• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

38-200 watermaker installation

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
Some pics from the Spectra 200T watermaker installation. We haven't tested it yet but with the many hose connections in the system what could go wrong? ;)

IMG_4366.jpgIMG_4373.jpgIMG_4374.jpgIMG_4377.jpg
 
Last edited:

windjunkee

Member III
Ryan,

FYI, from experience, bring spares!!!
My wife was on board the Catalina 38 "Peregrine" for Transpac 2011. Peregrine had the Spectra 200. It sucked up some oil seepage going through the channel islands and it ruined the membrane. It was unrepairable and they had to turn back after 4 days.
Great system but man those things are complicated.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
Ryan,

FYI, from experience, bring spares!!!
My wife was on board the Catalina 38 "Peregrine" for Transpac 2011. Peregrine had the Spectra 200. It sucked up some oil seepage going through the channel islands and it ruined the membrane. It was unrepairable and they had to turn back after 4 days.
Great system but man those things are complicated.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA


That's a great reminder, thank you. We have plenty of spare filters (and even a spare pump) but you're right, if we damage the RO membrane it's not likely to be repaired while underway. That's the case for any watermaker used in "dirty" water, not just Spectra. The key is to be very selective on where you operate the unit. Even if you're careful as you point out they are complicated units and I don't believe they should be relied on as an essential source of water. We see ours as more of a luxury item, something that lessens the need to haul jugs of water around and possibly allows for a shower or two while underway, rather than an essential piece of kit for our survival. That said, they are very nice things to have when they work...
 

Joliba

1988 E38-200 Contributing Member
Test?

I am curious. Will you do a "dry test" with homemade sea water or are you taking Naoma out into a clean ocean spot to test this?
If you have tested it, how does the water taste? How often does one need to clean or service this? Does the output go to a dedicated tank? To all of your tanks through a valve manifold? Can you show us a simple schematic of the system?
The installation in the closet looks very neat and accessible. There is even room for spare parts and more in the closet. Great job!
Mike Jacker
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
I am curious. Will you do a "dry test" with homemade sea water or are you taking Naoma out into a clean ocean spot to test this?
If you have tested it, how does the water taste? How often does one need to clean or service this? Does the output go to a dedicated tank? To all of your tanks through a valve manifold? Can you show us a simple schematic of the system?
The installation in the closet looks very neat and accessible. There is even room for spare parts and more in the closet. Great job!
Mike Jacker

Hi Mike - We will most likely test with clean sea water during the early november sea trial but it is set up to easily use artificial seawater if we choose. Once you run salt water through it you either have to run it every 4 or 5 days, pickle it with storage chemicals, or flush it with fresh water every 4 or 5 days. All is easy enough to do but right now we don't have to do any of it...

The output can either go to a sampling hose (which can either discharge into the galley sink or into a storage container) or to either of our two tanks (but not both).

Schematic is kinda difficult but let's see if I can do one without drawing...

Salt Water Side:
Sea Water ---------> sea strainer -------> pre-pump------> main filter -----> accumulator ------> clark pump (and separate line to pressure gauge) ------> fresh output (and separate line to brine discharge) -----> flow meter -----> y-valve for sample/tanks -------> y-valve for port/starboard tank (and separate line for sample water) -------> tanks.

Fresh Water Side:
Port water tank ----> charcoal filter -----> pre-pump -----> etc.

The y-valves are the grey valves with 1/4" black hoses above the pump service module in the pics.
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
I am curious. Will you do a "dry test" with homemade sea water or are you taking Naoma out into a clean ocean spot to test this?
If you have tested it, how does the water taste? How often does one need to clean or service this? Does the output go to a dedicated tank? To all of your tanks through a valve manifold? Can you show us a simple schematic of the system?
The installation in the closet looks very neat and accessible. There is even room for spare parts and more in the closet. Great job!
Mike Jacker

Forgot to answer the service question... Going from memory here the only regular service required is fresh-flush/pickle/use (very easy) and filter changes. The salt water pre-filter cleaning interval depends on turbidity etc of the sea water. The filter can be cleaned a number of times before it must be replaced. The fresh water feed charcoal filter is at regular interval but I forget off the top of me head how often. It's in the months range not weeks. There's a standard sea strainer that may need weeds pulled out once in a while. Other than that I can't think of any other service required? I'll let you know after I've had a chance to get to know it better... ;)
 

windjunkee

Member III
We did the sampling hose and run it into the head sink, and then click it over on a Y valve to run directly into the tank once its running clean water. I know its a little risky but our little one had a max of 3 gallons per hour and that was only in the warmer waters. Up around these parts, it ran a little over 1.5 gallons per hour. It still takes battery juice so we try only running it while the engine is on to recharge batteries. Ryan, looks like you have a great electric recharge system. How much do you get out of your solar panels?

