Water Maker

[JusNow]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

Yes, my boat is a Hudson Force 50, and am currently in the sea of Cortez.

As of last night, I am looking at Spectra Ventura 150R water maker. I like it for its low power consumption (12v DC 9A. 17 watts per gallon) and that it has a factory flush. The only thing that is not awesome is the price.

Regarding air conditioning, the Frigomar from Italy got my attention. I was thinking a 16,000 + 12,000. Again, the only thing that is not awesome is the price.

If anyone has opinions on either of those manufacturers please chime in. Or, any suggestions regarding other manufacturers I am all ears. Cheers!

I used a Powersurvivor - the predecessor to the Spectra - for years. I let it run continuously and it made a gallon an hour running off one solar panel. If you can find one you might consider it.

[Bluechart]

I went with the Rainman watermaker, and the smaller membranes (21gph vs 48gph), and use my generator to power the 115v watermaker. Extremely happy with the quality and efficiency. I think the costs are all about the same, but the short run time (2 hours) to produce 40 gallons is awesome. My boat has an 86 gallon tank, I fill up when I’m @ ~ 1/2 tank.

[svmobert]

Hi,

re: Your initial question about DC and AC powered watermaker.. Technically any DC unit can be powered from batteries while batteries are being charged through AC. And depending on size, etc you can run an AC watermaker on an Inverter from batteries, but that's not super efficient.

That said, the Schencker watermakers use a energy recovery system similar to Spectra and can be powered by AC and DC. Since the primary energy in the system comes from the boost pump, and you can use AC or DC boost pumps it's easy to accomodate both. You can even order the Zen units with both AC and DC boost pumps, such that in a larger unit, where you have, say, two membranes, you can have one membrane that runs on an efficient DC motor powered by batteries and solar, and then when you have AC power (shore, generator, etc) you can power up the second boost pump/membrane and double your watermaker output. This allows you to scale up and down your watermake energy use also.

Since you are in Sea of Cortez you may want to reach out to Rich Boren who owns CruiseRO Water makers and is also the Schenker distributor and lives in La Paz. He can help you pick the right solution (whether that's a simple AC modular system like a CruiseRO unit, or a more advanced energy recovery system like Schenker.

info@cruiserowater.com

[MJH]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

Hello all! I am new here and am a new owner. Are there any Modular water makers that can be powered by DC and AC generator that have factory flushing systems?

I’m also questioning power ideas for the following upgrades:
-New Generator 7.5kw Cummins
-Modular Water Maker 12v? 24? 48v? A/C? Both?
-1200 BTU + 1600 BTU air conditioning units-vessel DOES NOT HAVE or ever had air conditioning.
-New Electronic Plotting System
-New closed circuit Freezer
Victron Inverter/Charger(s) 12v 3000 Quattro & 24 or 48v? 5000 or 10,000 Quattro.
-Many LiFePro Batteries…

I was thinking of keeping the house at 12v for simplicity, and ramping up a bank for the heavy hitters like air conditioning and water maker. I also want to be able to use power tools such as sanders and routers for occasional projects.

The objective is yo limit/avoid spending money on diesel. Considering a wind generator on the Mizzenmast and a few more solar panals.

Right now I have (4) 150 watt semi flexible panels, 4 lead acid house batteries and 2 separate starter lead acid batteries for engine with Victron controller.

Any insight would be great!

You have a VERY long list of must-haves. One challenge I see is installing these projects one at a time will leave you with excessive costs in installation wiring and when you finally get done it will be a rat's nest...it happens all the time. I suggest you draw up your list of items you are going to install and then have a marine electrician develop your electrical system to plug each item into so that when you are done installing them you really are done.

Every new boat owner starts out with grandiose dreams of what they must have which gets modified as time and installs get accomplished. Eventually they reach a level of satisfaction somewhere short of their original goal. So, get your list in chronological order but remember the sailboat basics: hull, standing rigging, running rigging, sails, rudder, and engine+trans...they always come first.

Good Luck.

[nofacey]

If you want that much AC on demand, you’ll need the genset.

Otherwise, fit rigid panels everywhere they don’t interfere with sailing, add two more large panels winged off the stern railings, and you’ll do okay. Don’t forget to convert every single light fixture to led if it hasn’t been done already.

[southseasailor2]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

Thanks for the reply! Can a water maker be powered by DC and AC via generator?

On my Amel Super Maramu I have a Desalator duo which has both 24 and 230 volt motors. I don t have vast solar and have a wind generator and only run the water maker on 24 when motoring or 230 when running the gen set. Happy with the set up.

