QuenchSea Desalinator

[mariner3302]

Really looking forward to finding out what you think!

[JunoCasper]

I have invested $3200 in this company. Can someone give me some feedback on the QuenchSea desalination. They have sent them out today well 5000 of them anyway

[pbmaise]

Originally Posted by JunoCasper

I have invested $3200 in this company. Can someone give me some feedback on the QuenchSea desalination. They have sent them out today well 5000 of them anyway

I see the price has gone from $70 to $130. The website claims deliveries beginning in August 2022. Given it is now almost September...perhaps they are just a wee bit late updating their website.

I see they claim that you buy one and they donate one. Which basically means they would have to be making a profit at $65 each.

Videos on their web blog are all from 2021.

Conclusion: I am still leaning on this being too good to be true.

[Lemsteraak]

I ordered one way back, seemed too good to be true and they seem to have their heart in the right place.

They just asked for confirmation of my delivery address. Still can't believe that they got the job done and are shipping them. I'll let you know if I get one and if it works ....

[Lemsteraak]

Just got a tracking number, they posted an owners manual online. Can't believe it is on the way. I think I paid $70 US about three years ago.

[pbmaise]

Lemsteraak,
We are very anxious for your feedback about this. Continue updates. Thanks

[Lemsteraak]

Just got it, slightly larger and heavier box than I expected. It is a bit different than what I thought, larger than a lifeboat water maker, lever operated.

They sent me a video - https://youtu.be/ql8weCPg8iY - this shows how it works. There is an owners manual showing how it is put together and more info on its use - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1i5O...BFIzlKudy/view

The water maker is made of a robust plastic and is operationally the same but is a bit different from the original concept. You have to remember that we aren't the target audience but I think it will be a useful tool to have on hand. I'm really curious to try it out next time I'm at the coast.

[mdalton]

I received mine today in London delivered by Royal mail. Not yet tested, but looks impressive. Here's a photo. Capacity claimed at 4 litres per hour. Will test in next couple of days.

[Franziska]

Originally Posted by mdalton

I received mine today in London delivered by Royal mail. Not yet tested, but looks impressive. Here's a photo. Capacity claimed at 4 litres per hour. Will test in next couple of days.

That looks very good. Hopefully it works too. Might be worth adding a wooden board or second handle on the case of some sort to be able to use it in a liferaft.

Would be great to have a reasonably priced alternative to the overpriced survivor 35.

[mdalton]

I'll check how easy it might be to use in a Liferaft environment with a soft floor.

[Bill O]

Originally Posted by Franziska

That looks very good. Hopefully it works too. Might be worth adding a wooden board or second handle on the case of some sort to be able to use it in a liferaft.

Would be great to have a reasonably priced alternative to the overpriced survivor 35.

Agree the replacement survivor o rings and membrane are stupidly expensive with no real competition to bring their prices down.

Quick question for mdalton and Lemsteraak. Thank you Lemsteraak for the link of how it works.

Are the pump parts metal or plastic. Worry a little bit about durability if you had to use it a couple of hrs for multiple days in a row.

Have either of you tried it to see how it works in person?

How long is the feed tube? (in the video/demo it is very short)
Only a partial sentence in the manual about how to store it. Wonder how much volume of fresh water (for the flush) is needed to do 5 mins of flushing? Did not see instructions about long term storage, how to pickle them.

Looks very promising, especially the low price point for initial purchase and replacement membranes/pre-filters are also very reasonable. Would think if you could pre-filter the feed water thru a simple paper coffee filter the membrane would last a long time.

[Lemsteraak]

Hi Bill,

I sent a quick email to QuenchSea about long term storage and if I could use a solution of Potassium BiSulfite or similar to pickle the membrane. They got right back to me and said yes, and they will be coming up with some storage instructions shortly.

I'd like to take the machine apart a little to see how easy it is to service. Did a quick check to see how easy it is to take apart the membrane housing and it will take a workbench and a strap wrench. They have it well torqued. Just ordered a set of membranes and pre-filters, let's see how long it takes.

At first glance, everything seems quite robust. The only thing I question so far is the pre-filter, seems small to me. Their target market for this machine is for people in developing countries that have access to salt water that need safe drinking water. Their available water sources will need to be filtered first to protect the R/O membrane. QuenchSea has drawings of a much larger pre-filter on their website.

It is impressive that a little startup can design and produce a high tech device like this at such a low price point.

[Bill O]

Ok, excellent follow up on the long term storage.

The manual was fairly minimal and showed o-rings in the pump. Wonder if these are standard nitrile o-rings (probably metric)?

So, is the pump body metal or plastic?

The small pre-filter doesn't bother me, especially if you use a coffee/paper filter to get most of the particles out before attempting to make water.

How big is it and ~ weight?

[Lemsteraak]

Bill

Here is a size comparison between the QuenchSea and the little Pur 06. Designed for different markets.



The QS is all plastic except the handle and the rocker it fits into. Constructionst feels like it is in prototype stage and they made some changes to improve strength and simplicity from their original concept. The plastic is strong, for example, the large black cap that holds the membrane was overtightened on assembly and took some doing to remove but shows the plastic used is robust. The cap and membrane both have double "O" rings for sealing. I would think you could repair or modify to suit with a trip to the hardware store.

[Bill O]

Thanks for the comparison pic and isn't as large as I first thought.

Are you going to try to make any water with it? Would be interesting to see how much arm fatigue you have after 15 min (after the initial 5 min flush) trying to make product.

Product taste and tds would be important also for the first 15 min batch, 2nd, 3rd and 4th to see if there is any quality differences thru an hr. run.