Watermaker membrane #solution #replacement
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JOSE PRIETO
Dear Amelians, I ask for help. My Desalator D60 watermaker has been little used in its life apparently. In the last 4 months I've been using it more intensively (at least 2 times a week). I always measure the TDS and normally it was below 500 ppm, around 450. A few days ago the ppm suddenly went up to 960, and I notice that the watermaker often goes beyond the green range after some time of water production, and turns off (Red light). I immediately think about replacing the membranes, but I have no experience in the behavior of the membrane, if it deteriorates quickly, or the tds goes down slowly. Another observation is that the value of the membrane in the USA is around 250 usd, and in Europe where I am, the Desalator dealer asks for 400 euros per membrane. Any help will be welcome |
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When Judy and I were sailing around the world our primary source of freshwater was the D160 watermaker. We preferred TDS less than 300 and changed the membranes about every 3.0 to 3.5 years. With new membranes, we would get about 100 TDS. The TDS would slowly increase to near 300 in 3 years. The WHO states 500 is OK, but I am not sure because the one time we went to 350 we noticed our ankles swelling. Of course, this is not a scientific measurement and increased salt affects people differently, but I believe that generally speaking, increased salt will affect older people more than younger. Bill
On Thu, Jun 9, 2022 at 6:26 AM JOSE PRIETO <prietomd11@...> wrote:
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Germain Jean-Pierre
Hello Jose,
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When I had the same symptoms as you, I changed the primary filter and had good results. You can procure new filters from Water Anywhere. Based in USA, they deliver where you are moored. Prices are better than Dessalator. Do a Google search, you will find them. Good luck Jean-Pierre Germain, formerly Eleuthera, SM007 On 9 Jun 2022, at 09:11, CW Bill Rouse <brouse@...> wrote:
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JOSE PRIETO
Hi Jean-Pierre,
Thanks for the feedback! By coincidence I recently replaced the primary filter with a new one. I confess I didn't like the look of the filter, but the specifications were correct. I will follow your suggestion and switch again. It will be hard to find a good product around here.
cheers JP -- Jose Prieto SV Wayag, SM 323 Currently Menorca, Spain |
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Germain Jean-Pierre
Hello Jose,
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I lived for 8 years in Majorca. One of the finest Amel technician I’ve known works in Cala d’Oro or nearby. His name is Peter Kuklok. One of the best! Used by many Amelians. Good luck. Jean-Pierre On 9 Jun 2022, at 10:15, JOSE PRIETO <prietomd11@...> wrote:
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JOSE PRIETO
Hi Bill, thanks for the reply. I understand that the TDS is just a number. I've read a lot about water quality, adequate indices, how to get the values and so on. I noticed that the quality of the water we produced dropped a lot, slightly brackish. When I took the measurement, I found that the number was indeed high. As a reference, the TDS of the mineral water we have on board (250ppm) showed that something was different. The first thing that came to my mind was to change the membranes or treat them, in an attempt to make them survive. I looked it up on the internet and the prices of membranes in Europe are absurd compared to the US. The cleaning chemicals (citric acid I think), I'm waiting for the Dessalator dealer to inform me about availability and price. I found the membranes in China, with different manufacturer than DOW, the price much better, but…
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JOSE PRIETO
Hi Jean-Pierre, cheers |
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Gili Yehzkel
Hi Jean.
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Do you have Peter Kuklok contact information please ? I definitely can use his service. Best, Gili A55 #68 in Palma On Jun 9, 2022, at 16:28, Germain Jean-Pierre <jp.germain45@...> wrote:
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Germain Jean-Pierre
Hello Gili,
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You can email him directly at yachtconceptmallorca@... C. / Vela 22, Mallorca 07680 Porto Cristo Spain +34 619 658 312 He is brilliant and recommended by myself, Bruno ( Tertio A55 #63) as well as Robin on Carré d’As. Good luck. Jean-Pierre On 9 Jun 2022, at 11:56, Gili Yehzkel <gili39@...> wrote:
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Hello Jose,
Here is email address where you can inquire for membranes. Cost was 609€ including VAT and delivery to Slovenia. Bastien@...
