12V water maker

[alhambra]

I am looking for a 12V watermaker and am considering a osomosea unit made in Italy. I saw one at the Southampton Boat show which looked good but cannot find much information about them online - has anybody experience of these units ie reliability etc?? thanks

 

[temptress]

I am looking for a 12V watermaker and am considering a osomosea unit made in Italy. I saw one at the Southampton Boat show which looked good but cannot find much information about them online - has anybody experience of these units ie reliability etc?? thanks

HI - I don't know this brand but let me comment: Where are you planning to sail? Consider the availability of spares and servicing. IMO this is as big a factor in choice than the brand.

 

[chrisgee]

I am looking for a 12V watermaker and am considering a osomosea unit made in Italy. I saw one at the Southampton Boat show which looked good but cannot find much information about them online - has anybody experience of these units ie reliability etc?? thanks

I have a lightly used Katadyne Water Maker which I believe is a good make with service and spares available in the uk. PM me if you would like some details.


cheers

 

[Neeves]

Have a look at Rainman Desalinators, either petrol (Honda 4 stroke) or, 12v, electric powered.. Does not need to be fitted. Works straight out of the box, or 2 boxes. Uses standard components available anywhere, well almost. I have tried one, easy to use, huge output (compared to most others).

Jonathan

 

[alexsailor]

http://www.schenker.it/en/

 

[Oscarpop]

HI - I don't know this brand but let me comment: Where are you planning to sail? Consider the availability of spares and servicing. IMO this is as big a factor in choice than the brand.

+1

These things are sensitive sods.
We have a katadyn 80e and love it.
It also has a 3 year warranty.

So when it developed a (rare) fault, we called up Mactra and they have a new motor which Jim is bringing out personally to gran canaria.

We have no vested interest in Mactra as a company , just amazed at the level of service.
If you go sailing, you need to be able to fix it, service it and find spares.

You should also consider the size of the unit. Ours is tiny and fits in a small locker.
Our friends have a huge one which takes up the size of a suitcase. Obviously higher output, but for 12v you'll probably end up with a mid capacity one.

 

[Saracen8]

I am looking for a 12V watermaker and am considering a osomosea unit made in Italy. I saw one at the Southampton Boat show which looked good but cannot find much information about them online - has anybody experience of these units ie reliability etc?? thanks

Yes bought one of these units about a year ago. Its an Osmosea N12 12V dc So far it has worked perfectly. We chose it because of the low power consumption and excellent construction quality. (oh and price!) litres per amp is what you need to look for. just pm us if you need any further info.

 

[swansail]

I have been looking at these as well -
http://www.sailfishmarine.co.uk/epa...gories/Marine_Watermakers/Osmosea_watermakers

pricing is very attractive.

 

[geem]

I have been looking at these as well -
http://www.sailfishmarine.co.uk/epa...gories/Marine_Watermakers/Osmosea_watermakers

pricing is very attractive.

On our last boat we ran a 12v watermaker. For our next boat we decided not to go the 12v route. The 12v watermakers produce relatively small amounts of water to keep their current consumption at a level that is manageable. This generally means running the watermaker for several hours at a time to make a reasonable amount of water. Our current watermaker is 240v that runs off the generator or via the large inverter withe the engine running. We use a cat pump, standard 40 inch membranes and a 1.5 kW motor. We make 135 litres per hour so don't normally run it more than an hour at a time. This works so much better for us than long periods on a small output 12v unit. The parts are cheap and standard fare so easily available

 

[Budgieboy]

Have a look at Rainman Desalinators, either petrol (Honda 4 stroke) or, 12v, electric powered.. Does not need to be fitted. Works straight out of the box, or 2 boxes. Uses standard components available anywhere, well almost. I have tried one, easy to use, huge output (compared to most others).

Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?442523-12V-water-maker#gvsZIs2VT8YvpFBM.99

Interesting system .... but not sure how you would use it on the move ? getting the salt water intake pipe to stay underwater at say 6 knots would seem a tad difficult ?

 

[Neeves]

Have a look at Rainman Desalinators, either petrol (Honda 4 stroke) or, 12v, electric powered.. Does not need to be fitted. Works straight out of the box, or 2 boxes. Uses standard components available anywhere, well almost. I have tried one, easy to use, huge output (compared to most others).

Read more at http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?442523-12V-water-maker#gvsZIs2VT8YvpFBM.99

Interesting system .... but not sure how you would use it on the move ? getting the salt water intake pipe to stay underwater at say 6 knots would seem a tad difficult ?

Not really, you simply tie the water intake to a broom handle or boat hook, poke under water and lash broom handle or boat hook. Getting something to remain underwater is not difficult - it would need to be thought through in advance.

