Watermaker

[Brian Harward]

I need replace my watermaker, any recommendations for brands etc. or what to avoid appreciated.

 

[menzies]

Check last months Passagemaker. There was a good article in there on Watermakers. Let me know if you don't have it.

 

[ksanders]

I have a cruise RO water maker on board 40 gallons per hour.

The thing works great, and the really great thing is that all the parts are available anywhere there's nothing proprietors.

When I had a question about the water flush system on it on a Sunday afternoon, I emailed the company. Within a half an hour the owner of the company himself was emailing me back with an answer.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

I need replace my watermaker, any recommendations for brands etc. or what to avoid appreciated.

I've used most all of the major brands at one time or another and have had good luck with them all. So my adive is no matter brand you choose, keep it simple when it come to the control systems.

The fully automated ones are very nice when the work but a PITA when the don't and they can be expensive to repair.

 

[BandB]

We have had good luck with Sea Recovery units.

 

[Moonfish]

I'll second Cruise RO. I know the owner, Rich Boren, and he is universally recognized as having the best customer service in the industry, as well as having no proprietary (read super expensive) parts. We have an old Village Marine Little Wonder that came with the boat, but it hasn't been used for more than 6 or 7 years. IF we replace it with a new one we will more than likely go with Cruise RO.

 

[Bay Pelican]

We spend our time in an area where two thirds of the boats have water makers and use them all the time.

Two comments: Keep it simple. Most of the problems come from the automated controls for determining salinity and filter replacement.

The other issue is AC vs DC. AC units are great for product output but require the generator to be running. Two problems. Many boats find they are running the generator longer than needed just to run the AC water maker. 12 volt units can run off the batteries with the batteries recharged a couple of hours into the water making process. The second problem is that AC units require a working generator. This means that if your generator goes down your water maker is out of action. With a 12 volt unit you can continue to make water as long as you can charge your batteries. This has been a problem for a couple of friends who were forced to leave anchorages and relocate to somewhere where water was available.

As with anything on a boat there are compromises to be made. If you spend time at anchor in places where you might spend a week or two getting your generator fixed, you may want to consider a 12 volt unit.

 

[woolf]

The other issue is AC vs DC. AC units are great for product output but require the generator to be running. Two problems. Many boats find they are running the generator longer than needed just to run the AC water maker. 12 volt units can run off the batteries with the batteries recharged a couple of hours into the water making process. The second problem is that AC units require a working generator. This means that if your generator goes down your water maker is out of action. With a 12 volt unit you can continue to make water as long as you can charge your batteries. This has been a problem for a couple of friends who were forced to leave anchorages and relocate to somewhere where water was available.

You could run the AC unit off the inverter.

 

[Insequent]

Spectra make good units. Auto flush etc is nice to have, particularly if you don't use it all that much.

 

[Bay Pelican]

You could run the AC unit off the inverter.

The smallest Cruise RO unit would draw 105 amps 12 volt DC without taking into account the inverter inefficency. About the same as running a 16,000 BTU air conditioning unit. Doable I guess, but I haven't heard of anyone who does it.

 

[Bay Pelican]

Spectra make good units. Auto flush etc is nice to have, particularly if you don't use it all that much.

I have a Spectra automated unit. The autoflush, salinity probe and the pressure sensors for the filter replacement all have been a pain over the years. Would recommend the manual unit or buy the automated unit and learn to operate it in manual when one of these items has failed.

Manual units appear to be well liked by the cruising crowd.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

The smallest Cruise RO unit would draw 105 amps 12 volt DC without taking into account the inverter inefficency. About the same as running a 16,000 BTU air conditioning unit. Doable I guess, but I haven't heard of anyone who does it.

105 amps! Misprint?

Spectra has a DC unit that draws only 9 amps at 12v while making 6+ gal/hr.

 

[ksanders]

Having had and used a 7 gph dc watermaker and also a AC watermaker rated at 40 gph...

We found that with our lifestyle, the 12 volt unit had to run ALL day long, and being a single piston pump you could hear it go thump, thump, thump ALL day long.

With the 40 GPH watermaker I can run it between 1 and 2 hours a day while the generator is running, and the noise is more like a hum... than the annoying thump thump, thump sound of the 12v unit.

We use between 50 and 80 gallons of water per day depending on clothes washer use.

