First impreesions, Schenker 60 Ltrs/Hour Watermaker

[captainslarty]

Hi all
Fist impressions of the new watermaker.
Beautifully built unit, top quality materials. Standard commercial membrane (40"), Dual pump unit with all necessary fittings.
60 ltrs per hour at 12v using 20A using patented energy recovery system.
The unit is from Matra uk, extremely helpful people and fantastic service.
Will give you a blow by blow install account over the winter, then a performance evaluation.
Price, around 4.5k UKP including a superb long distance spares kit specifically for our needs.
Joe n Jayne

 

[jeremyshaw]

That's good news.

Schenker does have a slight rep on the reliability front as you may know. A friend with one went through a couple of pumps.

Snowleopard made some interesting comments on the subject a year or two ago here
http://www.ybw.com/forums/showflat.php?C...true#Post464323

It may be the design flaws he referred to have been sorted out - and in any case sounds like you have decent set of spares which is the main thing. I consider my Sea Recovery watermaker to be well made, but I still spend more time on in than my engines - it's the price of a being able to shower on demand!

 

[Richard10002]

[ QUOTE ]
Price, around 4.5k UKP including a superb long distance spares kit specifically for our needs.
Joe n Jayne

[/ QUOTE ]

if you dont mind me asking, how much of that was for installation, (or did you DIY), and what did you need to buy, (or have provided), over and above the basic watermaker?

 

[Anonymous]

Joe,

I'll be interested to hear how you get on. Watermakers are for enjoying, not running 3 miles offshore. Spectra make the point that oil seldom goes very deep except in very rough conditions and is seldom a problem. We avoid using it in marinas (sewage issue) and my benchmark is that if I would swim in the water, I'll make water with it. Oh, by the way, watermaker water is the best water you will ever drink and it excellent for health as it is zero sodium. It makes a smashing cup of tea and the finest ice cubes. We have a General Ecology faucet filter on the galley sink which removes any tank odour and is a final quality check but you can drink the product straight from the watermaker in complete safety.

David

 

[captainslarty]

Hi all
Well, here goes, I researched watermakers for many years (in the planning stage we most always go through). The Shcenker is the one that gives me what I want. As for price, well, I will fit it myself, but not much of an issue for me. The ONLY thing I had to buy extra was the piping from the inlet to the pump, and the pump unit(s) to the watermaker. The beauty of this is LP on the inlet side.
I looked at many options, from DIY with Pressure washer pumps etc, using the standard SW2540 (I think ?) membrane and finally settled on this. The price is right, so they say, so com on down !.
Anyways, back to reality. We have a long fin boat, no probs in achieving a deep inlet (IN FRONT OF or OPPOSITE the heads lol), dont want turd flavoured water lol....
So in answer to Davids question, yes, certainly it can be used in harbour, certainly at anchor, if, as he rightly says, the agua is ok for bathing it can be made good for drinking.
Our inlet system, provided, is a strained seawater inlet, to a 20 micron fliter, to a 5 micron. The beauty is it uses standard 10" houshold filters for the prefiltering so no probs, they even recommend towing overboard to clean . Matra (Jim) provides a custom mod for reverse flushing inc all taps etc.. but easy to rig, just a pain without them. the current draw is really fantastic, a true patent in motion.
We have always used silver carbon filtration in our previous water system, you CANT have any chlorine to the watermaker as it destroys the RO Membrane. We intend to add our existing filters on the output to improve (if it can be, quality), again, standard 10" units.
Again, as david says, the watermaker is for truly enjoying, all the quantity you need with minimal drain.
We have a PPM meter to check output, and finally the taste test, we watermake to a separate tank too, to avoid undue contamination. All in all , money well spent. My Hydrovane cost me 3.5k GBP, self fitted, at 4.5 GBP in live aboard terms, its great value, not something you change every day, since Jim got the UK dealership you can definately rely on top quality service, without question.......
Our laptops and server, wifi etc cost more, the RIB and 18HP Tohatsu cost around the same. not a problem really, again, when its your life and all you own, its money well spent. Look forward to the endless showers, the ability to wash the yot in FW if needed, and definitely, the great cup of PG tips.
Will post a full pic session of the install in the winter monthes, still refitting the interier at the mo... then the new eberspacher, the new lewmar leccy winches, the new autopilot etc etc.. might get the odd time to view Lost S3 on the 70" screen projector, but hey, what the hell does one expect from a 34 foot cruiser.. oh, and we REALLY need to permenantly fit the Kenwood SSB TX the Icom 1500 RX, the ATU, the SSB Whip and even get some time to chill.
Happy cruising
Joe n Jayne N Molly the one eyed Cat
S.V Ruddles, exploring Galicia..

