Watermaker info resources UK

[geem]

I’ll get the book next time I’m on the boat.
It consists a long thin tube. Maybe 1.5m long. Two filters that are the size of fuel filters (mobo not yacht!) Plus a pump and a control panel. It sits under a bunk in my boat and is lost in it.

The long tube is the pressure vessel. They generally house 40" membranes. These are the most common size and the most economic to buy. They are a similar price to the 21" membranes. 40" membranes are rated at 700Us GPD. 21" membranes at just 300 US GPD. If its a single 40" membranes it has a potential water flow rate of in reality of about 75 litres per hour in warm tropical waters. Less in the freezing cold YK waters, assuming the HP pump has sufficient capacity.
The two filter housings are pre filters. These nornally contain a 20micron first then a 5 micron filter. There may well be a boost pump somewhere as well that ensure a good flow to the HP pump

 

[Graham_Wright]

Karcher pumps as used in pressure washers, are noisy.
Are we talking about the same pump?

 

[geem]

Karcher pumps as used in pressure washers, are noisy.
Are we talking about the same pump?

No.
They are made of the wrong materials to deal with saltwater

 

[Graham_Wright]

No.
They are made of the wrong materials to deal with saltwater

Thanks. Are the watermaker variety quieter?

 

[geem]

Thanks. Are the watermaker variety quieter?

It depends which pump you buy. Cat pumps are noisy but very robust. There are others that are quieter. I use a cat 247 pump. It's noisy but it's located inside the walk in engine room. The engine room is acoustically treated. We can still hear it running but at a subdued level. It only runs for 15 to 20 mins per day, so not an issue. Unlike 12v watermakers that need to run for a lot longer due to their low output

 

[lustyd]

I think you've made that point many times before - using a sufficiently high capacity system it's not on for as long so less of an issue. Even the quiet ones aren't quiet and anything humming for an hour or two will drive people slowly insane.

My loose plan is something high capacity and probably AC but it's slow going getting to the stage where I can appreciate the differences between components and systems. There seem to be some 2x40" AC systems for about £4k new which doesn't seem insane money. The Rainman equivalent was £10k albeit portable and nicely presented, and the Spectra about £20k. From some fag packet maths I'm not sure I could beat £4k by enough to justify buying bits and self building, and the kit is parts anyway so no less flexible.

Thanks to all on the thread so far, really helping me to get up to speed with options.

 

[geem]

I think you've made that point many times before - using a sufficiently high capacity system it's not on for as long so less of an issue. Even the quiet ones aren't quiet and anything humming for an hour or two will drive people slowly insane.

My loose plan is something high capacity and probably AC but it's slow going getting to the stage where I can appreciate the differences between components and systems. There seem to be some 2x40" AC systems for about £4k new which doesn't seem insane money. The Rainman equivalent was £10k albeit portable and nicely presented, and the Spectra about £20k. From some fag packet maths I'm not sure I could beat £4k by enough to justify buying bits and self building, and the kit is parts anyway so no less flexible.

Thanks to all on the thread so far, really helping me to get up to speed with options.

Have a look at Cruise RO in the USA. They do some nice AC systems with 3/4 and 1 HP motors. Reasonable money. The guy that runs it is knowledgeable and very much an advocate of AC systems