Mohammad and Aty

Thanks, I had basically found the same things in researching this. However, something is amiss since we are using membranes at a rate much greater than others.

Hi;

When we first purchased Kokomo, I had detailed discussions with Martin, the head tech at Dessalator, about the environments that the water maker could be used and best practices. The following was my takeaway:

1. The water maker can be run safely in most waters. This includes harbors, marinas and even water that is not clear. I was told that the main detriment would be more frequent changes to the pre-filters.
2. The water maker can be, and should be, run in the high end of the green zone. This will lead to more water production, without any downsides.
3. Performing an auto fresh water flush after every usage is unnecessary and wastes about 20 liters of fresh water. As long as the water maker in run at least every week, a fresh water flush is unnecessary. We simply stop making water by shutting down the switch and then backing out the pressure valve.
4. Utilize the powder provided by Dessalator to prep the membranes for the winter season.

We have done the above for 5 seasons of about 5 months each. The pre-filters typically last a whole season. We never put any water in the tank other than from the water maker. The water quality is always below 250 PPM. When we purchased Kokomo, the water maker had only 60 hours on it. So, I’m fairly sure that our membranes are original from 2008 and therefore 12 years old. The water maker now has around 550 hours. I was told that after 500 hours, the quality will probably start to drop. Our usage has solely been in the Med.

Hi Colin,

Yes, I re-read that part and it is a little confusing how I wrote it. In marina, we do a fresh water flush aobut once a week. We do not run the water maker in that environment.

Thanks for the insight, I guess I need to be more fussy about where we run it. I thought the pre-filter would help a lot. I guess not.

With best regards,

Mark

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff

www.creampuff.us

--

Hi Paul;

Was there a specific issue that you were dealing with that led Martin to give you that advice?

Mohammad,

I was told by Martin to run the water maker with the pressure at the beginning of the green zone. It also says this in the manual.

Hi;

When we first purchased Kokomo, I had detailed discussions with Martin, the head tech at Dessalator, about the environments that the water maker could be used and best practices. The following was my takeaway:

1. The water maker can be run safely in most waters. This includes harbors, marinas and even water that is not clear. I was told that the main detriment would be more frequent changes to the pre-filters.
2. The water maker can be, and should be, run in the high end of the green zone. This will lead to more water production, without any downsides.
3. Performing an auto fresh water flush after every usage is unnecessary and wastes about 20 liters of fresh water. As long as the water maker in run at least every week, a fresh water flush is unnecessary. We simply stop making water by shutting down the switch and then backing out the pressure valve.
4. Utilize the powder provided by Dessalator to prep the membranes for the winter season.

We have done the above for 5 seasons of about 5 months each. The pre-filters typically last a whole season. We never put any water in the tank other than from the water maker. The water quality is always below 250 PPM. When we purchased Kokomo, the water maker had only 60 hours on it. So, I’m fairly sure that our membranes are original from 2008 and therefore 12 years old. The water maker now has around 550 hours. I was told that after 500 hours, the quality will probably start to drop. Our usage has solely been in the Med.

Hi Colin,

Yes, I re-read that part and it is a little confusing how I wrote it. In marina, we do a fresh water flush aobut once a week. We do not run the water maker in that environment.

Thanks for the insight, I guess I need to be more fussy about where we run it. I thought the pre-filter would help a lot. I guess not.

With best regards,

Mark

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff

www.creampuff.us

--

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

I need a little help with water maker usage and maintenance, please.

 

Cream Puff has a 24v D60 water-maker. My problem is we seem to be going through membranes at the rate of a pair a year. I have read where others have used the same set of membranes for years and still get drinkable water. This is not the case with us. We are in our 5th year of full time cruising and are now on our 6th set of membranes.

 

When I last change membranes in Colombia, this was about March 2019. Our current membranes are just over a year old. The PPMs are starting to creep up a bit now and we have gone from the 300 range to the 500 range. We notice a change in drinking quality over 600 PPMs. This is when we usually change the membranes.

 

We run the water-maker at least once a week when in a marina, flush it with the fresh water rinse. I have a double charcoal filter set up for the tank rinse. When on anchor it is run just about every day. I am careful to watch the pressure and water making float gauge. I normally set it at 55 liters per hour and this put the pressure in lower side of the green range.

 

Any ideas why our membranes are not lasting or why our PPMs creep up?

