Product review DIYWatermakers.com AC Series Waterpro AC 30 watermaker

[Captain Bill]

I just want to give everyone an update. The dealer, Ahoycaptain.com, has disputed the claim that the water maker I purchased from them was defective. I have found out that the email submitted by another member from a company dissolving it's business relationship with DIYWatermakers because of misrepresented products and warranty issues was none other than Ahoycaptain.com, the dealer from whom I purchased my unit. Despite this he has told my credit card company that the unit failed because I lacked the skill to install it properly, so the decision to give me my money back should be reversed. Up to this point I thought that Ahoycaptain was as much a victim of DIYwatermakers as I was. I no longer hold this opinion. In fairness I think you should know that Ahoycaptain sent me an email saying that they would refund my money if I returned the product on March 12. They sent me instructions to take it to a Fedex office and they could ship it back to Ahoycaptain. I took it to the Fedex rep in Georgetown Exuma and was told it was too large to ship. It would have to go back to either Nassau or the US by Boat. I notified Ahoy captain of this issue twice. Shipment by boat is notoriously undependable here in the Bahamas and I wanted their approval before putting their product on a boat. They simply ignored my emails. You should also be aware that they filed the chargeback dispute blaming the failure of the product on my skills the same day that they sent me the email telling me I could return the product. You should also note that the email they sent me contained no shipping address and no return authorization number. You can't put the product on a boat without a shipping address. You should also note in his reply to the credit card company he stated that he had never refused to accept a return of the product. Here is an email he sent me on february 21.

From: Vince [mailto:vince@ahoycaptain.com]
Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 5:44 PM
To: 'Bill Plaia'
Subject: RE: Bahamas contact in formation




Bill

I’ve spoken with Ray and we are in agreement to the following: You are beyond the 30 day rmoney back guarantee timeframe. You are still covered under the 2 year warranty for which you will continue to receive support from DIY. However, at this point in time no returns will be accepted and no refunds will be issued or honored.

Best Regards,


Vince



I don't know any other way to interpret this email than he is refusing my request to return the product, yet he told the credit card company that he had never refused return of the product. So not only is he making up stuff about my skill level, he's outright lying to the credit card company about he refusal to accept a return. The best part is that he's allowed to do it with no repercussions. Since he made these charges against me, my only option is to get a second opinion from another water maker vendor and they gave me three weeks to get one. My deadline for the second opinion is May 12, and despite the fact that I delivered the failed parts to the shipper in Georgetown almost three weeks ago. They still have not left the Bahamas. There is virtually no chance that they will reach someone who can give a second opinion in time. Without the second opinion letter Mastercard will not even consider my case. Ahoycaptain will get their money by default and the lies that they told the company will not even be considered.

Despite the fact that Ahoycaptain has admitted that DIYwatermakers misrepresented their products and was not living up to their warranties, they have chosen to place the blame on the customer. I think that everyone who buys from Ahoycaptain should be aware that even if they know that some of the products they sell are not capable of being used for the purpose they were intended that they will try to blame the failure of the bogus product they sold on the customer. They will also feel free to lie to the credit card company about you and their communications with you. They clearly know how to work the system. I will never do business with this company again and I think anyone who does is a fool.

In keeping with CF policies I am providing a link to the Ahoycaptain web site.

www.ahoycaptain.com

[Captain Bill]

It has been brought to my attention in a private communication that one of the involved vendors is telling people that this review is fake and has been done at the behest of their competitors to discredit them. Since I did not put this statement in the original review I will do so now.

I do not now or have I ever had a business or personal relationship with any watermaker vendor or competitor of DIYWatermakers.com or Ahoycaptain.com with respect to water makers. I have purchased products from competitors of AhoyCaptain.com as they are a vendor of general boating supplies. The original Katadyn water maker, I still own, was purchased with the boat and not from Katadyn and I have no business relationship with them with the exception of my purchase of maintenance items. No one has requested that I write a product review of this water maker and I communicated with no other vendors or manufacturers before writing this review. I own no stock in any water maker or boating supply companies. I hope this statement is clear enough.


