Open membrane housing on PUR / Katadyn Power Survivor 160 E

[UYA]

Ahoi Cruisers!


I have a problem with my water maker and hope someone here can give me a hint. I want to change the membrane on my PUR / Katadyn Power Survivor 160 E. It has now well over 10 years of use and the water is gradually getting saltier. Cleaning doesn't help anymore.



I am trying to get the membrane housing open. The manual says:

Remove the end cap by pulling on the High-Pressure Hose Connector
Note: End Caps will not come off easily.

It does not come off easily indeed. I haven't succeed and I am afraid I will break something. Has someone here experienced a similar problem on the E160 who could give me a hint? Or point me to a better instruction or even a video?


Thanks!
Stay healthy!

[Cheechako]

I don't know those, but on a larger unit I had it was very hard to get the end caps off due to the salt environment. Are any of those aluminum components? I did eventually get them off but decided to just buy new housings, they were fairly cheap in the scheme of things. You probably dont need PUR parts per se.
Mine had three 20" (?) housings. I replaced with one long one and really didn't see a lot less water making capability.

[UYA]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I don't know those, but on a larger unit I had it was very hard to get the end caps off due to the salt environment. Are any of those aluminum components? I did eventually get them off but decided to just buy new housings, they were fairly cheap in the scheme of things. You probably dont need PUR parts per se.
Mine had three 20" (?) housings. I replaced with one long one and really didn't see a lot less water making capability.

Thanks Cheechako,
yes it seems the end caps are made out of aluminum. Do you know of a housing that I could use that is easier to disassemble that I could use as a replacement?

[Cheechako]

I guess I better back up a bit: Do your end caps have snap rings holding them in? Have you removed those? My originals did. The SS ring went into a groove in the housing holding the end caps in. I got the rings out but the end caps were frozen in from the salt corrosion.

I just bought mine in South Florida when I was there at a place that sold and installed water maker, refrigeration etc stuff for boats. The 160E housing is how long? That's a 24 litre per day unit right? So buy a good membrane and housing that will give you that output to match. Make sure the pipe/hose fitting threads are compatible and you should be good to go.

I would just Google Water maker parts and see what's out there. If your housing is connected to the entire unit, you might want to stay with same outside diameter so you can use the clamp set up. If not and it's separate don't worry. You can mount your housing anywhere you want limited by your hoses.

[UYA]

Cheechako, thanks!

Do your end caps have snap rings holding them in? Have you removed those?
That is correct. I removed the rings but the end caps are stuck.

That's a 24 litre per day unit right?
yes, it makes 24l / hour.

So buy a good membrane and housing that will give you that output to match. Make sure the pipe/hose fitting threads are compatible and you should be good to go.

I am looking at those, I think they should fit:
https://www.wateranywhere.com/2-5-x-...essure-vessel/

https://www.wateranywhere.com/2-5-x2...ater-membrane/


If your housing is connected to the entire unit, you might want to stay with same outside diameter so you can use the clamp set up. If not and it's separate don't worry. You can mount your housing anywhere you want limited by your hoses.
The unit is separate so there is flexibility there.

[Avionics_Joe]

You could try pressurizing it, be very careful, if you have air in it it will blow out. Get all the air out before bringing up the pressure.

If only one end comes off, clean it up, lube and lock it back on. Then the other end will come off.

[singlespeed]

Once you have removed the big circlips on both ends, I pulled the nylon barbed fitting and using the biggest 1/2" socket I owned, I placed the socket in the middle of the end cap and tapped the socket with a rubber mallet to loosen the corrosion. If one end is corroded in place, likely both are. Once it was broken free, I screwed a short length pipe into the end cap, where the nylon barbed fitting was removed. You can use a the pipe as a handle to wiggle the endcaps out,

[UYA]

@singlespeed, @Avionics_Joe,
that gives me new ideas to work with. Will try today and report...
Thanks!

[GordMay]

Gary Albers was the Power Survivor guru.
See his guide ➥ http://www.ishipaco.com/katadyn/docs/WatermakerBook.PDF

[UYA]

@All,
thanks for your help and suggestions!
I wanted to give an update on my project and what I learned.

I managed to remove the end caps by wrapping a cloth tightly around the thread of hose connectors in order to protect them. Then I gripped the connector firmly with pipe thongs. I used a srcew driver between the housing and the thongs to carefully lever the end cap out. This worked on both sides. There was no corrosion.

What I learned:

• The hand book picture is wrong. The black end parts don't come off the fiberglass pipe. Only the caps that are inside the end parts do come out (secured by the snap rings)
• The membrane I found inside the housing was a standard membrane. They are significantly cheaper (~half price) than the original Katadyn parts.

I attached some pictures.


Thanks again and happy watermaking!