Mini water maker?

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pcatterall

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Just read the thread on water makers. Our requirement is rather different in that we have a 100 gallon tank which will last us a long time for cooking purposes and for a wipe down with a flannel ( in other words we are fairly basic!!).
We buy bottled water just for drinking and brews but would like to be able to make our own should our supplies run out! We require between 2 and 4 gallons per day.
Is there a system which would provide this ?
 
Think about a larger water maker, 2 - 4 gals a day is a small amount but you would want to do it in less than an hour rather than have the system running all day. I've just installed one doing 25 ltr an hour so I'll use it about an hour every other day and that's for two of us living/cruising full time.
 
pcatterall said:
Just read the thread on water makers. Our requirement is rather different in that we have a 100 gallon tank which will last us a long time for cooking purposes and for a wipe down with a flannel ( in other words we are fairly basic!!).
We buy bottled water just for drinking and brews but would like to be able to make our own should our supplies run out! We require between 2 and 4 gallons per day.
Is there a system which would provide this ?
Click to expand...
Its not very environmentally friendly buying bottled water. Plastic is the scurge of the oceans.
 
geem said:
Its not very environmentally friendly buying bottled water. Plastic is the scurge of the oceans.
Click to expand...

That depends whether you chuck the bottle over the side when it's empty or take it ashore for recycling.
Clear plastic water bottles are among the most recycleable plastic.
The environmental impact of building and running a water maker is not going to be zero either!
 
pcatterall said:
Just read the thread on water makers. Our requirement is rather different in that we have a 100 gallon tank which will last us a long time for cooking purposes and for a wipe down with a flannel ( in other words we are fairly basic!!).
We buy bottled water just for drinking and brews but would like to be able to make our own should our supplies run out! We require between 2 and 4 gallons per day.
Is there a system which would provide this ?
Click to expand...

Fix your tank water system. It's not hard. Daulton makes good filters (the super carb is great). The post below explains the basics. You can use rainwater then too (if you cleqn the deck and pre-filter).

http://sail-delmarva.blogspot.com/2014/06/drinking-water-filtration-short-version.html
 
lw395 said:
That depends whether you chuck the bottle over the side when it's empty or take it ashore for recycling.
Clear plastic water bottles are among the most recycleable plastic.
The environmental impact of building and running a water maker is not going to be zero either!
Click to expand...
If you cruise the Caribbean or Central America there is no recycling. In lots of third world countries where good water is hard to find a watermaker comes into its own. Plastic drinks bottles are everywhere. Floating by and on the beaches. We make 1.2tones of water a month with no plastic bottles. I built my watermaker from mainly second hand parts for relatively little money. Less impact on the environmen but not none simce we use about 12 ltrs of diesel a month to run the generator for watermaking. Here in Bocas del Toro we are not using the watermaker at all as we are catching rainwater. Still no plastic bottles bought. We have shopping bags made of old sail cloth. We refuse plastic bags when we go shopping and use our own bags for life. If you are a sailor usimg plastic bottles and plastic bags every day you are part of the problem
 
geem said:
If you cruise the Caribbean or Central America there is no recycling. In lots of third world countries where good water is hard to find a watermaker comes into its own. Plastic drinks bottles are everywhere. Floating by and on the beaches. We make 1.2tones of water a month with no plastic bottles. I built my watermaker from mainly second hand parts for relatively little money. Less impact on the environmen but not none simce we use about 12 ltrs of diesel a month to run the generator for watermaking. Here in Bocas del Toro we are not using the watermaker at all as we are catching rainwater. Still no plastic bottles bought. We have shopping bags made of old sail cloth. We refuse plastic bags when we go shopping and use our own bags for life. If you are a sailor usimg plastic bottles and plastic bags every day you are part of the problem
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Indeed! I remember back in the day when I dabbled in aluminium smelting and recycling. PET had just come out as an easily recyclable plastic with some value. It never took off as a material to be recycled! One of the probs was the fact that manufacturers put tags and tops on made of easily recyclable crap plastic. Move on a bit to when the kids were small and us going flotilla ing in the Ionian, the islands were a mess of wind blown PET bottles, casually discarded! Dunno what its like now. All power I say to the Daily Mail, self serving perhaps but they have got the ear of government and have caught the imagination of the public with their anti plastics campaign.
 
