Nautilus watermaker

davethedog

davethedog

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Hello all,

As we are getting the boat prepped for the Med next year the wife is adamant we have a watermaker fitted (although we currently have 500 litres of fresh water storage), so when we were at the SIB we saw this model here (we have a generator fitted);
http://www.sailfishmarine.co.uk/epa...ops/es139653/Categories/NEW__Yacht_Controller

Peoples thoughts on this model or should we look at 1 12v model to avoid any possible issues with the generator?

DTD
 
Looks like a good deal, if the quality is adequate. Nobody will be able to tell you about that on a new product, so you'll just have to take the plunge. There isn't much to go wrong on these things though, the plunger pump is a standard part and the rest is all simple stuff. Sometimes the membrane housing can fail (crack under pressure), but as the membranes are standard size, the housings are interchangeable. The ability to easily upgrade to double throughput is handy.

You'll probably find you don't really need a watermaker in the med, especially with that size tank - although some fit one as a matter of convenience. It is nice to have a freshwater rinse after every swim, instead of just one a day, and you can do laundry on the boat instead of hunting down a launderette ashore. Also water quality is often better, although in all of this year we've only had one place with really lousy water (still potable though).

If you have a generator, a 12V model makes little sense. You'll want an AC one with as big throughput as you can get, to make the water you need in the shortest time possible, so you can run your generator as briefly as possible.

For that reason, consider the second membrane option. Don't bother with the automatic flush, it's likely to do more harm than good.
 
If you have a generator then my advice would be to max out the number of membranes to minimise the run time on the generator. We have a 1.5kw motor, cat 247 pump, two 40" membranes and a 21" membrane. We make 210 litres/hour for the same diesel consumption as the proposed system. We have an 800 litre tank but usually keep it with circa 300-400 litres unless we are doing an ocean passage then we would fill to the brim.
 
I've just read your post and wondered if you went ahead with the water maker from Nautilus (Simple 60).
Thinking about it ourselves and would like to know how you got on / outcome, and or if you have any advice.
Many Thanks
 
Went 12v route I the end as found a good used item.

I can not recommend sailfish marine enough however, as even though I did not buy our unit off then they have been excellent in any technical support.
 
Roger

After almost completing the yacht I'm looking for a water-maker which is very simple and quick to put together. Can you give me a rough cost of the pump?

The SeaWater.Pro uses a Karcher pressure washer which doesn't have a long life (maybe 2 years) but you can buy a replacement for around $A80
 
coopec said:
Roger

After almost completing the yacht I'm looking for a water-maker which is very simple and quick to put together. Can you give me a rough cost of the pump?

The SeaWater.Pro uses a Karcher pressure washer which doesn't have a long life (maybe 2 years) but you can buy a replacement for around $A80
Click to expand...

I do have a Karcher pressure washer and did try using my old engine driven on sea water but it gummed up quite quickly when left standing unused for a while. May last longer when user often or flushed with fresh water after every use. I did buy mine some time age and cannot remember the costs but would cost a lot more as its sourced from the US and the exchange rate is much higher now.

All I can say is try a local CAT engine agent in OZ, must be lots in WA.
 
Roger

If it is a Cat pump they are very costly. I think they are 3 stage or something like that. I'll stick to using a Karcher as the high pressure pump and accept I will have to replace it every 2 years or so.

Thanks
 
mine is three years old now , when i build mine i used a Cat 247 pump , its never given me a problem and with just one membrane I get 90lph , The problem with pressure washer pump is they not made to run for long period at a time , it may last two years it may only last two months
 
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