I used it and was impressed - its simpler than our Spectra unit and makes more than double the amount of water a 'normal' 12v unit will make.

 

[swansail]

On our last boat we ran a 12v watermaker. For our next boat we decided not to go the 12v route. The 12v watermakers produce relatively small amounts of water to keep their current consumption at a level that is manageable. This generally means running the watermaker for several hours at a time to make a reasonable amount of water. Our current watermaker is 240v that runs off the generator or via the large inverter withe the engine running. We use a cat pump, standard 40 inch membranes and a 1.5 kW motor. We make 135 litres per hour so don't normally run it more than an hour at a time. This works so much better for us than long periods on a small output 12v unit. The parts are cheap and standard fare so easily available

Yes I understand the logic in an AC unit but not all of us have/want a generator on board. Therefore it has to be 12V (I have already decided against clunky engine driven units)

 

[macd]

Yes I understand the logic in an AC unit but not all of us have/want a generator on board. Therefore it has to be 12V (I have already decided against clunky engine driven units)

+1
Your "not all of us" would seem very explicitly to include the OP. I doubt the digressions, however well-meant and -informed, are helpful for him/her.

 

[geem]

+1
Your "not all of us" would seem very explicitly to include the OP. I doubt the digressions, however well-meant and -informed, are helpful for him/her.

My experience of two Katadyn 12v models was that they leak. They are expensive on bespoke parts. They make very little water. Others may be better with better parts availability and cheaper to maintain.
In a short period of time whilst in Madeira in a marina last year we met two other cruisers with brand new 12v water makers with expensive faults which meant they were waiting for parts from UK. They both regretted buying them.
From my experience I wouldn't go the 12v route again. It's my opinion based on experience not hearsay. If generator isn't an option then I would opt for engine driven with two or three 40 inch membranes that will make 130 to 200 litres per hour. This would be preferable to 12v for me as you can combine engine running for an hour every few days with laundry with loads of water from a hot engine. You would likely use a tiny amount of diesel.
Good luck with your choice.

 

[macd]

My experience of two Katadyn 12v models...

Now that digression was helpful, to me, at least

 

[Strolls]

Have a look at Rainman Desalinators, … huge output (compared to most others).

… makes more than double the amount of water a 'normal' 12v unit will make.

I'm confused by this.

I thought all watermakers used basically the same technology, principles and off-the-shelf membranes.

How are Rainman different to all the others, please?

 

[Neeves]

We have a Spectra 12v unit with a single 40" membrane. It has 2 pumps, each pump results in an output of about 30l per hour. The 2 pumps together are meant to produce about 60l per hour, but its slightly less. The power consumption is about 24amps/hr/60l

The Rainman (same technology - different inputs - space, money energy) with the Honda petrol engine can work with 2 x 40" membranes and produces, from memory, slightly more than 120l per hour. The 120l per hours would be equivalent to about 50amps - which would be considerably more power than most yachts can cope with. So it uses an easily available resource (petrol - that you use for your outboard) instead of a very scarce resource (amps - usually in a battery) and produces more than double the amount of water commonly found on medium to small yacht desal units (without the need to be plumbed in)/

Of course if you have a bigger yacht you could use a genset, or you could run off the engine. Rainman requires no plumbing, is double the output of 'most' desal units sold for small to medium yachts and is not particularly expensive.

Its a nice compromise of cost, output, convenience and resource (power/petrol) usage.

They all use the same technology - it seems, to me, a refreshing look.

 

[sailinglegend420]

We have a high output HRO 12v system that produces 70 lt/hour at 12v. Yes it does takes 24 Amps, but we only ever use it when motoring with a 100 amp output alternator, we have never been to an anchorage where water is clean enough to use.

 

[geem]

We have a high output HRO 12v system that produces 70 lt/hour at 12v. Yes it does takes 24 Amps, but we only ever use it when motoring with a 100 amp output alternator, we have never been to an anchorage where water is clean enough to use.

So in your case you may have been better with an engine driven unit that could make at least double the water quantity without having to resort to the low reliability 12v technology? Just a thought.

 

[Seren]

Our Spectra's12v technology is very reliable. No problems after 6 years use in the Med favourite of 5 months sailing/7months on land. We have only had 1 leak as a result of unsatisfactory installation and are very happy with the unit which produces about 25ltrs/hr.This we use as cooking and drinking water primarily because we have an aluminium water tank around which there are some health questions so we use that water for washing,showering etc. We only use the water maker when motoring or motor/sailing and regard it as one of the boat's best bits of kit with easy maintenance.