PUR / Katadyn Watermaker Help from an Ex-Cruiser

[Knot Safety]

Thanks BWSJWS. I am fairly confident of no air entering the system as I have used a bright flashlight on the last intake line before the pump and cannot see any air bubbles at all. My future check of bypassing the filter and just fresh water straight in will prove or eliminate that.

Also thinking it may be membranes and they may be fully plugged off or something. Have done both flushed though and it has not done anything.

As for the oil - I have not changed it or done anything with it. Gear system service will be done next.

[Sailmonkey]

Have you tried running the system with the pressure valve open to flush anything out?

What you’re describing sounds to me like a restricted outlet from the membrane high pressure side.

[Knot Safety]

Hello Sailmonkey

Yes. The pressure is off the system during the cleaning phase. While having the pressure off initially had the pump running normally it has now slowed down again. And with less and less return to normal speed, even on the clean phase.

My thought was fouled membranes blocking all water through on the high pressure side. After four cleans (two alkaline, two acid, ten hours soak each clean) there has been no improvement and in fact I think it’s getting worse.

I thought reduced intake. But that all seems fine - subject to trying it without going through the filtration side at all

I had thought low voltage at the pump. 13.5 volts at pump resolves that. Plus low voltage wouldn’t normally cause breaker to trip.

My remaining thoughts are something on the pressure return to help the pump side - but that should still have the pump slowed down even on cleaning. So then I am left with gearbox issue or membranes issue.

Quite honestly, I am stumped. Have sent an email to Katadyn this morning but no response so far as it’s a Saturday

[GordMay]

Did you download Ishipaco’s book?
“How To Survive With A Power Survivor Watermaker”
A Mariner’s Guide to the Installation, Use, Maintenance and Service of PUR Reverse Osmosis Watermakers from Recovery Engineering, Inc.
by Gary E. Albers, Aboard S/V ISHI
➥ http://www.katadyn.ishipaco.com/docs/WatermakerBook.PDF

And:
➥ Katadyn and PUR Watermakers: Installation, Maintenance and Troubleshooting

[Sailmonkey]

Do you have a way to measure the current draw of the motor?

Low voltage can in fact trip the breaker, as the voltage drops the current increases.

Is the outlet stream of water look normal when the motor begins to sound loaded?

[AndyEss]

Unscrew the high pressure output line from the pump and feed in your fresh water. If the pump works fine, it isn’t the pump. Re-attach the salt water input. If the pump continues to pump fine, it isn’t an intake restriction, so it’s a blocked membrane.
Since you’ve already tried cleaning the membrane, you are going to have to replace it.
I would replace the proprietary pressure vessel and membrane with an industry standard one so you don’t have to keep paying for needlessly expensive proprietary filters

[Knot Safety]

Andy - thanks. That is a great trouble shooting idea. Will try that next. Thank you

[Knot Safety]

Sailmonkey - as the motor starts to sound loaded, it’s stroke rate slows right down. Out put stream is still there, but slower and less volume than before as it is now pumping less

[Viking Sailor]

With the pump running check the pump and its wiring temperature. Use a remote (optical) thermometer, or just use your hand. If energy is going in and water is not coming out then energy is most likely being converted to heat. Also, where are you measuring the 13.5 volts? You should see a drop in voltage between when the pump is off and when it is running loaded. If not, it suggest that there is a poor connection between where you are measuring and the pump motor, or the pump motor is bad.

[AndyEss]

Originally Posted by Knot Safety

Andy - thanks. That is a great trouble shooting idea. Will try that next. Thank you

Keep your hands and other body parts away from the high pressure outlet. It runs at 600-800 psi. Also be prepared for some water squirting quite a ways

[Knot Safety]

Viking Sailor - yes the motor is hot to touch when the system is struggling.

Voltage measurement was at the wiring harness with the motor disconnected to confirm I was getting sufficient voltage to the motor. Difficult to test when it is all connected as they are sealed motors with no visible leads.

[CarinaPDX]

Probably not an issue but worth asking: when you rebuilt it did you lube the o-rings on the piston? A dry o-ring would create a lot of resistance. As an aside, while messing with it you really should change out the poppets too - they don't last forever. One failure mode is for the small o-ring on the poppet to come off, and depending which one can get sucked into things. My guess (and it is just that, a guess) would have me looking at the pump output, into the membrane container. If the membrane were blocked the water would still flow through the system and out the drain hose (unless the pressure release valve is broken, or you accidentally opened or changed the setting - factory only IIRC) - a blocked membrane shouldn't change the release of the pressure out of the unit so look at other than the membrane - either the pressure release valve or the poppets and the flow from there to the membrane chamber.

Good luck,

Greg

[Knot Safety]

Okay folks. I figured I would post an update

Disconnected the lines as suggested. Problem still continued. Disconnected the pump. Problem continued. Serviced the gearbox. Checked and cleaned brushes. Ran just motor. Still surged under no load. RPM rating pin motor was 75. We timed and counted. Got 55 to 60. Moved directly to battery to eliminate voltage issue. Got 60 rpm. Reconnected entire system Ran great for a minute or two and then powered out to almost stalling.

At this point the only thing we can determine is that the motor is failing. Or new brushes are needed. Will try to find an electric rewind shop in Bonaire tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

Oh yah - ran membrane preservative through just in case repair takes a while

Thanks all for your help. Any suggestions are appreciated

[Knot Safety]

Good day all - I wanted to give a final update in case anyone has similar problems as me

I took the motor in today to a electric motor shop. They took it all apart, reported it was excessively dirty inside. Cleaned it up, replaced the brushes (which were still sort of okay) and changed the gear oil in the top of the motor

We put everything back together and it has been running great for the last hour. Stroke rate not under lid is 80 bpm and under pressure goes down to 60 bpm. Completely consistent over the hour.


Thanks all for your help. I appreciate it. Had a replacement motor lined up all ready to ship but was looking at 650 for the motor plus taxes and shipping. Would have put me close to a boat buck on arrival. Instead it cost $40 and a good chin wag with some locals.

[Joka]

Hi there team!

I'm the new happy owner of a katadyn 40e.

As a matter of prevention, I like having spare parts. A friend said she could give me his 35e seal kit...

Does any of you know if the parts are compatible between 35e and 40e?

Cheers!