Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
 
Old 08-28-2015, 11:21 AM   #21
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
I did the salt in the head thing....but I have the old style macerators for my toilets a 2X a rock was mixed in with the solar salt and jammed it up.


The salt feed system is as simple as it can get if the salt injection pump lasts....if the new system isnt dead simple or doesn't last...I will make one that is.


Tossing salt in the toilet was quaint for the first year...but as a liveaboard that goes from salt to fresh to salt doing the ICW...the injection system made more sense.


And now after 2 sytems that I have reviewed with Raritan techs....I am becoming less impressed with every contact. Don't get me wrong...but do they TRULY understanding their systems down to the last nut and bolt and water stopper?......and what could be the problem?....pretty sad when I can ID and fix in 1 hour with a 5 cent part that cost them a bundle in manhours, shipping and new warranty part...gotta wonder.


Especially with a system that was installed for less than 6 months. Thankfully the customer service is good.
psneeld is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-2015, 03:05 PM   #22
Guru
 
Scary's Avatar
 
City: Walnut Grove Ca
Vessel Name: Cary'D Away
Vessel Model: Hatteras 48 LRC
Join Date: Apr 2012
Posts: 887
i'm not real impressed

Quote:
Originally Posted by psneeld View Post
I did the salt in the head thing....but I have the old style macerators for my toilets a 2X a rock was mixed in with the solar salt and jammed it up.


The salt feed system is as simple as it can get if the salt injection pump lasts....if the new system isnt dead simple or doesn't last...I will make one that is.


Tossing salt in the toilet was quaint for the first year...but as a liveaboard that goes from salt to fresh to salt doing the ICW...the injection system made more sense.


And now after 2 sytems that I have reviewed with Raritan techs....I am becoming less impressed with every contact. Don't get me wrong...but do they TRULY understanding their systems down to the last nut and bolt and water stopper?......and what could be the problem?....pretty sad when I can ID and fix in 1 hour with a 5 cent part that cost them a bundle in manhours, shipping and new warranty part...gotta wonder.


Especially with a system that was installed for less than 6 months. Thankfully the customer service is good.
I'm not real impressed with the long term reliability of the system. I've had mixing motors freeze up from saltwater corrosion, and two tanks explode." they could be made out of something sturdier. They are eco friendly if they function properly. My neighbor practices the hand full of salt in the bowl routine, at least says he does. I don't see a bag of salt at the ready in his head compartment. One of my other neighbors buy's his from West Marine and pays for the warranty. He's replaces his about every three years under warranty.
Scary is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-2015, 04:21 PM   #23
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
Some people have them 10 years with minimal problems....your heads must be pretty powerful as I have flushed a couple times with the seacock closed and no problems.


If he isn't addind salt and has the system hooked up..I think he is destroying the most expensive part of the system, the expensive plates...one reason I added the salt tank is because it keeps upping the salinity until the electroscan is happy.
psneeld is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-2015, 05:56 PM   #24
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,266
On the salt feed issue, Rariitan might have re-designed it but at this point I'm not interested in their re-design.

The only issue with the original design was that they made a mistake in their choice in a valve, being the Hudson brand unit. Since the Hudson valve is a vertical activated unit (vs a lever arm and a float like a toilet valve), space constraints made it inpossible for them to just send out replacement valves, thus the re-design.

The approach I used using a vertical float switch that activates an external solenoid valve is far and away a more reliable system. Vertical float switches are available from a variety of manufacturers as are solenoid valves.

As far as Raritans culpability in this mess, yes they should have tested their system using the real pumps we typically use for water supplies on our boats. That was their mistake. If they would have tested the hudson valve in real world type systems they would never have released the product to market.
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2020, 01:50 PM   #25
Member
 
City: Moss Landing, CA
Join Date: Feb 2020
Posts: 16
Thanks for posting - I followed your lead

This is a really old thread but I thought it might be worth adding my own very recent experience. Thanks so much for all the discussion here.

