Washing My Tesla

[starise]

I wouldn't use hot. Warm would be fine. If you want to go crazy you can put filters on the water supply and all that. I don't bother...I have a sediment filter which goes down to 1 micron on the house.

The piping was really an afterthought I figured maybe one day could be useful. My house is on a three stage filter system and I have two water heaters. The main one I use most of the year is an electric instant tankless hot water type that needs three 50 amp circuits to work. Believe it or not that WH is less expensive to operate than the old style tank heater. I never have it set to scolding hot, maybe 130-140F max. The other heater is a part of my propane boiler that is DHW and home heat. When I want to switch between them I have to move a few hand valves. Both of those are tankless.

It's just cpvc, so I added the valves to move from cold to hot on the outside front faucet.

 

[240vPlug]

The piping was really an afterthought I figured maybe one day could be useful. My house is on a three stage filter system and I have two water heaters. The main one I use most of the year is an electric instant tankless hot water type that needs three 50 amp circuits to work. Believe it or not that WH is less expensive to operate than the old style tank heater. I never have it set to scolding hot, maybe 130-140F max. The other heater is a part of my propane boiler that is DHW and home heat. When I want to switch between them I have to move a few hand valves. Both of those are tankless.

It's just cpvc, so I added the valves to move from cold to hot on the outside front faucet.

That sounds cool. We are on a well here. I thought about going tankless when our tank heater needs replacing.

Can you blend hot/cold at the hose? I like the idea of warm water washing.

 

[Darmie]

The piping was really an afterthought I figured maybe one day could be useful. My house is on a three stage filter system and I have two water heaters. The main one I use most of the year is an electric instant tankless hot water type that needs three 50 amp circuits to work. Believe it or not that WH is less expensive to operate than the old style tank heater. I never have it set to scolding hot, maybe 130-140F max. The other heater is a part of my propane boiler that is DHW and home heat. When I want to switch between them I have to move a few hand valves. Both of those are tankless.

It's just cpvc, so I added the valves to move from cold to hot on the outside front faucet.

Really love this idea.

Building a home with an outdoor car wash station. Planning on mounting up this pressure washer and hose reel.

https://a.co/d/4nRJ3tU

https://a.co/d/cCTdGU0

I'm also considering using these inline filters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085ZC5PYJ

 

[starise]

That sounds cool. We are on a well here. I thought about going tankless when our tank heater needs replacing.

Can you blend hot/cold at the hose? I like the idea of warm water washing.

Sure I could probably open H/C valves at 1/2. Maybe that would be better. I highly recommend tankless especially for people who only need hot water for short periods of time. I have well water and it usually doesn't drop below 50F. The three stage heater works very well.

Not everyone has the electrical capacity for the electric tankless. Those people might do better with a gas burning version. Lots of bad press out there about them mainly because they are incorrectly adjusted or undersized. For those dudes in the mansions with the 3 and 4 car garages who can afford a lot more, maybe they could justify putting a dedicated heated tap with it's own heater in the garage. Not me lol.

Really love this idea.

Building a home with an outdoor car wash station. Planning on mounting up this pressure washer and hose reel.

https://a.co/d/4nRJ3tU

https://a.co/d/cCTdGU0

I'm also considering using these inline filters.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085ZC5PYJ

Now you are really tempting me. I especially like the first one since it has the pressure washer built in! I have heat in my main garage but it's only intended for temporary use. I would go broke heating that garage regularly. That would be my main concern living here in eastern PA. It can get pretty cold here. There's a spare fridge in it that gives off enough heat to keep things semi ok most of the time. It would only take one freeze to ruin a setup like that. I do like it though.

Many here can maybe relate to the drill. At the end of a long day in addition to a long commute home, I'm not exactly thinking. " What could I do now?"" I know!!! I'll hook up the hose and go wash my car in the snow." No, I'm usually wearing down and ready to go take a load off somewhere lol.

 

[240vPlug]

An easy solution if you want filtering for car washing is one of those RV water filters. They screw inline between hose and water supple. I may stick one of those on mine for added piece of mind.

 

[Darmie]

An easy solution if you want filtering for car washing is one of those RV water filters. They screw inline between hose and water supple. I may stick one of those on mine for added piece of mind.

I did see the RV filters and they are much cheaper although their micron rating is much higher. I may give them a try first. I'm mainly looking for getting rid of or lower water spots.

 

[Black306]

Just get a wrap.

 

[Black306]

I did see the RV filters and they are much cheaper although their micron rating is much higher. I may give them a try first. I'm mainly looking for getting rid of or lower water spots.

