Rainman Testimonials – What Customers Say About Us

saltwater desalinator reviews

Thank you for your quick response to my query. It is the sort of service I have become accustomed to when dealing with you.

Jenny and I still actually live on our boat and go out to sea often to replenish our drinking water from the Rainman as the water tastes so much better than the chlorinated town water that is available on land.  We intend to sail to Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia this winter so it will continue to have good use.  We have now sailed 14,000 Nautical Miles with it and have only replaced the filters twice due to the clean sea water we were in and our constant use, however we do pickle it if leaving it over 7 days between uses.  Having the capability of producing a lot of water in a short time (comparatively) allows us to choose what source water we use to replenish our tanks and we are able to avoid harbours and other runoff areas.  I tied a single lead dive weight to the elephants trunk enabling me to produce water when sailing at speeds up to 4 knots so we never had to go without.  There are always times when speed drops to or less than that and it is then that I make water.  We keep the whole unit under the cockpit seat and place the generator on the leeward rail when in use.  Sooo easy.  It cost $0 to install.  I make about 400ltrs of a crystal clear water per fill of petrol in the Honda.  It has not missed a beat in all that time and we have become the envy of many.  On some islands like the San Blas we became very popular with the local people who would come by in their dugouts asking for water as the word had got around.  It was lovely to have that sort of capability and capacity. I did have to replace my Honda 2000 genset, which I also bought in the Med, due to a large wave egress but no installation or delays as these can be bought in just about any city.

Ted Peacocke / SV Elixir - South Pacific
saltwater desalinator reviews

We have used the Rainman a few time now and are very happy with its performance. We have it stored under our back deck and simply open the hatch lid put it on the deck and in a couple of minutes we are making great tasting water. So easy to use. We are getting the boat ready for a month trip to Princess Charlotte Bay in Far North Queensland and will give the Rainman a good workout.

The safety factor of being able to make fresh water when ever you need it is great. The Rainman it an excellent product . Well done.

Keith & Susan / SV Madfish - Far North Queensland
saltwater desalinator reviews

Just a note to say the first ‘pink’ Rainman in Europe is up and running and has produced about 1000 litres so far. It has allowed us to spend now 9 days on anchor across the southern Spanish Coast and the Belaeric Islands. We will shortly be leaving for Corsica and Sardinia and are looking forward to more nights on anchor in our Lagoon 42.

Brett and Murray / SV Next Life - Europe
saltwater desalinator reviews

We departed the Pacific Northwest in August 2017 for a two year cruise in Mexico with our two younger daughters, dog and cat on board our 38′ Ericson Sailboat, “SV The Answer”. To avoid the constant, “you’re using too much water” discussion on a daily basis, we set out looking for a solution that would allow us to make water while living aboard, but also fit our normal cruising style of a couple week jaunts at a time. We liked the idea of having a portable water maker we could take off the boat when not in use, that would also work with our Honda 2000 generator we were already carrying. We’ve been using our Rainman high output unit now for eight months and have truly appreciated its ability to stow on our boat, the volume of water it produces and the simplicity of setup/operation and breakdown. I’ve had various technical questions and the response from Rainman Corporate and our distributor we purchased from has been wonderful. We have also run into other cruisers with the same units and they have reported the same. I would without hesitation recommend Rainman water makers to any cruisers, or boat owners who are looking for a reliable way to make water with an easy solution.

Todd / SV The Answer - North America
saltwater desalinator reviews

Over the years, we got frustrated by having to stop weekly in marinas to get our load of fresh water, and by planning our trips around those stops. Of course, we knew about watermakers – and their installation costs, their complexity, their multiple risks of failure, the energy they draw, etc.

Then, we discovered Rainman watermakers : no installation, “plug and play”, autonomous… it just works, and has clearly been designed to be easy to maintain. Ordered and delivered over to Europe in no time. Rainman work and support is fantastic.

Every four or five days, we ran the watermaker (Gasoline/High output membranes)… and that was it! We never had better water onboard in the past, what a change! It just works as expected.

When planning to use the watermaker, we usually set the anchor away from the other boats (if any!). The gasoline high pressure pump (like any gasoline generator) does make noise, but not that much. I am pretty sure no one ever noticed we were running the watermaker. Even for us below deck, it is totally bearable.

As for the maintenance, we like to clean the watermaker with the produced water every time we use it. This takes just 5 extra minutes and if, for whatever reason, the watermaker is left untouched in its locker for the next week… its prepared. At the end of the summer, we brought it all back home : pickled and oil changed, ready for the next season.

