Inexpensive Portable Water Maker - Is this even viable?

[Navigator's Son]

Hello all,

I'm looking for feedback from anyone who might have tried this before - I don't want to spend upwards of $6000 for a water maker especially since I may never really need to use one.

I'm wondering what is too good to be true about one of these counter top sized units?

I'm thinking connecting the hose from the raw water wash down pump might not generate enough pressure?

Thanks in advance for all replies,
Robert

https://www.reverseosmosisrevolution.co ... gKZRvD_BwE

 

[Dcsqatar]

I took a look at this (as a retired mechanical engineer I couldn't help myself) and I believe it is intended solely for purification of tap water, as it notes it will clean up water from 20 - 600 (mg/l) TDS to <20. However, saltwater is typically >10,000 mg/l TDS. I believe it will potentially clog its reverse osmosis membranes.

 

[Toucan]

It takes 400 psi to overcome the osmotic pressure between ocean salt water and fresh water plus about another 400 psi to push the fresh water through the membrane at an acceptable flow rate. Desalinators require a high pressure pump and lots of energy. We have installed them in two vessels now. They produce fresh water and require effort to operate and maintain. We also have two under sink household units that remove the chlorine and dissolved salts from fresh water. They work well off city water pressure or well pump pressure (with a booster pump), produce a low flow rate and require minimal effort and maintenance. PM me if you want any additional details.

Barry Thompson

 

[RichardK]

I recently installed a water maker to supply all my fresh water needs. The unit is the smallest unit available, I believe. I worked with a technician to make it automatic like the household type. Since it only produces 1.5 GPH, it needs to be able to run when the level drops below 95% automatically. I also put in a switch to allow it to run for 50 hours and then turn off no matter the level. So the unit is either fully automatic of on a 50 hour timer. I use the timer when I get off the boat so the unit wouldn't keep running if there was a fresh water leak and both bilge pumps failed. I felt this was a good safety measure.
The cost of this system installed is about the same as a soft water system many boaters have on their docks. Since the water is as good or better than soft water, I run it through a 3 way valve (raw water and fresh) and supply the cockpit spigot.This means I have soft water wherever I go to wash the boat and eliminate spotting.

I also had to replace the existing water gauge with another that was programmable.

Water maker: https://www.katadyn.com/us/us/102-80134 ... r-40e-12-v
Water gauge: https://www.bluesea.com/products/1839/M ... nk_Monitor

Richard Kent

 

[RichardK]

Additionally, these unit need to run nearly everyday, so I programmed it to run one hour daily. If the tank is full, it just overflows to the sea.

Richard Kent

 

[Navigator's Son]

Thanks for all the feedback.

I guess what I learned is even when I specifically search for desalinization, don't trust what comes up in Google search 😀

Those reverse osmosis counter top water purifiers are just that - maybe slightly more glorified what you would get from a Pur or Britta water filter. May still be worth it if you think you have a questionable water source, or feel your holding tank sanitation may be compromised in any way.

Now it comes to a question of economics and practicality - how long will the individual user really be away from a true potable water source. Luckily for me I will be traveling with a group of other boaters of which at least 2 have real water makers on board, so I'll be just fine in July anchoring around the Gulf Islands.

Thanks all for your feedback.

 

[scross]

When cruising we typically get 4 days out of our fresh water tank on our RT25 Classic. Filling the fresh water tank at most marinas in the Gulf Islands is almost never a problem. Many of the state/provincial park mooring buoy locations in the San Juan’s and Gulf Islands also have potable water ashore where you can fill your jug(s) with and bring back to the boat - Montague, Prevost, Reid, Bedwell, etc..
As a result, we never really worry about fresh water while doing extensive cruising in the PNW. Just normal conservation and a bit of planning your stops is all it takes.
It’s the rarity of pump out locations in the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound areas that makes us more nervous. In late July we are doing a trip with 10 days between pump out facilities which is probably just at or just past the black water holding tanks capacity.

 

[Toki]

It’s the rarity of pump out locations in the Gulf Islands and Desolation Sound areas that makes us more nervous. In late July we are doing a trip with 10 days between pump out facilities which is probably just at or just past the black water holding tanks capacity.

Unless I'm mistaken (it happened once before), Canadian waters are a bit more lenient on sewage discharge than US waters. Found this on a Canadian Yachting site:

Discharge of raw sewage in salt water is permitted if the vessel is greater than three miles from any shore. This allows overboard discharge, for example, into the middle of the Strait of Georgia. But most boaters do much of their boating close to shorelines so are caught by these new regulations.

For vessels in restricted waters where there is not sufficient distance between shores, and where there is no pump-out alternative, an exemption allows overboard discharge, as long as it is on an ebb tide, the vessel is in the deepest possible water and it is making its maximum cruising speed in excess of four knots.