would be too small for car use as well as not up to filter the extra water needed on a regular basis. My idea is this, connecting a RO unit to an large external tank. For the tank I would suggest something between 5 and 15 gallons. This set up can be somewhere in the garage, basically anywhere there is a water connection. As this unit has to be run for large periods of time, often as much as a day to fill the tank, this faucet needs to be dedicated to the RO system and not used for other things. Adding a faucet to any existing piping is easy so creating a dedicate faucet in the garage would simply need a cold water line running somewhere near by (often to a washing machine or to a water heater, just make sure to tap into the cold and not the hot). Just tap into the cold water line and add a new extension running to the RO set up with a valve on the end. The only challenge is that if you have copper plumbing then you will have to slip a T to it and do some welding with a blow torch, not very hard to do if you know how but if not then you would need to find someone to help.
After you have your line set up you need to attach your RO set up. The cheapest bare units you can get are used for aquariums. Many aquariums benefit from using pure water meaning many aquarium owners will use a RO unit to filter the water they put into there aquarium. As aquariums vary in size and so do the needs of water, there are many different units available varying in water capacity, longetivity, and price. Most units are between $200 and $300. When shopping be sure to watch out for the gpd (gallons per day) and the life of the filters. While a cheep unit may work well, the filters may not last long causing you to replace them more often causing extra expense. www.drsfostersmith.com is a pet warehouse with a large supply of aquatic supplies, including RO systems. click here to see there selection of RO systems For this purpose I would suggest something that can filter around 10 gallons a day, anything more is overkill unless you plan on washing many cars on a daily basis.
So now that you have the RO system set up you need a reservoir to hold the filtered water. While you can use anything, if your only washing 1 car then a 5 gallon reservoir should be sufficient. If washing 2 or 3 then maybe a 10 gallon, and so on. Reservoirs can be anything, from a new clean trash can to a stainless steel tank. The reservoir needs to be completely clean and dedicated for this use, not used for other things. The reservoir also needs to be covered and somewhat sealed so as that contaminates cant get into the water. I suggest using 5 gallon jugs available at aquatic stores. If wanting 10 gallons then get two jugs and daisy chain them together, or do the same with 3 getting 15 gallons. Be sure when chaining them together to do it at the bottom so as that the water can move through the containers when you are using it. You will have to connect a spigot to one of the containers to get the water out. (If any of you are actually interested in trying all this out I will help you through it and tell you where to get everything just be sure to pm me about it, otherwise I am not going to bother posting it all here as it may just confuse people.)
Ok now you have everything set up and water is filtering into your reservoir. But wait how do u get the water from the reservoir to the car. My solution to this is using a pressure washer. Several pressure washers are able to pump water that is from a standing source. Notably is Karcher models that have this option (available at many stores, notably Lowe’s and costco also carries a Karcher model). The pressure washer connects to a regular hose spigot so that is all you need for the reservoir. Pressure washers can vary in price, most often you get what you pay for so I would suggest spending no less then $150 for one. The Karcher model I have works great and is upright so that it doesn’t take up much space. Most pressure washers use around 1.5 gallons per min. My Karcher uses 1.6 but if you calculate that you have a 5 gallon reservoir then that is about 3 min of constant RO water, enough to rinse 1 car after the wash. If you want to have the option of washing multiple cars then a 10 gallon reservoir would give you 6 min or a 15 gallon reservoir would give you 9 min. If you had a 30 gallon trash can as your reservoir that would give you 18 min of RO water. Remember pressure washers have many uses so don’t think of it as an expense just for this one purpose. Use it to wash your house and cement pads. Using a pressure washer on the car works well, it has a lot of force so that it will get the grime off your wheels and get the bugs off the car. There are many things to know about using a pressure washer on the car to avoid swirl marks and scratches, for more info read my updated detailing guide which should be available by the beginning of May.
Ok so if you actually read through all that or at least skimmed here is the important stuff it you are interested in doing this. You have to have a connection dedicated for the ro unit. You need to have the space for the reservoir. Cost of this all should be no more then $250 for the RO unit and all the little things needed to hook it up. You will need a pressure washer (around $150) with the ability to pick up standing water (not many can do this so if your not sure then buy a Karcher). So in total this would all cost $400 to set up, plus the cost of replacing the filters in the RO system when necessary. If you already have a Karcher pressure washer or have a model that will pick up standing water then the whole thing is only $250. The benefits of this whole set up means never having to dry your car again. No tiny little spray from the Auto Dry to wash the car, full power spray using my system. Plus the extended cost is less then when using the Auto Dry. If anyone has any questions about any of this or is thinking about doing it, pleas tell me and I will help you through it step by step and tell you everything you need to know about it as well as where to purchase everything. If you live in Southern California I will even help you set it up. Now like I said before, I have not done this myself yet but in theory it should all work.
Here are a few pictures of the stuff I am talking about.
This is the tipical undersink home RO unit
This is the type I am saying to use which basicly is just the standalone filter unit, with out the resovor as you need a larger resovor.
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This is what the 5 gallon jugs look like
This is the pressure washer I have which I highly recomend.
Costco carries this one which is basicly the same as the one I have only not upright, it is a great model to get and will do everythign the same as the one above except it takes up a tad more space as its not upright. Costco does change there supply though, a few months ago they had the same exact model I have, but when I went there last week it was back to the one pictured below.
The RO systems the dealers have are large and designed to filter a lot of water in a short amount of time. For home use this is unnecessary. Reverse Osmosis systems for homes have been available for a long time, sold at many places, and you may have one in your home and not even realize it. A RO system consists of 3 different chambers (some offer 4) which consists of a carbon chamber, sediment pre filter, and the RO membrane itself. Those that offer 4 typically add a de ionizer as the fourth chamber. Now like I said, you may have one of these units under your sink and not realize what it is. If you have one under your sink it probably will come with a small cylinder that looks almost like a mini propane tank. This reservoir is necessary because the RO membrane can only filter water at a slow rate, can be from 5 gallons a day to 160.