Pierre and Maria / SV Soledad - Mediterranean
saltwater desalinator reviews

We chose Rainman because we did not want to install something or change our electrical system to accommodate a water maker. It’s also gas powered and uses a common Honda motor that is easily repairable (though we haven’t needed to yet). We love that it has a high output. It worked flawlessly for us the 6 months we used it in the Bahamas. We had to change the filter more frequently when we used it in the US due to a higher sediment environment. Adding a more coarse filter in line might solve that. Water quality has always been high and we’ve had no problems with it!

Jocelyn and Nate / SV Golden Shellback - Bahamas
saltwater desalinator reviews

We purchased our new Seawind 1160 Catamaran in January 2016 and have been based in Asia mainly sailing within Indonesia and Malaysia. We looked at a number of different Desalination units before deciding to go with the Rainman as a permanently installed system in our aft port hull behind the bathroom & shower cabin. The watermaker has since performed flawlessly and we now have access to up to 120 Litres of fresh water per hour that has allowed us to sail ½ ton lighter (¼ full water tanks) which is always a good thing on a Catamaran. We decided to go with the electric 240v model which we run via the Honda 2000 generator however we can also run the watermaker on 12volts via our inverter as an emergency backup with the preferred method being the generator. Very happy with the performance and quality, would recommend the Rainman to anyone that wants a no nonsense workhorse for fresh water production on their boat.

Pali Pali - Seawind 1160
Andrew / SV Pali Pali - Southeast Asia
saltwater desalinator reviews

We have now used your water maker in the delivered portable state. Here’s the results of our first usage of your product:

Sea condition- 23.5C, good water with 10M visibility, deck height about 900mm

Performance- water quality 255ppm, volume 120LPH

I like the high power and the simple mechanics of your unit, a vast improvement on my previous unit.

Congratulations on an excellent product.

Robin / MV Flash Dancer - Qld
saltwater desalinator reviews

Our previous boat already had a Watermaker fitted and being new to Watermakers we thought it quite good until it required repairs and I started to research options. As it turned out we bought another boat and it gave me the option of starting from scratch with the RO unit.

I considered putting a unit together myself using individually sourced parts until I looked further into the Rainman unit which gave me a complete portable package with the option of permanent installation later if I choose plus it used a number of the components I would have chosen myself.

I also found it refreshing to be able to communicate easily and directly with Ron on a number of questions I had prior to purchase. We already had an onboard generator so I chose the 240 volt option with the two membrane unit. Purchase and delivery was simple and on time. We have had the unit now for about six months and are extremely pleased with our decision. Product water tastes great and output is as claimed. It now only takes us a little over two hours to produce the same volume of water that took all day with the 12 volt unit.

When using the unit recently I noticed it was vibrating excessively and production was limited so shut it down and sent an Email explaining the symptoms. Received a reply a few hours later with a couple of options to try including changing the prefilter. Its a simple job so 10 minutes later after the change we are back to normal operation.

I already have told a lot of people how pleased we are with this unit and would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone.

Chris / Sailing Cat 'Quiet Achiever' - Mediterranean
saltwater desalinator reviews

We chose Rainman because my business partner was in touch with Thomas or someone else from Rainman Philippines already. Made for marine environments sounded good, lots of corrosion issues and others similar to boats on an island, as you know.

I vouched for the petrol powered version, but my business partner went for 2 of the electric type which he thought could be powered with our solar system – turns out the batteries are too weak for even only one at a time. I contacted your awesome customer support and got immediate answer that the pumps are not designed for solar systems, and it is not recommended to try to do so, in order to avoid damage to the battery bank.

We were able to run both pumps at the same time smoothly with a 6kVA Diesel generator – until that generator broke down 3 days ago. Now we are back to a 2kVA petrol generator and one Rainman pump.

We are considering upgrading the solar system to try to run the pumps with solar after all, although Rainman indicated they are nearing release of a lower power 12VDC system.

We pump salt water up the hill, got 3 x 2m3 tanks for the salt water there. We use the salt water for the desalination and to flush our toilets. From there the desalinated water goes into 2 x 2m3 stainless tanks. We use the fresh water mainly for the showers, drinking and cooking.

We run the Rainman systems pretty much daily, for most of the day, especially now that we can only run one on our smaller generator. When the resort is full we need about 1m3 fresh water per day for about 15 guests and 10 staff.

