Are watermakers losing their relevance?

[jasonleeau]

Hi 44,

were just about togo long distance cruising to Indonesia. What Watermaker do you have? Also, thinking of making our own. Does anyone now the best place in Oz to get a Membrane and Membrane housing? I have all the other parts.

Thanks,

[theDangerz]

Originally Posted by makobuilders

Dangerz, how many gallons of water per month do you use, with and without the water maker?

I’m not sure how to answer the “without watermaker” question as 100% of our water comes from the watermaker. I would say our average is 200-250gallon per month (unless we have guests aboard...).

[hpeer]

Interesting, we use under 100 gallons per month. No right or wrong, just different.

[theDangerz]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Interesting, we use under 100 gallons per month. No right or wrong, just different.

Indeed. I’m sure there’s a few factors in what I’m sure is higher consumption on our end:
- we’re brand new to this, but have been living in a campervan for several years, so we’re “splurging” a bit on the newfound luxury of running water
- we are typically in and out of the water several times a day snorkeling, spearing, etc, and are religious about rinsing off ourselves, the dog and all gear.
- we have a freshwater hose/rinse on deck and are also pretty religious about rinsing the anchor rode as it comes aboard and washing the decks.

I’m sure it will cost us more in watermaker filters, but hopefully save us money in repairs and upkeep. Time will tell.

[Mike OReilly]

When off the dock we use 1 gallon/person/day, so 2 gallons per day. When water is unlimited, and we are using freshwater only, our usage almost doubles: 3.8 gallons/day (for two of us).

We carry 200 gallons of water, so we can last a long time, but I still like the idea of a watermaker. Maybe someday...

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Interesting, we use under 100 gallons per month. No right or wrong, just different.

We will use 25 to 30 gl a day, so that is pushing 800 gl a month?
We flush with it, wash the boat with it, do all of our laundry with it, shower with it, wash dishes, wash the anchor chain etc.
800 gls a month sounds insane, but it is only two three hour Watermaker runs a week.
When you make in excess of 30 gls an hour 800 gls isn’t much water at all really.
It sells for $300 to $400 in the Bahamas though.

I figure the lack of laundry cost offsets the costs of running the Watermaker, once you pay for one, they save money, and water isn’t a concern.

A Watermaker is a life changing event, like an Autopilot is.

It’s like if someone handed you a credit card and said spend all the money you want, don’t worry it, it’s unlimited.
After awhile you wouldn’t even know what stuff costs, a Watermaker is like that.
I used to stress every time I would hear the wife go to the bathroom and hear the water pump running for what seemed like a ridiculous amount of time, same for washing dishes.
I don’t worry about it so much anymore, it’s like free money.

[a64pilot]

Average person in the US uses 3,000 gls of water a month. 100 gls a day.

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

When off the dock we use 1 gallon/person/day, so 2 gallons per day. When water is unlimited, and we are using freshwater only, our usage almost doubles: 3.8 gallons/day (for two of us).

We carry 200 gallons of water, so we can last a long time, but I still like the idea of a watermaker. Maybe someday...

Two kinds, one thought.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

We will use 25 to 30 gl a day, so that is pushing 800 gl a month? We flush with it, wash the boat with it, do all of our laundry with it, shower with it, wash dishes, wash the anchor chain etc….

I’m sure mine seems amazingly low*, but details matter. We don’t flush with fresh water (compost head), we don’t shower with it (rain water used here), we don’t wash the anchor with it (salt water only). Laundry and dishes use salt for the heavy cleaning. We use fresh for the final rinse.

The other aspect is we cruise northern waters. Not much swimming here (so no need for constant rinsing off). And we likely don’t sweat as much, so I bet our general need for laundry/showers are less.

Most of our fresh water is used for cooking and drinking. Most of our meals are done on board.

Like I say, we’re not paranoid about water usage on board. We’re just very aware. But we’ve also made choices that helps us use lower amounts of water. If I had a watermaker I’d stop thinking about these choices.

