How Hard is it to Install a Water Maker?

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by colemj

CruiseRO from Rich Boren.

Mark

Cool. I like it. I have the Honda, 800 watts of solar, and two 80 amp alternators. And a 2000 watt Harbor Freight inverter that is getting replaced soon.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Canibul

So.....which boats work better with watermakers......monohulls or multis........

Depends on the wind speed. ;-)

No kidding. Depends a lot on the installation specifics, but monos heel more so under way you are more likely to suck up air in the intake...which does not make the watermaker happy. Although I have managed to suck air on a cat too in nasty conditions...from dropping off a wave rather than heeling.

And you thought you were joking. ;-)

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by Canibul

So.....which boats work better with watermakers......monohulls or multis........

Depends on which anchor you use and how much scope you have out.

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Depends on the wind speed. ;-)

No kidding. Depends a lot on the installation specifics, but monos heel more so under way you are more likely to suck up air in the intake...which does not make the watermaker happy. Although I have managed to suck air on a cat too in nasty conditions...from dropping off a wave rather than heeling.

And you thought you were joking. ;-)

Actually, I wasn't joking. I was just trying to get someone else, and preferably a monohull sailor, to point it out. I'm well aware of the inherent distrust the traditionalist monohullers hold for multihull drivers and polynesians.

[colemj]

Think of the problems those AC72 guys have keeping air out of their watermaker…

Mark

[Canibul]

Originally Posted by colemj

Think of the problems those AC72 guys have keeping air out of their watermaker…

Mark

I was wondering if they put an alternate intake at the tip of the mast, with a Y valve.

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by lorenzo b

It's a whole lot cheaper to get a 50 to 100 gal tank. Every one I know is constantly fixing their water maker and paying insane amounts per gallon when it does work. In a pinch you can store water on deck.
PS. half the time the water ends up tasting awful.

I guess we don't know any of the same people! We love our watermaker! It's been reliable, cheap to run - if it's sunny the solar panels can power it - and gives us huge independence. We don't have to keep looking for the next water source. We've stayed out for months at a time.

The water tastes.... exactly like water!

Pretty much every full time cruiser I know who has a watermaker loves it.

But - 4 litres per hour is probably not enough. We use about 30-35 litres of water per day. So you'd be running it virtually all the daylight hours. Also 1 litre per amphour isn't very efficient.

IMO our watermaker would be about as small as you'd want to go. It makes 30 litres/hour, (200 GPD) uses 17 amps when running. So a bit under 2 litres/amphour.

They're pretty simple to install.

[Ex-Calif]

Originally Posted by Tellie

I like it "worldwide conspiracy of watermaker sellers"

Not sure where I fit in there, but that being said, and just in case some don't know, I am a watermaker distributor for full disclosure. The 80e is still twice the power at half the production of a basic Spectra Ventura 150. Defender has the 80e at $4,695.00 The extra $225 a Spectra Ventura 150 costs for twice the watermaker, at half the amps per gallon and a far easier system to service is a no brainer.

Watermaker distributor, eh? Part of the evil empire for sure - LOL...

The 40e and 80e in my humble opinion are attractive for the do-it-yourselfer because it is a self contained unit.

I suggested around 10 extra boat bucks for the 80e simply because it is the "same" install and >twice the water. And if you have 8amps to run it, why not...

Going 2 boat bucks more for a "distributed" system probably makes sense! But the installation gets tougher (for the semi-skilled installer) and then the power equation comes into play etc.

Pretty soon you are looking at more charging, bigger battery banks and when you get all that done you realize you need a bigger boat - LOL.

Scope creep is absolutely the hardest thing to control in boat any projects.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

Watermaker distributor, eh? Part of the evil empire for sure - LOL...

The 40e and 80e in my humble opinion are attractive for the do-it-yourselfer because it is a self contained unit.

I suggested around 10 extra boat bucks for the 80e simply because it is the "same" install and >twice the water. And if you have 8amps to run it, why not...

Going 2 boat bucks more for a "distributed" system probably makes sense! But the installation gets tougher (for the semi-skilled installer) and then the power equation comes into play etc.

Pretty soon you are looking at more charging, bigger battery banks and when you get all that done you realize you need a bigger boat - LOL.

Scope creep is absolutely the hardest thing to control in boat any projects.

Rubs his hands and with an evil laugh and twists his long pencil thin mustache.

I would agree that the Katadyn systems is a bit easier to install, but not by much and I'm always just a phone call away and not being a lawyer I don't charge for my phone time. The 8amps is the key though. 8amps on the Katadyn 80e will get you 3 gallons of water in one hour. 8-9 amps on a Ventura150 will get you 6.5-7 gallons of water in that same hour making it twice as efficient. So if for example you need say 60 gallons to top off your tank, the 80e will do it in 20hours at the cost of 160 amps. The Spectra will get you the same 60 gallons in under 9 hours at the cost of 74 amps. So for another $200-$300 the energy logic for amp budgeted sailors it seems obvious.

Now I'm off to collect the rent from the beautiful Polly. If she doesn't have it she will have to marry me or be tied to the railroad tracks.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

The 40e and 80e in my humble opinion are attractive for the do-it-yourselfer because it is a self contained unit.

We used to have a Village Marine 200gpd unit that was self contained and installation consisted solely of bringing a raw water hose to it, a brine water hose out of it and a product hose to the tank. And a wire for power, of course.

I looked at the 40e and 80e manuals and they don't look any simpler than that.

Mark

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Ex-Calif

...

Scope creep is absolutely the hardest thing to control in boat any projects.

I dunno, mine is 12 GPH and sometimes wish I had gone bigger.

It would be nice to have hi/lo power options. I think some Spectra units have this feature. I've considered modifying mine to do that. Would be nice to let it chug along at lower power consumption and output sometimes (at anchor on solar) and also be able to crank it up when needed. The Spectra units should be well suited to this mod since there is no power hungry high pressure pump to feed.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

... Without a water maker there is no "putz pulling" anyway without showers in the heat! ...

Oh yeah, another advantage...a clean putz gets pulled more often! ;-)

[Canibul]

more often than a dirty minded one?

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by colemj

...

The only people I run into who have watermaker problems are those with fully automated systems. They seem to constantly be having to jumper over all the fail-safes and automation. Even this is not too bad. I have yet to meet anyone with a basic system - 12V or 120V - who have the issues you describe.
...

Yes a negative to automation is more sensors and valves to break. The newer Spectra control boards (MPC 5000) have a nice feature though, you can by-pass most fail-safe features from the control panel. No more plumbing/wiring around them. Easily by-pass, continue to run but pay more attention, and wait for the part to arrive.

I think all things with electronic smarts, whether water makers; engines; or battery chargers, should come with a "stupid" switch to disable the smarts and continue basic/manual operation. Fortunately Spectra does: you can force a manual run from the panel or by just switching on the feed pump.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

I dunno, mine is 12 GPH and sometimes wish I had gone bigger.

It would be nice to have hi/lo power options. I think some Spectra units have this feature. I've considered modifying mine to do that. Would be nice to let it chug along at lower power consumption and output sometimes (at anchor on solar) and also be able to crank it up when needed. The Spectra units should be well suited to this mod since there is no power hungry high pressure pump to feed.

You must have an older CAT300 without the MPC controls and VSD. The newer ones do have that feature. Though it can be done I'm not sure the conversion for an older Cat300 would be worth the cost for the occasional savings you'd realize.