Spectra Watermaker issues…..help!

[SV_Galleta]

Hello everyone,

First time posting and need some help.

Yesterday while making water we got a code on our Watermaker of high Salinity, at that point we cut the unit off and took a look. We found a leak on the fitting where the SS tube meets, near the Clark pump. We repaired the leak with some new teflon tape and the leak is gone, changed out filters and then when we tried the watermaker again the gph was anywhere from 0 to 5. We have tried the following:

-Opening the pressure relief valve on the Clark pump and then closing it
- Restarting the system by cutting power and following the restart prompts on the control panel
- Fresh water flush
- Cleaning the thru hull
- Repriming the accumulator, (it was at a pressure of 30 when we check and we pumped it back to 60). After repriming the pump the gph jumped to 10, but then dropped again
-Checked electrical connection on the feed pump

The unit seems to be picking up brine water, but the filters are only filling half way and not pressurizing.

Spectra Catalina 340Z

If anyone has any advice on how to get the unit to come back to an ample gph we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you

[jt11791]

Originally Posted by SV_Galleta

After repriming the pump the gph jumped to 10, but then dropped again.

That makes it sound like a clogged seawater intake. Check the through hull, the strainer, and the prefilter(s).

[tkeithlu]

Welcome to the forum.

[SV_Galleta]

Thank you both of you for your responses!

We found our issue and I am posting this in here so if someone else has the issue later that this can help.

Our o-ring looked completely fine on our sea strainer, but after further observation it was letting the smallest amount of water out and air in. Replaced the sea strainer o-ring and all is well in the world.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by SV_Galleta

Thank you both of you for your responses!

We found our issue and I am posting this in here so if someone else has the issue later that this can help.

Our o-ring looked completely fine on our sea strainer, but after further observation it was letting the smallest amount of water out and air in. Replaced the sea strainer o-ring and all is well in the world.

Spectras like many watermakers do not like air in the intake waterlines. Getting air into a Spectra is like air in your hydraulic steering.

If you ever have any issues with your Spectra, just ask me.

[gelin]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Spectras like many watermakers do not like air in the intake waterlines. Getting air into a Spectra is like air in your hydraulic steering.

If you ever have any issues with your Spectra, just ask me.

Hello, there’s a problem I couldn’t solve with my Ventura 150.
Recently there was leak and I had to remove one of the chrome little pipes (coming out from the membrane housing). I fixed the problem and re-assembled the parts. However, now there’s no pressure and 0 production. Water coming to the system and there’s normal amount of overboard discharge. Fresh water flushing works fine too.
I did bleed the Clark Pump.
I see sea water filling the 5 micron filter housing -interestingly, looks like water is constantly coming in but never “completely” fills the filter housing. There’s always like few millimeters gap on top. And as long as I shut the machine down, the water in the housing goes down rapidly as if something is sucking it.
When I kink the brine discharge, pump stops few seconds later. I repeatedly did it ten times but the pressure gauge didn’t move a bit, in fact, it doesn’t move at all, always stuck to zero.
On the other hand, the water production gauge (my control panel is analogue) moves a little but no fresh water production.
One last thing I’ve noticed, on top of the 5 micron filter canister, there were a few bubbles, I don’t know if it’s due to the movement of the water flawing in or were they air bubbles… if so, from where air goes into system, I couldn’t find. I checked everything and all fittings are tight, no water leaks, etc.
Right before I took out few parts to stop leaks, everything was perfectly okay. What mistakes have I done in the process, I cannot figure out.
I’m really desperate…
I must have done something wrong somewhere but don’t know where.
I’ll be glad if you can help me with this.
Thank you so much.

[Tellie]

OK, There are a few things to check. First it sounds like the feed pump itself may have failed. This would not be caused by anything you have stated that you did previously. It just may be coincidence timing. Second, is the pressure relief valve closed? With it open the system will free flow overboard but not produce pressures and flow. But you should be reading some "static" pressures even then. It maybe you have a bad pressure gauge as well. Third, if the pressure relief valve is closed and there is water flowing overboard can you hear/feel the Clark pump shifting every 5 seconds or so? If you hear or feel any shifting I'd suspect a bad pressure gauge. Fourth, was the system operating properly the last time you used it right before you made the repairs? there are three things that need to work together on a Ventura150, the membrane, the feed pump and the Clark pump. If we can identify any two of the above are working it is usually the third where the problem lies. Let me know the above answers and we'll move forward from there. Best regards.