*I know exactly how much water we use because I installed a flow meter last season. I was actually somewhat surprised at the amount it recorded, but it remained pretty constant over the months at anchor, and then at the dock.

Originally Posted by a64pilot

It’s like if someone handed you a credit card and said spend all the money you want, don’t worry it, it’s unlimited.
After awhile you wouldn’t even know what stuff costs, a Watermaker is like that.
I used to stress every time I would hear the wife go to the bathroom and hear the water pump running for what seemed like a ridiculous amount of time, same for washing dishes.
I don’t worry about it so much anymore, it’s like free money.

Agreed. It would be nice to not have to think about water usage. But one of my (many ) rationalizations is that being conscious of resource usage IS one of the reasons for choosing a cruising lifestyle.

… but I still would like a watermaker .

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Average person in the US uses 3,000 gls of water a month. 100 gls a day.

Insane, eh? Of course most of this is done on our behalf through industry, agriculture and commercial activities. But it’s still a boggling amount of water. Canada and the USA are some of the heaviest per-capita water users on the planet.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

Agreed. It would be nice to not have to think about water usage. But one of my (many ) rationalizations is that being conscious of resource usage IS one of the reasons for choosing a cruising lifestyle.

… but I still would like a watermaker

Resource wise your desalinating water, returning the brine, but also returning the fresh water. Pretty much every drop removed, is returned. What you sweat and breathe out is about all that isn’t returned.
So other than using power, your not using any resources, and that power can be Solar, and you run the Watermaker after lunch daily when you have excess Solar anyway.
My Watermaker requires a generator and that burns about 1 gl of fuel per 200 gls of water made, another poster worked that out mathematically.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Resource wise your desalinating water, returning the brine, but also returning the fresh water. Pretty much every drop removed, is returned. What you sweat and breathe out is about all that isn’t returned.
So other than using power, your not using any resources, and that power can be Solar, and you run the Watermaker after lunch daily when you have excess Solar anyway.
My Watermaker requires a generator and that burns about 1 gl of fuel per 200 gls of water made, another poster worked that out mathematically.

Oh, you’re good at this rationalization stuff . If I went for one it would definitely be DC/solar driven. I’m even more sold!

… except I still can't justify the ~$4K given our usage rates and current location. Any help with that?

[Davo1404]

Originally Posted by Freedom45

No, my opinion.
We have been cruising for a little over four years in the Pacific with water makers.
Wouldn't leave home without one. I've witnessed many people struggle for water.
One might have enough for passage, but when they get to anchorage, now the search begins to find safe water, lug jerry cans for miles sometimes. Don't count on collecting rain either.
We have 500 gal water capacity but don't need it, I will be downsizing tanks to less than half that someday to gain space.
I like my fresh water shower.....

Cheers.

You are exactly right. Finding good quality water is a major problem throughout the Pacific Islands. Lugging 20 litre jerry cans by dinghy is an exhausting task. Also you are cruising in the dry season, so even the locals can be struggling for water.

[Olddan1943]

Water makers are like PFDs. You may never use it but, when you need it, it is nice to have it available.

[Cthoops]

We decided to hold off on a water maker until we had been out cruising for awhile (for now we are cruising the U.S. East Coast and the Bahamas). We definitely didn't need one going down the coast (and couldn't have used it in most places anyway), and water hasn't been difficult to buy in the Bahamas.

Our usage is similar to Mike's at a touch over 2 gallons/day so it's definitely hard to justify buying one. It would take years to amortize the cost, but it would be a wonderful convenience. The thing that keeps us from pulling the trigger (besides the cost) is the space it would take up on our 30' boat. Not that we haven't talked about it a few times over the past several months!

Bottom line, I'm glad we didn't buy one before we left, but that doesn't mean we won't purchase one at some point in the future.

[contrail]

No. Lugging water to the boat is a chore and a tyranny, just like having to race to an anchorage to walk the dog.