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Old 07-11-2012, 06:40   #1
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Loud Katadyn 160e

Just installed our katadyn 160e. When we starts it it sounds like a hammer. Is it supposed to sound like that? Anybody having a video of how it sounds? What can be the problem? Looks like it is no air in the system.
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Old 07-11-2012, 22:41   #2
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Re: Loud Katadyn 160e

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Originally Posted by andreas.mehlin View Post
Just installed our katadyn 160e. When we starts it it sounds like a hammer. Is it supposed to sound like that? Anybody having a video of how it sounds? What can be the problem? Looks like it is no air in the system.
Well, I installed on on a friends boat and due to difficult routing we installed stainless steel pipe rather than the hose which was provided with the unit (using a tubing bender made very nice pieces, looked great) but the water hammer was pretty loud.

We have assumed that the issue was with the lack of flexible hose in the system and I just sent down two replacement hoses to try and quiet it down a bit.

Interesting to hear that a straight installation had the same issue. The unit did work but you could head the hammering in the parking lot so he only runs the unit when the engine is running.
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Old 08-11-2012, 03:43   #3
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Re: Loud Katadyn 160e

We have a really old 80 II and it sounds like a hammer at times but still seems to work. That noise is only temporary.
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Old 08-11-2012, 07:49   #4
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Re: Loud Katadyn 160e

Our sounds like à hammer all the time
Arter installation we have had it running for one hour. Although it has been used before by the owner before me (on another boat)
How shall it sound normally..?

The hoses if moving for every stroke the piston moves
Have it mounted with the pump above its motor
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Old 08-11-2012, 08:00   #5
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Re: Loud Katadyn 160e

We have the 40E, but it's essentially the same pump....

Ours sounds like a hammer when there is air in the feedwater. I had ours mounted with the pump below the motor (i thought it made sense to put the saltwater below the electrical stuff) and it sounded horrible and product water output was dismal. I flipped it 180 degrees, in this orientation it was able to purge all of the air in the system and is remarkable quieter and produces more water.

When I try to use it underway the location of the pickup water pulls in air bubbles and it again sounds horrible. I'll be putting another thruhull in the lower reaches of the bilge next haulout.
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Old 08-11-2012, 08:12   #6
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Re: Loud Katadyn 160e

Though I would never call our 160 quiet, the only time it really hammers is when it sucks in an air bubble. I would suspect you have a small air leak somewhere on the suction side, perhaps in the water filter or three way valve. We have a clear line on the product water and we can see bubbles in it a few seconds after we get the hammering sound. If you can see bubbles in the product line you definitely have an air leak. Our unit is mounted above the water line so there's definitely a vacuum on the intake side of the high pressure pump.
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Old 08-11-2012, 19:39   #7
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Re: Loud Katadyn 160e

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Originally Posted by Sailmonkey View Post
We have the 40E, but it's essentially the same pump....

Ours sounds like a hammer when there is air in the feedwater. I had ours mounted with the pump below the motor (i thought it made sense to put the saltwater below the electrical stuff) and it sounded horrible and product water output was dismal. I flipped it 180 degrees, in this orientation it was able to purge all of the air in the system and is remarkable quieter and produces more water.

When I try to use it underway the location of the pickup water pulls in air bubbles and it again sounds horrible. I'll be putting another thruhull in the lower reaches of the bilge next haulout.
Interesting, I had the 40e mounted horizontally on the previous boat but now trying to mount on a bulkhead. The motor up position does not seem to be a good choice although if I run it with the purge valve open for about 10 min and then flip down it works so it appears to be a case of not being able to reliably expel air in the system.

I will flip it the other way and see what happens.
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Old 09-11-2012, 18:21   #8
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Re: Loud Katadyn 160e

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Interesting, I had the 40e mounted horizontally on the previous boat but now trying to mount on a bulkhead. The motor up position does not seem to be a good choice although if I run it with the purge valve open for about 10 min and then flip down it works so it appears to be a case of not being able to reliably expel air in the system.

I will flip it the other way and see what happens.
Definitely appears MUCH happier with the drive motor pointed down. A large slug of air deliberately introduced into the feed line is rapidly expelled and starts making water again. That kind of test with it motor up resulted in knocking (water hammer) and it would take about 10 min to clear.

Now on to rebuilding the seals.

Note that I am now getting rated water output rate from the unit after two alkali washes of 7 - 8 hours each. Time to finish the installation and put in the new seals.
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Old 09-11-2012, 19:53   #9
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Funny isn't it. I thought I had the most beautiful bulkhead installation with the salty corrosive parts below the electrified parts too.

But it just works so much better the counterintuitive way.
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