We’re very happy to receive these photos from a customer of a couple years ago. We frequently hear about past watermaker challenges from new customers. This is often due to either highly automated nature of the existing systems, or those with overly complex high pressure pumps. It’s great to hear that things are running smoothly. Another installation by Brett Swann, The Watermaker Man. This system is one of the earlier Naked versions of our 12VDC desalination system. John spends a lot of time sailing off of Australia and throughout the South Pacific Islands.
Brett mounted the desalination system in an onboard locker in the starboard hull. At this location, the pressure supply unit is within within 2 metres from the house batteries and it is close by the raw water supply at midships. This makes it ideal for making water under passage and minimising potential power loss of longer cables.
Customer commentary
After 15 years we finally have a reliable watermaker!
Over the past 15 years we have had 4 different vessels, 3 x monohulls & 1 x catamaran. During that time we have lived aboard those vessels and sailed literally half way around the world.
All of these vessels were fitted with different brands of watermakers when we purchased them. As a result, we have had the opportunity to compare the various pros and cons of some very well known brands of watermakers.
I can honestly say that none of them were problem free. Maintaining and repairing them, with the various related components, has been a very expensive exercise.
The watermaker that was originally fitted to our our current vessel started to play up soon after we purchased it. Once again we spent (wasted) more money repairing and refurbishing it only to discover that it was still less than reliable. Around this time, the marine genset also developed a terminal illness. We were faced with yet another expensive repair or replacement.
A new marine genset would have cost around $15,000, and then we would still have a watermaker with issues! Before going any further, we assessed our power generation needs. We decided that while cruising, we did not need a marine genset for anything other than operation of the original 240v water maker.
When we have good sunny days, our solar array provides more than the power generation we require. We considered removing the marine genset altogether, and install a 12v watermaker.
After further research, we made the decision to remove the genset and the original 240v watermaker, replacing it with a portable Honda generator and a 12v Naked Rainman desalinator.
The most appealing thing about this decision was that the cost for both the Honda portable genset and the Rainman Desalination System combined was less than the cost of the replacement marine genset on its own. We would then have a new water maker as well!
18 months later, full time cruising and living aboard, I can say that we are 100% happy with our decision. The 12v Naked Rainman we installed has, and continues to perform, without fault.
John Hembrow
SV Songlines
Australia
Helpful Links
» Product information: Rainman 12VDC Electric Water Maker
» View Rainman desalinators at The Watermaker Man
» Installing a desalinator on your boat
» How water makers work on a boat
» Find a Rainman Watermaker distributor in the South Pacific