# Which DI / Resin water filter should I buy?



## needhampr (Feb 13, 2006)

OK, I think I've decided that I am going to buy a DI / Resin water filter. 
I can't decide what size to go for. I believe 11litres is the minimum recommended size and I can get one of these for £105 already filled with resin. I have also seen a 16.5 litre type also fully filled with resin for £135.

I basically only need it for rinsing 2 cars per week so I guess not hugely heavy use. The thing is, the water in my area is mega hard which made me wonder if the bigger vessel would be required.

I was also wondering how long the resin would last given my usage. I was thinking perhaps 12 months? Also, if the unit hasn't been used for a couple of weeks, does the water run a bit dirty at first given the colour of the resin. 

Any help / advice would be welcome. Any pro's out there have one? What are your thoughts? Do they realy leave a spotless finish or are they a bit overated?

Sorry for loads of Q's but they're not cheap and I want to make sure I get the right one for my usage / very hard water.


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## difficultrogue (Apr 18, 2008)

seems like a lot of expence just to rinse 2 cars off weekly! - Why dont you DIY your own vessel for about £12 - then your only expence is resin £70 for a big bag ( 25 lts )- depending what the T.D.S is in your area it should last a couple of years!


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## little john (Jun 10, 2007)

11l is fine mine is nearly 12 month old and used for 3 cars and still get 0ppm

difficultrogue I would love to know how you can make a vessle for £12


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

i want to do this aswell, but resin is so expensive :lol:

why it is? whats it actually made of? anywhere cheaper than £70?


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

just to add, if you need to spend that much on a vessel and resin, would you not be better off getting an RO unit?

they are like only £80 odd


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## needhampr (Feb 13, 2006)

Cheers guys, I've thought about a RO unit but they waste so much water and i'm on a water meter. RO units don't seem to be quite as effective as the resin units either from what i've read.
I also keep a small tank of tropical fish and the filtered water will be useful for that and save me buying RO water every fortnight at £2 a go.

So are we all in agreement that an 11 litre unit will be fine? I have no issues buying the more costly bigger unit if it will be more effective.


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## little john (Jun 10, 2007)

The problem with RO is that you need to be able to store the filtered water and there is the waste water problem.

A larger vessel will mean that the resin will last longer more resin will filter more water before becoming spent. I'm not sure how much longer a 25l vessel will last over an 11 litre one, I would expect 11l of resin to last the same length of time in an 11l vessel so over twice as much resin in a 25l vessel it should last over twice as long. The disadvantage is that a 25l vessel will weigh a lot to move about where the 11l can be heavy but I wouldn't like to move twice as much about. Also in the car a 11l fits upright 25l is over 1 meter tall will it fit upright in a car? draining it fully for transport is the only other option.


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## trenchfoot (Jan 11, 2007)

Needhampr, why dont you simply fit a household water softener to your domestic water supply and have the whole house household benefit from it. 
I'm in a horrendously hard water area and have had the heat exchangers on the boiler fur-up a couple of times until I fitted the softener. It's saved on soap and shampoo costs as I now need so little. The water tastes better, and my eczema has gone. The radiators in the house now work more efficiently as with repeated filling and draining the scale has reduced considerably. The benefits have almost been endless. 
Initially it was a lot of money to fit I'll agree, but I paid it in x3 lumps over a couple of years, interest free. But the beauty of it is if I move house, I simply close some valves and I can take it with me. Now I've enjoyed this I just couldn't go back to hard water again LINK


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## needhampr (Feb 13, 2006)

Thanks for the replies chaps :thumb:

My parents have a water softener and whilst it is quite good, they really don't filter all of the impurities suitable to use in my fish tank. I also find that it only really makes say a 60-70% improvement on water marks.

I decided to buy a 16.5 litre vessel already filled with resin in the end. As pointed out, the worst that can happen is that the resin will last longer!

This is where I bought from. They claim to use a very high quality resin from the states too. Here are the vessels & resin they sell:

http://www.da-services.co.uk/products.htm


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## difficultrogue (Apr 18, 2008)

Little John - Its very easy, Ive got to make up 2 more vessels for pals so I will see if one of them has a digi camera and I will do a pictorial on it - bear with me!


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## little john (Jun 10, 2007)

That would be usefully for those wanting a DI filter save spending the small fortune on one if they can buy the bits elsewhere for less.


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## needhampr (Feb 13, 2006)

difficultrogue said:


> Little John - Its very easy, Ive got to make up 2 more vessels for pals so I will see if one of them has a digi camera and I will do a pictorial on it - bear with me!


Would like to see that if possible. curious as to whet the vessels are made of.


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