Running a Watermaker Inshore?

[svspirited]

Originally Posted by SKMT

I live on the hook in Miami. Been debating a watermaker. I've read conflicting reports about running a water maker inshore. Some claim you gotta be out in the deep blue. Others say no problem in an anchorage. Here in Biscayne Bay, the water is basically never dirty from run off, but when the wind blows, the water clouds up to a few feet clarity. On the other hand, there are regularly days where the clarity is 6-10ft where i anchor.

I'm assuming the worst that can happen is i clog up pre-filters. I'm just wondering how often they would be clogging, assuming I tried to pick my days and just make water when the clarity is higher?

It should be fine in the bay. Generally avoid running it in marinas, too much oil, diesel, gas, other chemicals in the water. Heavily populated anchorages are also not ideal if people are not adhering to holding tank requirements. In a bay with good flow you should be fine. You'll likely go through filters a little faster and if you're really worried about it put a third filter down to 2 microns to help protect the membranes.

[Pizzazz]

My understanding is that filters clog and reduce the throughput not that they let nasty stuff through. Therefore, the key here is how often you to clean or replace the filter. I do not think you can easily damage them by cleaning.

I would go like this, if the water is clean I would run a single 5m filter. In dirtier water, I would do the standard, two filters, 5u and 20u. In even dirtier water, I would add the sand filter mentioned above that can be easily washed.

I think you are far more likely to damage the membrane by shock loading it, running chlorine through it or exceeding the max pressure than running it through clogged filters. But you still need a filter, if you do without one, then it is not smart.

Human waste is not a problem for the membrane, so I would not worry about that.

[Pegu Club]

We purchased a Rainman WM, and use it on the ICW with no issues, you may go through filters more frequently, but outside of that it’s okay to use them in salt, brackish or fresh water sources. Just be sensible about water quality where you happen to be, pollution is always a consideration.

Fair winds,

[Tellie]

Even the cheap watermakers are not cheap. It's your investment. Again, all boat based watermakers without extra and proper added on pre-filtration for inshore operation should be considered off shore pieces of equipment. We install a lot of land based system that run in questionable areas like described above. The pre-filtration of these systems is a huge part of keeping them clean and operating properly for the long run. These are not simple 5 and 20 micron filtration systems.
My accountant gave me an unofficial report three years ago as to the breakdown of my service work each year for the previous five years. He has a way of putting things. Our service work is about 65% of the business. 15% of the 65% he said was due to "They should have listened"