Johannes / 250K Private Kiteboarding Camp - Philippines
saltwater desalinator reviews

I’m an owner of a Riviera 38 FB based in Panama, Republic of Panama. I took the decision to buy a Rainman water maker after a lot of research. I find the product on the Internet and read about the system and the different configurations available. I took the decision to choose Rainman cause my engine room have limited space available and I don’t wanna go through the installation process that involve changes in my engine room configuration. After that I contacted with Rainman headquarters, cause there’s no distributor in my country, and have a great support choosing the appropriate system for my needs and a full advice about all the freight & duty charges. Three days after make de payment the system arrives to my home in Panama.

The system have a great presentation, quality, and it’s really easy to use and store. The output were excellent in water quality and quantity. Up to day I’m really satisfied with the system and every body were impress with it, simple, and exceptional value for money.

Federico / MV Quinta II - Panama
saltwater desalinator reviews

I chose Rainman because of the simple installation and portability and price. It did more than meet my expectations, the water output was as I had hoped, at 120 litre per hour. The customer service was great, Mr Ron Schroeder went out of his way to expedite delivery.

Cees / Netherlands
saltwater desalinator reviews

Having searched the market for a desalinator for some time we decided to look at the various products on display at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show and probably make our decision once we had seen what was on display and speaking to the reps. On the way to the show, we looked on the web for the display layouts so we knew where to go and in doing so noticed the Rainman display. So a quick research in the car highlighted the benefits of a very simple and inexpensive approach to having a desalination unit on the boat. Rainman, by chance happened to be nearly at the entrance, so we visited them first. After discussions with the team, we were very impressed by their product and this set the scene for our other product stand visits. It became very clear that Rainman was offering a quality product at a very reasonable price and given that we are always keen to get value for money, it seemed the perfect solution.

We do not make decisions quickly and Ron was prepared to allow us to research more and still give us his show special price. After some days further research at home, we decided on the two membrane AC unit.

It was some time after the show and after we purchased the desalinator before we headed off on our first big trip with it and try it out. Well after 101 days at sea cruising the Whitsundays and all in between from Mooloolaba, we had plenty of use out of this wonderful device. It consistently produced 140 litres per hour without a hitch, which made our need to visit a marina very few. On our return to Mooloolaba, we pickled the system in preparation for some time back home with only short trips away, not requiring to use the water maker.

Our first trip was to Tangalooma via Bribie Island and as things tend to happen on boats, a fresh water hose blew off the manifold in the bilge and nearly all our water was pumped into the bilge, then over the side, thanks to our bilge pump. So there we were anchored in Pumicestone Passage with very little water. Solution, unpickle the water maker and make enough water to get by for the next few days. This was done very easily, the only issue being the water in the passage isn’t very clean and the pre filter clogged up after a few hours. This wasn’t big problem and the water was still of a very high quality.

If I was in the market again for the ideal unit, Rainman if the obvious choice and Ron and his team are very easy to deal with, very knowledgeable and helpful, thanks Ron.

Don and Suzy / SV Vamonos - Australia
saltwater desalinator reviews

I selected Rainman based on price and that my boat is going to be a fresh water boat 90% of the time however I will be offshore and spending time in the Bahamas and did not want to permanently install a watermaker in our boat. A portable unit will allow us to share and potentially sell in the future or move it to our next boat as a back-up.

Torstein / Nordic Belle II - Canada
saltwater desalinator reviews

We purchased a new boat and were considering the merits of a watermaker. Our plans were to spend 2 years in he Med and expected quite a few friends to join us from time to time. An electric watermaker, offered as an option on the boat was limited in its output by the capacity of the boats power supply. Marina to Marina we would not require a watermaker but we expect to spend several weeks at a time on anchor especially in places like the Greek Islands and Croatia where there are lots of lovely anchorages to choose from. We did not want to be running back to marinas all the time just for water.

When we came across the Rainman it offered us a cost effective solution to making water. It produces 1 litre per minute of beautiful tasting water. I have a water test kit and the water it produces tests at 155ppm, which is significantly below the WHO standards for drinking water.

We had initially intended to fit the unit into the boat but at this stage we have elected to keep it as a portable unit and use it off the back of the boat.

Paul / SV Double Trouble - Mediterranean
saltwater desalinator reviews

Viki and I love our rainman unit and think it is a wonderful addition to our boating lifestyle. We bought our unit for three reasons. No installation hassles or costs, no massive depreciation if we change boats as we take it with us, and finally the company being based in Australia. The consultation and advice in the purchasing process was excellent.

