Dear John,
Watermaker filters become fouled by virtue of what's in the water,
not as a result of time. Here in South Florida, I have gotten 35
hours on the fine particle filter. I have also had to replace it
after 3 hours after sailing through several sarragasso patches near
the gulf stream.
Sounds like you did everything correctly when troubleshooting. You
probably just hit a patch of water with a lot of junk in it.
Best Regards,
Joel F. Potter
Cruising Yacht Specialist
Amel's Sole Associate for the Americas

asm283
THANKS FOR THE INFO ON THE WATER MAKER. ACTUALLY I FLUSHED IT WITH
CLEAN WATER FOR 3-5 MINUTES AFTER EACH USAGE AS I WAS INSTRUCTED AND
DID "PICKLE IT" FOR LONG TERM. IN FACT I HIRED A LOCAL CARIBBEAN
WATERMAKER SERVICE COMPANY TO ADD TEES & VALVES TO FACILITATE THIS
CHOIR! AS FOR THE TRIP, I WAS QUITE BLESSED WITH LIGHT DOWNWIND
SAILING FROM FRANCE TO THE CARIBBEAN. I NEVER SAW OVER 30 KTS OF TRUE
WIND AND BUT 2 DAYS WAS FROM MY STERN QUARTER! LITTLE INCLEMENT
WEATHER, NO THUNDERSTORMS OR SQUALLS EITHER! MY ANTICIPATION WAS FOR
AN OCCASSIONAL GALE, BUT NEVER HAPPENED! THE MOST WIND WAS IN SIR
FRANCIS DRAKE IN THE BVI! NO COMPLAINTS THOUGH.

Hi I have the same watermaker. It is imperative that you run it on a
consistent basis. If you leave it for a long time you should pickle
it. I went as far as having it removed and stored, since I will not
go cruising untill next year. Call Joel Potter he knows quite a bit
on the subject. Filters are cheap change them ofter. How was your
trip across?

ASM283

--- In amelyachtowners@y..., jfolino901 <no_reply@y...> wrote:

I HAVE SM # 347, LAUNCHED 11/5/01. SHE HAS THE LARGER WATERMAKER BY
DESSALATOR (150 LITERS/HOUR) & WORKS QUITE WELL. HOWEVER AT JUST

OVER

11 HOURS ON THE WATERMAKER, I LOST BOTH LOW & HIGH PRESSURE

READINGS

ON THE GAUGES. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS DUE TO RUNNING BOTH THE
ENGINE, GENSET & WATERMAKER & JUST A CASE OF OVERDEMAND. I CHECKED
THE SEA CHEST AND IT WAS CLEAN! HOWEVER AFTER SHUTTING DOWN THE
ENGINE, THE WATER MAKER EXHIBITED THE SAME PROBLEMS. SO I CHANGED
BOTH THE 25 MICRON & 5 MICRON FILTER CARTIDGES WHICH CURED THE
PROBLEM. THE 5 MICRON FILTER LOOKED HEALTHY SO I SAVED IT FOR

FUTURE

USE! I DON'T RUN THE WATER MAKER IN PORT. I USED IT FROM FRANCE TO
PORTUGAL LAST NOVEMBER. THEN FROM PORTUGAL TO THE CARIBBEAN THIS
JANUARY TO FEBRUARY. I RETURNED TO THE BOAT MID MARCH FOR A WEEK.
COMMENTS REGARDING FILTER LIFE OR ANY OTHER ASPECT. THE MADE WATER

IS

CLEAN & QUITE FREE OF SALT OR MINERALS.
THANKS,
JOHN FOLINO, SULAJON

I HAVE SM # 347, LAUNCHED 11/5/01. SHE HAS THE LARGER WATERMAKER BY
DESSALATOR (150 LITERS/HOUR) & WORKS QUITE WELL. HOWEVER AT JUST OVER
11 HOURS ON THE WATERMAKER, I LOST BOTH LOW & HIGH PRESSURE READINGS
ON THE GAUGES. AT FIRST I THOUGHT IT WAS DUE TO RUNNING BOTH THE
ENGINE, GENSET & WATERMAKER & JUST A CASE OF OVERDEMAND. I CHECKED
THE SEA CHEST AND IT WAS CLEAN! HOWEVER AFTER SHUTTING DOWN THE
ENGINE, THE WATER MAKER EXHIBITED THE SAME PROBLEMS. SO I CHANGED
BOTH THE 25 MICRON & 5 MICRON FILTER CARTIDGES WHICH CURED THE
PROBLEM. THE 5 MICRON FILTER LOOKED HEALTHY SO I SAVED IT FOR FUTURE
USE! I DON'T RUN THE WATER MAKER IN PORT. I USED IT FROM FRANCE TO
PORTUGAL LAST NOVEMBER. THEN FROM PORTUGAL TO THE CARIBBEAN THIS
JANUARY TO FEBRUARY. I RETURNED TO THE BOAT MID MARCH FOR A WEEK.
COMMENTS REGARDING FILTER LIFE OR ANY OTHER ASPECT. THE MADE WATER IS
CLEAN & QUITE FREE OF SALT OR MINERALS.
THANKS,
JOHN FOLINO, SULAJON