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Garage setup for washing the Boss

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drano38

Wayne
1,130
320
A couple weeks ago I finally got my car washing setup complete in the garage I built last fall.
Water softener, 19 gallon water heater inside the cabinet left of the softener, PEX plumbing inside the cabinet to mix hot and cold with ball valves, then routes to a single ball valve faucet.
Then I found a nice hose real http://www.rapidreel.com/product-category/garden-hose-reels/. Not cheep, but very well made. Even has a brake on it so it doesn't keep turning after you stop pulling the hose (backlash if you're a baitcast fisherman).
With that done, the shelf went above it for the stereo, a 2004 Harmon Kardon, and circa 1986 JBL L80T speakers--which are awesome.
Added a cabinet to store microfiber towels and wash stuff . . . and currently 3 sets of rotors. Not sure why, but the cabinet sure is stable. :D
And of course, my Boss beer fridge, currently stocked with Guinness and Smithwicks.
I keep the doors closed to keep dust out when washing, but wow, does it get humid when washing a car. Dehumidifier goes into overtime to catch up.
If you can get soft water to your car washing spot, I highly encourage you to do so. You'd be amazed how nice it works.

20120713200628.jpg
 
Nice setup but that sounds like overkill for washing a car. Not that I'm opposed to overkill.

drano38 said:
With that done, the shelf went above it for the stereo, a 2004 Harmon Kardon, and circa 1986 JBL L80T speakers--which are awesome.
Nice setup. I'm a big JBL fan and have had a few pairs over the years including a pair of L100Ti's. I use some ADS L420's with a Sansui receiver in my garage. I currently have a pair of 4425's and a really nice pair of DIY JBL's with LE14H-3's and 2452 SL's.

drano38 said:
And of course, my Boss beer fridge, currently stocked with Guinness and Smithwicks.
You my friend have excellent taste in beer. 8)
 
Id say I can definitely see a water theme between the overkill water softener, the water heater, the beverage fridge, and the drano forum handle :D

more seriously, kudos on the killer set up , Im jealous ;)
 
thats awesome wish I had it.

Is there a drain in the floor or something?

You could do it car wash style and run the hose up the ceiling then have a rotating arm that circles above the car. lol
 
Glad everyone likes it. Seriously, if you've never washed a car with soft water, you're missing out. And a heater is almost required. In May when we can finally get our hibernating cars out, the ground is still about 40 degrees. I have no desire to wash a car with 40 deg water. When I bought my house a couple years ago, it had hot/soft water to an outside. Took one wash to get me hooked.

Rick,
I've also got a set of JBL L20T speakers I bought new in collage--they're the bookshelf version of the L80T. People came in my room and asked "where are your speakers". When I pointed to the top bookshelf, they said "no way are you getting all of that great sound out of those little speakers". Yep, and the HK 690i receiver (60 watts--conservative) drove them well. Still have that setup, and its at my office.
Beer--that's the first I've bought in quite a while. I've got 2 five gallon Pepsi kegs of home brew in the basement fridge, a Belgian and and English.

Justin, yep, drain in the floor, and quite a bit of slope around the car. The 2 bays to the left share a another drain.

Gary, I was seriously thinking about a lift, but Friday morning this showed up at my door, so the lift budget is killed (and then some).
It also has a 54" mower deck. Its a 4 wheel drive with 4 wheel steer, and heated cab.
Got the whole thing used, but only 160 hours on it, at Marshall.
Snow? Bring it on! ;D
20120713084818.jpg


20120713083219.jpg
 
Well, tow it to the track, sits outside over night and gets a good coating of dew on it, then go beat up on BMWs, etc, and trust me, it will need a serious bath when you get home.
And after a week of driving to work, I've got a nice layer of South Dakota mosquitoes, and other little critters all over the font that are not paint-friendly, so a bath a week.
 
On a different car washing thread (can't seem to find it now) somebody posted a water softener filter that sits between the hose and spigot. Looked like an easy and cheap solution. Anybody know where that water softener was from?
 
Ace Hardware, I can try to find the pics again in my PB. It is just a filter, it doesn't use chemical treatment, but the filter in it is 2 micron iirc and it was cheap to make. I used quick connects, but the filter system used pipe threading not hose threading so I needed short adapters. I've used it 4 or 5 times and the filter is turning brown, but the 2 pack of filters is pretty cheap, like $10 iirc. It works pretty well, but it isn't a miracle maker. You still need to wipe down the car, you just don't need to be super anal about it. My next step is an electric leaf blower. Drying is my nemesis as far as cleaning cars, at least waxing is kind of fun.


edit: found the pic

filter.jpg
 
4dRacer said:
On a different car washing thread (can't seem to find it now) somebody posted a water softener filter that sits between the hose and spigot. Looked like an easy and cheap solution. Anybody know where that water softener was from?
you are probably referring to this.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/in-line+water+softener+%26+deionizer+with+fittings.do?sortby=ourPicks

CaliMR said:
Ace Hardware, I can try to find the pics again in my PB. It is just a filter, it doesn't use chemical treatment, but the filter in it is 2 micron iirc and it was cheap to make. I used quick connects, but the filter system used pipe threading not hose threading so I needed short adapters. I've used it 4 or 5 times and the filter is turning brown, but the 2 pack of filters is pretty cheap, like $10 iirc. It works pretty well, but it isn't a miracle maker. You still need to wipe down the car, you just don't need to be super anal about it. My next step is an electric leaf blower. Drying is my nemesis as far as cleaning cars, at least waxing is kind of fun.


edit: found the pic
you should look into one of these depending on your budget. the larger one will be my next major purchase for car washing.
http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-471-adams-blaster-sidekick-dryer-by-metrovac.aspx

http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-599-adams-air-force-master-blaster-car-dryer-by-metrovac.aspx
 
For those looking to wash in the winter, check out something like Optimum No Rinse:
http://www.amazon.com/32oz-Optimum-Rinse-Wash-Shine/dp/B000E9TS6O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342451594&sr=8-1&keywords=onr

Great product, and if you can heat your garage space you can wash. I even use it in the summer to save water, although I occasionally do a "real" wash as well as I enjoy it. If you go for it, invest in the 2 bucket system to do it proper, which you can by as a kit here: http://www.autogeek.net/optimum-no-rinse-buckets.html
 
Here's another softener option:
http://www.autogeek.net/clinhofianda.html
When I was looking for a setup, I also saw one (thougt it was Griot's, but can't find it now) was 2 extra long canisters mounted on a 2 wheel cart, and even had a gauge telling you how hard the output water was so you knew when to change water. But it was like $300, so I spent $75 more and got a reguler softener.
Also, with the canister softeners, you either need to replace the filter, or rinse it (manually do a softener regeneration) every so often. So the lower initial cost will get wittled away over the years with filters or PITA time rinsing the cartridges in salt water to regenerate them.
Look at the options out there, and select the best for your setup.
 
My bro has the wheelie cart 2-cansiter one for cleaning his motorcycles, he seems to like it. I don't have room for one so I went with the little canister. My water isn't that hard, it is mostly just full of junk (my water filter pitcher catches all sorts of little twigs and bits) so I just use the micron one.
 
Wayne: My goodness you have been a busy boy- water heater, water softener, stereo system, and your BOSS BEER REFRIGERATOR. I think your pilot friend has been a really bad influence on you. Now you to have a multi-tool tractor to play with this winter. I do not have a water softener but I do have a four post lift! I will be up with the twin Boss to sample some of the beverages in the Boss refrigerator.
 

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