Seawater Pro Watermaker review. Part 2

[GB Man]

Thanks I think I'm of the same mindset-

[bcboomer]

Originally Posted by GB Man

Any strong feelings on 110v vs 12v? Smaller wire gauge vs some energy loss? Any other major considerations I might be missing? Is the longevity of a 12v motor about the same as 110v?

Just discovered this water maker but looks like a nice simple setup-

It is a pretty simple installation. Mike is really fast at responding to questions so I never had a delay when I wasn't sure about a step.

I put the 40 gph 110v version because of the extra capacity compared with 12v. The extra capacity and increased output per Kwh more than makes up for conversion losses in the inverter.

I only have 585 watts of solar and 4 Firefly batts but we run it every 3 or 4 days on solar without any problem. If we are going to be motoring for more than an hour we run it if the weather is cloudy. (200 amp alternator)

Having it has really changed our coastal cruising for the better.
We prefer anchoring out and lugging water jugs in the dinghy got old real fast.
Between that and Starlink we can go anywhere up the coast for as long as we want.

[hezi973]

Question: I wrote here before inquiring and got many answers. My plan is to sail the pacific and remote areas and I am somewhat obsessing with redundancy. If I take the DC power 40 gallons system, does it make sense to build a 2nd 12 volt system ready in the event I am experiencing failure on the AC motor, or AC system all together? The 12 volt motor is on stand by wired with the breaker off and ready to make water through one membrane. I will have an additional pick up pump on stand bye and maybe extra hoses?

What do you think? Is that an overkill? The additional cost is of less concern. I am more worried about the added weight and the little extra room this will take. It is a 45' catamaran so I am not that tight on room or carrying capacity but things do adds up. Especially on my build. Let me know please.

[bcboomer]

The AC motor is an industrial unit that I expect will last pretty much forever in this application. Your inverter choice might be more of a concern.
I chose mine based on the dealer saying that it was the most reliable they have available but maybe on a 20 day passage I might want a backup. It depends on your tankage.
Lots of people have done long voyages without a watermaker.

[CarlF]

I would agree with bcboomer that failure of the pressure pump (AC or DC) is extremely unlikely. These industrial motors are built to run for decades.

But inverter failure is fairly common even among the premium brands. That's why I went with a 12V 33GPH CruiserRO (very similar to the SeaWater Pro) as my lithium bank hardly notices the 80amp 12v draw and can be recharged by solar, alternator, or genset giving me great redundancy.

I do carry a spare boost pump.

[Seafarer7]

Originally Posted by CarlF

I would agree with bcboomer that failure of the pressure pump (AC or DC) is extremely unlikely. These industrial motors are built to run for decades.



But inverter failure is fairly common even among the premium brands. That's why I went with a 12V 33GPH CruiserRO (very similar to the SeaWater Pro) as my lithium bank hardly notices the 80amp 12v draw and can be recharged by solar, alternator, or genset giving me great redundancy.



I do carry a spare boost pump.

For this same reasoning I went with the 12v DC SeaWater Pro. I also do carry an extra boost pump.

[BlueH2Obound]

The only spare component we have on board is a spare raw water pump. Since we installed it, except for normal filter changes, the only problem we had was one of the low pressure compression fittings cracked, apparently from over tightening during the initial installation. We sourced a brass replacement part in Ketchikan, and all was well again! Roughly 100 hours, and 3000 gallons of fresh water produced since April 2022.

[hezi973]

Love hearing that. Making me more and more confident in my choice of brand

[BlueH2Obound]

Originally Posted by hezi973

Love hearing that. Making me more and more confident in my choice of brand

I also talked a dock mate into purchasing the same brand/model. He bought his three months before mine he uses it for everything. Seldom leaves the dock, but doesn't use dock water any more and hasn't for almost 1 year. And this is in the harbor. We don't use the water maker in the harbor because I question the cleanliness of the water in the harbor.

[captainrandall]

I bought my Seawater Pro 40 gph system from Mike about a year ago. My old system was a chinese belt driven single membrane that the previous owner had installed but not really maintained. Finally I got fed up and started talking to SWP about a new 40gph system. I explained that I really water to put it into the same stainless steel frame the old water maker was in. Which meant I wanted the system without the control panel, but I wanted the control panel gauges to fit into my panel. Not a problem. super easy install and I was off. Traveling down from New Bedford to the Bahamas I learned allot about what waters to avoid making water from.