[gelin]

Thank you for your response. Feed pump is brand new, I replaced it few months ago. The amount of sea it brings looks good. Pressure relief valve is closed. I opened and closed it back many times in order to bleed and get rid of air in the system. As you have mentioned, I’m pretty sure that the pressure gauge has failed. I can hear the Clark pump shifting. Apart from the leaks and a bad pressure gauge it worked perfectly. 25lt/h fresh water with 300ish ppm. Membrane is also quite new, I replaced it a year ago. So, I don’t know what went wrong in the process. I must have done something stupid but can’t figure it out.

[Tellie]

OK, this may take a phone call to cover everything. A new membrane and a shifting Clark pump should be producing some amount of fresh water. Lets go back to make proper definitions. You say you removed and replaced the SS tube from the end of the membrane. Are you sure this was not the SS "J" shaped tube on the Clark pump? (There are two SS "J" tubes) Was the unit producing good quality water and roughly the right amount before you worked on the SS tube? Also, when you kink over your brine discharge hose the pressure gauge should shoot up to around 125psi +/- a few pounds within a second to one and a half seconds, this is important. If it does not an say takes 5-6 seconds then the pump head is worn, if it goes up to say arbitrarily 80psi and just sits there and runs then the pump head is done. If the pump head is good and the Clark pump is shifting, then could still be in the Clark pump. A stuck check valve will cause the symptoms you cite as well. But you need to have a properly working analog pressure gauge before you go any further. I can send you one or most hardware stores carry a selection of pressure gauges. You need a 2.5" SS, oil filled, 1/4" thread nipple, pressure gauge. This is a MUST at this point. This will tell us the proper feed pressures and the symmetry of the Clark pump. Without a working analog pressure gauge at this point the task of finding the real issue is much harder. Can you source one? Also, where is the boat located at? Get me this pressure gauge installed and we'll go from there. I haven't found a Spectra I can't fix as of yet.

[senormechanico]

You are a Jewel among watermaker people.
I tried to give you thanks, but <enter> sends it before I could say what I wanted.


Steve

[gelin]

Hello again, firstly I want to say that I agree with Senomechanico.
Today I arrived to the marina. Tomorrow, I'll go find a pressure gauge. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't have to be an original spectra gauge. In my location, it may be hard to find in a short time.
A stuck check valve is possible, why would that happen? I may have spent too much time trying to fix the leak issue and in the meantime all the water inside Clark Pump poured out and it may be dried. Could it be the cause? And if so, how can I fix it without dismantling the unit?
And another issue: Right before I left the boat today, I did another fresh water flush but this time I noticed that none of the filter canisters were filling up with water. I could see the water pouring from the tops of the canisters but they were only half filled. I ran it like that for a few minutes then I stopped. When I turned everything off I heard a sound like, hard to describe, a faint whistle maybe. Or a similar sound like, when we slightly open the valve of a scuba thank, tssss...
It never happened before. I think it's something to look for. I didn't have time to locate the source of that sound but it was coming from somewhere at the back of the carbon filter canister. At the moment I'm not sure wether it was coming from a hose or the canister itself.
You asked me about the J pipes and you are very right, I misinformed you about it. Very sorry. The one I dismantled was the one on the left side of the clark pump.
Thank you so much, your support is priceless.

[skipbern]

Here is another problem. My spectra was working fine from bahamas to Norfolk. Left it there for ~ a month. On the way north I noticed the display screen is filled with the alphabet and numbers. Powered of, on several times, same screen. None of the 4 buttons are responsive. I don't see such error codes in the manuals. Any ideas? Some kind of reboot but I don't see how to do so.

[Yachtjuno]

Hi. I wonder of you can help. Our Spectra Catalina 340 R has recently been installed and the fresh water flush isn't working. Spectra France had us connect the fresh water supply directly to the feed pump and it worked fine so they suspected the solenoid. we replaced the solenoid with a manual valve and it still doesn't work. the only component between our manual valve and the feed pump is the strainer/booster pump module. is there a divert valve in the strainer module that closes off the sea water supply to allow the fresh water to flow to the feed pump? if not do you have any other ideas? thanks for taking the time to read this.

[SV Wildgoose]

Hi All, new to this site. Have a continual problem with my Spectra 150T which hoping can get some guidance on.

Seems no matter how much I purge or flush, there is air in the system.
Pressure only reaching around 50psi rather than 80 ish. Brine flow is fine/good. Production however is 5-10 ltrs per hour rather than 20. Pump sounds like it is straining and sometimes briefly cuts out.
Have checked through hull and all 3 sets of filters, all hoses/joints etc and am mystified!

[senormechanico]

I recently had the exact symptoms you described. It turned out to be a tiny crack in the salt water intake hose. When the pump was off, the crack dripped an insignificant bit of water. Like one drop every 15 seconds.

When the Spectra pump turned on, that same crack sucked in a bunch of air.
Check filter connections, filter housing gaskets etc. You'll probably find where the air gets in.