Katadyn 40E or 80E

[DDabs]

I am looking at getting a watermaker as I'm going to be spending more time cruising in the next few months in the Caribbean and Atlantic crossing.

The boat is set up with 420W of solar panels and around ~650AH for the house bank.

I am looking at the Katadyn watermakers because I obviously like the price point of the 40E. My only concern is output. I have two water tanks for a total of 200 gallons, so when I have full water, I can last for quite a bit. I would imagine I would be running the watermaker for a few hours a day to make a few gallons.

The 80E is only a little bit more than the 40E, but doubles the output. Should I just spend a little extra for this? Or is the 40E a good enough unit? Just trying to get some ideas. Thanks so much!

[44'cruisingcat]

It's all going to depend on your usage.


I hope you don't mind if I talk in litres, and litres per hour. Just seems so much simpler. Not many cruisers run their watermakers 24 hours a day.


The 40E would be making around 6.3 litres per hour.


On average we use about 40 litres of water per day. That's full - time liveaboard, no marinas, showering every day, doing laundry aboard (but with a reasonably water efficient twin tub) etc etc.


So for our use the 40E watermaker wouldn't be practical - we'd need to run it around 6 hours per day, every day.


If the 80 GPD unit isn't much more expensive, it's certainly the one I'd go for. But I'd be investigating the pricing of bigger units too.


Also look at amp hours per litre too. Big consideration if you're off the grid for any period.


Our watermaker makes around 40 litres per hour and uses around 20 amps, and suits us pretty well. We run it for a couple of hours every other day.


(It's a Village Marine Tech Little Wonder 200 GPD unit, but has a new membrane allowing a bit more production.)


Good thing about being able to make a fair bit more than you use, is when there is some cloudy weather on the way, you can fill the tanks reasonably quickly, then wait out the cloudy spell.

[DDabs]

Thanks for the response. I am not sure how much I'll be using but there are only going to be 2-3 people on board, or else I'll just be solo. So I don't think I'll be needing that much water. Showers would be the biggest draw on the water supply for me. I just want the simplest system that will work for what I need.

[MARC D]

We spent 3 seasons in the Caribbean and found the 80E perfect for two peoples. We were running it between 45 min. to 1.5 hours every day to replace
water needed.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by DDabs

The 80E is only a little bit more than the 40E, but doubles the output. Should I just spend a little extra for this? Or is the 40E a good enough unit? Just trying to get some ideas. Thanks so much!

Consensus seems to be the bigger the better. You sure have the electrical system to support it. You'll never be sorry you went bigger. You MAY be sorry you went smaller. Good luck, have a great cruise.

[DDabs]

Good point, Stu.

[Tellie]

First, we have dropped the Katadyn 80E and 160E. There are still a few available out there, but you want to be concerned about parts in the future. The Power Survivor 40E is and will still be available. I would suggest, since Katadyn is now Spectra as well and the 80E was in your thoughts that the Spectra Ventura150 is a far better buy for about $500 more than what an 80E would have cost. Twice the production of the 80E at half the energy use to produce the same gallon of water. When you are looking at efficiency and production the cost difference is minimal. Since you are in St. Petersburg I would highly suggest you come over for the Miami Strictly Sail show in a few weeks (Feb 11-15) I will have both the PowerSurvivor 40E and the Spectra 150 on display for you to look at and the Ventura 150 will be operating at my booth. I'll be happy to take all the time with you to explain the differences.

A Bonus is that on Saturday night the cruisers party for all begins right after the show. Stay in the tent at the end of the show and enjoy free beer and pizza. I will be giving away a Ventura 150 at the party. But lots of raffle tickets and you might just get lucky.

www.HaldenMarineService.com
(954) 515-7077

[DDabs]

Tellie, great information thank you so much. I would LOVE to be able to buy a raffle ticket, but I'm working all day Saturday and I probably won't be able to make it to the show until Sunday. I'll try though! Look forward to meeting and speaking with you. Other than the raffle, will you be offering any boat show specials?

[Tom and Maje]

We have an 80 that came with the boat, and are going to replace it with a Cruise RO system. Aside from the low water output, the membranes are a hefty $360 a piece and you need two for the 80. You may think that you're saving energy by using a 12v, but we found we were not. We have to run ours about 4 hours a day to keep up with our usage. The Cruise RO can give me a lot more water in much less time. This really became an issue when we lost all of our water in both tanks on the passage from Hampton, VA to St. Thomas last autumn. Also the Cruise RO membranes are about $100 each.


Before you buy any watermaker, wait for a month or two and see what the two of you use a month. We average about 100 gal. We also do laundry onboard because it's much less expensive than doing it ashore. That, quite naturally, increases the amount of water we use.


Good luck whatever you decide to do.


Maje

[Briandownsouth]

I recently installed a 40. Regardless of which one you get, I strongly recommend making up into a day tank. So far the 40 is doing the job. I have it set to fill up a 10 gallon tank and then it shuts off automatically. We test the water, and then dump it to the main tank. I must admit that more capacity would be nice. Looking back the 40 vs 80 was the right decision for us based on space. If space was not a concern, the 80 would have been the right choice. Going with a 120V system would have significantly increased the cost of the system due to electrical issues.

[roland stockham]

I crossed the Atlantic 2 up with a 50g water tank. Once you get south to warm waters a salt water cockpit shower is ideal for keeping clean and cool. In Europe good quality water is freely available at no cost. So with 200g tanks I would say save you money for more important things unless you really think it will pay for itself in water charges while you are in the Caribbean. Most European boats either don't have water makers or they pickle them in EU waters. Most of us wast more water than we use, on a boat it is always worth looking at reducing consumption before increasing supply.

[Rhapsody-NS27]

like what was said before, you might want to see how much water you use first to see what capacity you need. Looks like you have the power available, maybe something with more capacity would be suitable like something from EchoTec Watermakers. A little more costly than the 80E and uses more power but even their smaller unit, the 200 - DML - 1, produces twice the gal. per hour than the 80E.

[Myknjul]

We are in the market for a water maker and will be in Miami for the show. We will have to connect.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Myknjul

We are in the market for a water maker and will be in Miami for the show. We will have to connect.

Sure, that would be great. Send me a PM and we'll see about getting you a couple of tickets waiting at the gate for you.

Again, don't forget the Saturday night party. All who stay in the tent at the close of the show are invited, free beer and pizza for all. I will be giving a new Spectra Ventura 150 for the raffle. Usually there are about 200 or so people at the party and raffle tickets are sold by the arms length. Chances aren't too bad. The Watermaker will be over at Bob Bitchens booth. Stop by and look at several working Spectras at the Spectra booth.

Halden Marine Services | Marine Watermakers, Solar Panels, Wind Generators
(954) 515-7077

[DDabs]

Tellie, do you offer any boat show deals for the Katadyn 40E?