Watermaker Brine discharge Question?

[Dulcesuenos]

PUR 40E I am almost done installing wanted to get opionions on the brine discharge hose. The hose is very easily located near my shower sump drain and I have thoughts of plumbing into this so it can just pump the discharge over as needed. The sump has a rule 500gph pump inside.
The PUR 40E I believe uses 20gal / hour and produces around 1.4 gal/ hour. SO close to 20 gal hour to discharge, the pump kicks on every half gallo so it would cycle on and off roughly 40 times an hour for a minute or two, we plan on running it every 3 days or so, Once we move aboard in 2 years. (could be sooner )

Is this too much wear and tear on the shower sump? It is sort of a pain to run it to an above waterline discharge thru hull. I could install a smaller one close by but hate to drill thru a hull If I dont have too.

[Mr B]

I am not sure on yours,

But my water maker runs brine for about a minute and a half before it is pumping freshwater, Then I switch it over to the freshwater tanks until they are full, then I switch it back to back wash the filters, takes about two minutes, then I switch the whole lot off till I need it again,

I would lose about 2 gallons of brine which goes down the cockpit drain holes.

The boats pressure pump is on, and I have a dedicated pump that runs the watermaker,

[Sailmonkey]

We've got the same watermaker. I believe you'd kill the shower pump and or float switch in short order doing this.

I plumbed the brine discharge to the cockpit drain. The little pump has no problem pumping the water a few feet to discharge it.

[amytom]

Run it straight overboard. Don't overwork a shower drain that is going to be prone to failure anyways.

If the shower sump fails due to hair and soap build up then you won't be able to make water.

[svHyLyte]

I believe directly overboard would be best/safest. One might T into the top of a sink drain, however, so long as one remembers to plug the sink adaquately when the machine's in use.

FWIW...

[noelex 77]

As well as the other drawbacks people have mentioned. It would also increase the electricity consumption 1-2A is significant when you are only making 1.4 gal of water.

[Dulcesuenos]

Originally Posted by Mr B

I am not sure on yours,

But my water maker runs brine for about a minute and a half before it is pumping freshwater, Then I switch it over to the freshwater tanks until they are full, then I switch it back to back wash the filters, takes about two minutes, then I switch the whole lot off till I need it again,

I would lose about 2 gallons of brine which goes down the cockpit drain holes.

The boats pressure pump is on, and I have a dedicated pump that runs the watermaker,

Am I wrong in thinking if the unit uses 20 gph to make 1.4 gph than 18.6 gph is disposed of as brine water. Does your unit not constantly put out brunette seawater?? Or am I misunderstanding something?

[jeremiason]

The Rule Shower Pumps are very paticular creatures and frequently fail. We have replaced four pumps on on Shower Sump in the last 6 years of fulltime living aboard.

The other issue is that running into another fixture or running a long hose to an existing thru hull (Sink Drain) may cause some back pressure problems.

Drilling a "Above the water line thru hole" near the unit is the best solution.

[donradcliffe]

Back pressure is not an problem for the discharge, and ours worked well with a T into a midships sink drain (sinks not midships may have issues when heeled). The gurgling noises in the sink let me know when the watermaker was pumping properly.

[Cheechako]

A small thru hull above the waterline shouldnt be too hard to do....? 3/8" or smaller right?

[Dulcesuenos]

Im just apprehensive to install this in the hull sides are cored above the waterline with kledgecell. I guess i can research besr way to do rhis and seal it properly. .The discharge is even smaller the 3/8 think 5/16 or smaller. It might be easiest to run it the 6 feet and T it in. Thanks for the advice. I am assuming im correct in the unit will have a continuous discharge of brine?

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

I am assuming im correct in the unit will have a continuous discharge of brine?

Yes it will...

[Sailmonkey]

Continuous as in pulses. The brine only discharges when the plunger pushes water through the membrane. But for all practical purposes continuous.

[noelex 77]

Originally Posted by Dulcesuenos

I am assuming im correct in the unit will have a continuous discharge of brine?

Yes.
What about T-ing into the discharge side of shower?

[Tellie]

Yes defiantly discharge it directly overboard. The thru hull is the best idea, tying into a "T" under a sink is acceptable on such a small watermaker, placing a hose overboard each time you use it will work but will soon be a pain each time, running it to the shower sump pump is a bad idea because sump pumps like yours are not really designed to run for hours on end like your watermaker. I know we all want to eliminate as many thru hulls as possible but it is really the best way.