[southseasailor2]

Hi we have a Desalator duo on an Amel Super Maramu. Does both 24 and 230. I have a wind gen and some solar. I run on 24 volt when motoring and 230 when running the gen set. Happy with the set up. Really convenient to have the choice.

[p435]

Check with Dessalator (spain@dessalator.com) ask for Martin.


I have AC watermaker which is already a few years old but it runs fine. As far as I know they also have now 12V or 24V systems.



Just check.

[Kit_L]

Most sailing boats mount solar panels on a support, above the transom. My neighbour in our mooring field has done something quite different, and it works extremely well: his four rigid panels are mounted vertically, plus top-hinging off stanchions–safety fails at the stern of his 45' boat—so his maximum power production is a mix of direct and reflected light in the mornings and afternoons. And if needed, they can be tilted out to catch the sun when more overhead, but I have never seen them in this configuration, so assume he has not needed to. The great advantage of this setup is zero shading from rigging and masts on one set of panels, morning and afternoon.

Might be worth considering.

[Splosh]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

Hello all! I am new here and am a new owner. Are there any Modular water makers that can be powered by DC and AC generator that have factory flushing systems?

I’m also questioning power ideas for the following upgrades:
-New Generator 7.5kw Cummins
-Modular Water Maker 12v? 24? 48v? A/C? Both?
-1200 BTU + 1600 BTU air conditioning units-vessel DOES NOT HAVE or ever had air conditioning.
-New Electronic Plotting System
-New closed circuit Freezer
Victron Inverter/Charger(s) 12v 3000 Quattro & 24 or 48v? 5000 or 10,000 Quattro.
-Many LiFePro Batteries…

I was thinking of keeping the house at 12v for simplicity, and ramping up a bank for the heavy hitters like air conditioning and water maker. I also want to be able to use power tools such as sanders and routers for occasional projects.

The objective is yo limit/avoid spending money on diesel. Considering a wind generator on the Mizzenmast and a few more solar panals.

Right now I have (4) 150 watt semi flexible panels, 4 lead acid house batteries and 2 separate starter lead acid batteries for engine with Victron controller.

Any insight would be great!

I have used this watermaker for a long time and it is great - 12v and 220v
https://www.dessalator.fr/en/product...m-watermakers/

Works well

[SV Coronado]

I have a Dessalator Duo 100 that has both AC and DC motors. It also does an auto flush or you can flush it manually. It produces a 100 l/h (26 gal/h).

https://www.dessalator.fr/en/products/serie-ac-dc-duo/

[southseasailor2]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

Thanks for the reply! Can a water maker be powered by DC and AC via generator?

Hi, Yes it can. I have a Amel SM with a desalator duo with 24 and 230 volt motors. Works well. I run 24 volt when motoring and 230 on gen set

[wgerstmyer]

Agree that you should cruise first and make priorities based on desires after that because you can waste money on expensive unnecessary things and have none left for the real needs, like when I bought air con but actually breezes and windscoop and cooling off by swimming was fine. And Spectra 40e wm at 1.2 gph, run every day for 2- 5 hours once batteries topped up to 100% is easy. Our old fridge is critically important to us and consumes 2 - 3 amps per hour and with 300W solar we can easily support that load with just solar in the Caribbean in the winter and Maine in the summer. The inverter is fine for occasional blender use to make hummus or power tools, or we spend a little gas for our Honda 2200i gen or spend a little money then by going in to a marina to have shore power. KISS

[Tin Tin]

As above we had a Desalator Duo, 12V And 220 V. We would run the water maker on 12V when motor sailing. When we ran the generator at anchor for other things like clothes washer, battery recharge, water heating we ran the water maker on 220V at same time. The redundancy of two motors is good. Once the 220V run capacitor failed but were still able to make water using the 12V when running engines. The membranes for the Desalator are standard Dow Filmtec and can be bought on line a lot cheaper than from OEM.

[cr180]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

Thank you kindly for the thoughtful consideration! However i was a sailing instructor and racer through out high school on the coast of Maine.

After graduating I crewed on Mega Yachts for 15 years, working my way up to Captain.

I left yachting to be a OSV captain in the oilfield for a few years, and am writing this thread while drifting in the off of Tortugas, awaiting orders for our next load of diesel/gasoline. (I am working on an oil tanker).

Rain or shine, 24/7 we tie up, hook up hoses and try not to make the news. We often work 6 hours on/off for months at a time.

My boat is on a mooring right now, and it’s a lovely change from the curious eyes of the marina. Im getting very close to getting to French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Figi, NZ, Vietnam…the world dream!!! Just trying to fine tune my Hudson.

Impressive resume. But with due respect, think you will find “cruising” an old sailboat to be a new experience. As others are also saying, cruise the Hudson some before committing to many 10s of thousands of $.