 

[captainslarty]

Re: spares kit provided by Matra

Just a note on this (Check out PUR ridiculous prices on spares. true rip off)
We got ALL filter units, seals, valves, COMPLETE rebuild kit for the WM, with service manual ! and any necessary bits n pieces for a measly 200 E´s.
Fantastic value.
Check out Matra. Search Schenker, Matra, not affiliated, just a very happy costomer.

 

[jeremyshaw]

Personally I would advise against cleaning the filters by towing - especially the 5 micron secondary, though I know people do do it.

If the 20 micron filter is fouled then there is some merit in towing it to flush it, but if you think about it, when towing the 5 micron you will be forcing particles of water into filter the 'wrong way'. So some matter will be on the downstream side of the filter. When you put it back in it will be flushed out into the system, thus destroying the point of the filter. Also I'm never convinced that towing will actually clear the filter of the finer particles which have been forced in at about 20psi. Filter costs are not great - under USD100 a year I'd say, so not worth skimping IMHO.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree. I buy a box of filters at a time from wholesalers and they last for ages. I spend around £20 per annum. I would never try to clean them though I use spun poly not paper plaited and spun poly last for longer. You can use any type of filter as long as it does not 'shed' material which might damage the membrane.

The Spectra does not use a 20 micron, it has a coarse stainless steel pre-filter then a 5 micron. When I discussed this with one of Spectra's boffins he said that large particles tend to settle on the 5 micron filte without actually blocking it so the 20 micron filter is pretty pointless. "Suit yourself, but you don't really need one" was the reply.

 

[captainslarty]

good info, thanks for the input guys.

BTW, what are the actual chemicals used for cleaning, acid and alk, and also pickling?. Just in case one needs to buy the non standard.

Also, a typo, MACTRA, not matra DOH!

Joe

 

[Anonymous]

This may only affect Spectra, I don't know but there is a major compatibility problem with some chemicals used to clean and store desalinators and the materials used in the Spectra. Indeed, in the late 1990s Spectra sent out some chemical by mistake that resulted in the Clark pumps failing - they replaced all damaged units free of charge.

I ONLY use Spectra chemicals and prossibly I could get them for a fraction of the price but I only use one or two pots a year at about £8 per pot or so.

 

[Tintin]

Hi all
Fist impressions of the new watermaker.
Beautifully built unit, top quality materials. Standard commercial membrane (40"), Dual pump unit with all necessary fittings.
60 ltrs per hour at 12v using 20A using patented energy recovery system.
The unit is from Matra uk, extremely helpful people and fantastic service.
Will give you a blow by blow install account over the winter, then a performance evaluation.
Price, around 4.5k UKP including a superb long distance spares kit specifically for our needs.
Joe n Jayne

How's the Schenker going? Any major problems?

(Yes, yes, necro thread)

 

[geem]

I agree. I buy a box of filters at a time from wholesalers and they last for ages. I spend around £20 per annum. I would never try to clean them though I use spun poly not paper plaited and spun poly last for longer. You can use any type of filter as long as it does not 'shed' material which might damage the membrane.

The Spectra does not use a 20 micron, it has a coarse stainless steel pre-filter then a 5 micron. When I discussed this with one of Spectra's boffins he said that large particles tend to settle on the 5 micron filte without actually blocking it so the 20 micron filter is pretty pointless. "Suit yourself, but you don't really need one" was the reply.

They are telling porkies. With 12v watermakers you have to be very careful with prefilter pressure drop. Pleated filters have a lot more surface area than block filters. If your filters get contamination that creates a high pressure drop you can damage the pump. This doesn't happen on 220v Cat pump type watermakers running 220v centrifugal boost pumps. They are far more tolerant of high pressure drop on dirty filters. The centrifugal pump will simply ride it's curve and create more pressure by vertue of some reduced flow. We use a 20 micron prefilter then 5 micron. The 20 micron is the one that gets dirty. The 5 micron rarely needs changing.
We can run the watermaker in dirty water. Not oily water. The filters need changing more often. We also have UV filtration so any virus or bacteria are zapped.