Water Maker

woodster · Mar 15, 2011

seadaddler said:
After reading another post about water makers and been thinking about getting a water maker for my 2007 H-36 for some serious cruising soon,but don't know too much about them so what has been your experience bad or good and what brand would you recommend if you were going to install one.
Nick

i personally dont know much about them but i have been watching them price wise for the last 2 years and i think they are to darn high ....but the prices are droping on them ...maybe wate and see for a couple more years....i do know i can carry extra water if need be and the gerry jugs are a lot cheaper than a water maker at the moment ....hope this helps

regards

woody

Stu Jackson · Mar 15, 2011

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,5257.0.html

Steve reported back after his trip from Vancouver, BC to Mexico, that his choice of unit and SIZE was very good. The larger unit had a LOWER daily amp draw 'cuz it made more water at a higher amp draw resulting in a SMALLER daily amp hour use.

The watermaker was a great investment. I've seen the other side - people buying their water in 5 gallon jugs and trying to sneak in a little shampoo as they steal a beachside shower from a resort. It doesn't look like fun. We love the watermaker.
Capacity is important. The cheaper low volume Katadyne units have to run forever to make enough water. Something in the 150 gpd range is much better. We have a Spectra unit.

Tim R. · Mar 15, 2011

Watermakers are a great thing but if you are sailing off-shore for any extended period of time and you do not have the tankage, you better have plenty of spare parts and also know how to fix it. If it completely gives out, then you better have some other source of water on board.

RECESS · Mar 15, 2011

Another consideration is if you do not use them at least weekly, the membrane goes bad. From what I read running them in a marina is bad also. It sounds like great equipment if you really have a frequent need.

Scott T-Bird · Mar 15, 2011

66 days adrift ... after reading that story, if I ever have the need for a life raft on board, I would have a manual one for the ditch bag. Although with modern EPIRB I suppose that may not be as crucial as it was at the time ...

RichH · Mar 15, 2011

For 'island hopping' you can easily BUY your water. Even at $.25-.50 per gallon you'd need to make a LOT of water to get a good return on your investment in a watermaker. Unless you are traveling to 'desert islands & water poor areas', you can usually buy all the water you need.

The cheapest and yet 'best', because its the simplest. most reliable and most energy efficient is a totally manual engine driven RO unit. You can build your own for ~$1200. Output would be ~30+ gallons per hour and when cruising you'll need to run the engine occasionally to charge the batteries any way and the watermaker will add about 7-8 hp load to the idling engine ... so better for the engine too: heats the hot water circuit, makes the water, and charges the batteries ... quite efficient. The polyamide membranes if will 'protected' from fouling, etc. will easily last 2 years, then usually have to be replaced due to the hydrolysis of the membrane 'opens' the statistical pore size and your TDS then quickly exceeds 'normal' water quality.
You can BUY plans for an engine driven watermaker from the internet.

Bernard Moitessier did a double circumnavigation ... and only had to 'catch' all the water he needed.

Joe · Mar 15, 2011

When my friends cruised the bahamas a few years back... a water maker went to the top of their want list before going back... Not only was drinking water $4.00/gal. in Eleuthera, but hauling it back from town by foot and dinghy became tedious at best.

It's cool simply to refill your tanks when it rains..... but.... what if it doesn't... and what if there's no potable water spigot to hook a hose up to? Why go through the uncertainty...especially if you've a few grand to invest.

Scott B · Mar 16, 2011

Check with Michael on Sequitur. He has one on their Hunter 49. Right now they're in Chile. Passage to Chile He checks in at Hunterowners, I'm sure he'd pass on any info he has.

Jerry Clark H356 SV Persi · Mar 16, 2011

Nick:
Look at these units since you have a generator. They are simple, not too expensive and produce from 20 to 45 gallons per hour with 110V depending on what you want to do with it. I did a lot of research this winter on this very issue.

I called these folks because I too have been thinking of getting one before I bring my 356 down to Florida in the next winter or two. I wanted a unit that would produce in both salt and fresh water and wasn't too complicated. These people have it down and are very easy to talk to. This is not rocket science like some would have you think. The way this system is set up, pickling the membrane would be easy and inexpensive. You mix the powder in a 5 gallon bucket and then pump it through the unit. Should only take a few minutes. Even if you runied the membrane, the replacements are $245 - not thousands as I had been led to believe.

http://www.cruiserowaterandpower.com/WaterMakers.html

Bob J. · Mar 16, 2011

Last spring there were a couple of articles in the Good Old Boat rag about building your own water maker out of off the shelf items. They run off the engine, produce something like 60 GPH & parts can be purchased for under 2K. The person that wrote the article had been sailing the pacific for several years w/ this set up if memory serves me well.

RichH · Mar 16, 2011

Plans for manual engine driven DIY watermaker: http://sites.google.com/site/llichtveld/newpage

There used to be a $15 charge for these plans but apparently they're now offered free.
As one who was deeply involved in membrane technology and the engineering of such membrane systems for complicated chemical processes what Lichtveld outlines is 'spot on', although some of his listed components are now obsolete by their respective manufacturers.

I do serious long term long distance cruising and into the desert islands of the Northern Carrib. and the desolate S. Bahamas where you really need a watermaker if you want to stay in that area for any amount of time, as theses islands dont have wells or the wells are all 'brackish'. With such a manual system (requires a human brain to operate) you can easily DIY build such a system for $1200-$1800 and have a high capacity output. The only advice that I will add to the Lichtveld design is to be sure have a 'continuous duty' rated supply pump to the high pressure pump, not a 1 hour rated pump with a thermal cut-out because if that thermal switch comes on and stops the supply pump it will 'starve the hi pressure pump and instantly destroy it - the costliest component of the system. If you want real high quality, select a high pressure pump with bronze piston heads - less need to flush out the system with product water to flush out the seawater when finished making RO water.

For my personal usage I always add a pharmaceutical grade 0,2µM (100%) filter set downstream of the RO and before the water goes to the storage tank to prevent biological contamination that passes through the RO membrane. For surety and safety you only use a RO system in clean/clear water ... never in a harbor or when near a high concentration of anchored boats or near cities or large towns as RO membranes are not 'valid' to remove 'all' bacteria, etc.

BTW - you only get ~18 months out of an RO membrane, whether you use it all the time or not.