I have heard second handedly that water makers, a class, need the purist water to be found, ocean quality, as in Offshore rather than harbor quality, which often has more stuff in it than just seawater. Since I plan to moor my boat, and in this case would not have easy access to fresh water, how much of a problem would this be to have a watermaker on board? Presumably, it sounds like the "Little Wonder" might be the prime candidate? What is the downside to harbor quality water? Is it "just" more routine maintenanec, or does it pose more serious consequences to the watermaker? Thanks, Bob Early
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I can run my Spectra Newport 400 (400gpd) over
60 hours (1000 gals of fresh water)when we are at Catalina Island without changing the primary filter. It will run only about 3 hrs in Marina del Rey with out the filter alarm going off. There are so many particulates in most bays or marinas they clog the 5 micron filter very quickly. It costs about $12 total to change the 50, 20 and 5 micron filter. They are washable but will only run about 1 hour in the marina once washed. Hope this helps. Dick McKee S/V ONE9TEEN
60 hours (1000 gals of fresh water)when we are at Catalina Island without changing the primary filter. It will run only about 3 hrs in Marina del Rey with out the filter alarm going off. There are so many particulates in most bays or marinas they clog the 5 micron filter very quickly. It costs about $12 total to change the 50, 20 and 5 micron filter. They are washable but will only run about 1 hour in the marina once washed. Hope this helps. Dick McKee S/V ONE9TEEN
Harbor versus Blue Sea Water
Mr. Early (and all you other sailors, with this question): Running a water maker in the harbor, will surely increase the maintenance intervals on any unit and indeed will have an effect on the long term life of the unit's membrane element(s). As Mr. McKee stated in his posting, he saw about a 95% decrease in run time capability, when operating his unit in a harbor, versus operating at sea, in blue water conditions (60 hours at sea, versus 3 hours in a harbor), due to pre-filter fouling/clogging, thereby shutting the unit down, under a low pressure fault situation. Running any unit in a "brackish water" (harbor, bay within 3 miles of coastline) environment will surely increase the maintenance required and in the long run, will diminish the life of the membrane element(s) itself/themselves, overall. In other words, running a unit in a harbor, or in a bay is not going to destroy it, but it will certainly shorten the life of the filters and membranes and drive up maintenance costs. As for the "Little Wonder being the prime candidate", I can tell you that this unit, with its adjustable pressure regulator, is adaptable to various feed water conditions where many other models may not be, however, it is also still susceptible to the increased maintenance and shorter life span of the membrane, directly related to the feed water going through the unit. If one had to choose a unit, to be able to work well in various environments, even given the higher maintenance requirements, I suppose I'd agree with this choice, not only because the unit will work better than most in various feed water conditions, but also because the Little Wonder is probably one of the most user friendly and most field serviceable units on the market today. Not to mention the exclusive titanium fluid end manifold on the h/p pump, which is impervious to salt water corrosion and then some, earning it a lifetime gaurantee.
Mr. Early (and all you other sailors, with this question): Running a water maker in the harbor, will surely increase the maintenance intervals on any unit and indeed will have an effect on the long term life of the unit's membrane element(s). As Mr. McKee stated in his posting, he saw about a 95% decrease in run time capability, when operating his unit in a harbor, versus operating at sea, in blue water conditions (60 hours at sea, versus 3 hours in a harbor), due to pre-filter fouling/clogging, thereby shutting the unit down, under a low pressure fault situation. Running any unit in a "brackish water" (harbor, bay within 3 miles of coastline) environment will surely increase the maintenance required and in the long run, will diminish the life of the membrane element(s) itself/themselves, overall. In other words, running a unit in a harbor, or in a bay is not going to destroy it, but it will certainly shorten the life of the filters and membranes and drive up maintenance costs. As for the "Little Wonder being the prime candidate", I can tell you that this unit, with its adjustable pressure regulator, is adaptable to various feed water conditions where many other models may not be, however, it is also still susceptible to the increased maintenance and shorter life span of the membrane, directly related to the feed water going through the unit. If one had to choose a unit, to be able to work well in various environments, even given the higher maintenance requirements, I suppose I'd agree with this choice, not only because the unit will work better than most in various feed water conditions, but also because the Little Wonder is probably one of the most user friendly and most field serviceable units on the market today. Not to mention the exclusive titanium fluid end manifold on the h/p pump, which is impervious to salt water corrosion and then some, earning it a lifetime gaurantee.
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