In operation the unit is simple to use, sets up in a couple of minutes and tirelessly puts out its rated output of 140 l/hr. It means for us freedom, we don’t go searching for water constantly but we can wash clothes, enjoy comfortable warm showers when we want, and generally know water is not an issue. It also means we finish our trip with full water tanks which means added stability and comfort for all on board.

We just love our little Rainman that can.

Paul & Viki / MV Spindrift - Australia
saltwater desalinator reviews

Currently travelling the east coast of Australia and making our way towards the Kimberly’s we could not travel without our it, finding many places lack water facilities for boats, this is where the Rainman becomes an easy way to top up the water tanks, I also like how the unit itself is built with a strong outer casing protecting the internal workings, you could also take the unit of the boat if the need arose. Another bonus the unit uses off the shelf components making for easy replacement of parts if and when that should arise, I also found the initial price to be reasonable and the service Ron and his team deliver was very efficient.

In our installation, the reverse osmosis filter unit is installed in the centre hold on the wall, when water is needed I just place the Rainman unit on the foredeck connect the pressure hose then drop the intake hose through the trampoline, have found output varies depending on salinity and temp, usually the unit produces around 1 to 1.5 litres of fresh water per minute with one reverse osmosis filter. For us sailing on a catamaran we only carry 200 litres of water due to the weight up front, so topping up is usually around every three to four days which works well for our needs.

Wayne and Jillian / Catamaran Walkabout - Australia
saltwater desalinator reviews

Why a Rainman watermaker?

I have had desal units on other boats I have owned and was pleased to see last year that a portable unit is now available.

For those who are purchasing a desalination unit for the first time, it was great to be offered a detailed run-through by Ron Schroeder from Rainman and Andrew Parkes of X Yachts, at the time of delivery.

As we currently own a 30′ timber cruiser I have installed it as a semi portable unit requiring me to only move the pump unit on to the marlin board and then connect up the hoses.

An extra length of high pressure hose with fittings was supplied without fuss from Rainman (at addition cost).

There is one observation that I would like to share about the Honda motor. The manual supplied with it suggests that if the motor is not going to be used for some time “the fuel should be drained from the tank and the carburettor.” This is a ‘must do’ otherwise the carby and hoses can become contaminated. There are two types of drains illustrated, one with a drain plug the other with a small drain hose and tap. My unit has the first type which is a little difficult to extract and catch the fuel, the second would be more user friendly,however it is not on the Honda spare parts list!

Hope the forgoing is of some use to fellow Rainman users.

[Tip from Rainman:  Another option is to plan your final watermaking session before long term storage such that you run the fuel system dry. This way you don’t have to drain it. Don’t forget to pickle the reverse osmosis membranes too.]

Ed / MV Leeda - Sydney
saltwater desalinator reviews

We chose a Rainman 240volt 140 litre per hour watermaker for our Lagoon 400 catamaran. We have 600 litre tanks but with lots of guests this can still go fairly quickly! We wanted to be able to make water quickly; running from our genset or the Honda petrol motor is comparatively noisy, so get lots of water in the tank in the least amount of time. A high output also allows water to be made whilst seawater quality is good. “Let’s make water quickly before we go into that quiet anchorage with muddy seawater.

The portability of Rainman watermakers is a great and unique feature, but we wanted simplicity and convenience, so we decided to do an in hull installation. The two “modules” of the Rainman facilitates this type of installation. We installed the motor/ pump unit under one bunk of our forward cabin and the 2 membranes under another. The 240 volt power is connected via the standard 3 pin plug into the boat’s sockets. Simple.

The water supply to the Rainman is via a bank of filters. We have two particulate filters for seawater intake and one carbon filter to take any residual chlorine out of the boat’s freshwater that we use instead of a bucket for the final flush. We alternate between seawater and fresh via a 3 way valve. The filter assembly is made using parts available from most hardware shops. Ron and his staff kindly assisted with patient advise as well as some plumbing connectors for the poly tubing that Rainman use. We used these to plumb into the boat’s pipe work for the brine discharge and the product water taste tap and tank input.

We are very happy with the installation. It’s out of sight but readily accessible. The output has consistently been 2.5 l/min at 55bar, which exceeds Rainman’s claims, with water temperature of 22 degrees C. The under bunk installation is also very quiet.

We look forward to many more tanks of pure trouble free water.

Mark / SV Temptress - Queensland