 

[MYTraveler]

Having had several different brands, I am convinced Cruise RO is the way to go. It is a well-thought-out but simple system and none of the parts are proprietary. Some major manufacturers go out of their way to necessitate the use of their parts at a HUGE markup.

 

[Patemey]

Has anyone installed a US Watermaker model (Dalles, OR)?
Saw them at the Seattle Boat show as a potential option.

 

[Bay Pelican]

105 amps! Misprint?

.

I think I used the correct formula for converting AC (110v) amps to DC amps. The smallest Cruise RO unit draws 9.3 AC amps at 110v, plus 8.3 amps DC at 12 volts for the boost pump.


Several cruisers I know make water with the small Spectra unit powered solely by their wind generator.

 

[Shoalwaters]

Amongst cruising sailboats, it is not uncommon to find water-makers with the high pressure pump driven mechanically (clutched belt) from the propulsion engine. Similar could be done from the genset on a trawler?

 

[kulas44]

If you are running the gen anyway, why belt the pump to it, just use the AC motor.

 

[N4712]

We love our WaterMakers inc, with auto back flush. Love it. Best additions by far to the boat, that and a big water pump.

 

[Panacea]

We love our WaterMakers inc, with auto back flush. Love it. Best additions by far to the boat, that and a big water pump.

+1 here. We have a WaterMakers Inc 700GPD unit. Great solid simple unit!

 

[Crusty Chief]

I'll second or third the Cruise RO system, ours is the 40 gal. A/C D/C unit, simple and reliable. Pretty much the same system as Kevin's. When anchored, We run the generator daily for a few hours to top off the batteries, so running the water maker helps put a load on the gen, that's also when we use high A/C use equipment. Coffee maker, microwave, washer/Dryer..you get the idea.
Rich is the owner, and has answered our calls right away, great customer service and probably the best price.
Good luck!

 

[cafesport]

Brian, What do you currently have and what isn't it doing for you that makes replacement the only option? In your neck of the woods it appears Stella systems has everything you might need to get you back in business a la carte or prix fixe. We run two parallel systems on board and have had issues at times but never needed to consider replacement.


Spell check via iPhone.

 

[Brian Harward]

Thanks to all for your input, appreciated.
We are running a Spectra 400 at the moment, it is 10 years old. Just found a local to rebuild the high pressure pump which was down on pressure. We will see how that goes next week before we rush out and spend thousands on a new unit.
Thanks again,

 

[MYTraveler]

Thanks to all for your input, appreciated.
We are running a Spectra 400 at the moment, it is 10 years old. Just found a local to rebuild the high pressure pump which was down on pressure. We will see how that goes next week before we rush out and spend thousands on a new unit.
Thanks again,

If the rebuild doesn't work, you ought to be able to buy a substitute (not necessarily direct replacement) pump.

 

[Capt.Bill11]

Thanks to all for your input, appreciated.
We are running a Spectra 400 at the moment, it is 10 years old. Just found a local to rebuild the high pressure pump which was down on pressure. We will see how that goes next week before we rush out and spend thousands on a new unit.
Thanks again,

If you do some real cruising you should learn how to rebuild thst pump yourself. It's not difficult.

Perhaps the tech will let you watch as he/she does it this time.

 

[Rebel112r]

There are some pretty informative videos on youtube, on rebuilding different series of the Cat Pump. I used it in rebuilding a Cat 230 pump. Cost of rebuild about 100 bucks..

 

[101TUG]

I need replace my watermaker, any recommendations for brands etc. or what to avoid appreciated.

I'm working on many watermaker since 20 years almost every brand, for sure Sea Recovery the the best.
but do you need DC or AC one?
take basic one no touch screen on automatic high pressure valve

Don't hesitated to ask if you need help

Hugues

 

[Gordon J]

Clark pump rebuild

Thanks to all for your input, appreciated.
We are running a Spectra 400 at the moment, it is 10 years old. Just found a local to rebuild the high pressure pump which was down on pressure. We will see how that goes next week before we rush out and spend thousands on a new unit.
Thanks again,

I have done this a couple odd times. The rebuild is really no big thing. First time plan for to five hours. Next time considerably quicker. You can get the kit with all seals and o-rings from spectra for about $100.


Gordon