Watermaker

[tonytrakovich]

With the price of water in the Bahamas, I am thinking of replacing my INOP Sea Recovery system with new. Who makes a good unit that is affordable and low maintenance? I think I will want 1200 g/day with automatic function.

Thoughts, ideas?

Tony

 

[rsmith]

By the time you factor in electric costs maintainance filters and the lifespan of the overall unit it's still cheaper to buy water even at Bahama prices. Plus unless your in a remote anchorage do you really want to drink the water everyone else is discharging their heads into?

 

[Boatsb]

Mr Smith. I hear it's a great year for fishing in the marinas too. Charmin snapper fishing has never been better.

I have to agree. Even if it filters out the waste the idea of making water in a marina area is disturbing.

 

[tonytrakovich]

I don't know if the ROI is really there. We jest added fresh water flush heads and with a family of 6 we go through the water.

I understand about marina water. Most marinas I would never make water in. On an incoming tide in the Exumas, many marinas have a 4 knot current of fresh ocean water coming by the boat. We also spend a few days at Wardewick Wells where there is no water. I can ask the Admiral and the girls to conserve and get my head bit off!

 

[cb48lrc]

I installed a Cruise RO Water, last year and could not be happier with the performance or support.
cruiserowaterandpower.com

 

[rsmith]

I don't know if the ROI is really there. We jest added fresh water flush heads and with a family of 6 we go through the water.

I understand about marina water. Most marinas I would never make water in. On an incoming tide in the Exumas, many marinas have a 4 knot current of fresh ocean water coming by the boat. We also spend a few days at Wardewick Wells where there is no water. I can ask the Admiral and the girls to conserve and get my head bit off!

Tell them your going green and conserving water to save the environment!

 

[northshoreone]

I can second the Cruise RO units. I just installed one on my Hatteras this spring and they are not only the best priced unit but have outstanding support! You don't get all the bells and whistles that the higher priced units have but then again...less to go wrong!

 

[TopHattandTails]

I love the FCI makers. totally manual, and it but doesn't back flush every time it looses power, or turns on, makes lots of water quietly. I'd run, don't walk, from the fully automatic Sea Recovery - they have an auto back flush that you can't turn off or reduce the amount of gallons it back flushes. I have both - and hands down its the FCI, fully manual, wins every day. Whatever brand you get, scrap the miniature "residential" pre filter they sell you and go with a commercial stand alone pre-filter. I rinse my filter once a year, just 'cause. The Sea Recovery residential unit (before I swapped it out) went through a filter every 10-12 hours (in pure Canadian fresh water with no sediment). If you go with the manual setup, just mount the mixing valve near a doorway or somewhere convenient - that, in my opinion, overcomes any of the PITA factor versus the auto units, and has non of the ill side affects of the auto units.

 

[quincyscuba]

check these guys out. We bought there 30 gallon per hour unit(SM30) this spring. Rich is great to work with. http://www.cruiserowaterandpower.com/ They are what we were looking for low tech easily repaired.

Rob

 

[Angela]

Ed asked Cruiser RO for a manual so we can see how it works which will influence what we install where. I like the manual watermaker - less things to go wrong, and if it's a system where I have to operate it, I'll be more familiar with it when I need to maintain or fix it. I'd like to have a 60 gal/hour unit, but the biggest they have is 40. By adding one more tube/filter device, that 40 can be turned into a 60. We're going to try the 40 and see if we really need the 60 before shelling out the $500 for the extra filter, but I'm going to plan the space for it just in case we want to add it.

 

[tonytrakovich]

Ang- I think for the 40gph they use a 2.4gpm pump. For the 60gph unit they use a 4.2 gpm pump. Again, not totally sure on that but that is what I read somewhere.

 

[Angela]

I didn't see anything bigger than a 40 on their website, but I will certainly ask the question about the pump when we pull the trigger to buy.

 

[Pascal]

Wherever or not you need a watermaker depends On how and where you use the boat

If you go to the Bahamas just 3 weeks a year and stay mostly at marinas, even at 40c a gal using marina water may be cheaper... But if you spend a lot of time anchored out then a WM is a must have especially in the Exumas

Pre filters are cheap and last a long time in the bahmas. Membranes are expensive though and don't last forever, we got 5 years out of the first set

Any decent WM instal will have a UV filter to kill any bug which make it. Again in the Exumas you usually spend more time on the hook otherwise at some marinas like Staniel with strong current you can make water.