 

 

With best regards,

 

Mark

 

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275

Currently cruising - Tahiti, French Polynesia

www.creampuff.us

 

Mohammad,

It was at a time when the HP pump was on its way out. I ended up replacing it. I have since run with the pressure on the orange/green border and it has been fine and still made 100+ litres/hour.

Hi Paul;

Was there a specific issue that you were dealing with that led Martin to give you that advice?

Mohammad,

I was told by Martin to run the water maker with the pressure at the beginning of the green zone. It also says this in the manual.

Hi;

When we first purchased Kokomo, I had detailed discussions with Martin, the head tech at Dessalator, about the environments that the water maker could be used and best practices. The following was my takeaway:

1. The water maker can be run safely in most waters. This includes harbors, marinas and even water that is not clear. I was told that the main detriment would be more frequent changes to the pre-filters.
2. The water maker can be, and should be, run in the high end of the green zone. This will lead to more water production, without any downsides.
3. Performing an auto fresh water flush after every usage is unnecessary and wastes about 20 liters of fresh water. As long as the water maker in run at least every week, a fresh water flush is unnecessary. We simply stop making water by shutting down the switch and then backing out the pressure valve.
4. Utilize the powder provided by Dessalator to prep the membranes for the winter season.

We have done the above for 5 seasons of about 5 months each. The pre-filters typically last a whole season. We never put any water in the tank other than from the water maker. The water quality is always below 250 PPM. When we purchased Kokomo, the water maker had only 60 hours on it. So, I’m fairly sure that our membranes are original from 2008 and therefore 12 years old. The water maker now has around 550 hours. I was told that after 500 hours, the quality will probably start to drop. Our usage has solely been in the Med.

Hi Colin,

Yes, I re-read that part and it is a little confusing how I wrote it. In marina, we do a fresh water flush aobut once a week. We do not run the water maker in that environment.

Thanks for the insight, I guess I need to be more fussy about where we run it. I thought the pre-filter would help a lot. I guess not.

With best regards,

Mark

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff

www.creampuff.us

--

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

On Apr 19, 2020, at 5:06 PM, Chuck_Kim_Joy <clacey9@...> wrote:



There are times when you must take marina water and thus can only flush with marina water. I find it hard to believe that the makers of the membranes would not have considered this possibility in the boating world. Then again it might be pure science and I must make water in dirty marinas and harbors come what may. I have a good supply of pre filters. 

Chuck 

Joy 388

Le Marin, Martinique 

On Sun, Apr 19, 2020 at 4:50 PM Hans-Joerg Wildhagen <carpediemsail@...> wrote:

Hi Mark

Never rinse the membranes with water from the Marina.

Rinse only with your own water which you have produced yourself.

Fresh water kills the membranes

Cheers Hans

SY Wasabi

Mark Erdos <mcerdos@...> schrieb am Sa., 18. Apr. 2020, 20:18:

I need a little help with water maker usage and maintenance, please.

 

Cream Puff has a 24v D60 water-maker. My problem is we seem to be going through membranes at the rate of a pair a year. I have read where others have used the same set of membranes for years and still get drinkable water. This is not the case with us. We are in our 5th year of full time cruising and are now on our 6th set of membranes.

 

When I last change membranes in Colombia, this was about March 2019. Our current membranes are just over a year old. The PPMs are starting to creep up a bit now and we have gone from the 300 range to the 500 range. We notice a change in drinking quality over 600 PPMs. This is when we usually change the membranes.

 

We run the water-maker at least once a week when in a marina, flush it with the fresh water rinse. I have a double charcoal filter set up for the tank rinse. When on anchor it is run just about every day. I am careful to watch the pressure and water making float gauge. I normally set it at 55 liters per hour and this put the pressure in lower side of the green range.

 

Any ideas why our membranes are not lasting or why our PPMs creep up?

 

 

With best regards,

 

Mark

 

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275

Currently cruising - Tahiti, French Polynesia

www.creampuff.us

 

Paul;

Which water maker do you have? We have the 150 L/HR A/C only unit. I was told that the system can be run at high green pressure setting, 24x7x365 without any issues. We have not had any issues with our HP pump, so far.

Mohammad,

It was at a time when the HP pump was on its way out. I ended up replacing it. I have since run with the pressure on the orange/green border and it has been fine and still made 100+ litres/hour.

Hi Paul;

Was there a specific issue that you were dealing with that led Martin to give you that advice?