A couple months ago I was having some issues that I couldn't quite diagnose. So I contacted SWP just looking for some guidance. Mike answered and we swapped emails a few times. The on a Sunday afternoon I get a call from Mike. Within 5 minutes we had the problem diagnosed and new components on the way.
To me this is above and beyond customer support. Next level.


I do not hesitate recommending Seawater Pro. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. We gotta support these guys and anyone who provides a great support system.

[hezi973]

Originally Posted by captainrandall

Traveling down from New Bedford to the Bahamas I learned allot about what waters to avoid making water from.

Thanks for the input. I met Mike in the last boat show. Very nice guy. Makes a difference for sure. I am set on his product and waiting to get it when my boat turn will come (I am in contract for a new one). Please share which water to avoid and why. How to deal with fresh up river water and whatever tips or mistakes you learned from along the way. We newbies can benefit a lot from your knowledge.

Thanks!

[captainrandall]

Originally Posted by hezi973

Thanks for the input. I met Mike in the last boat show. Very nice guy. Makes a difference for sure. I am set on his product and waiting to get it when my boat turn will come (I am in contract for a new one). Please share which water to avoid and why. How to deal with fresh up river water and whatever tips or mistakes you learned from along the way. We newbies can benefit a lot from your knowledge.

Thanks!

The first thing I learned was I should have bought this water maker when I bought the boat. Spent way to much time trying to find the right belt and constantly adjusting it. Direct drive is the way to go.
Second, never get to the point where you HAVE to make water. Think of it like you would your fuel and stores load. I did make water in New Bedford but I tried to limit it. I picked another stop over in the Long Island Sound that was not as traffic'd. Look for clearer waters. If you put you hand in the water and can't see your finger tips.... Both the upper Delaware and Chesapeake were hit and miss as to where I felt comfortable making water. Cohanse creek on the Deleware was pretty good. Plus the low salinity meant I only had about 200psi on the membranes. I waited until I got out of the Chesapeake and back offshore before I made more.

One time I plugged the 20 micron filter pretty quick when I attempted to make water in a less than desirable area. Forget where that was. Never a good thing.

Always monitor the system. Always. If you loose raw water feed you can damage your HP pump pretty quick. On my system i have an added control (not from Seawater Pro) where the the HP pump is shut off if the Raw water pressure drops to 5 psi.


Keep plenty of filters on hand.


I am sure there are more, but those would be the big wacks.

[hezi973]

Originally Posted by captainrandall

If you loose raw water feed you can damage your HP pump pretty quick. On my system i have an added control (not from Seawater Pro) where the the HP pump is shut off if the Raw water pressure drops to 5 psi.

Wow, this is a big item! Can you post a link or share part number and make for the safety auto disconnect switch for the high pressure pump? I never even knew this is a consideration. I have aspirations to circumnavigate and don't want to get stuck w/o water in the middle of nowhere. I was even considering buying the 12 v system as a back up to the 220 v despite the weight gain. For sure I was planning on getting a spare low pressure pump and spare filters/membrane.

[theglo]

Thanks for the write up. Just bought one of these and am floating in the Virgin Islands awaiting for its arrival. 5 months into a 12 month Carribean cruise and we are tired of having to find water every 4 days. Hoping it works as well as advertised!

Thanks again

[BlueH2Obound]

We haven't used ours in the last 2 1/2 months as we've been on the dock. We set the flush timer to run for about 10 minutes once a week. Don't really need to pickle at this point. Later this week I will replace all the filters, including the charcoal filter (since we're back flushing with chlorinated dock water). At this point we've produce roughly 3000 gallons of fresh water. The very first gallon cost us $4,200! The last gallon we made was about $1.40/gallon. This time next year I expect we'll be under $0.50/gallon, and by the following year down to maybe $0.20/gallon . . . .
For us, it's not about saving $$$, it's about the comfort and convenience of pretty much unlimited fresh water. We aren't terribly wasteful, but if I want to hose all the windows off with fresh water in a remote anchorage, or take a fresh water rinse off/shower 4 times a day after I go swimming in salt water . . . . . or wash clothes every day, . . . who cares?
Note: We have fresh water tankage of 510 gallons. We run the water maker when we get down to about 250 gallons, so if there WERE a problem with the water maker, we have 250 gallons to fix it, or to get to some place to top off water.