Rainman Desalinization

[Rainman]

Originally Posted by Rainman

The Rainman 220V/50Hz system will run fine on the Yamaha 220V version. However the Rainman 110V/60Hz system will NOT start on the Yamaha 110V version. Although the average power output of the Yamaha is sufficient, it is incapable of providing sufficient power to start the motor turning. Sorry if this has caused confusion.

I know lots of people use older threads for product information, so I'm going to bump this with an update. Rainman has had three situations lately where the Yamaha 2kva generator did NOT start our 220V/50Hz system. In these situations, the customer upgraded to a Honda 2kva genny and all was fine. Although specs on paper are the same, the Yamaha has a 75cc motor, while the Honda has a 100cc motor. Just a little bit more grunt to start an induction motor. No one has ever had a problem with a Honda 2kva genny startig either our 115VAC or 220VAC systems.

[UFO]

Can this or any water maker system be used whilst underway?

[Rainman]

Originally Posted by UFO

Can this or any water maker system be used whilst underway?

Most watermakers are fine being used underway, so long as you're not sucking air bubbles in to the system. Rainman is a unique in that installation is optional. About half our customers install the system similar to traditional watermakers, so running underway is easy. Those that prefer to keep their Rainman portable, but still want to use it underway, have a few options.

1. T off a deck wash and connect the Rainman intake hose that way. Many use a quick connect fitting for this.

2. Rig a down pole behind the boat to hold the intake hose below water.

3. Drag the hose behind the boat if in calm conditions. Although we generally don't recommend doing this, we know of several customers that do and we have never had feedback of this sucking air into the system to cause issues.

[daletournier]

I have a Rainman. Very happy with it and the support from the Rainman team, very professional.

You could run it while underway I suppose, but this involves running the generator in the cockpit, I wouldn't. It can make 140l/hr therefore I see no need to run until I'm at anchor. Most of us can can carry enough water for most passages.

My last boat had a Katadyn that I would run underway. It only made 14l/hr, I would rather use it while motoring rather than have it running for ten hours at anchor!

Regarding running it of an inverter. I've set it up so I can run it of the inverter in the unlikely event my Honda broke down, purely backup, I wouldn't run it for long periods for the reasons stated previously.

I purchased it due to it being "plug and play" right out of the box. I will eventually mount it in a more permanent way.

Excellent product.

[travellerw]

We have been using our Rainman for 24 months now. Very happy with the product and support I have recieved. Down here in the Caribbean we make between 110-120L/hour. Yes, we often run it underway. We find that running it underway is easier on the prefilters as many of the anchorages have silty waters that quickly plug the filters.

We originally used it in its portable configuration, but quickly realized it wouldn't work long term for us. The components are pretty heavy and my wife was having a very hard time moving them around. So we did a permenant installation and have been much happier.

[mikedefieslife]

The decision between which Rainman to get isn't an easy one.

Get the electric 230v one and have to buy a Honda EU20i which could also be used to top up batteries from time to time. But then you have yet another 20kg box to store somewhere.

Get the petrol one, nice all in one unit, ever so slightly better economy than the external generator option, but not as flexible.

[Cthoops]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

The decision between which Rainman to get isn't an easy one.

Get the electric 230v one and have to buy a Honda EU20i which could also be used to top up batteries from time to time. But then you have yet another 20kg box to store somewhere.

Get the petrol one, nice all in one unit, ever so slightly better economy than the external generator option, but not as flexible.

Yes, we repeatedly debated between the two options until we were able to actually see the units in real life (vs just online) at the Annapolis show last month. We quickly realized that having the electric unit plus a separate Honda was simply going to take up too much space in our Bristol 29.9, so we put a deposit on the all-in-one instead.

Anyone trying to decide which Rainman unit to get should see them in person first, if possible. It may help in deciding.

[arsenelupiga]

another happy customer. soon to go on a long trip, run it often, results quick - 2 L per minute, and no problems.

I have it installed and not hidden to better see what is going on - 850 psi is lots of pressure and my wife likes shape and colours.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by Rainman

I know lots of people use older threads for product information, so I'm going to bump this with an update. Rainman has had three situations lately where the Yamaha 2kva generator did NOT start our 220V/50Hz system. In these situations, the customer upgraded to a Honda 2kva genny and all was fine. Although specs on paper are the same, the Yamaha has a 75cc motor, while the Honda has a 100cc motor. Just a little bit more grunt to start an induction motor. No one has ever had a problem with a Honda 2kva genny startig either our 115VAC or 220VAC systems.

The 1.0Hp motor used on our water makers as well will NOT start from the Yamaha Generator, while it will easily using the Honda 2000.

Of course if you talk to the folks at Yamaha about this, their initial response is "anything the Honda can do, we can do and better" and like Honda they don't want to give out any technical information above which is printed in their manuals. But after talking to a Yamaha tech he commented that their electronics was most likely not "getting along" with the start capacitor on the electric motor. It was an issue they were aware of and were planning to "fix". But for whatever reason, I've tested multiple Yamaha's when I see them around the docks and marinas and they just don't want to start the water maker motors on a Rainman OR a Cruise RO.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by mikedefieslife

The decision between which Rainman to get isn't an easy one.