My new-to-me cabin cruiser came to us with an Electroscan and a Jabsco head. Last month, I ended up getting up early one Sunday morning because the boat's freshwater pressure pump kept cycling, and it took me the better part of an hour to figure out why. The Hudson float valve in the Electroscan was stuck open. The tank had filled to the overflow level, and was overflowing into the forward bilge (where the bilge pump dutifully took care of things). All the salt had dissolved. I took the float valve assembly out and cleaned it, and put it back, then found this thread and started work on my own implementation of this float-switch-and-solenoid approach. I sourced most parts online.

Relay: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Solenoid:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Float switch:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Breaker:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought a 4" PVC pipe plug meant for pressure testing, and applied a little crazy glue on the seam that's meant to make it removable to ensure it wouldn't come apart. Then I drilled a hole in the center of that and mounted an elbow (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) secured with a locknut (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and an adapter (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to nine inches of PVC pipe. Then I made a mount for the float switch (I 3D printed one with polycarbonate filament but this could have been made out of anything that would hold up salt water) that I could slide up the lower end of the pipe. After positioning it so that it would hold the float switch at approximately the same level at which the old valve would close, I secured it with a stainless steel screw and threaded the float switch into a hole I'd tapped and threaded halfway between the pipe and the end of the mount. That gave me a drop-in replacement for the original valve assembly. Then I tested my float switch to ensure that it would close when it fell and open when lifted. The switch is reversible but mine came set up correctly for my application.

I then routed the float switch wires through a smaller, second hole drilled in my 4" plug (with a grommet). The remaining components were mounted on the bulkhead with the electroscan electronics and I wired them directly to its power supply studs via a local auto-reset circuit breaker. After replacing the Hudson valve with my new assembly, I routed the float switch wires out of the tank through the hole that the saltwater feed tube uses - might have done better by drilling a new hole and putting in another grommet but that seemed like work.

The whole thing worked the first time. There's a little more noise during the electroscan run because that solenoid isn't very quiet, but it's brief.

Thanks again for your posting. I sourced and assembled all of the above parts but didn't install it right away, because the cleaned-up Hudson valve failed open again (but this time, when I heard the pump short-cycling I just turned off the valve to the Elecroscan tank and planned my next day on the boat accordingly). My problem is fixed now. Without these thoughts here I imagine I'd still be trying to get somebody at Raritan to take an interest.
carpedatum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2020, 06:46 PM   #26
Veteran Member
 
City: Savannah
Vessel Name: Sweet Lu
Vessel Model: Marine Trader sundeck
Join Date: Feb 2019
Posts: 72
We use regular non iodized table salt, keep it on the sink next to the head in the standard 1# round container. When we bought the boat, the broker felt that the salt feed systems were very maintenance intense and not worth the hassle. I like low maintenance so I just throw some in after each use, keep an eye on the amp draw and adjust salt accordingly. This thread is helping to confirm the brokers opinion about it being high maintenance.
TWedd is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-18-2020, 08:37 PM   #27
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,266
Quote:
Originally Posted by carpedatum View Post
This is a really old thread but I thought it might be worth adding my own very recent experience. Thanks so much for all the discussion here.

My new-to-me cabin cruiser came to us with an Electroscan and a Jabsco head. Last month, I ended up getting up early one Sunday morning because the boat's freshwater pressure pump kept cycling, and it took me the better part of an hour to figure out why. The Hudson float valve in the Electroscan was stuck open. The tank had filled to the overflow level, and was overflowing into the forward bilge (where the bilge pump dutifully took care of things). All the salt had dissolved. I took the float valve assembly out and cleaned it, and put it back, then found this thread and started work on my own implementation of this float-switch-and-solenoid approach. I sourced most parts online.

Relay: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Solenoid:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Float switch:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Breaker:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I bought a 4" PVC pipe plug meant for pressure testing, and applied a little crazy glue on the seam that's meant to make it removable to ensure it wouldn't come apart. Then I drilled a hole in the center of that and mounted an elbow (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) secured with a locknut (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) and an adapter (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) to nine inches of PVC pipe. Then I made a mount for the float switch (I 3D printed one with polycarbonate filament but this could have been made out of anything that would hold up salt water) that I could slide up the lower end of the pipe. After positioning it so that it would hold the float switch at approximately the same level at which the old valve would close, I secured it with a stainless steel screw and threaded the float switch into a hole I'd tapped and threaded halfway between the pipe and the end of the mount. That gave me a drop-in replacement for the original valve assembly. Then I tested my float switch to ensure that it would close when it fell and open when lifted. The switch is reversible but mine came set up correctly for my application.