best regards -- Slavko SM 2000 #279 Bonne Anse in Croatia |
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JOSE PRIETO
Hi Slavco,
Thanks for the address. best regards -- Jose Prieto SV Wayag, SM 323 Currently Menorca, Spain |
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Yesterday I saw a new Steyr MO144M38 engine advertised on China.com for 5000 €. Of course, it was FAKE. Although there are good sources in China, there are a lot of people that are highly skilled in taking advantage of those looking for a bargain. As far as I know, there is one manufacturer of membranes in the world. DOW Filtec makes very high-quality membranes using robotics. Before DOW bought Filmtec there was very few robotics involved in the manufacturing. I assume that some entity in China could manually lay up membranes, but I doubt that they will get to Filmtec's quality. Also, make sure that the Filmtec number starts with "SW" which designates saltwater. I saw some BW30-2540 advertised from China.com. BW is for brackish water. WARNING: These have a shelf life. If someone is selling you a bargain be sure you determine that it was made within 6 months and is in its original packaging. From Filmtec: "Wet elements are bagged in a durable, oxygen-barrier composite plastic bag and the preservative solution is delivered prior to vacuum sealing. Precise preservative volume and high bag integrity help ensure a stable preservative environment during transportation and storage." Regrettably, there is significant profit taking by some resellers of Filmtec's membranes. You should price shop. I believe that you should not pay more than 275 € for the following Filmtec membranes: SW30 2540 SW30-2521 Here is a US distributor who is a Yacht School Preferred Vendor: https://preparetocastoff.blogspot.com/p/airwaterice.html
On Thu, Jun 9, 2022 at 12:46 PM JOSE PRIETO <prietomd11@...> wrote: Hi Slavco, |
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hello Jose following text you will find an offer for original membranes, sa well the ones from China Alibaba (I paid DDP 511 $ for 4 off) as welli can the data shett for the watermaker in different languages as you will send me your email adress. (We met in June 2020 in Spain when we took our Super Maramu Coque en Re to Germany. We have had problems wit the petrol filter...petrol wa floating in the engine room)
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Here the offer from Lenntech
Dear Sir/Madam,
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Nice topic. Last week I put the watermaker back into service on my SM #121
(1994). Water looks clean... tastes normal. Not salty. I don't have a portable TDS tester. I just thought: if the water was not good, the orange light should come on and the solenoid valve should dump the water overboard. Also, I have a new SEAGULL IV X1 filter. Do you think it is enough to trust and drink the water ? (actually I already did :p ) I saw the price of new membranes. Maybve it would help to produce more liters/h (but maybe not... maybe the 30L/h were normal for 15°C water), but, I'm not a full time cruiser, so I can wait a bit (specially, like other have mentioned, membranes are overpriced in Europe...)
Jérémy SM#121 Le 09/06/2022 à 13:26, JOSE PRIETO a
écrit :
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SM #121 Nausicaä
Nantes, France |
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Michael & Robyn
Greetings! As a heads up to anyone who needs to buy RO water-maker membranes. Filmtec is shipping two different versions: SY RIPPLE SM2K # 417 |
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We went in circles
about a year ago with Dow regarding this. We couldn't find dry
membranes anywhere. Also, the wet ones do not have expiration
dates stamped on the package. They eventually told us the dry
membranes are not available (in the size we wanted) and so
long as the wet membrane is damp when it is taken out of the
package it is okay to use. They suggest storing them in a dark
place. The liquid should be visible through the plastic, and
this means it's good.