Get the electric 230v one and have to buy a Honda EU20i which could also be used to top up batteries from time to time. But then you have yet another 20kg box to store somewhere.

Get the petrol one, nice all in one unit, ever so slightly better economy than the external generator option, but not as flexible.

I know nothing about a Rainman, however with the Honda you have a generator that is useful for other things, and once started it may be capable of both making water and charging batteries at the same time, plus Honda’s are very plentiful, which means that you can likely replace it if needed and or get parts, and it will run electric items too, like saws and drills and all kinds of other things you may need, even fans if it’s hot and or a small airconditioner, the list is endless.
Of course once you get used to having AC power on demand, it’s addictive, but then so is unlimited fresh water or so I’m led to believe.

Which motor does Rainman use? Cause not all motors are created equally.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I know nothing about a Rainman, however with the Honda you have a generator that is useful for other things, and once started it may be capable of both making water and charging batteries at the same time, plus Honda’s are very plentiful, which means that you can likely replace it if needed and or get parts, and it will run electric items too, like saws and drills and all kinds of other things you may need, even fans if it’s hot and or a small airconditioner, the list is endless.
Of course once you get used to having AC power on demand, it’s addictive, but then so is unlimited fresh water or so I’m led to believe.

Which motor does Rainman use? Cause not all motors are created equally.

The Rainman uses a Honda motor..

I agree with you on the Honda generator option.. That's why we went that route. We installed a second smaller battery charger (20A) that we use when running the Rainmaker. So we make water, put 20A into the batteries, charge a Ryobi battery, charge 2 laptops AND run our Panda washing machine.. Those are good days (today was one).

However... Not all boats can accommodate the extra space required by the third component. That is why some boats choose the motor option as it eliminates one component (the generator) and some weight.

[a64pilot]

From a space perspective, surely a permanently installed water maker makes the most sense as you can tuck the components away.
I see the Rainman coming into its own if someone can’t or won’t do an install, is either chartering and or may sell the boat soon as I doubt you get much of your money back if you sell the boat with the watermaker installed. It has its place.

I’m installing a built in watermaker now, and it is a significant amount of work, but I’m not losing any storage space as I’m able with some thinking and work to install the components in tucked away and largely unused space like the engine room for instance.
It’s not a trivial amount of work though, but once done I’m just a button push or two away from making water.

[daletournier]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

From a space perspective, surely a permanently installed water maker makes the most sense as you can tuck the components away.
I see the Rainman coming into its own if someone can’t or won’t do an install, is either chartering and or may sell the boat soon as I doubt you get much of your money back if you sell the boat with the watermaker installed. It has its place.

I’m installing a built in watermaker now, and it is a significant amount of work, but I’m not losing any storage space as I’m able with some thinking and work to install the components in tucked away and largely unused space like the engine room for instance.
It’s not a trivial amount of work though, but once done I’m just a button push or two away from making water.

I agree, permanently mounted is better. The great thing about the rainman is you can permanently mount it "when you get around to it"

It is reasonably heavy, I only have to take the membranes on deck, the pump motor setup sits in a cupboard below and I just feed the hoses through a port to the membrane and water.

A watermaker is a watermaker, I'm certain the Rainman is no better than the Ro cruise that Rich manufacturers, for me it was just a case of, I can use it now and fit it later, also I was in Australia when I purchased so freight was minimal.

My reasoning for going the AC version was as you stated above, other uses for generator.

[Zofia]

We bought a 50L/hr single membrane unit last year to work with our existing Honda 2Kva genni. Very Happy indeed. In our warmer waters we actually get an output of 70L/hr. It’s semi installed with the membrane standing vertically in the corner of our stern lazarette. The pressure unit is wired into our 240v system and sits at the bottom of the same space which makes for simpler switching on. We tie up the lazarette lid, throw the saltwater hoses over the back, pop the output into the water tanks after we’ve reserved the first 10L for a backwash and away we go. The only lifting we’ll have done is taking the Honda genni out. We are doing that for our top-up charging every few days anyway. It works well for us and we are happy chappies with this not insubstantial purchase. And yes, like all of you we contacted Rainman about their prices [emoji41]

[chuckr]

We saw Rainman at the Istanbul boat show and it was a nice unit to look at - but we had a few issues - what do we need 30g/hr capacity for with just 2 of us (that can be said for a lot of units) second was the energy requirements as we do not have a generator and after 10 years underway see no reason to get one, third the price was a bit high -
But it was a well built unit and the folks were very knowledgeable


ps we have a katadyn e80 and it runs off our solar panels and runs underway and is modular so we have it scattered throughout the boat and we have no issue with running it a couple of hours a day or more - to meet our needs


if I had a huge boat with lots of power we would look at a Rainman