pulsar2
New member
Has anybody had experience of the HP UC 35 12v watermaker?
This is quite an expensive watermaker, well built, fully automatic and compact.
But....and I guess there is always a but.!
We have had 1 installed in our Swan 47 for 3 years now. This is our 4th season with it. We live aboard in the Med. and only use it in the summer months when we are cruising.
To date we have had 2 new motors fitted to it, 1 every summer and the machine has 145 hours production recorded on it. This motor drives the high pressure pump. The machine was actually returned to the factory, in Italy, on the first occasion, for the motor to be replaced, at our expense.
Last summer the motor failed again in Greece but fortunately HP have a dealer in Athens who was very good. The motor was removed from the machine and the carbon brushes were found to be not free in their holders and therefore not touching the commutator. They were freed up but after about 6-8 hrs use seized up again. Eventually after doing this 4 times, HP shipped a new motor which was installed and the machine ran perfectly for the rest of last summer.
It was then winterised in Malta and re-commissioned in May this year. It ran perfectly for 1 month, about 35 hrs and then failed yet again with the same problem. Brushes seized in the holders. I am currently waiting to hear from HP as to how they plan to fix this ongoing problem.
The installation has been checked out OK.
As we try to live off the anchor throughout the summer the watermaker is quite impotant to us. We have a deep keel which restricts the places where we can pick up water.
I would look forward to sharing any experiences anybody has had with 1 of these machines, good or bad, and any suggestions anyone might have!!.....
Thank you.
This is quite an expensive watermaker, well built, fully automatic and compact.
But....and I guess there is always a but.!
We have had 1 installed in our Swan 47 for 3 years now. This is our 4th season with it. We live aboard in the Med. and only use it in the summer months when we are cruising.
To date we have had 2 new motors fitted to it, 1 every summer and the machine has 145 hours production recorded on it. This motor drives the high pressure pump. The machine was actually returned to the factory, in Italy, on the first occasion, for the motor to be replaced, at our expense.
Last summer the motor failed again in Greece but fortunately HP have a dealer in Athens who was very good. The motor was removed from the machine and the carbon brushes were found to be not free in their holders and therefore not touching the commutator. They were freed up but after about 6-8 hrs use seized up again. Eventually after doing this 4 times, HP shipped a new motor which was installed and the machine ran perfectly for the rest of last summer.
It was then winterised in Malta and re-commissioned in May this year. It ran perfectly for 1 month, about 35 hrs and then failed yet again with the same problem. Brushes seized in the holders. I am currently waiting to hear from HP as to how they plan to fix this ongoing problem.
The installation has been checked out OK.
As we try to live off the anchor throughout the summer the watermaker is quite impotant to us. We have a deep keel which restricts the places where we can pick up water.
I would look forward to sharing any experiences anybody has had with 1 of these machines, good or bad, and any suggestions anyone might have!!.....
Thank you.