Boat owners today are spoiled for choice when it comes to watermakers. A range of companies offer systems of different types, each with its own value proposition, and some can look similar at a glance, occasionally right down to the colour scheme. It is tempting to assume the differences are negligible.
We encourage a closer look. Having been in this market since 2013, we have learned that purchasing a watermaker is much more than buying pumps, motors and membranes. You are investing in a long term relationship with your manufacturer, and if all you paid for is a motor, a membrane and a pump, that is all you will get. Rainman delivers the best overall value through design, build quality, in house testing, aftersales support, and long term production consistency. Below are the issues worth considering when comparing Rainman to other systems, and how we approach each of them.
Purpose Designed Equipment
Every component in a Rainman system is designed for the job it performs. Our autoflush, for example, is built specifically for our systems and automatically triggers a flush cycle after shutdown, a week sitting idle, or loss of boat power. The design accounts for marine environment conditions, voltage differences, and compatibility with third party relays and different actuators. An adapted garden hose timer running on a battery just doesn’t suffice. Likewise, other electronics, such as the salinity sensor, are wired in to avoid battery changes.
Our integrated lift pump is another example. The single motor design on all Rainman models has a through shaft with a rubber impeller lift pump on one side and our high pressure pump on the other. This eliminates the need for a second motor, and with it the voltage incompatibilities, exposed electronics, manual priming, and airlock troubleshooting between two pumps.
Pressure safety comes as standard on every Rainman system and is integrated into the design of our high pressure pump. If the principal pressure control device ever fails, jams, or is closed, the pump allows water to recirculate, avoiding the hazards of an overpressured system. Rainman will never sacrifice this for a small cost saving.
Even the physical installation kit has been purpose designed. Our mounting kits for the pressure supply unit, reverse osmosis unit and plumbing hardware were developed in consultation with marine service professionals who have installed hundreds of watermakers between them. The mounting bracket design can remove hours from an installation process.
We have also invested heavily in moulds for our enclosures to maximise both function and aesthetic appeal, rather than mounting third party components onto a cut metal panel. A watermaker lives on your boat for years, and we think it should look like it belongs there.
Consistency In Production
Long term supportability depends on knowing exactly what was built and how. Every Rainman system is manufactured under strong configuration and quality control. Give us any serial number and we can tell you the exact configuration, the production technician who built it, the date of manufacture, and the operating parameters recorded at the factory including power, flow and TDS. We do not substitute whatever pumps or other parts happen to be available when we need a new batch. When a component manufacturer changes a specification, we place customised orders to hold to the original specification with the same marine grade materials and the same salt resistant product. Consistency today makes support possible ten years from now.
We only build with high end components designed for many years of service. Some manufacturers offer lower specification build options, such as alloy pressure vessel end caps or non marine grade high pressure pumps, to hit a lower price point, with higher quality available at additional cost. We do not offer lower quality tiers because we do not believe they serve the customer’s long term interest.
Before any system leaves our factory, it undergoes a full wet test, including membrane salt rejection, to confirm it is operating within design parameters. Nothing ships untested. This practice also comes from years of experience in the market and long term customer feedback.
Proven Durable In The Harshest Environments
Few watermakers operate in more difficult environments than those found on charter fleets and commercial fishing vessels. On crewed boats, systems run for many hours every day to supply frequent fresh water showers, dive gear washing, ice making for the cargo hold and more. There is no such thing as a three minute shower on a charter boat. In bareboat situations, the system gets a new operator every week who is guaranteed not to have read the operations manual. Rainman’s renowned reliability under these conditions is why so many of the best charter fleets in the world, including Navigare, Dream Yacht, TMM, Paradise, Horizon, Cumberland, and others have standardised on our watermakers. Reliable watermakers, world class support.
Support And Warranty From A Company, Not An Individual
Rainman honours the warranty on every system we sell. For example, if a membrane fails, we will not send you off to the membrane manufacturer. You purchased the system from Rainman, so the warranty is with Rainman, not our parts suppliers.
Our support structure is built for depth and resilience. We have more than 90 listed dealers worldwide, dozens of other trade accounts, a comprehensive self support resource on our website, and our direct support team spanning multiple time zones. Importantly, that support is built around a team rather than any one individual. Support that depends on a single person, however capable, lacks resilience. We have deliberately built depth of skills across the business so that support continues smoothly regardless of an individual’s health and availability.
We also hold everyone associated with the Rainman brand, employees and dealers alike, to a high professional standard. We believe the way a company conducts itself at boat shows, trade shows, in public forums and social media is a strong indicator of how it will conduct itself when you need help.
Guidance That Protects Your Investment
Our operating instructions are written around best practices that maximise component longevity. For example, we will never recommend bringing the system to full pressure within a few seconds as this pressure-slams the RO membranes and shortens their life. Small habits like this, built into how we educate customers on using our systems, will add years of service to the hardware.
Our rated performance figures reflect genuine operating conditions. We measure system capacity conservatively, so our customers are never disappointed by exaggerated performance specs.
Options From Simple Manual To Fully Automated
Rainman’s watermaker range spans manually controlled portable, modular and framed systems through to an advanced fully automated design. Many owners investing in new boats today want a fully automated watermaker to match the experience they expect from the rest of the vessel. When luxury boat builders specify Rainman systems, they almost always order the fully automated units with wired remote micropanel, Bluetooth connected app control, and full manual backup.
When we design our advanced systems, we do it in such a way as to maintain upgradeability for any customer with an electric Rainman. A full upgrade path exists from a portable unit, to a basic installed system, to adding a control panel with autoflush, to upgrading to the fully automated system.
The Decision Is Yours
All of these points are worth weighing when selecting a watermaker. We believe Rainman offers the best overall value in the desalination market, and we are happy to let the evidence speak for itself.