A cheaper alternative Watermaker.

[mudnut]

I just read Ribbony's thread on a cheaper membrane for his old watermaker.Now given that replacement filters and chemicals required and the price of the kits to fix them plus the price itself of the watermaker,Im lead to ask why all the bother.With the power drain on the Batt banks,the diesle to run it,and the shear hassle it causes when the thing just stops working.There is an alternative water maker for cruisers,maybe not for "Dock Queens",and for people that coastal cruise its the perfect water maker.Here is the link. yacht yachts cruising Now before ya all start saying things like"I could just imagine the crab pots I'll be dragging around with this"And all the other like comments.Think about the possitves.It dosen't take up much room,At least ya can move it around if ya have to,On a days passage ya could fill ya tanks,It dosent need new filters and ya don't have to pickle it when not in use,In emergencies you can operate it buy hand.I'm sure there are more good reasons to own one,let me see,It's cheaper than other brands that produce the same GPH Oh yes,it dosn't need installation or the cost associated with that.Real cruisers and coastal cruisers should do the maths on this one.Mudnut.

[Chrisc]

You shouldn't have posted that!!
I think its such a neat idea that its on my 'gotta have it' list.
Trouble is, I can't afford it (sigh)

[mudnut]

Originally Posted by Chrisc

You shouldn't have posted that!!
I think its such a neat idea that its on my 'gotta have it' list.
Trouble is, I can't afford it (sigh)

Chrisc,sorry to hear that but what are your thoughts on the watermaker itself.I haven't got my boat yet.But it might mean I can shorten my,"Wont in the deal" list,and hopefully will mean a cheaper priced deal to start with.Mudnut.

[Paul Elliott]

The waterlog towed watermaker has has a pretty good thrashing in the various newsgroups and web discussion boards over the past couple of years. As I recall, there were some serious complaints about service and possibly performance.

Of course, I realize that we tend to hear mostly the negative reports. I've got no experience with this product, but I would do some research before getting too excited about it.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by mudnut

”... It dosent need new filters and ya don't have to pickle it when not in use ...”

How does one get it, then keep it, clean?

[hellosailor]

I've heard of that one before, and IIRC it was part of a thread on an internet forum complaining that they couldn't get a warranty repair done after the unit had failed early.

I might be mis-recalling on that one, but the thread didn't end favorably IIRC.

[Tnflakbait]

Watermakers are far from essential. They can be handy though. All you need is some Jerry Jugs. It's the old school technique.

[sv_makai]

I looked at the water log before adding our 12 volt dc 6gph. The issue with the water log besidse its very low ouput is you need to be moving to make water or buy the add on 12volt motor to power it while at anchor which raises the price considerably. If i remember correctly was just over 2K USD for the log and the motor. We only paid 2900 USD for our SK @ 6gph.

I liked the idea of the WL membrane, but had concerns of failure and being able to replace parts. The SK as with many others uses the standard sizing and off the shelf parts making it repairable just about anywhere without having to be tied to a single manufacture for parts.

In the Caribe we spent months at anchor or away from fresh water sources and used our water maker constantly. At one point we were anchored for 6 weeks in the same place. The water log would have forced us to cut way back on our water useage or spend money to head over somehere to get water. Some of which in the Caribe is questionable at best and for a price.

[hellosailor]

Jerry Jugs?

Hmmm....So I'm thinking, I'll advertise "solar powered water makers!" and sell six-gallon jugs with catch funnels and inline filters, for maybe $225 each. Marine grade, of course. If I put the ads in the classifieds and start them as "The secret technology the reverse-osmosis companies don't want to sell to you! Fully solar powered, works even on overcast days, self-contained, no wiring needed. Twenty year useful life before capacity starts to fade."

Buy four now, get free shipping & handling!

[senormechanico]

No thanks, I like my Spectra 180 just fine. Besides, I'd hate to lose a towed watermaker to a shark bite at night in Mexico (a very real possibility).

Steve B.

[hellosailor]

Steve, I think they make a big point out of the towed one being on a steel cable or something.

Which might only make it a "durable shark toy" or "shark floss" instead of an easy snack.<G>

[beau]

from what I have heard they create quite a bit of drag and could easily slow you down a knot or so. Plus the sharks?

[beau]

By the way there is a system sold here in Australia that extracts water from high humidity air. It makes about 2 litres an hour. It costs about US$1,200.00. The problem that I see is that is uses too much power about 800watts/hour. It is based on a cooling condensor much like the water coming out of an air conditioner.

[mudnut]

Hey good response's, Whats a knot or two between cruise's beau? 800 watts per hour. That don't sound to good. Now as hellosailor mentioned "Shark floss"Thats something that really could be a problem." I wonder if the makers thought of that one?" Tnflakbait is SOOO right,watermakers are far from essential,so why buy the complicated one. Remember,this isn't for 4,5 or more crew and a dishwasher, it's probably good for two lightly fruggle cruisers. Also remember folks,you only have to replace what youre useing per day. Im thinking the waterlog would be just the thing for about 35ft of boat. I should have mentioned that at the start of the thread. When the jerry tanks are empty,thats what they are,empty. I would rather be filling them for nothing<GR>. I haven't seen to many products that haven't had bad press, and more to the point,most products nowdays all have problems to some degree. Now how about if you used the 12volt motor option when anchored,and ran it by ya solar panels. Gord,I really don't know about the filter and how it all works (That's deffinatly your area of investigation) And I'm sure you could "Google" ya way to that,unless it's the company secret of course. They say just (Waste some of ya precious water and) wash it out!. I wondered about that also. At $1,000 dollars a pop,those filters on other watermakers sure would add up on the overall cost of them. Not to mention diesle cost as well. Two people cruising around would suplement it with rain water also. Isn't there anybody out there that has one??. Ya see if you don't have one,everything is just hearsay. Heads or tails on this one.
Mudnut.

[Gator81]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"solar powered water makers!" ... with catch funnels ... works even on overcast days ...

I think you mean, "works best on overcast days, the more overcast the better!"

It was 85 F on my back porch yesterday, and was beginning to have an itch to go sailing. This morning, it's 30 F and snowing. Bahh. Springtime in the Rocky Mountains - if you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes, it'll change.

Have a good day everyone, where ever you may be!