Mohammad,

I was told by Martin to run the water maker with the pressure at the beginning of the green zone. It also says this in the manual.

Hi;

When we first purchased Kokomo, I had detailed discussions with Martin, the head tech at Dessalator, about the environments that the water maker could be used and best practices. The following was my takeaway:

1. The water maker can be run safely in most waters. This includes harbors, marinas and even water that is not clear. I was told that the main detriment would be more frequent changes to the pre-filters.
2. The water maker can be, and should be, run in the high end of the green zone. This will lead to more water production, without any downsides.
3. Performing an auto fresh water flush after every usage is unnecessary and wastes about 20 liters of fresh water. As long as the water maker in run at least every week, a fresh water flush is unnecessary. We simply stop making water by shutting down the switch and then backing out the pressure valve.
4. Utilize the powder provided by Dessalator to prep the membranes for the winter season.

We have done the above for 5 seasons of about 5 months each. The pre-filters typically last a whole season. We never put any water in the tank other than from the water maker. The water quality is always below 250 PPM. When we purchased Kokomo, the water maker had only 60 hours on it. So, I’m fairly sure that our membranes are original from 2008 and therefore 12 years old. The water maker now has around 550 hours. I was told that after 500 hours, the quality will probably start to drop. Our usage has solely been in the Med.

Hi Colin,

Yes, I re-read that part and it is a little confusing how I wrote it. In marina, we do a fresh water flush aobut once a week. We do not run the water maker in that environment.

Thanks for the insight, I guess I need to be more fussy about where we run it. I thought the pre-filter would help a lot. I guess not.

With best regards,

Mark

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff

www.creampuff.us

--

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

--
Cheers
Paul
Ya Fohi - Amel 54 #98

My only thought is like others, make certain that there is no chlorine. Obviously, there shouldn’t be if all you do is make RO water. Do you ever put water in the tank from the marina? We often have both RO and shore water, tough to tell how much chlorine, although you can buy test strips. I will sometimes flush with a couple of gallons of RO water drawn from the control panel tap, rather than flush with water from the tank.

On Apr 19, 2020, at 8:50 PM, eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote:

Hi Tom,

Have you heard when they are lifting the quarantine on puerti Rico?

Fair Winds

Eric

Amel Super Maramu #376

 

 

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io [mailto:main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io] On Behalf Of Thomas Peacock
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2020 12:13 PM
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Excessive usage of water maker membranes

 

My only thought is like others, make certain that there is no chlorine. Obviously, there shouldn’t be if all you do is make RO water. Do you ever put water in the tank from the marina? We often have both RO and shore water, tough to tell how much chlorine, although you can buy test strips. I will sometimes flush with a couple of gallons of RO water drawn from the control panel tap, rather than flush with water from the tank.

 

Assuming the above is useless advice, you might try looking at  https://www.genesysro.com/uploads/docs/STUDY%20OF%20THE-PHYSICAL-AND-CHEMICAL-DAMAGE-ON-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-MEMBRANES-DETECTED-BY-AUTOPSIES-NURIA.pdf

 

This details some of what can go wrong, including post-mortem pictures. Interestingly, there are several causes for physical damage to the membranes (as opposed to chemical) that might have some bearing on your issue.

 

Tom Peacock

SM 240 Aletes, San Juan PR

Waiting to fly back down to PR next month

 

On Apr 18, 2020, at 8:21 PM, Mark Erdos <mcerdos@...> wrote:

 

I need a little help with water maker usage and maintenance, please.

 

Cream Puff has a 24v D60 water-maker. My problem is we seem to be going through membranes at the rate of a pair a year. I have read where others have used the same set of membranes for years and still get drinkable water. This is not the case with us. We are in our 5th year of full time cruising and are now on our 6th set of membranes. 

 

When I last change membranes in Colombia, this was about March 2019. Our current membranes are just over a year old. The PPMs are starting to creep up a bit now and we have gone from the 300 range to the 500 range. We notice a change in drinking quality over 600 PPMs. This is when we usually change the membranes. 

 

We run the water-maker at least once a week when in a marina, flush it with the fresh water rinse. I have a double charcoal filter set up for the tank rinse. When on anchor it is run just about every day. I am careful to watch the pressure and water making float gauge. I normally set it at 55 liters per hour and this put the pressure in lower side of the green range. 

