Water Maker decision

[Mare Presto]

Looking at getting a water maker installed, or more than likely, a DIY project. Any input on Spectra vs. Sea Water Pro? I know the energy consumption is higher for Sea Water, but the GPH is almost double..so run the engine for an hour or two, or try to use solar to power the Spectra? Pros and Cons of each? Thanks for the help.

[Palarran]

Hard to say. I have a generator so bigger is better. But what I'd really suggest is trying a custom google search of this forum. I know there have been quite a few threads in the past with essentially the same question. Welcome to the forum BTW.

[theDangerz]

Can only speak from our experience... when leaving to cruise last year we installed a spectra, and the lowest draw 12V unit possible as our goal was to never have to run the genset.
We also upgraded to LifePo batteries and Solar, and our plan works mostly... We probably run the genset every week or two to ensure top off, and we’ll probably add more solar that make even that unnecessary.

BUT - In reality, even if not needed to top off... the genset (like everything else onboard) should be used every week or two simply to exercise it, and if I had it to do over again would probably get a high flow 110V unit that would make 40-100 gallons in an hour of genset time vs us having to runt the watermaker for 6-16 hours to accomplish the same thing.

Especially now as we look into the possibility of other “large” draws onboard like a washing machine- we could likely time and use all of the above at once while exercising the genset.

[a64pilot]

With no disrespect intended at all, from a quality and component perspective the Seawater Pro doesn’t come close to a Spectra.
What the Seawater Pro does give you though is a water maker at a very good price, I’m sure it’s a fraction of the cost of a Spectra.