Cruising with a Katadyn 40E

[hutch5151]

My wife and I have cruised the Bahama's for 13 consecutive winters using the katydyn Pur 40E watermaker. Our Kirie Elite 37 (Maverick)has 80 gallons water capacity in port and starboard tanks. When we leave the states we shut the starboard tank off and let the watermaker feed the port tank. We run the watermaker whenever we are charging the battery's or running the engine. The only time we have had to turn on the starboard tank is when company arrives on the boat. Obvisouly not the most efficient watermaker on the market, but it has turned out to be reliable and easy to pickle and restart. I have made one membrane change during this time.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I keep saying this but no one listens.

They do, but your answer isn't the end all and other people may have different priorities in their choice. Especially compared to someone using 30 gpd.

If a 40E had turned out to be quiet I would have ordered one already and just planned to run it 10+ hours a day.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

have you watched a video with the noise a 40E makes .

I've listened to a few videos. Some seem quite loud, others not so much. I bet, much like a windmill, it depends on where and how it's installed. But no matter how you slice it, it's still a lot quieter than a Honda 2000.

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

BTW - I could run the 40 gph off the inverter and batteries for an hour and make the same amount of water as the 40E in 24 days for almost the same total AHs. So where is the "solar savings"?

That's a good point. So I wonder why these AC units are sold with the intention of running off a generator?

A6, we use 1 gallon/person/day, so 2 gallons. We are water conscious, but do not limit ourselves when it comes to drinking or cooking. We often shower with rain water, but not always. Our head is a composter, so no water, and we don't take daily showers. Washing of dishes and clothes are done, in part, with salt water.

Even on land I didn't use 30 gpd. But to each his own.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by hutch5151

My wife and I have cruised the Bahama's for 13 consecutive winters using the katydyn Pur 40E watermaker. Our Kirie Elite 37 (Maverick)has 80 gallons water capacity in port and starboard tanks. When we leave the states we shut the starboard tank off and let the watermaker feed the port tank. We run the watermaker whenever we are charging the battery's or running the engine. The only time we have had to turn on the starboard tank is when company arrives on the boat. Obvisouly not the most efficient watermaker on the market, but it has turned out to be reliable and easy to pickle and restart. I have made one membrane change during this time.

that was a good "live with a 40e post"

Where do you have it installed and what do you think of the noise taking into account that you are basically used to it?

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

They do, but your answer isn't the end all and other people may have different priorities in their choice. Especially compared to someone using 30 gpd.

If a 40E had turned out to be quiet I would have ordered one already and just planned to run it 10+ hours a day.

Run it 10 hours a day huh? Your other post of where is the Solar savings speaks to what I was saying as to if you want to go DC, go to a Specta.

The 40E draws continuously 4 amps, correct? If you ran that for 10 hours that’s of course 40 AH. You have 40 AH excess solar now? Most don’t.
So they end up running something to recharge batteries often.

But curious, who’s 40 GPH watermaker you going to buy and run off of a Honda or an inverter for that matter? It’s the start up load that will be tough, I believe a 2200 can handle the steady state current draw.
I’ve wondered if a soft start wouldn’t fix that issue like it does for an airconditioner, I assume it would, but that’s another $300 or so too.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

that was a good "live with a 40e post"

Where do you have it installed and what do you think of the noise taking into account that you are basically used to it?

See I took that to mean that they make water anytime they are running something, either the engine or a generator, or did I misinterpret that?

[sailorboy1]

The topic is really for people with a 40e or interested in one.

While general wm “stuff” may be related it isn't the topic, including my off topic thread drift. Nothing about cruising with an AC powered high capacity wm or a Spectra are the topic. In fact if you have one of those why would you even read this thread based on the title.

Please lets try to stay on topic, including me. Not everything about choosing a wm has to do with capacity or power efficiency.

[jimbojonesbos]

Save some money and diy.
If you can live with 3 gph you can build the wm in this thread for $1-1.5k which is comparable to the katadyn

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...-225683-2.html

Uses about 15ah for 3 gallons or so, so it is not very energy efficient though. But with modest solar you should be able to get 6-10g per day

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

yea, probably why even though I have been trying now to talk myself into a Spectra 150/200 I am probably going to go the AC driven 40gph route. Saves $2k+ (it is about same price as a 40E) and that and "gets the job done and over quickly". BTW - since the price of a 20gph AC system is only $400 than the 40E plus a Honda 2200i it seems that the only reason not to got that route is space and that the 40E is easy to find a place to install.

Not trying to make a sale here but just to let others as well know that it looks like we may be carrying the AC driven watermaker you are referring to as well. I know the owner, his shop is only two miles away from us and we have been in some interesting conversations. If you do happen to go that way let me know first to see if I can help you with price.

[hzcruiser]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

This is on par with our usage, which is why I'm interested in this WM. But I am also concerned with noise levels. If they really are quite noisy, I may choose something else.

I can barely hear the 40E in the aft lazarette on rubber feet. What I can hear though is the boost pump, as it is close to the water tanks. Need to dampen it, too.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by hzcruiser

I can barely hear the 40E in the aft lazarette on rubber feet. What I can hear though is the boost pump, as it is close to the water tanks. Need to dampen it, too.

Thanks.

Like a wind gen, I bet the noise level is largely determined by the installation. I'm sure there are better, and worse, ways to set it up regarding noise levels.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Thanks.

Like a wind gen, I bet the noise level is largely determined by the installation. I'm sure there are better, and worse, ways to set it up regarding noise levels.

Yes it is, the way I mounted ours used a cabinet side to amplify the sound into the cabin. Space constrained as I was I wasn’t able to isolate the unit the way I have been with the Schenker in the same boat.

[sailorboy1]

While I can believe installation and location affect the noise, so far I haven't seen any stories of "I moved and vibration mounted my 40E and now it is quiet in my boat". Given the number of these units out there I would expect to be able to find a story like that and haven't.

So who wants to do the $3600 experiment and get back to us?

[Mike OReilly]

It's clearly never going to be silent, but just as clearly, the installation will affect the sound levels. Some installations will be quieter than others.

Either way you slice it, the Katadyne, or any DC unit, will be a lot quieter than having to run a generator. If noise is still your primary concern, AC would be out -- unless you're running it through an inverter. But I assume the AC units also use similar pumps, so are they any quieter?

[sailorboy1]

well this is thread drift and more about a different related thread, but the noise equation looks like this:

Run a:
Honda plus AC WM - 1-1.5 hour every 3 days (cost of WM $3000-3500)
Spectra VT-150 - 5 hours every 3 days (cost of WM $5600)
40E - run 6 hours EVERY day (cost of WM $3600)

The Honda noise isn't that bad really and I have had it right above my head in the cockpit running all night before for the air conditioning and the noise was like a fan running.

The real plus of the 40E to me it that is so simple to install.