38" Membrane fo Little Wonder watermaker?

[westsailwill]

l am trying to locate a source for reasonably priced 38" membranes to fit my Village Marine Little Wonder 200 gpd watermaker. It just seems criminal to charge $400 for these. It wasn't very nice to design something so specific, especially since you can't carry a spare. I've searched high & low, to no avail. I know that I can change over to a 40" tube, but that's also pretty costly. Perhaps someone out there can help.

Thanks,
Will

[colemj]

No, there is no source. VM has these made specifically for them just so they can make a lot of money off of them.

If you plan to keep your watermaker for a very long time, my suggestion is to bite the bullet and buy a 40" pressure vessel and new membrane. Otherwise, cough up the $400.

A new vessel and membrane will be ~$750, so it won't pay for itself until the third $400 membrane - so ~15 years is the break even point for you.

Sorry. There are lots of reasons to dislike VM since Parker bought them.

Mark

[Tellie]

Marks right VM just ain't the same anymore. Too bad.
You might want to give Sailorman in Ft. Lauderdale a call. They usually have a shelf full of used watermaker parts and often they have 40" membrane vessels. Might be worth a call or a visit. Ought to be able to pick a used one up for around $100.

[SV THIRD DAY]

The Good news is that there is a source out in California (Applied Membranes) that rolls a 38" Membrane in house specifically for VM pressure vessels.

The Bad news is that they know there are only two manufactures that do, so bingo..they match the $400 price

Here is the link:
WaterAnywhere AMI M-S2538A Seawater RO Membrane Element for Seawater Desalination and Watermak reverse osmosis systems, water filters, membranes, testers & components

[Fortytwo]

Bought my 21" Filmtec SW30-2521-A membrane on Amazon for $160.

Looks like you can get yours on Amazon for $350.

Amazon.com: AMI 2.5" × 38" Seawater RO Membrane, 576 GPD: Home Improvement

[chrisjs]

It will cost you less to replace the membrane and the housing with a standard 40 inch housing and a standard Filmtec membrane. I know-- I did it!!

[phorvati]

This is where i bought my stuff back in 2006. FILMTEC MEMBRANE price has only gone up a little bit.
SW30-2540 membrane is $180, and pressure vessel PV-2540-SW is $395.

The way I've been meaning to go is try to get a 3" Stainless Steel pipe. I don't remember if it was schedule 40 or 80 but there was a thread about this a while back. Then just get the end fittings that come for SS pressure vessels. I just haven't been able to find a used SS 3" pipe at a decent price.

Marine WM companies are a rip off.

[Paul L]

Be careful about swapping in a standard 40in membrane on a VM Little Wonder 200. I had a LW 200 VIP unit with two short membranes (about 5 years old). I bought a new 40" pressure vessel and 40"membrane from Cruise RO and plumbed it all in. It never got to a reasonable TDS point. I bought a second 40"membrane and tried it. Still bad TDS. I took the whole unit into the VM store in Ft Lauderdale. We put in the 38"VM membrane with the 2in adapter into the 40"vessel and the TDS was great. It has remained this way for the last year. The VM 38in membrane is not the same construction as the DOW 40". It is designed for low flow rates. It is the same diameter at the ends, but quickly is tapered in to much less. So I wasted the cost of 2 40" Dow membranes getting this to work, at $187 a piece.

[westsailwill]

Looks like I'm pretty much screwed. See ya later $400. One other question; Why is an older (10 years, still factory sealed in plastic) membranenot usable anymore? From what I understand, the shelf life of these is only a year or so. Does anyone know why this is, whatq breaks down, and why is it unable to be rejuvinated?

Thanks again,
Will

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by westsailwill

Looks like I'm pretty much screwed. See ya later $400. One other question; Why is an older (10 years, still factory sealed in plastic) membranenot usable anymore? From what I understand, the shelf life of these is only a year or so. Does anyone know why this is, whatq breaks down, and why is it unable to be rejuvinated?

Thanks again,
Will

The Organic Layer that actually does the "RO" breakes down like most organic things with Time and Temperature. I wpould not want to buy a 3yr old membrane at full price, but the shelf life issue is also over played a bit. As long as they stay moist (drying out will cause the Organic layer to crack and fail) I wouldn't panic over a 1yr old membrane as long as it was stored in a cool place and kept moist.

Some cruisers want to take a spare membrane out cruising with them and nothing I can do will talk them out of it. So I sell them one for $187 and then give them the following advice for storage. Take a 3" stick of PVC Pipe, Remove the Membrane from it's storage bag and place it in the PVC Pipe. Fill the pile with preservative solution and then glue PVC End caps on the Pipe and store it in the Bilge of a cool place....Bingo. Now you won't rip the Bag and dry it out, sun isn't a problem, and you have the best chance in having a working membrane when you open it up.

[ragdoll]

THIRD DAY, I like your membrane storage idea, better than seal a meal!

[wgh52]

My question is a little off subject but I have a Little Wonder 160-200 modular unit. Does any know if you can install a membrane vessel vertically? I have looked through the documentation and have not found anything on the subject.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by wgh52

Does any know if you can install a membrane vessel vertically? .

No problem at all in mounting a Pressure Vessel vertically.
I recommend you having the product water flow coming out of the top of the vertically mounted vessel, that way your preservative will stay in the membrane and not drain out due to gravity.

Regards

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by wgh52

My question is a little off subject but I have a Little Wonder 160-200 modular unit. Does any know if you can install a membrane vessel vertically? I have looked through the documentation and have not found anything on the subject.

Village Maribne sold a version of the Little Wonder called a VIP - Vertically Integrated Package. It had two vertical membrane vessels.