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 Post subject: Water Maker
PostPosted: 03 Aug 2014 06:22 
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Skipper

Joined: 27 Oct 2006 10:32
Posts: 827
I am thinking that in a few years, my wife and I will head off on a multi-year cruise and I was wondering about adding more water tankage or a water maker. One thought was that since our Tartans are small compared what people are cruising on these days was to eliminate the 30 gallon port tank and use that space for a water maker. I know that water makers are not necessary and they are expensive to buy and a pain to pickle etc, but the convenience of being able to make water when down further in the island chains where water may be scarce seems worth considering. I also know that you are not supposed to use a water maker in harbors with poor flow and many areas of the Chesapeake (out home cruising waters).
The other thought was to keep the existing tanks and add a custom 25 gallon tank in the starboard lazarette, tucked up tight against the galley bulkhead and outward against the hull. I believe that I could still have adequate storage, maintain access to the engine and incorporate it into a shelf/storage system.

Anyone install a watermaker? Thoughts?


 
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 Post subject: Re: Water Maker
PostPosted: 03 Aug 2014 07:17 
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Skipper

Joined: 21 Oct 2006 18:12
Posts: 325
I have a SK watermaker that the PO had installed in the port locker (just forward of the nav table) with the pump installed below it in the lower storage area. Have not used it yet, but leaving shortly to the Bahamas for a 9 month trip (from Nova Scotia) thru the ICW etc and will pick up a membrane in Florida.
Figure it will be a good time to try it.

Richard


 
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 Post subject: Re: Water Maker
PostPosted: 22 Aug 2014 18:12 
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Grinder

Joined: 22 Jun 2008 10:54
Posts: 85
A watermaker came with Abraxas. It is housed in the starboard cockpit locker against the back side of the galley bulkhead. We have only used it while cruising in the Bahamas since the water from here (Chesapeake) to fla via the ICW has to much in the way of particulates. As such the filters would clog too rapidly. Also, water is freely available all the way down.
There are several consideration you need to be aware of. First, in the tropics you need to run or flush it every 2 days or else it gets fouled. Second, when you run it it is recommended that you run it for at least 3 hours, it is better to work them than to not. Third, they are power hogs. We have an older Spectra, which is considered to be one of the more efficient and it consumes 18 amps producing about 14 gallons per hour. After it is finished running it needs to be flushed with some of the water made to clear it of salt water and that consumes about 3-4 gallons. Our net from a three hour run is therefore about 40 gallons. We try to run it whenever the engine is going but if we stay for any length of time in one place we need to run a Honda generator. While our solar panel can keep abreast of our normal electrical needs, we need more capacity to support the WM thus the generator.
Water is available throughout the Bahamas some places for free, other for a fee.

If you do decide to get one consider what your daily water usage would be and get one size appropriately. I consider the one we have to be a little large and at time would give away water to fellow cruisers.
One cruiser I talked to said it was like a mistress, nice to have but expensive and high maintenance.

YMMV

_________________
Neal Musto
T37 #31
Abraxas


 
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 Post subject: Re: Water Maker
PostPosted: 22 Mar 2015 06:50 
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Rail Meat

Joined: 06 Dec 2011 09:01
Posts: 23
Since I began living aboard full time a Watermaker was high on the priority list. I am not into sun showers or bug sprayer showers! I installed a Spectra 200 Tropical Watermaker that makes 8 gallons per hour onboard Running On Empty. I absolutely love the Watermaker and the further independence it provides from having to go anywhere or worry about running out of water. The 200T at 8 gph is slow and it takes about 8 hours to fill my 60 gallon starboard tank using 10 ah while running. I installed 680 watts of solar this past fall and as long as the sun is shining all is right in the world!

All of the parts fit in the starboard lazarette and I built a manifold out of pvc and valves so the thruhull below the galley sink is split three ways for the Whale galley foot pump, the salt water wash down and the Spectra. I installed a new brine discharge thru hull above the waterline for the waste water and I also removed the 30 gallon tank to make more storage, since space is always welcome. I find that I use 60 gallons about every 4 days, so I run the Watermaker accordingly and never worry about pickling it. I installed a 20 micron filter in addition to the 5 micron filter that came with the Spectra and I clean those every 3 weeks or so. I actually just did that yesterday with the brand new washdown pump. Love the washdown pump-I wash everything in sight with it, including the dink!

The only downside is when you are sailing on a port tack it cavitates the pump, so you can't always make water while on passage. I also sucked in jelly fish on two different occasions in Miami this fall-yuck! Luckily the thruhull strainer caught all of the gelatinous mess. I don't view the Watermaker as expensive to run or to maintain. I have never pickled it, but I haven't been away from the boat yet. I did have to replace the membrane in the beginning months from running the Watermaker in brackish water-it didn't like that!

