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Old 07-17-2015, 11:06 PM   #27
Insequent
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City: Brisbane
Vessel Name: Insequent
Vessel Model: Ocean Alexander 50 Mk I
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 4,262
I have a Spectra Newport 400. I have not used it much as I have 350 gal in two tanks, which has been enough for relatively short cruises to date. I like the autoflush cycle on the Spectra and dont see it as a maintenance intensive piece of kit. So far only issue was a dead chip on the circuit board, probably caused from a low voltage incident.

I do find the filters clog fairly quickly, and am told that if you remove them when the indicator gets to 3 bars (out of 5) then you can wash them and reuse them a few times. If I recall correctly Dirona installed a sand filter, I guess a smaller version of a swimming pool filter, ahead of the two pre-filters and thereby expended their life by an order of magnitude. Should I have a need to use the Spectra a lot in silty water then I'd look into a sand filter.

On a different point, when in the PNW and BC areas we often came across milky water from the rock flour in the glacier fed rivers. How fine is this material - do the pre-filters remove it? I heard a story, but not sure if its true, that the rock flour is so fine that it passses through the pre-filters and then degrades the membranes. Anyone have experience with watermaking in areas with milky glacier water?
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