8 replies to this topic

[tomfla]

Kinda thinking about maybe getting a watermaker and ran across these guys

http://www.seatechma...fer-Watermakers

I like the idea of keeping the watermaker in a box and it seems like it would be easy to set it up on the tramp of a cat, stick the hose into the water and put water in the tank which has an opening on the foredeck.

Anyone ever used one of these, and if so what's the story.

[Balder]

I am familiar with spectra Great stuff. But I can't imagine they just plug into a 12v cigarette lighter. The load has got to be pretty big. How DO you wire it in kind of defeats some o the purpose of it has to be wired. I like the idea of a water maker doing that many Gph but we ran the engine whenever we made water.

[Tom Ray]

Uh oh. Who lit that up?



I visited the mfg site.

The Aqufier 150 Power Pack (PP) system features a deep cycle battery and 120vac battery charger built into the system.
Aquifer 150PP can run for several hours directly off it¹s battery and can be recharged from any 12vdc or 120vac power source. Aqufier 150 can also run continuously when the system is connected to a main power supply or portable generator. Perfect for RVs!

The solar powered (SP) version, Aquifer 150SP includes the standard Aquifer 150PP with the addition of solar panels making the system self-contained for operation in sunlight with automatic regulation to prevent battery discharge. The high-efficiency Solara MP100 solar panels fold-up and stow easily in the lid of Aquifer¹s case. Perfect for applications where no power source is available.

For marine use, Spectra offers the Aquifer 150M. Similar to the Aquifer 150PP, the 150M is specifically designed to run from your boat¹s 12vdc or 24vdc electrical system.

Current Draw (12 VDC) 9 Amps

The one with the built-in battery better have a really good one.

The one with the panels better have some pretty big ones.

The one hooked up to the boat battery better not be hooked to the starting battery.

[tomfla]

SNIP

The one hooked up to the boat battery better not be hooked to the starting battery.

Thanks for the new link it helped a lot.

What about hooking it up to a Honda 2000 or a bank of house batteries after high noon when they are fully charged.

But my real question is how realistic it is to think I could set this on the tramp say three feet above the water line and get it to pump fresh water maybe six inches over the top of the unit. Boat is a Seawind 1000.

[Tom Ray]

Hmmm... The Cliffsignal does not appear to be working, so I'll take a shot at the answer to your question.

9 amps is a LOT of continuous power draw and RO membranes are darn near waterproof. My guess would be that the power required to pump water but not salt through one of those membranes would be FAR greater than the power required to pump water up a few feet. Just a guess, but I did have an ammeter on a boat once.

[SiempreSabado]

The smallest model, the 150, weighs 106 lbs. I wouldn't want to have to move that thing around on a moving boat very often.

[svgreatwhite]

SNIP

The one hooked up to the boat battery better not be hooked to the starting battery.

Thanks for the new link it helped a lot.

What about hooking it up to a Honda 2000 or a bank of house batteries after high noon when they are fully charged.

But my real question is how realistic it is to think I could set this on the tramp say three feet above the water line and get it to pump fresh water maybe six inches over the top of the unit. Boat is a Seawind 1000.

I could not find in the manufacturers data what the allowable suction head is. Generally, the high pressure pumps required to pump water through the membranes are not good at "lifting" water very high. And they probably work best when under positive pressure. It is not uncommon for a permenatly installed watermaker to have a low pressure, high volume boost pump supplying water to the high pressure pump. A good question to the manufacturer would be to ask what the allowable suction head is.

[Tom Ray]

SVGW is right. The RO pump that can send water through a membrane is plenty powerful to push water uphill a bit, but can it suck water up to itself?

A friend's dive boat had an air conditioner up on the bridge, a good ten feet above waterline. The cooling pump for that unit needed to be primed each time it was used. Once it had water, it could suck more water, but a dry start would not work.

[Speng]

I'd save my $7000 ack, cough cough (there must be cheaper watermakers than that and do you need that much water?) and get some bigger tanks or one of these http://www.waterlog.co.uk/index.htm. Katadyn or Spectra which are a fairly well known brands have lower production units. From what I've read you can make enuff water from solar/non engine sources only.