The water in my area is pretty hard and since I don't have a water softener system, I use a Camco 20-micron RV filter for my pressure washer and a ClearO2 1-micron RV filter for rinsing. Reason I don't use a 1-micron RV filter for my pressure washer is cause there is too much water restriction for the pressure washer to function properly.

Even with a 1-micron filter though, minerals will be visible if I don't dry the car right away. So, I do a final rise with a pump sprayer filled with distilled water.

 

[240vPlug]

The water in my area is pretty hard and since I don't have a water softener system, I use a Camco 20-micron RV filter for my pressure washer and a ClearO2 1-micron RV filter for rinsing. Reason I don't use a 1-micron RV filter for my pressure washer is cause there is too much water restriction for the pressure washer to function properly.

Even with a 1-micron filter though, minerals will be visible if I don't dry the car right away. So, I do a final rise with a pump sprayer filled with distilled water.

Yeah I dry with a blower right away. I have an EGO 650 CFM. Works really well to dry it.

 

[AJ..]

Winter weather in Cleveland - Good news, they use so much salt that the roads are usually in really good shape. Bad news - they use so much salt that my blue Model Y frequently looks like a white Model Y.

Because of this, I find I may have to wash the car twice a week. I use a touchless car wash, and after 30,000 miles the finish still look perfect. And thank you to the engineer who created Car Wash Mode...

Does anyone know of app/means to find touchless car wash nearby? (a la plugshare?) Google leads to places not really true touchless. TIA

 

[Iron]

Haven't washed my MY yet (took delivery a week ago), but this is what I've been using for well over a decade for all my cars. I use a standard wooden push broom handle on it. Don't buy the handle with the hose attachment, it's way too unwieldy. I dip it in a 5 gal bucket and wash the whole car winter or summer without getting wet. I leave the wheels for last, rinse it some fresh water and hang it up till next time. The bristles are pretty soft so no scratches.

I also use a leaf blower to blow off the water so no rags involved.

 

[TheHippo]

Of cause it can go through the carwash just like any other car

 

[Tesery]

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[starise]

I did order mud flaps for my Tesla. I had some concern about minor range loss, but decided the trade was well worth it, especially with a white car.

 

[Genie]

I only hand wash mine, in an unheated garage. I have a well, so I use a deionizer set up and when it’s cold I use one of these bucket heaters for the wash bucket, gets it nice and warm in a couple minutes

Ceramic coating makes it very quick and easy. For a light wash I recommend just using ONR (Optimum No Rinse) and hand dry.

 

[chuckecheeseli]

Has anyone actually tested filtered and non-filtered tap water (like from one below) to see if there are differences in water spots? I've seen a few imperfect YouTube videos but not much else in the way of data.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-TastePURE-Flexible-Protector-40043/dp/B0006IX87S/

 

[Black306]

Has anyone actually tested filtered and non-filtered tap water (like from one below) to see if there are differences in water spots? I've seen a few imperfect YouTube videos but not much else in the way of data.

https://www.amazon.com/Camco-TastePURE-Flexible-Protector-40043/dp/B0006IX87S/

I did a small test; poured a small amount of water from tap, some though a 20-micron filter, and some through a 1-micron filter onto a mirror and let it dry in my garage. Both filtered water still had water spots. Didn’t take a picture though. Hmmm… maybe a video idea for Project Farm.

 

[mspohr]

I did a small test; poured a small amount of water from tap, some though a 20-micron filter, and some through a 1-micron filter onto a mirror and let it dry in my garage. Both filtered water still had water spots. Didn’t take a picture though. Hmmm… maybe a video idea for Project Farm.

I think the spots are from minerals. Not likely to be removed by filter. Would need distilled water.
Dry with a towel.

 

[Genie]

I think the spots are from minerals. Not likely to be removed by filter. Would need distilled water.
Dry with a towel.

It is the minerals, you need deionized water to avoid it. The equipment runs about $400 from CR or diy for less, and the consumeables (cartridges) about $150/pair. This gets my softened well water down to 0ppm for about 300 gallons or $.50/gal.
You’d get more or less gallons depending on your water hardness. A PPM meter is about $15.

 

[mspohr]

It is the minerals, you need deionized water to avoid it. The equipment runs about $400 from CR or diy for less, and the consumeables (cartridges) about $150/pair. This gets my softened well water down to 0ppm for about 300 gallons or $.50/gal.
You’d get more or less gallons depending on your water hardness. A PPM meter is about $15.

Water softeners are ion exchange resins which trade hard ions calcium for soft sodium. Might be less prone to spotting.