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
We did the sampling hose and run it into the head sink, and then click it over on a Y valve to run directly into the tank once its running clean water. I know its a little risky but our little one had a max of 3 gallons per hour and that was only in the warmer waters. Up around these parts, it ran a little over 1.5 gallons per hour. It still takes battery juice so we try only running it while the engine is on to recharge batteries. Ryan, looks like you have a great electric recharge system. How much do you get out of your solar panels?

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA


It's encouraging to hear how you ran the sampling hose as we did something similar although the run leads to the galley sink instead. To hold the hose in place over the sink I drilled (and countersunk for cosmetics) a hole into the raised trim around the galley counter (fiddle). The hose is held by friction but is easy to remove. The hole is small and not really obvious unless you're looking for it. The hose is obviously fairly long to reach from the aft hanging locker to the galley sink but that was by design so we can use it to fill multiple water containers lashed in the galley. While underway the hose is coiled and stowed by velcro strap inside the door of the hanging locker.

As for the solar/wind system I don't know the max output yet since they regulate down when the batteries are charged. I've turned on nearly every load on the boat and the system has matched it so far during mid day clear skies with about 10 knots wind. So far the Solar Stik seems to perform much better than any solar "system" I've experienced yet. I think that's largely due to the ability to aim the panels directly at the sun, away from any shading, and due to the panels being supported in a way that allows them to remain cool.

We've made the boat "efficient" with all LED etc. That said, on paper if the hydraulic autopilot is driving, I'm transmitting a lot on the SSB, watermaker is running, etc we will definitely run a power deficit. We plan to add another 100-150 watts of solar in the form of flexible panels on top of the dodger. Even so we'll probably follow your example and mainly produce water when the engine is running...

We plan a shakedown cruise in early November and will have more info then. Thank you for your post!
 

Joliba

1988 E38-200 Contributing Member
Question for water makers

Having no experience with RO units, I was wondering what one does to sample the output. Is it a taste/smell test or is there a chemical check?
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
Having no experience with RO units, I was wondering what one does to sample the output. Is it a taste/smell test or is there a chemical check?

I assume a bit of both but mainly you drain the first few minutes of output then test a sample for total dissolved solids with a small portable unit (about $25). The key from what I understand is to use "clean" water for the input, both in terms of turbidity and in terms of chemicals/pathogens (a crowded anchorage with relatively stagnant water may not be ideal...)
 

windjunkee

Member III
If you drain the system after running it, you need to get the feed of fresh water going. If you're running it every few days or every day, you need to flush the stagnant water. As the system gets going, there is always a little salt water that needs to be flushed through. We found that on the open ocean, the water is pretty free of debris and oil/diesel discharge, so we would run for about 5 minutes so that the hoses are clear all the way through. We had a test kit, but that went by the wayside early. I would just run it for 5 minutes and then taste. If it tasted gross, we need more time or change the filters. We are proactive about the filters so I cannot recall a time when it tasted gross. It is actually tasty water.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA
 

Ryan L

s/v Naoma
If you drain the system after running it, you need to get the feed of fresh water going. If you're running it every few days or every day, you need to flush the stagnant water. As the system gets going, there is always a little salt water that needs to be flushed through. We found that on the open ocean, the water is pretty free of debris and oil/diesel discharge, so we would run for about 5 minutes so that the hoses are clear all the way through. We had a test kit, but that went by the wayside early. I would just run it for 5 minutes and then taste. If it tasted gross, we need more time or change the filters. We are proactive about the filters so I cannot recall a time when it tasted gross. It is actually tasty water.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA

Thank you, those are useful tips!
 
Top