As to the original question, I would stay away from Sea recovery. We have a aquamatic 900 on the boat I run installed 6 years ago. Fully electronic automated... Had to replace 1 screens and 2 control board in the first 3 years. Then at 5 years when the screen crapped out again sea recovery said they don't make these screen and we had to update the main control board and install a special bypass valve... Total cost $3000

So yes, run from Sea recovery

I d also stick to manual controls instead of electronics although I d want some automatic back flush feature

 

[Boatsb]

I can't speak to the reliability of the automated systems but I would think a company that sells and supports them would be selling a pretty reliable product. That said power issues are the most common causes of electronics failure. Installation is number 2. I'm pretty sure the manufacturer has many problem free systems too. You just hear about the bad ones.

 

[Mike36c]

A good friend installed one of those fully automated SR systems and as mentioned above had numerous failures. After witnessing the company's support there's no way I would purchase a SR product.

 

[Pascal]

And th design of the screens is just plain dumb, it seems like those who designed it have never used a watermaker...

For instance...on the new touch screen, instead of having all key parameters on one screen ( all 3 pressures, salinity and both brine and product flows) they are split between three tabs. So when you look at the screen you have to scroll thru all three tabs to get the full story.

Then if the unit shuts down because of an error, like low pressure, low voltage, etc... The remote screen only tells you it shut down and that you have to look at the main screen on the main box to see the actual error. They didn't figure out that usually you install a remote screen for convenience instead of having to go wherever the main box is located...

Oh and why bother giving users a manual fresh water flush option on the touchscreen... No that woudl be too easy... Instead you have to go back to the electrical panel, turn off the breaker and turn it back on again.

 

[Dan Mapes]

I am not sure how the automated systems work, but if you go with a manual system you had better make sure you put a mag switch on the power lines to the system. In the Bahamas we can expect to have random power outages on a regular basis. If you leave the system and the power goes down and then back up without the high pressure valve being released, you will hammer the membranes and be out several hundred dollars.
And
We run one all the time in marinas. We add some bleach to the water and have had no issues. I would recommend adding bleach to the tank regardless of what anyone else says. U/V filters or not, put the bleach in and keep it around 1-3 ppm.

 

[KStephan]

Full disclosure here: As a licensed Captain, the former General Manager at Spectra Watermakers, and the current Business Development Manager at Applied Membranes, my opinions may be biased . After over 10 years of installing, servicing, designing, and manufacturing desalination systems, I have certainly got my share of them!

Watermakers can be a boon or a bane to your boating experience. I have found that the experience people have with them is directly related to their understanding of the product and the appropriate care and maintenance required. Equally as important is purchasing the right piece of equipment in the first place. Desalination is not an overly complicated process and with a little bit of basic understanding and preventative maintenance a system should last years with little more than cartridge filter changes.

My advice on watermakers, for what it's worth:
- Get one with an automatic fresh water flush, preferably one with an idle flush that will automatically fresh water flush itself weekly when not in use. All water has bacteria in it, when the water goes anaerobic, these bacteria bloom and foul membranes, filters, hoses, and create a mess. Flushing the system regularly keeps this process from happening.
- Automation does not necessarily mean complication. A control system should be used as a mechanism to avoid damaging your investment. A well-designed system can be as simple as pressure switches to protect the high pressure pump and membrane and a conductivity probe to monitor the produced water quality.
- Avoid proprietary equipment whenever possible. Many manufacturers out there use proprietary parts, which leaves you stuck waiting for a fix in a remote harbor in the middle of nowhere. Pay attention to what you buy, manufacturers don't like you to know that they have a proprietary membrane, pressure vessel, or pump. This can be a big issue when there are systemic problems that a manufacturer needs to address and you're on the receiving end of their customer-based R&D.
- Customer service is king. Look for a dealer/distribution network that can help you out when you're stuck, can support warranty repair work, and will generally be around to help you out when you have operating questions, maintenance, etc.
- Membranes are not as expensive as you think. Sure, it's the life-blood of your watermaker, and you want to care for it so you don't have to replace it, but unless you have a system with a specialty sized membrane (and there are several), then most of them can be replaced for as little as a couple hundred dollars.

In my years in the industry I have found that there is a lot of confusion out there about watermakers. Unfortunately there are some irresponsible manufacturers who sold poorly designed products to people without fully understanding the systems they designed - resulting in a slightly sour feeling towards a product that can otherwise set you free to roam the open ocean.

I hope this helps people out there considering watermakers, and gives some insight from a different perspective.

 

[tracy]

Since you have much knowledge of many systems which ones would you recomend

 

[KStephan]

Since you asked, I am partial to the Maritime series built by Applied Membranes.

Depending on the application Spectra Watermakers also make a very good product, though they do violate my rule regarding proprietary equipment...

But as I said in my last post, my opinion on the matter is not impartial due to my current and past employment, and I don't want to cause any trouble with my shameless self-promotion on here . I just wanted to get some information out into the world, and hopefully be of some help to people.