Joe
Running On Empty
HN 475


 
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 Post subject: Re: Water Maker
PostPosted: 14 Apr 2015 19:58 
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Skipper

Joined: 13 Feb 2011 21:19
Posts: 349
Location: Canyon Lake, TX
So the Admiral and I just got the major parts of the Schenker Smart 30 put in yesterday after waiting out all the rain the Houston area has recently received. Plumbing is complete but wiring is still waiting on my contortionist midget with 12 inch fingers or the aspirin to kick in after crawling around in the bowels of the boat for 3 days,
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Here is the RO machinery. We stroked the emergency tiller full over both ways to make sure nothing impinged on the steering head.

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This is the booster pump with it's 5 micron filter. The filter can be purchased at any big box hardware store. I built the platform for the booster pump out of some leftover okume plywood. I glassed the top and saturated the sides and bottom with resin before glassing it into the bilge. The cockpit drains are just above the waterline so the pump suction is just below the waterline. I will probably have to remove the booster pump to repair the lower pintle but name a job on our boats that doesn't require you to remove 5 things to get to the one you want to work on.

The freshwater flush is under the galley sink but I forgot to take pictures of it.

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So I did a "no no" because I was sure it would not be an issue. The manufacturer says not to use the engine raw water as you may rob the engine of cooling. But my engine has been running on a 1/2 hose since before I bought the boat so I added a 3/4" bronze nipple and tee to tie in my supply and re-installed the 1/2" street ell and nipple for the engine.

We were so smart.... We put the control panel for the water maker right where the old cut off was for the alcohol stove. Hey, the ladder clears easily. Too bad the panel covering the engine doesn't quite clear the switches. Yikes!! That's gonna get broke off sure as hell. So I made a stopper out of a piece of red oak I had laying around. Rounded off the edges and then cut it to length so that it gets hit and protects the switches on the control panel. Handed the stopper to the Admiral who will stain it to better match the interior wood and then we will mount it with a screw from the back side. Pictures when we get it installed.

This project taught me a few things. Like my eyes are no longer the precision instruments they used to be and places they say are big enough to accommodate items need to be verified with a tape measure. And the V-berth already has enough "stuff" under it and in the way of any new construction. And finally, I think I'm getting old. I can remember just a few years ago, not hurting like this after replacing all the water lines in Impetuous. Maybe I should sell the boat and buy a trawler. NAH! Better to just sail her. Tartan

_________________
Wayne
Master and Commander of the Sailing Vessel Impetuous
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.
Subservient to no man except SWMBO
Any day without dock lines is a GOOD day!


 
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 Post subject: Re: Water Maker
PostPosted: 23 Apr 2015 11:51 
Offline
Skipper

Joined: 13 Feb 2011 21:19
Posts: 349
Location: Canyon Lake, TX
I took pictures of the control panel, protective stopper and the circuit breaker. I needed a new circuit breaker to run the watermaker but I've run out of space on the 12V distribution panel so we installed a single breaker for the watermaker next to the control panel. Future improvements will include a diversion valve below the control panel to route "new" water to the galley sink or the port water tank. We chose the port tank so that in the event of a membrane failure we would only lose 30 gallons of water. Another future improvement is "T"ing into the fresh water pump and the starboard water tank air vent and installing a block valve between them. So to transfer water from port to starboard, we will line the port tank to the pump and then open the valve to the starboard air vent and let the pump do the transfer. Return all the valves to normal and feed off the starboard tank.

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_________________
Wayne
Master and Commander of the Sailing Vessel Impetuous
I'm not a complete idiot, some parts are missing.
Subservient to no man except SWMBO
Any day without dock lines is a GOOD day!


 
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 Post subject: Re: Water Maker
PostPosted: 04 Oct 2015 22:05 
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Rail Meat

Joined: 08 Jun 2015 16:36
Posts: 7
This is a year after the fact but it you haven't already figured it out, you can actually use a watermaker darn near anywhere. We had a Spectra watermaker on our KP-44 when sailing in some real seedy third world ports. We used it almost everywhere. Probably the worst place was Puerto Madero, Mexico. It was a commercial fishing port. Filthy! bloated dead pigs floating in the water etc. As we were stuck there rebuilding our transmission for nearly a month we used it regularly. (loved it by the way. 1 amp of 12 v/ gal.) Ours made nearly 10 gal / hr at 10 amps draw of 12.5v!

Watermakers work in almost any water. You are just going to have to change your filters a lot.
The one thing you need to look out for is oil. That can mess up your membrane. Because the water was so bad we added a little iodine to the product water. The r. o. membrane filters way down to sub micron and yes, even sub viral. You couldn't tell the water there from blue water ocean. We also always fresh water flushed the membrane regularly no matter where we were.
Here is the other membrane killer, chlorine. When you flush never use chlorinated water. We were also in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico for 2 yrs and the watermaker there was really handy as this is a thousand miles of desert cruising. We never felt we needed one the 8 yrs we were in the Caribbean. You just need a good catchment system.

Anyway, I know this is after the fact for you but perhaps others can benifit.


 
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