Mahe 36: Plumbing and Water Heater

[Scott730]

daniel
I'll try to get you some pictures and info in the next day or so, we are awaiting a cold front that will keep us tied up and on the boat for the next 2 days, so lots of down time.
Scott

[Therapy]

Originally Posted by Scott730

Therapy
Two things about your question, one, it hasn't rained since we got here and two, would you drink the rain water? The best thing about the water maker is we can make water any time and we know the quality of the water. A big issue, since RO water here is any were from 20 cents to 50 cents a gallon.
I would say it was one of the best investment we made next to buying the boat.
BTW left this message from Guana key, more and more places in the Bahamas have internet. But the economy is really hurt here as everywhere.
Scott

The part of it not having rained answers well enough.

Thanks.

Yes, I would drink rain water.

[SurfNRG]

Hey Scott, Kevin from Bladerunner in Melbourne, FL. Glad to see you're out cruising. As I'm sure you know, it's been COLD back here in Central Florida with the past couple days in the low 30's (cold for Florida). What type of watermaker do you have and did you do the install? Bladerunner may have a new owner by next week and he's inquiring about types of watermakers and costs. He plans to cruise the Caribbean starting in the Bahamas then heading south to Grenada for hurricane season. Happy Sails!

[IrieCat]

Hi Scott, hope you are having as good a time as we did. We dont have the same opinion on the water maker though. Our very humble opinion is that it is not essential. We were in the Bahamas for 7-8 weeks and only spent around $250 on water. We do have a filter and purifier though. Just another view.

Scott, we have updated the website if you get a chance, some of it may be helpful. www.pgacouple.com
HAVE FUN
Lonnie

[Scott730]

for those who have asked questions about the watermaker. It is a spectra 200T it makes 9.5 gallons an hour and uses 12 amps to do it. I'm sending this from an anchorage off Manjack Cay and the water maker is running, the water is great, the only place we couldn't make water was in Hope Town where the water is polluted (to many people dumping in the harbor!!) so we made 100 gallons before spending 5 days there on a mooring ball. I'll post pictures when we get back (waiting for a weather window and will probably be back in Florida late next week) the entire unit fits in the hanging locker on the port side, it is a bit noisy but we are getting used to it.
Lonnie, are you still in Florida? let me know if your planning to stop at my marina. I know what your saying about buying water, the good thing about the water maker is I'm not looking for the next place to fill the tanks, and the quality is consistant, a friend filled his tank with "RO" water and it smelled so bad that he dumped it. I tested the water and it had 859 PPM, way bad, he would have gotten sick if he drank it.

Scott

[MKB53]

Hi Scott
I am planning to fit a watermaker when I slip in May/June but was planning to mount it in the engine compartment. The noise issue would push me in this direction. Did you consider the engine compartment and if so what made you opt for the port cupboard mounting?

I hate underwater through the hull fittings and was wondering it is was practical to take the feed off the raw water supply to the heat exchanger on the motor. Is this a stupid question? Does the watermaker need more water feed than the engine supply can give? All thoughts appreciated.
Martin

[Scott730]

Martin
I don't see an issue with placing the water maker in the engine hold, it would help with the noise issue. One of the reasons I placed it in the hanging locker was ease of plumbing, I placed a 15 amp breaker in the fuse panel behind the settee and already had a thru hull fitting at the base of the locker, I also used the bilge discharge for the discharge for the water maker and it is right behind the hanging locker, the water tank is also right there, as well as cold water supply lines for backflushing, keeping all the plumbing runs short. Also you have to consider maintanance, having the unit in the engine hold is a little less convenient than the locker. Spectra recommends a dedicated thru hull for the unit, so I would think twice about the engine thru hull.

Scott

[MKB53]

Scott

Many thanks - it all sounds pretty logical - I will have a look at that option.
The engines use an inlet on the leg which is probably less desirable than just T'ing it off a thru hull anyway.

[Jef & Marin, Netherlands]

Hi all,
On this thread it was discussed some time ago that the hot water temperature of he boiler could be too hot, even boiling. On our boat, and others' boat, the red hot water pipe (Brandname "Seatech") even melted with hot steam and water escaping.
Problem is, when you lower the hot water temperature much, you have less shower water. When it's too hot, the hot water pipe melts.
The solution is, I think, to mount a thermostatic mixing valve directly under the hot water boiler. This is available as an accessory.
Last week, I ordered the required thermostatic mixing valve from SVB.de, a big technical watersports shop in Germany. Costs Euro 79.90. It arrived today by mail. Only difference th thermostat knob is white i.s.o. black.
Here is the link:
SVB *-* Boiler Ersatzteile
It's the second item from the bottom of the list.
Probably I'll mount it end of next week. Then I know whether there is enough height under the boiler. It is probably a difficult job to mount it, I might have to remove the boiler to attach the cold water pipe which is at the rear.
Good sailing,
Jef

[Scott730]

Well we made it back from the Bahamas (6 week holiday), what a great trip and we had very little issues, none with the watermaker, which ran like a Champ.
As promised, here are 2 pictures of the install. It is in the port hanging locker, the duct you see is for the Air Conditioning vent to the Salon, everything else is the watermaker.
I hope the pictures post OK.
Any questions, just ask.

Scott

[Cotemar]

Scott,
Did you turn down the temp on your hot water heater to prevent the problem?
Mark

[Scott730]

Mark
Yes I adjusted the thermostat, it is very difficult to get at and is very sensitive to adjust. I have the temp of the water around 136 degree F. Before adjusting the temp was over 160 degrees, that is why the line was bursting on some boats.
I also was looking for 10 amp breakers and was unable to find them in the U.S., I added a sub panel that is U.S. standard when I put AC on the boat and I'm using one of the extra breakers in the sub panel to replace one of the 6 amp hager breakers so I can run a Microwave. If you do find them I would like to have one as a spare, let us know what you come up with.

Scott

[DtM]

Cotemar,

We have two water tanks where you describe them.

They are each 210 litres.

Using a conversion of 1 US gallon = 3.79 litres you get 270 litres total so it seems like your tanks might be smaller than ours.

[Cotemar]

Fellow Mahes,

My Hot Water heater keeps tripping the 110 volt breaker.

Has anyone had this problem ?
What was the fix ?

I have used it on 110 volts maybe only 4 times. I normally leave the circuit breaker off until I need hot water at the dock or with the generator. This past weekend it just kept tripping the 110 volt breaker.

Help,
Mark

[jean1146]

Mark. I have never had this problem though I had the red hose blow on me due to overheating.I tell you mine is always off because once you run the starboard engine for half an hour you will get hot water all day long..It could be the thermostat but in order to access it you will need to pull out the water heater tank an that is a job!
May be someone has a better idea.
JC.