# Water maker advice?



## onewolf (Jun 9, 2001)

I''m interested in getting information/opinions regarding fresh water makers for a 40'' cruising sailboat. I would need less than 40-50 gallons per day. I would prefer a 12V system. What''s the most reliable system? Most economical?

Thanks for any advice!

Doug --- www.onewolf.net ---


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## jack_patricia (May 20, 2001)

Doug, you did say you''d welcome ''any advice''...

Given the tankage on a 40'' boat, you should be needing to make 5-10 gals per day, hardly the 40-50 you mentioned. *Especially* if you want a 12V maker; large motors put a big demand on even large 12V battery banks.

While not a ''rule'', I''ve found most boats have an imbalance in their ''energy equation'' (at least, while cruising) on the ''generation'' side. This means that, even with their 12V alternative energy sources (wind, solar), they still must occasionally generate power (run the engine or aux generator) rather than be looking for ways to consume add''l stored 12V energy. If your boat fits this description, why not install an engine-driven (either main or aux) water maker? To do so means you get ''free'' water while doing the mandatory batteru charge, anyway. Installing a 12V maker just imbalances the ''energy equation'' even further.

Jack


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## efatzinger (Nov 30, 2000)

Two words SPECTRA WATERMACKER !!!!


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## yandina (Aug 29, 2000)

Avoid "SEA RECOVERY" like the plague. Send me an email if you want a list of problems - too long to list on BB.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Spectra...Bob


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

We like our Pur Watermaker on our 40-footer. It''s a Powersurvivor 80-II, a modular system, and produces a bit more than 3 gallons per hour. Maintenance has been straight forward. Good manuals. Good phone support. We can run it off a gel cell, but usually make water while the engine is running for other purposes.


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## yachtdolphins (Oct 8, 2009)

I concur with Yandina, Sea recovery watermakers are great if you want salt water inside your boat all the time.
The dealer in Queensland Australia has no knowledge of them at all.
AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE


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## Omatako (Sep 14, 2003)

onewolf said:


> I would need less than 40-50 gallons per day. I would prefer a 12V system. What''s the most reliable system? Most economical?


That will never keep your hot tub fresh . . . . you'll have to use the same water for two days!! 

We sailed from US to Bora Bora including a stop in the Marquesas (about 6 weeks, 3 people) and used about 600 litres (45 gallons). Your volume requirements are enormous.


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## Minnewaska (Feb 21, 2010)

You are most likely contemplating several people taking showers, doing dishes, maybe even fresh water heads for that usage level. I say, good on ya. If you can make the water, why live in h2o poverty. 

I've done similar research and like the spectra watermakers with the auto-controller. Unless you are going to be on an extended cruise, you probably won't use it as much as you imagine. The auto-controller will cycle the system every so often to be sure it remains viable. 

They make them of all capacities. The more gph, the more expensive. Keep in mind that you won't want to run it all day, so you need to calc the gph necessary to recover your needed supply based on house batt capacity, engine run time, genset runtime, etc.

Personally I don't want to have to manage power for it to run more than 2 or 3 hrs per day. Your consumption will require mid-range production and price to pull that off.


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

Powersurvivor 80-II gives 3 gal for 8 Amps, make water at mid day and you have no draw on the bats. 6 gal on a 40 footer should be all you need. if you need 50 gal a day you wont be welcome ony my boat. How do you use 2 gal an hour?.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

You guys do realize you're replying to a thread from 2001, right? Yachtdolphins revived it solely to ***** about Sea Recovery and how he doesn't like them, and they may well be out of business by now.


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

I Like history


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