The idea I am discussing here would be using a home RO unit to filter water for the car. Most home unit’s small reservoirs would be too small for car use as well as not up to filter the extra water needed on a regular basis. My idea is this, connecting a RO unit to an large external tank. For the tank I would suggest something between 5 and 15 gallons. This set up can be somewhere in the garage, basically anywhere there is a water connection. As this unit has to be run for large periods of time, often as much as a day to fill the tank, this faucet needs to be dedicated to the RO system and not used for other things. Adding a faucet to any existing piping is easy so creating a dedicate faucet in the garage would simply need a cold water line running somewhere near by (often to a washing machine or to a water heater, just make sure to tap into the cold and not the hot). Just tap into the cold water line and add a new extension running to the RO set up with a valve on the end. The only challenge is that if you have copper plumbing then you will have to slip a T to it and do some welding with a blow torch, not very hard to do if you know how but if not then you would need to find someone to help.
After you have your line set up you need to attach your RO set up. The cheapest bare units you can get are used for aquariums. Many aquariums benefit from using pure water meaning many aquarium owners will use a RO unit to filter the water they put into there aquarium. As aquariums vary in size and so do the needs of water, there are many different units available varying in water capacity, longetivity, and price. Most units are between $200 and $300. When shopping be sure to watch out for the gpd (gallons per day) and the life of the filters. While a cheep unit may work well, the filters may not last long causing you to replace them more often causing extra expense. www.drsfostersmith.com is a pet warehouse with a large supply of aquatic supplies, including RO systems. click here to see there selection of RO systems For this purpose I would suggest something that can filter around 10 gallons a day, anything more is overkill unless you plan on washing many cars on a daily basis.
So now that you have the RO system set up you need a reservoir to hold the filtered water. While you can use anything, if your only washing 1 car then a 5 gallon reservoir should be sufficient. If washing 2 or 3 then maybe a 10 gallon, and so on. Reservoirs can be anything, from a new clean trash can to a stainless steel tank. The reservoir needs to be completely clean and dedicated for this use, not used for other things. The reservoir also needs to be covered and somewhat sealed so as that contaminates cant get into the water. I suggest using 5 gallon jugs available at aquatic stores. If wanting 10 gallons then get two jugs and daisy chain them together, or do the same with 3 getting 15 gallons. Be sure when chaining them together to do it at the bottom so as that the water can move through the containers when you are using it. You will have to connect a spigot to one of the containers to get the water out. (If any of you are actually interested in trying all this out I will help you through it and tell you where to get everything just be sure to pm me about it, otherwise I am not going to bother posting it all here as it may just confuse people.)
Ok now you have everything set up and water is filtering into your reservoir. But wait how do u get the water from the reservoir to the car. My solution to this is using a pressure washer. Several pressure washers are able to pump water that is from a standing source. Notably is Karcher models that have this option (available at many stores, notably Lowe’s and costco also carries a Karcher model). The pressure washer connects to a regular hose spigot so that is all you need for the reservoir. Pressure washers can vary in price, most often you get what you pay for so I would suggest spending no less then $150 for one. The Karcher model I have works great and is upright so that it doesn’t take up much space. Most pressure washers use around 1.5 gallons per min. My Karcher uses 1.6 but if you calculate that you have a 5 gallon reservoir then that is about 3 min of constant RO water, enough to rinse 1 car after the wash. If you want to have the option of washing multiple cars then a 10 gallon reservoir would give you 6 min or a 15 gallon reservoir would give you 9 min. If you had a 30 gallon trash can as your reservoir that would give you 18 min of RO water. Remember pressure washers have many uses so don’t think of it as an expense just for this one purpose. Use it to wash your house and cement pads. Using a pressure washer on the car works well, it has a lot of force so that it will get the grime off your wheels and get the bugs off the car. There are many things to know about using a pressure washer on the car to avoid swirl marks and scratches, for more info read my updated detailing guide which should be available by the beginning of May.
Ok so if you actually read through all that or at least skimmed here is the important stuff it you are interested in doing this. You have to have a connection dedicated for the ro unit. You need to have the space for the reservoir. Cost of this all should be no more then $250 for the RO unit and all the little things needed to hook it up. You will need a pressure washer (around $150) with the ability to pick up standing water (not many can do this so if your not sure then buy a Karcher). So in total this would all cost $400 to set up, plus the cost of replacing the filters in the RO system when necessary. If you already have a Karcher pressure washer or have a model that will pick up standing water then the whole thing is only $250. The benefits of this whole set up means never having to dry your car again. No tiny little spray from the Auto Dry to wash the car, full power spray using my system. Plus the extended cost is less then when using the Auto Dry. If anyone has any questions about any of this or is thinking about doing it, pleas tell me and I will help you through it step by step and tell you everything you need to know about it as well as where to purchase everything. If you live in Southern California I will even help you set it up. Now like I said before, I have not done this myself yet but in theory it should all work.
Here are a few pictures of the stuff I am talking about.
This is the tipical undersink home RO unit
This is the type I am saying to use which basicly is just the standalone filter unit, with out the resovor as you need a larger resovor.
This is what the 5 gallon jugs look like
This is the pressure washer I have which I highly recomend.
Costco carries this one which is basicly the same as the one I have only not upright, it is a great model to get and will do everythign the same as the one above except it takes up a tad more space as its not upright. Costco does change there supply though, a few months ago they had the same exact model I have, but when I went there last week it was back to the one pictured below.
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