Village Marine (Parker) Water Maker

[kernr]

Good Afternoon all -

I have owned "Serenity" now for 4 1/2 years and finally getting ready for more distant cruising. To do so I've decided to finally get the water maker working. So, I turned it on in June for the second time since owning the boat - the other time was the fall of 2020 to pickle the system with antifreeze. Watching the sea water strainer upon turning the Low Pressure Pump on was interesting in that I heard a hum but flow was non - existent. Basically the LP Pump wasn't running. This is a modular Village Marine (Parker) MPW 800 and the only recommended replacement pump is made by March and is the TE 5C MD (Many $$$$). I took two days to remove old LP Pump due to Cablemaster Shore Power Storage system sitting within 1/4 " of the old pump body - basically the water maker was installed new in 2008 and Cablemaster installed later. At this point while awaiting LP Pump to arrive I replaced every hose in the system. The old hoses were all extremely sticky and dirty on outside - not sure why. Many tubes in Instrument box were leaking - it was a rain forest. Once hoses were installed and the new LP Pump we started the system. It took a couple of starts to get air out of system and HP Pump to stay on but we are now able to make "Good Product". Obviously I spent a considerable amount of time with the tech manual for the system but it has left me wit a few novice questions on water maker system operations. Let me ask the questions and possibly someone on the TF will have great answers:

(1) The system has both a Master Controller and a Remote Controller - it also has an automatic FW flush assembly. When I am looking at the read out display it says above it "ppm Na/Cl". I expected to see "TDS" - do they mean the same thing in this case and good product is <500 ppm? The other read out of the Master states "PRODUCT WATER GOOD"
(2) So far I have operated the system in the midst of the modular units in the boats aft lazarette and not from the Remote Control Center (RCC) at the lower helm. When turning the system on I follow the manual and turn on LP Pump and HP Pump and after a minute making sure there are no leaks and no air bubbles I slowly rotate the Black HP Bypass valve to the Normal / RO position bringing the pressure up to 800 psi. My question is - when operating at lower helm using RCC how does system get the bypass valve from cleaning to RO position? Or if I am going to operate from RCC do I leave the black valve in the RO position at the Master station and then press the LP Pump and HP Pump buttons?
(3) Looking at Product flowmeter it shows right around 45 GPH which seems really high - multiply by 24 hours is over 1000 gallons per day - what am I missing?

A couple of photos attached -
I am sure I will have a bunch more questions as I move forward but Parker is not responding very quickly.

Thanks for any assistance provided,

Bob

 

[tiltrider1]

I can’t see the size of your membrane. I do see two of them. If they are about 36” long then 45 gph is correct. I run only one membrane and get 25 gph.

 

[kernr]

Interesting tiltrider. They are about 3’ long. Thanks for responding

 

[Delfin]

Do not start making water with the pressure valve turned up to RO pressure. You'll strip the keyway in the HP pump. Ask me how I know....

 

[mvweebles]

Consider getting a handheld TDS meter off Amazon. Test the bypass water and do not divert to your tank until it's decent. 500 ppm is health department standard, but many systems run under 200 ppm.

Watermakers that have been stored for a while have several places where they jam up. The HP pump has some very fine apertures that rust up and will not allow flow. If you're only issue is the LP pump, consider yourself lucky.

Good luck and please post with whatever resolution you find.

Peter

 

[kchace]

1. PPM NA/CL is what they called TDS, so yes, it’s the same. Technically speaking a ppm of less than 500 is drinkable but most system run less than 200ppm. Once the built in sensor detects TDS under 500 it switches a valve from dump to tank and puts out the message “Product water good”. I also like to verify with a separate handheld TDS meter.

2. When you operate it remotely you are supposed to have left the valve in the RO position from the last use. That way, there should be no air in the system. That’s what the manual says and it must work, but it scares me to just slam the system with 800 psi so I never run it remotely.

3. That system with perfect membranes is rated at 33GPH. However, if the salinity of the feed water is lower or the temp of the feed water is high, the GPH can be higher. Precautions in the manual state to lower the pressure as needed to not exceed the membrane GPH rating. I suppose it’s also possible to have something wrong with the flow gauge. It’s definitely high, especially with a feed water flow rate of 1.4gpm as shown in the picture. I would turn down the pressure a bit and do a timed flow into a bucket and measure it.

Ken

 

[Delfin]

1. PPM NA/CL is what they called TDS, so yes, it’s the same. Technically speaking a ppm of less than 500 is drinkable but most system run less than 200ppm. Once the built in sensor detects TDS under 500 it switches a valve from dump to tank and puts out the message “Product water good”. I also like to verify with a separate handheld TDS meter.

2. When you operate it remotely you are supposed to have left the valve in the RO position from the last use. That way, there should be no air in the system. That’s what the manual says and it must work, but it scares me to just slam the system with 800 psi so I never run it remotely.

3. That system with perfect membranes is rated at 33GPH. However, if the salinity of the feed water is lower or the temp of the feed water is high, the GPH can be higher. Precautions in the manual state to lower the pressure as needed to not exceed the membrane GPH rating. I suppose it’s also possible to have something wrong with the flow gauge. It’s definitely high, especially with a feed water flow rate of 1.4gpm as shown in the picture. I would turn down the pressure a bit and do a timed flow into a bucket and measure it.

Ken

On #2. Just had my HP pump replaced because the keyway stripped and the tech said it was a common occurrence, and that perhaps folks should read the manual where it says starting the unit, then moving the bypass valve to the RO position is the correct sequence, to avoid shocking the pump. I also asked why VM/Parker sold a remote unit with no valves, and he said its function was to let you see the flow, water temp, and TURN OFF the unit, not start it.

 

[kernr]

Delfin - Thank you for your explanation. I will follow the manual procedure where the RO bypass valve handle is slowly rotated to the RO position from Cleaning position.
Bob

 

[kernr]

Kchase -

Well I feel a little better because of your response. After the system has run for 20 minutes or so the TDS is around 125ppm. I agree with your thoughts on the Bypass valve - no remote startup for me. As for the flow rate around 45GPH I am not sure yet (see tiltrider’s coment above). I do have two 3 foot tubes in the system which is double the system he has at 25 GPH. Jury is still out on the flow rate. I do not have an easy way to tap into that hose but I could rig something up. Thank you for a solid response to my questions - appreciated.

Bob

 

[mijmoto]

Hi Kernr,

I have a village marine Squirt rated at 600 GPD. I use the flow meter to adjust the pressure based on output. I never exceed the rated output of the unit as that is over-pressuring the membranes. I have a sample valve between the water tank and water maker that goes to the galley sink. On start up I open the valve to the sample spout and close the valve to the tank. Once satisfied with the water I reverse the valves.

If I am operating the water maker every day or every other day in the same water conditions, I leave the RO valve in the pressurized setting and operate the water maker from the remote. This isn't a problem for my pumps.

I also make water from unclean dock water, river water etc. When in these situations I always manually set the RO pressure not to exceed the 600 GPD rating. It takes less than 200 PSI to make good water from dock water. Some will say that I am ruining my membranes by making water in almost any location. I am not saving my membranes for later. If I need water now, where I am, I make water. I try not to be stupid about it but it is a tool for making cruising pleasurable and fun. So far I haven't had problems other than using up a number of 5 micron pre-filters and carbon filters for the dock water. We are currently in Guatemala and enjoying fresh squeezed water! Jim

 

[kchace]

I agree with you 100%. Enjoy your water, and your trip!

Ken