Fake? This nightmare I have related here is as real as it gets.

[socaldmax]

What a horrible nightmare!!

I hope plenty of people read and heed this warning!

[Captain Doug]

Unfortunately, I, too, am experiencing the challenges of having purchased a DIY Watermaker system. My comments here will hopefully offer more fabric to our collective experience, and give someone else reading these threads sufficient information to address their situation.

My system, the 30 gph DC version, was shipped incomplete because the owner was going to upgrade my control panel: that was a year ago. After receiving a commitment from the owner as recently as 2 weeks ago that he would send the necessary parts to me, I have moved on in an attempt to rescue a system that I can install and use.

However, since my restoration of our Westsail 42 has taken longer than I anticipated, which is perhaps a perfect truism I guess, I have yet to install the system I purchased about a year ago or so. I guess my credit card recovery has expired, right?! Arrggh!

Anyway, the story lines I have read give me great pause in proceeding with the system I received. I did not receive the new carbon fiber membrane housings, but have what may be the original tubes. However, I wonder whether the high pressure hose I received, which had rust in it is any good.

Throughout my dealings with DIY, I dealt directly with the owner. Our conversations were expansive and he was always responsive. However, that stopped about 3 months ago or so. When I did have conversations, as recent as 2 weeks ago, the owner explained to me that he had closed that chapter in his life. Really!? He also gave me a brief explanation as to why and what happened. Sadly, I now have even more detail as to why, and am now left with an expensive set of home center parts.

He promised to supply me with the parts I needed to complete my system, namely the control panel: something he was going to upgrade. Well, I gave it a chance, but I have resigned myself to trying to rescue my project through another company: a company BTW that I wish I had known about prior to my decision. Unfortunately, much of my initial purchase price may well be a sunk cost now.

At this juncture, I am open to converting the 12v system I started with to an AC system. I want it to work and be safe for a normal useful life. I do plan on getting the Honda generator for other uses, so perhaps it will make sense. Whatever proceeds, I know I can trust the recommendations and counsel of the rescuing company.

Even though I did extensive research, and had lengthy interviews with someone who offered so much promise, I ended up with more of a lesson than a working system. Thankfully, there are not only reputable firms out there, but people managing those firms who have integrity that can be trusted. I guess it is the gift of living that allows us to find them and ultimately turn lemons into lemonade.

Anyway, perhaps misery loves company, but I am saddened that experiences such as ours still happen. Well, it seems to be a key truth that on our boats, as in successful businesses, liquidity is a very good thing!!!

[Bendecida]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

It has been brought to my attention in a private communication that one of the involved vendors is telling people that this review is fake and has been done at the behest of their competitors to discredit them.

I can back Captain Bill up 100%, I bought the same system from the same vendor, and had the same problems ... although I dealt solely with DIYwatermakers.com and not through any third party.

My nightmare has been going on since October, after a long series of problems and delays, I got the system running four months later, only to discover the high pressure pump was wrong (like Captain Bill's), and the system produces brackish water (TDS > 1600 ppm). After numerous un-returned calls and emails, DIYwatermakers.com promised to make it right, but I haven't heard from them since early February.

I'm stuck with a pile of rapidly rusting parts, not making water, and from Captain Doug's comment, it sounds like DIYwatermakers.com has thrown in the towel.

[Captain Doug]

I can post another update to my experience. First of all, I learned that the system I purchased which was rated at 30 gph, will only produce more than 3 gph with divine intervention. Furthermore, the HP pump is rated for fresh water NOT salt water.

Well, if that don't toast my Wheaties, I also learned that my purchase date is outside of my banks purchase claim window. Kinda makes a fella feel thirsty when he is drownin;!

