Any harm mounting a WM in an engine compartment?

[LLCoolDave]

I live in a 36ft boat and space is limited but I have a lot of room beneath the cockpit where the engine is. Would mounting a watermarker here have any detrimental effects due to heat?

[RaymondR]

You can engine drive the pump using an electric clutch and put the rest of it wherever it will fit. The heat won't affect the pump or clutch. Just a matter of a length of high pressure hose between pump and membrane housings.

[model 10]

Mounting something that near the engine will make it age more quickly. There's the ozone, diesel vapor, heat etc etc. Will you be getting water all over your engine electrics etc during WM service?

[a64pilot]

I believe the issue is the membranes
https://www.dupont.com/content/dam/d...-D01519-en.pdf

Max operating temp is 113f, but I have heard of people doing it and getting away with it, but I wouldn’t. Once water is flowing your fine, it’s when not operating and they heat soak would be my concern. But maybe the 113 is only for operation? I still wouldn’t want to push it.

On edit, you May want to consider a modular water maker. One that you can mount the modules in different places to save space

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Ecos

Mounting something that near the engine will make it age more quickly. There's the ozone, diesel vapor, heat etc etc. Will you be getting water all over your engine electrics etc during WM service?

It is not introducing anything to either the pump or the engine enclosure which is not already there. And the sort of temperatures found in a water cooled engine enclosure a not going to significantly increase the degradation of any of the pump's components. The engine has many similar components from a materials viewpoint.

[Warby12]

Full disclosure, we don't have one but have thought about it a lot. I believe there is a concern that if it leaks, at the high pressures that they use, it can spray a fine mist of sea water over everything. I think if I did it in an engine room, I would build a ventilated case of some kind. Maybe ventilated to living space?








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[Lepke]

I have my WM in the engineroom. The water temperature passing thru the membranes should keep them below critical temps. If necessary you could power vent your engine compartment when not making water.

[Cheechako]

I converted my 120 V water maker to engine drive and mounted it in the engine space. No issues.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Lepke

I have my WM in the engineroom. The water temperature passing thru the membranes should keep them below critical temps. If necessary you could power vent your engine compartment when not making water.

Lepke!

Don't you have big cabin cruiser/trawler of some sort? The engine rooms aren't comparable to a 36' sailboat at all!

LittleWing77

[Cheechako]

Water makers are water cooled. :>)

[RaymondR]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Water makers are water cooled. :>)

That's actually a very sane statement when one ponders on it for a minute or so.

[LLCoolDave]

Thanks for the responses so far. I'm always browsing the for sale section for good deals. I'm a big fan of the rainman portable systems but they don't come up for sale very often. I've been crawling in my lazarettes a bit lately and thought, I've got plenty of space in here. I've also got my aircon thru hull nearby.

[Tellie]

Not a big fan of either engine room installations (depending on size and room) or installing them over electronics. In twenty years I haven't run across a membrane that failed due to engine room heat. As stated above, they will all leak eventually and the costs associated with that to other ships components can be spendy. If you have no other choice, then a cover or shield of some sort is simple and a good idea.