Water Maker

[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!

[chrisr]

i'm pretty sure echotec offers such (we have it on our w/m but i'm not totally positive if it's a factory or after-market set up)

but you are going to need a bucket load more solar + battery capacity. we have 1.4kw of solar + 850 AH of battery and there are days when i don't run our w/m

cheers,

[HudosonForce50]

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

[Bill O]

Not sure where you are located, but we do have an EchoTec 20g/hr. water maker for sale (Model 500-AML-1). Only AC driven.

PM me if you want more info.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

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

i think it's theoretically possible but needs a very special sort of universal motor. doubt it would be worth the trouble...just run the generator to charge the batteries and then run the w/m off dc ex battery

alternatively run an ac w/m ex battery via an inverter, or ac ex generator

either way, there are losses, costs and complexity

if you set up the solar properly, you won't need the generator or the ac !

cheers,

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

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

I can't see where you've told us your location or anything about your boat or yourself. You are a new owner of what? Can we ask where you sail? Is it a power boat or yacht? What make/size? Have I missed something? Please elaborate!

(I'm always weary of people joining the forum today then asking a whole lot of questions without divulging anything about themselves)

[coopec43]

Originally Posted by HudosonForce50

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

Is the boat you bought a HudsonForce50 yacht?

[cr180]

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!

Wow. Long list of expensive items. All depends on cruising style. If in a marina every few days, don’t need many of these items. If at anchor for weeks at a time (assuming your boat is a Hudson 50 mono hull), can’t get enough solar and wind on boat to run dc water maker, refrig, freezer, et al. Plan on generator playing big role in battery charging. So then, why not 120v AC water maker?

[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!

[HudosonForce50]

My intentions are to do some epic blue water cruising for many years to come. The Hudson is in good shape, but lacking comforts and luxuries such as A\C , water maker, generator, new sails, solar, wind, and as many batteries as possible.

[Seafarer7]

You may also want to take a look at the Velair, also from Italy, similar to the Frigomar but less expensive.

[alamoana]

With all those appliances you will do well with a genset. You may replace a genset with a LARGE inverter and MANY panels but even so, it will be easier with a genset. I was in a similar situation and changed the panels to rigid ones with far better results than flexibles. The genset only runs for the Air Conditioning and water maker now.

[cr180]

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!

Several thoughts:
1. I have a ketch. Love it. But downside is it presents complications in installing solar. There is a limit to where panels can be installed and most importantly the Main and Mizzen masts and booms shade the panels depending on boat heading and sun orientation. So effectively not all panels in sun at same time. So for your power hungry loads, plan on generator running daily to charge batteries. This reality will drive all other decisions.
2. It appears you are looking at inverter equipped air conditioners that are DC powered. While you may be able to get enough battery capacity to power them a number of hours, the batteries then must be recharged. See item 1 above.
3. Add DC water maker, refrigeration, freezer, large inverter loads such as microwave ovens, tools etc and it becomes clear that your boat cannot carry enough solar panels to keep up with battery charging. A wind generator won’t make up the difference.
4. But solar, wind, supplemented with your diesel generator (7.5kw think a little small, would opt for 8.5 or 9) charging will support your loads. Will take a minimum of an hour a day gen run time without air conditioning.
5. So again, if you need gen run time anyway, way cheaper to buy and operate AC powered air conditioning. Similar thought for water maker.

[Tsuru]

Hello and congratulations on your new boat. Our boat is smaller than your HF 50 but has similar systems. We set our boat is set up for our own needs. Everyone will have different needs and goals so good competent owners will set up differently. Note that our needs change with time.

As examples we have 1600 BTU AC but have never used it on anchor. I’m in the process of changing our 8 GPH Spectra Watermaker with a 16 GPH Spectra unit. If I have a diesel gen set I would have gone a 120 VAC watermaker. These can be less cost with more production. More is better….

AC and Watermaker are not the heavy power consumers. Refrigeration is the heavy hitter on board. You can simply not make water or turn on the AC if you don’t have power. If you can’t drive refrigeration you are going to suffer. I’ve made a detailed power survey on our boat. Once you know your power needs it’s easier to plan the systems needed to support it.

In general I try (and often fail) to keep systems simple, understanding that I’ll need to service them myself. For example our main refrigeration is Dometic because parts are easier sourced in the USA. There are many other options but consider parts and service availability in your final decisions.

It is always a good idea to do some cruising before making large purchases. At least for us, our goals and desires changed.

Good luck and enjoy

[HudosonForce50]

Thanks for the Velair info! I just checked them out. They have the same concept as Frigomar, and half the price!