Stuff That Works: Our Watermaker

I have been writing posts about equipment and software that work for us. It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of these. You can find more of them by searching the site for #stuffthatworks or #stuffwelike. We like stuff that works. I don’t like our watermaker. That’s not true. I like it most of the time but sometimes I dislike it. Sometimes I really dislike it.

I hesitate to put our watermaker into the category of Stuff That Works. Our watermaker works but it needs regular attention and maintenance. It is far from a set it and forget piece of equipment like our AIS.

Before I get into the details of our watermaker, I’ll start by saying that a watermaker is a must have for a trip like ours. It is not a nice to have. Sure, some people are doing this trip without one but then they would have to be planning their itineraries around places to get water. We would find that limiting. I’m glad we can enjoy places for as long as we want without having to think about having to get water somewhere.

Our watermaker was installed soon after the boat launched. That’s nearly 25 years ago. That’s a long time for any piece of equipment. In general, watermakers are finicky. They need to be run regularly. For us that means every few days. They have several pumps and filters that need servicing.

Our watermaker is made by Seafresh. Over the years the company has been bought, sold and/or merged with other companies. I don’t believe they still make a watermaker like ours. Their focus now is on much larger systems. (Think cruise ships.)

These days many watermakers are self-contained units which are automatic or semi-automatic. Flip a switch and soon fresh water is filling one’s tanks. Our unit is not like that. We have to run our engine then turn on the watermaker, check the water flow, turn a knob to adjust the working pressure, test the water salinity and if it’s good, open a valve so the water flows into our tanks. It’s more labour-intensive than many watermakers but it’s modular which means we can fix it ourselves. Most of the parts are not proprietary to our watermaker. If a valve goes, we don’t have to go to the original manufacturer for a new one. When our lift pump went, we were able to replace it with a different brand of pump. When the seals in our high-pressure pump started leaking, we contacted the pump manufacturer who sent us new seals and we rebuilt the pump. That’s the advantage of our modular watermaker. Even though it is old and no longer in production, we can find parts and fix it ourselves. We don’t need special parts or a technician with special knowledge of our brand of watermaker. We like that.

There you have it–our love/hate relationship with our watermaker. I think watermakers are vital on a trip like ours. Our watermaker takes some skill to use and maintain but because of its modular design, we can maintain it ourselves. That is the real plus for our unit over some other brands. We trade convenience for serviceability. Most days, we like it.