However, on a serious note, the system that was sold as a 30 gph RO system, would never have held together under operation. High pressure failures have not only the potential to be costly to repair, they can inflict bodily injury. Negligence does not care if the mistake was deliberate or unintentional.

Whatever business ethics and potential consumer fraud considerations there may be pale in comparison to the implications of a system failure and bodily injury. I would recommend that anyone with an installed DIY Water Maker cease using the system until every component is checked out as safe and appropriate for salt water use.

Sailing and boating are passions many of us share with each other AND our family and friends. While I am disappointed and angry that I and others have experienced product failure and financial loss at the hand of DIY Water Makers (aka Ragged Sphere), that emotion compares nothing to what I would feel is someone I cared for was hurt because of a catastrophic system failure while we were trying to get it to work appropriately.

Yes, I am left with a bunch of unusable components that I may not get a refund for: "may" is a relatively weak term in this instance. However,
there other solutions AND honest businesses of integrity that can provide me with a water making system. My feelings of being burned will heal, and I will install a first class RO system in our vessel, but I will also attempt to do what I can to receive recompense.

Onward! Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[Bendecida]

Quality update: Attached image of a DIY Watermakers membrane housing, ruptured after 7.5 months of service.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by Bendecida

Quality update: Attached image of a DIY Watermakers membrane housing, ruptured after 7.5 months of service.

Holy smokes....
If there is anything I can help you with just let me know. There is NO expectation or requirement at all that you buy anything from me, I just hate to see this and know enough to help. I've been involved in rebuilding enough of these systems to know where the sleeping disasters lay and can go over them with you. Here on the thread...or via email or phone. Rich@cruiserowater.com or 619-609-3432

[colemj]

Good thing you didn't remove that label…

Mark

[Captain Doug]

After looking at the pictures of those failed pressure vessels, I find myself realizing that they look just like mine! The only difference is that I was not able to test my system this year because of a host of restoration delays.

However, when I went to winterize my PV's I noticed that they were weeping at the end-caps. The only pressure that was impacting these PV's was atmospheric. Hmmm, what would have happened had I fired the unit up. I shudder to think.

As I may have shared before, I replaced every part of my DIY Watermaker package except the pressure vessels. Since I was an apparent early adopter, the units I had seemed to be sourced from a reputable provider and hadn't seemed to have been cheapened by the owner of DIY Watermakers.

I will now have to replace my pressure vessels before launching next Spring. The new units will come from the same company that rescued my watermaking butt earlier this year: CruiseRO. While I know that there are several high quality and ethical companies that provide great watermaking systems, my choice of CruiseRO is because of the wonderful support and help I received. from Rich B. while recovering from the scam I experienced at the hands of DIY Watermakers.

I also know that the other watermaker companies I alluded to would have been wonderful to deal with, too. I just found a fabulous resource in CruiseRO and need to share that there is certainly osmotic life after DIY!

Unfortunately, I was unable to recover any of the money I paid to DIY. While I had a strong basis for both a personal action and would have prevailed, it would have cost a tidy sum only to end up trying to squeeze a drop of recovery out of a rock. Besides the negative karma didn't appeal to me - live is short and death is long!

Twas an expensive lesson in reverse osmosis, that is for sure! Yes, thanks to Rich B. I learned a great deal about how to properly make water on my boat. However, Raymond F. taught a different lesson - the DIY Watermakers version of reverse osmosis only removes liquidity from one's wallet!

Fair Winds and Following Seas!

[tdoster]

Possibly, the parties with the failed housing contact the CPSC CPSC Home | CPSC.gov and provide them with all of this information. IANAL, but I have dealt with the CPSC before to at least get product recalled that is dangerous and another step towards remediation. CPSC actually paid me for the product so they could test it before recalling it. If there is a product recall, it could be covered by the insurance policy in force at the time of sale, regardless of whether the company is currently in business or not.

Nothing for or against any of the parties involved, just another possible avenue to check out before someone really gets hurt.