spot free tanks at marinas

[sandiegoguy]

I see the tanks sitting at Marinas and I think they are for the boat owners who use the deionized water for spot free rinsing. For the life of me I can't find a service that does this. Maybe I am using the wrong search terms. Maybe those tanks aren't what I think they are??

[mmwjr]

I have not see this at any marinas in my area. Did you ask anyone at the marina what they are? Can you post a picture?

[sandiegoguy]

I literally saw nobody out last weekend at the Marina. I'd say every 10th boat had the big tanks next to their boat. I meant to take a picture so I'd have the name on the tank but didn't get to it.

They look like these
https://www.portablewaterdi.com/deionizers.php

but they are rentals. The sizes I saw were enough to rinse a 50' boat 20 or 25 times.

I think culligan rents them but may be more $$
Right now I have a guy washing my boat for $55/month but only does it once. So I wanted something in between or may just start doing it myself if I didn't have to dry it.

[mmwjr]

I have seen these before but never at a marina.

[sandiegoguy]

So i did find a company and it seems pretty common in san diego. They charge $18/month for the tank and it will give you 500 gallons of spot free water. It's $55 when it runs out and they refill it then its back to $18/month.

Its not bad in my opinion. No drying the boat! I can rinse the salt water/air off everything and probably only use 15-20 gallons at a time(i think)

[sandiegoguy]

By the way, when I say they refill the tank they aren't putting water in it. They put some type of filter or carbon pellets, or some component to deionize the water. It has a green/red light on the tank when the tank is no longer doing anything it turns red.

The tank is pressurized and you just hook a hose up to it.
I'll report back once i go thru a tank to see how long it lasts. I imagine it will take me 4-6 months before i need a refill.