I then routed the float switch wires through a smaller, second hole drilled in my 4" plug (with a grommet). The remaining components were mounted on the bulkhead with the electroscan electronics and I wired them directly to its power supply studs via a local auto-reset circuit breaker. After replacing the Hudson valve with my new assembly, I routed the float switch wires out of the tank through the hole that the saltwater feed tube uses - might have done better by drilling a new hole and putting in another grommet but that seemed like work.

The whole thing worked the first time. There's a little more noise during the electroscan run because that solenoid isn't very quiet, but it's brief.

Thanks again for your posting. I sourced and assembled all of the above parts but didn't install it right away, because the cleaned-up Hudson valve failed open again (but this time, when I heard the pump short-cycling I just turned off the valve to the Elecroscan tank and planned my next day on the boat accordingly). My problem is fixed now. Without these thoughts here I imagine I'd still be trying to get somebody at Raritan to take an interest.
Yes this is a really old thread, almost 5 years old!

Good for ya to fix the issue!

It looks like I’m something over 5 years into my re-engineering of the salt feed system, and the good thing is I forgot all about it. so I guess it works.

I have went throug one salt feed pump in the last number of yesrs, but the re-designed fgresh water fill side has worked flawlessly
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-31-2023, 08:49 PM   #28
Newbie
 
City: Solomons
Join Date: Oct 2023
Posts: 2
Old thread but super helpful to me. I too am having the overflow issue with my 4 gallon saltfeed tank and it's brand new as of two months ago. Called Raritan and this is the latest design and it still has issues.

Using the vertical float valve and a relay controller solenoid valve idea that you guys outlined here, it works perfectly. THANK YOU.

My next thought is about creating an engineered retrofit kit for these tanks for those who don't have the time or care to build one up. I wonder how many of these are in the wild exhibiting the same issues and how many would be interested in something like this.
L8RG8R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-31-2023, 09:04 PM   #29
Moderator Emeritus
 
ksanders's Avatar
 
City: SEWARD ALASKA
Vessel Name: DOS PECES
Vessel Model: BAYLINER 4788
Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 6,266
Geez, 8 years now.

My salt feed has been problem free. I do not even think about it, just keep the salt tank full.
__________________
Kevin Sanders
Bayliner 4788 Dos Peces
Seward, Alaska - La Paz, Baja California Sur
https://maps.findmespot.com/s/XLJZ#history/assets
ksanders is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-31-2023, 09:17 PM   #30
Newbie
 
City: Solomons
Join Date: Oct 2023
Posts: 2
Love it! As simple as it should be. It baffles me as to why raritan hasn't changed the design. So easy even a backyard engineer like me can do it!

Ksanders, thanks again for the great idea and direction.
L8RG8R is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 11-01-2023, 05:20 AM   #31
Guru
 
psneeld's Avatar
 
City: Ft Pierce
Vessel Name: Sold
Vessel Model: Was an Albin/PSN 40
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 28,149
Quote:
Originally Posted by L8RG8R View Post
Love it! As simple as it should be. It baffles me as to why raritan hasn't changed the design. So easy even a backyard engineer like me can do it!

Ksanders, thanks again for the great idea and direction.
I too couldn't thank Kevin enough...

there are quite a few boat projects that the fix can be a greatly superior upgrade over just a parts replacement.

The trick is to know when they really can be...that sometimes takes a couple of failure experiments to hit gold.
psneeld is online now   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


» Trawler Port Captains
Port Captains are TF volunteers who can serve as local guides or assist with local arrangements and information. Search below to locate Port Captains near your destination. To learn more about this program read here: TF Port Captain Program





All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:45 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0
Copyright 2006 - 2012