Watermaker installation

[Kordie]

Am looking at used watermakers for sale. Maybe a katadyn 40E.

I have a Beneteau 393 but am away from the boat at the moment.

Can anyone tell me where they have installed a unit like this? Space and size limitations?

Anyone recommend a better unit for a crew of four people cruising and doing passages up to three weeks?

Appreciate any advice at all, never owned a Watermaker before

Thanks

Simon

 

[Ron20324]

I have seen on this forum that watermakers are pretty finiky and require lots of attention. I'm sure you'll need lots of spares, particulary if you can't tell the condition of the used one. I'd like to have one, too, but the cost and hassle points me toward jerry cans for now. Good luck.

 

[Kordie]

You know, I agree with you. But everyone here tells me I need one.

If I buy a Katadyn I can have it serviced at the factory, other than the membrane, they seem easy enough to care for.

Part of me is steering towards a manually operated one. No installation, easily maintained, etc.

If water is short then between a crew of four we can make plenty by hand .....

Could probably use the exercise on a longer passage too.

What do you guys think?

 

[Stu Jackson]

Where are you going for three weeks that you think you'd need one?

A friend sailed his C34 from Vancouver, BC down to Mexico and needed it in Mexico. Not anywhere before then.

 

[Kordie]

Next month Mexico.

Later in the year we are planning to sail to Australia via Galapagos, Marquessas et al.

Be foolish not to carry some backup plan.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Then by all means get one.

My friend wrote this:

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.

His point was that a higher capacity unit will work less on any given day than one sized "just right."

 

[Stu Jackson]

And this one:

I chose a 150 gallon per day "water maker" from Spectra. (Foster keeps pointing out to me that it doesn't make water, it just takes the salt out of it. )

The math is interesting. Oriinally, I thought I would go with a Katadyn unit that does 40 gallons per day. It consumes 4A compared to the Spectra unit's 9A and would have more than met our 15 gallon per day consumption requirement.

The dealer actually gave me a good education. We only need to run the Spectra unit for a couple of hours a day instead of 9 or 10 hours a day on the lower output unit. More importantly, The Spectra unit is about 1.5 Ah per gallon compared to 2.6 Ah/g for the Katadyn.

Not the vendor, but the capacity and amp draws.

 

[capttom]

A couple folks have posted this on the 393 yahoo group. One fellow removed the forward holding tank and installed a watermaker there. Another squeezed it in around the forward water tank. A third installed it in the space under the companion way stairs. I think the all posted pictures. They all have added that you want to make sure you keep your tanks separate to insure you have one good water source in case the watermaker fails and taints the tank it is pumping into.

Tom