I've got a used PUR/Katadyn 80, which is a small 12V watermaker, hanging around in my garage. I was planning to fit it to the last boat I had, but never got around to it. Shout if interested.
 
The protocol for recycling is reduce, reuse, recycle. You'll notice that recycle is the third best option - not using in the first place is the best option. Personally I don't find it necessary to shower everyday, even when at home.
lw395 said:
That depends whether you chuck the bottle over the side when it's empty or take it ashore for recycling.
Clear plastic water bottles are among the most recycleable plastic.
The environmental impact of building and running a water maker is not going to be zero either!
Click to expand...
 
I continually wonder why there is such a huge market in the 'West' for bottled water in the first place. None of us died, prior to this common practice now, 50 years ago. It's the same with plastic bags. They were introduced by supermarkets, replacing the shopping basket everyone had used previously. We never bought meat or fish - wrapped in plastic - it was always wrapped in paper. When we buy fish or prawn now, at the supermarket, we are served individually from a large tray - and the product is packed in an expensive zip lock poly bag. And fast food, fishnchip was also wrapped or 'served' in paper.

The customer might have demanded the change when they saw the convenience - but they did not initiate it. But bottled water?

Jonathan

sorry - this gets away, a long way, from the OPs question

We use a Spectra unit, 30l/hr or if we run 2 pump 50l/hr. Uses 1amp/3l - approx.

We have a big solar display (and we are on Oz east coast and with a cat have lots of space on the cabin roof) and we have a wind/water gen. 400amp/hr house bank. We try to only run the water maker when we have plenty of power (and we can make, water gen, 8 amps at 8 knots - though normally its much less - averaging 8 knots is not something we do every day (as we might be at anchor, for one) - or when we motor, coming into an anchorage, or leaving. We would not now be without it. The unit is located under the cabin sole, in the bilges - so not space we can normally use for anything else. You might not need a shower every day (and that' a personal choice) - but its nice to have that option :) and it is the 21t century!

It i nice when the batterie are fully charged, the cat is under auto, deep freeze and fridge both on and be generating more power than we can use - to top up the tanks. Wasting that power is most annoying.
 
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Thanks all,even the drift responses were interesting!
We are now based in the Med (must alter my profile!!) Getting safe drinkable water ashore is an issue, we do purify and filter the water in the tank but taste is never good and there are concerns among crew about safety of drinking it so we would like to be able to produce at least enough to drink.
I will do some research into the small units suggested and come back about the possibly available used unit.
The plastic bottle and bag debate rolls on! At home the water in our taps is great, why people buy bottled water is hard to understand and, of course, the environmental costs in transporting it around must be considerable, and ,of course, bottles and bags can all be recycled or,( better) reused.
Thanks again!
 
sailaboutvic said:
I think I sew somewhere someone selling a 12v system, if I dint it Paul I let you know
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Vic, there are lot of 12v system, you can run them direct of the engine, if you look at the Rainman website they run of a basic Honda genset (modified, well use the same engine) - there are many variations.

The Rainman unit are quite neat - if we were buying again I'd go for the Honda, petrol driven Rainman unit. Needs no plumbing. I suspect its not as efficient as a 12v system, but electricity is a finite resourse and petrol available everywhere. I've used all their variations, very simple.

Jonathan
 
pcatterall said:
Getting safe drinkable water ashore is an issue, we do purify and filter the water in the tank but taste is never good and there are concerns among crew about safety of drinking it so we would like to be able to produce at least enough to drink.
Click to expand...

If that is your main problem, then fit a decent filter such as the one from General ecology. Makes almost any water safe to drink and makes it smell and taste good too.
 
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