Spectra Watermaker service in Australia

[jim_thomsen]

Hello,
We are currently in Vanuatu and on our way to Australia. We need some repairs on our Spectra Newport 400 watermaker.
We will arrive in Bundaberg, but then head south to Tasmania.
Does anyone have a recommendation of a good Spectra service person?
We could stop anywhere for service along the East coast if there is a marina available.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by jim_thomsen

Hello,
We are currently in Vanuatu and on our way to Australia. We need some repairs on our Spectra Newport 400 watermaker.
We will arrive in Bundaberg, but then head south to Tasmania.
Does anyone have a recommendation of a good Spectra service person?
We could stop anywhere for service along the East coast if there is a marina available.

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

Are there any questions you have about the repairs that you're not sure of that I can help you with? A lot of repairs can be done by you with the right information.
Feel free to PM me as well if you prefer.

You can always call Spectra directly. They do have some people in Australia. You defiantly want someone who knows the NP400 to work on it.

[IslandHopper]

If you get stuck give these guys a call, they are in Brisbane QLD....

Spectra Watermakers - Dealer List

....i've used them for parts before and always had good service....

A better link...

Watermakers, Water Purifiers, Reverse Osmosis, Desalinators

[noelex 77]

Marine parts are expensive in Australia. I purchased my spectra watermaker while in Europe so I don't know specifically what the price difference is but if need major parts its worth comparing.

Send Tellie a PM he gives great advice and knows all the Specra systems idiosyncrasies.

Bear in mind dealers of major brands can get in trouble for supplying parts outside their region. As a cruising boat in transit between countries it is generally acceptable to send parts, but once based in a country dealers are often forced to advise you to buy parts locally for fear of upsetting the dealer network.

[Capn Morgan]

Hi Tellie

I've had my Spectra 200T working more or less continuously for just under 3 years. I use the ppm device that came with it every time to check the quality of the product water. In the early days it used to give me readings below 200ppm but as time went by, the count has gone up. At the moment, in the same waters, I am getting around 340. While the water tastes good and I know that it is fit for human consumption, I do not know if this a normal performance degradation, do you?

If so, should I expect further increase? What do do next?

Cheers!

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Capn Morgan

Hi Tellie

I've had my Spectra 200T working more or less continuously for just under 3 years. I use the ppm device that came with it every time to check the quality of the product water. In the early days it used to give me readings below 200ppm but as time went by, the count has gone up. At the moment, in the same waters, I am getting around 340. While the water tastes good and I know that it is fit for human consumption, I do not know if this a normal performance degradation, do you?

If so, should I expect further increase? What do do next?

Cheers!

Hi Capn Morgan,

Yes, it can be normal after three years of continuous use. There can be several things that affect this higher reading though. The first and most likely place I'd look is at the feed pump pressures. For the 200T they should be in the 80-90psi range. I would only use a analog pressure meter to read pressures. I don't trust the MPC control to give me an accurate pressure reading if that's what you have. If your feed pump head is the original I wouldn't be at all surprised that it is starting to create less pressure which would affect a higher ppm reading. The way the 200T is designed it creates more pressure inside the Clark pump than the standard VT150, so the feed pump works a bit harder. If the pressures are higher than the 80-90psi it would be indicative of a fouling membrane either biological or scaling. If the pressures are high then scaling not bio-fouling wouldn't be too far from my mind considering three years of continual use and a membrane cleaning may be in order. After three years a flow test should be performed with both the brine and the product water combined. Low flow will also create higher ppms. If you're not sure how to do this just PM me and I'll walk you through the procedure. There is a possibility of chlorine damage to the membrane but membranes are a little more resistant to chlorine than they used to be and as long as you don't add Clorox to your tanks and change out your charcoal filter every six months that's probably not an issue. There could be mechanical leakage within the membrane vessel, basically the end cap O-rings not sealing as well as they should. This is rare but not unheard of and will usually result in even higher ppms than you are reporting. I don't find that ppm meters fall much out of calibration but if you have a friend with one it might be worth comparing readings. You can get a calibration fluid to double check your meter. I always have a few just laying around. If you want I can just send you one in the mail, no charge. If your readings ever start climbing close to the 500ppm range let me know then and we'll get it worked out.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by noelex 77

Marine parts are expensive in Australia. I purchased my spectra watermaker while in Europe so I don't know specifically what the price difference is but if need major parts its worth comparing.

Send Tellie a PM he gives great advice and knows all the Specra systems idiosyncrasies.

Bear in mind dealers of major brands can get in trouble for supplying parts outside their region. As a cruising boat in transit between countries it is generally acceptable to send parts, but once based in a country dealers are often forced to advise you to buy parts locally for fear of upsetting the dealer network.

Noelex is correct, Spectra is no different than many other companies that have a distributor network. But my advice is free to anyone anywhere in the world. The nature of this is that most of my customers as well as other Spectra dealers is that they end up all over the world for obvious reasons. For the most part we all work together and understand that many times customers become very loyal and trusting to their original dealer who have usually spent many, many, hours with them and we work within that trust. I won't say that there aren't a few bad eggs, there are in any business but they are far and few between. Parts in Europe and Australia are expensive. Parts in the US are usually less. Many times it doesn't make sense to ship a $200 part and pay $200 in shipping, clearing etc. when the part can be had there for $250. Leaving with a good spares kit is usally cheaper in the long run for long distance cruisers. Like I said, my advice is always free because I know that re-peat business and good service is very important and the cruiser that is in Europe or Australia today very well may be in Florida next year.

PS Ft. Lauderdale boat show is coming up. I'll be there, stop by, introduce yourself as a board member or board visitor and say Hi.

[Capn Morgan]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Hi Capn Morgan,

Yes, it can be normal after three years of continuous use. There can be several things that affect this higher reading though. The first and most likely place I'd look is at the feed pump pressures. For the 200T they should be in the 80-90psi range. I would only use a analog pressure meter to read pressures. I don't trust the MPC control to give me an accurate pressure reading if that's what you have. If your feed pump head is the original I wouldn't be at all surprised that it is starting to create less pressure which would affect a higher ppm reading. The way the 200T is designed it creates more pressure inside the Clark pump than the standard VT150, so the feed pump works a bit harder. If the pressures are higher than the 80-90psi it would be indicative of a fouling membrane either biological or scaling. If the pressures are high then scaling not bio-fouling wouldn't be too far from my mind considering three years of continual use and a membrane cleaning may be in order. After three years a flow test should be performed with both the brine and the product water combined. Low flow will also create higher ppms. If you're not sure how to do this just PM me and I'll walk you through the procedure. There is a possibility of chlorine damage to the membrane but membranes are a little more resistant to chlorine than they used to be and as long as you don't add Clorox to your tanks and change out your charcoal filter every six months that's probably not an issue. There could be mechanical leakage within the membrane vessel, basically the end cap O-rings not sealing as well as they should. This is rare but not unheard of and will usually result in even higher ppms than you are reporting. I don't find that ppm meters fall much out of calibration but if you have a friend with one it might be worth comparing readings. You can get a calibration fluid to double check your meter. I always have a few just laying around. If you want I can just send you one in the mail, no charge. If your readings ever start climbing close to the 500ppm range let me know then and we'll get it worked out.

Hi Tellie

Above all, many, many thanks. I'll press the thanks button too, just after typing this.

I'll PM you with the details, but I'm pretty sure you are onto something...

Apologies for the thread drift.

Cheers!