 

Any ideas why our membranes are not lasting or why our PPMs creep up? 

 

 

With best regards,

 

Mark

 

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275

Currently cruising - Tahiti, French Polynesia

www.creampuff.us

 

 

Hi Eric,

On Apr 20, 2020, at 8:04 PM, eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote:

Hi Tom,

Do you have any Idea when you will attempt to get back to your boat? Where  is she?

I might be flying into STT to get to SXM.

Fair Winds

Eric

Amel Super Maramu #376

 

 

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io [mailto:main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io] On Behalf Of Thomas Peacock
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2020 2:36 PM
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Excessive usage of water maker membranes

 

Hi Eric,

 

No idea. Need to be on more intimate terms with the governor. I heard today from the dockmaster in the marina where Aletes is that a captain of a mega yacht flew in, told the authorities that he was going to quarantine on his boat. They told him no way, and he is now spending 14 days at the airport hotel. Not what he had planned.

On Apr 19, 2020, at 8:50 PM, eric freedman <kimberlite@...> wrote:

 

Hi Tom,

Have you heard when they are lifting the quarantine on puerti Rico?

Fair Winds

Eric

Amel Super Maramu #376

 

 

From: main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io [mailto:main@AmelYachtOwners.groups.io] On Behalf Of Thomas Peacock
Sent: Sunday, April 19, 2020 12:13 PM
To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io
Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Excessive usage of water maker membranes

 

My only thought is like others, make certain that there is no chlorine. Obviously, there shouldn’t be if all you do is make RO water. Do you ever put water in the tank from the marina? We often have both RO and shore water, tough to tell how much chlorine, although you can buy test strips. I will sometimes flush with a couple of gallons of RO water drawn from the control panel tap, rather than flush with water from the tank.

 

Assuming the above is useless advice, you might try looking at  https://www.genesysro.com/uploads/docs/STUDY%20OF%20THE-PHYSICAL-AND-CHEMICAL-DAMAGE-ON-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-MEMBRANES-DETECTED-BY-AUTOPSIES-NURIA.pdf

 

This details some of what can go wrong, including post-mortem pictures. Interestingly, there are several causes for physical damage to the membranes (as opposed to chemical) that might have some bearing on your issue.

 

Tom Peacock

SM 240 Aletes, San Juan PR

Waiting to fly back down to PR next month

 

On Apr 18, 2020, at 8:21 PM, Mark Erdos <mcerdos@...> wrote:

 

I need a little help with water maker usage and maintenance, please.

 

Cream Puff has a 24v D60 water-maker. My problem is we seem to be going through membranes at the rate of a pair a year. I have read where others have used the same set of membranes for years and still get drinkable water. This is not the case with us. We are in our 5th year of full time cruising and are now on our 6th set of membranes. 

 

When I last change membranes in Colombia, this was about March 2019. Our current membranes are just over a year old. The PPMs are starting to creep up a bit now and we have gone from the 300 range to the 500 range. We notice a change in drinking quality over 600 PPMs. This is when we usually change the membranes. 

 

We run the water-maker at least once a week when in a marina, flush it with the fresh water rinse. I have a double charcoal filter set up for the tank rinse. When on anchor it is run just about every day. I am careful to watch the pressure and water making float gauge. I normally set it at 55 liters per hour and this put the pressure in lower side of the green range. 

 

Any ideas why our membranes are not lasting or why our PPMs creep up? 

 

 

With best regards,

 

Mark

 

Skipper

Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275

Currently cruising - Tahiti, French Polynesia

www.creampuff.us

 

 

 

Hi Mark,

I once ruined a set of membranes by putting chlorinated dock water in the boat and then back flushing.  Since then any shore water that goes into the boat first goes through a “whole house” filter that removes chlorine.  To check this, I have test stripes that measure the amount of chlorine in water.  The test kit is sold in tropical fish stores.  My filters are over 10 years old.  I have been told that the more the filters are used, the longer they will last. When I don’t use the water maker much, the TDS goes up toward 300.  When I use the water maker for my total supply off-shore or in a very clean harbor, the TDS goes back down toward 200. 

I agree with the comments.   I also run the water without pressure for several minutes when I turn it on to get all the fresh water from the back flushing out. I agree with Alan that the pressure with fresh water could be damaging.

Regards,

Miles  s/y Ladybug,  sm216,  locked down in Le Marin, Martinique