Aquabase Watermaker Fix

[safetyequip]

We are liveaboards that are currently living in Lake Macquarie NSW. We have done the following maintenance and check on our Aquabase water maker and was looking for additional advice from the shared community on how to resolve our issue.
1. Our mechanic has advised that mechanically the system is fine.
2. we have replaced the 5 & 20 micron filters
3. We have cleaned the Salinity cell as per manufacturers instructions
4. Yet she is still not making water. Is the last remaining option to replace the membranes.
Our issue:- we have been trying to get it working with a small level of success. We have been trying to make water either in Pittwater, Hawkesbury River or Lake Macquarie (Relatively clean water).
When we purchased the boat in Dec 22, the previous owner advised it can take up to 30-45 minutes for the unit to approve the water. Is this working correctly or a sign of a key issue?
Could the Salinity cell require replacing?
Does anyone know a watermaker specialist near Lake Macquarie that could assist to get this working before we head North?
Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Todd

[tkeithlu]

Perhaps someone with more specific knowledge than mine will chime in. Based on the information so far, first, it should start delivering water immediately on start up, although that water might be fouled with say, hydrogen sulfide (rotten eggs) from organisms that have taken up residence in the system. That should clear in a few minutes.

Therefore, I'm suspicious of the pump, despite your mechanic's assurance that it is OK. If the system is pumping, something should come out the end. If the pump is no longer producing adequate pressure to force water through the membrane, yes, nothing comes out. My second level of suspicion is that the membrane is clogged, and may need cleaning or failing in that replacement.

I'm a bit out on a limb, here, both in breadth of understanding (one Spectra watermaker over 10 years) and information about this specific situation.

Do clarify: I think that you are saying that nothing comes out the end, for perhaps 30-45 minutes.

[safetyequip]

Thanks for your feedback and clarification arond the rotten egg smell. To clarify, there is sea water being pumped around and through the water maker, however it seems to me that the Salinity Cell continues to reject it.
Anyway so we turned it on yesterday after a week and it worked (albeit with the rotten egg smell).

We are just not sure why it works sometimes and not others. Mechanically everything seems to work fine. Just sometimes it can be working and pumping clean water and then it stops sending water to the kitchen faucet. Producing fresh water will be intermittent and we are unsure why it stops making fresh water whilst the unit is running fine.

We have tried a range of pressure settings from 4-6.5 bar.

Just want to get it working well so we can go further afield.

[safetyequip]

Just an update we turned on the watermaker today and it worked fine pumping water through on 4 bars. However it stopped working after thirty minutes and approx 40 litres. I waited another five minutes and no clean water came out. I upped the pressure to 6.5 bars and still nothing came ot within 5 minutes. Interested to hear if this is a pattern with other sailors watermakers?

[Maxtosea]

Have you ever gotten this sorted? We're having the same issue

[dhenline]

I have just taken delivery of a boat with the Aquabase system. I have been assured that it is a good system. the one thing that was mentioned is that it likes to be run alot. They recommend no longer than 2-3 days between running the system.
IF the system isn't run for a period of time, such as 10 days, then it needs to be pickled.

Perhaps that is the part that is overlooked. I believe (but do not know) that if not run consistently, then the membrane becomes non functional

sorry I can't be of any further help