With best regards,
Mark
Skipper Sailing Vessel - Cream Puff - SM2K - #275 Currently cruising - Tahiti, French Polynesia
On 10/27/2022 12:15 PM, Michael &
Robyn wrote:
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Hi Jeremy, After cleaning out the water tank, shocking it, and flushing it several times, I looked to the Seagull IV filter that was installed new on the boat. I have no idea when the prior owner changed the filter cartridge, but the prices I was seeing for a replacement cartridge were unconscionable. The best price I could see was about €229, but most were up in the 245-260 range. I went on Amazon and found an under counter RO system with 3 pre filters and one post filter. It works off of the normal system pressure and doesn’t require any additional install, just a fresh water source as well as a drain line. It’s the Geekpure 5-stage Reverse Osmosis drinking water system (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0741599C2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1) The dock water here in Sanremo runs at about 350 ppm. On the day I tested it, it was 367. After having commissioned the unit and let it run long enough to flush the system, I tested the product water and it came out at 27 ppm. I have tested it multiple times since and the highest I’ve seen is 34 ppm. The filters are standard types and the unit comes with enough for 2-years worth of filter changes. The water is absolutely wonderful, tasting like pure mountain rain. With all this, I just couldn’t possibly justify the expense of the seagull filter. Best, Tilo S/Y Ambiente, SM 163, Sanremo On 9 Jun 2022, at 22:27, Jérémy <jeremy@...> wrote:
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Tilo,
We did just that last year. Threw away the mediocre and expensive Seagull and replaced with a three cartridge set (including carbon). They use the standard, small size, and ow price cartridges. -- John Bernard "JB" Duler San Francisco Meltem # 19, Western Med |
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Patrick McAneny
Tilo, I sold my Segull a few years ago due to the crazy high price of the replacement filter. I replaced it with a Culligan water filter ,bought at the local hardware store for about $39.00 ,replacement cartridge is about $18. ,which I change once a year. Water taste great . I do have a pre filter in the engine room , a whole house filter with a carbon cartridge.
Pat
SM Shenanigans
Sassafras River, Md. -----Original Message-----
From: Tilo & Jeannette Peters <ambiente.sm163@...> To: main@amelyachtowners.groups.io Sent: Sat, Oct 29, 2022 4:28 pm Subject: Re: [AmelYachtOwners] Watermaker membrane #replacement #solution Hi Jeremy,
After cleaning out the water tank, shocking it, and flushing it several times, I looked to the Seagull IV filter that was installed new on the boat. I have no idea when the prior owner changed the filter cartridge, but the prices I was seeing for a replacement cartridge were unconscionable. The best price I could see was about €229, but most were up in the 245-260 range. I went on Amazon and found an under counter RO system with 3 pre filters and one post filter. It works off of the normal system pressure and doesn’t require any additional install, just a fresh water source as well as a drain line.
It’s the Geekpure 5-stage Reverse Osmosis drinking water system (https://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B0741599C2/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
The dock water here in Sanremo runs at about 350 ppm. On the day I tested it, it was 367. After having commissioned the unit and let it run long enough to flush the system, I tested the product water and it came out at 27 ppm. I have tested it multiple times since and the highest I’ve seen is 34 ppm.
The filters are standard types and the unit comes with enough for 2-years worth of filter changes.
The water is absolutely wonderful, tasting like pure mountain rain. With all this, I just couldn’t possibly justify the expense of the seagull filter.
Best,
Tilo
S/Y Ambiente, SM 163, Sanremo
On 9 Jun 2022, at 22:27, Jérémy <jeremy@...> wrote:
Nice topic.
Last week I put the watermaker back into service on my SM #121
(1994).
It only had 9 hours of operation... I followed restart procedure from the Dessalator manual, changed the prefilter for a new one, cleaned the TDS sensor, flushed the membrane with fresh water for 30 minutes... and start producing water. Led was green, and it produce about 30L/h (I have a 50L/h unit but water temperature was probably around 15°C). Works perfectly well during 4h, then I shut if off. Water looks clean... tastes normal. Not salty.
I don't have a portable TDS tester. I just thought: if the water
was not good, the orange light should come on and the solenoid
valve should dump the water overboard.
Also, I have a new SEAGULL IV X1 filter. Do you think it is
enough to trust and drink the water ? (actually I already did :p )
I saw the price of new membranes. Maybve it would help to produce
more liters/h (but maybe not... maybe the 30L/h were normal for
15°C water), but, I'm not a full time cruiser, so I can wait a bit
(specially, like other have mentioned, membranes are overpriced in
Europe...)
Jérémy SM#121 Le 09/06/2022 à 13:26, JOSE PRIETO a
écrit :
Dear Amelians, I ask for help.
My Desalator D60 watermaker has been little used in its life
apparently. In the last 4 months I've been using it more
intensively (at least 2 times a week). I always measure the TDS
and normally it was below 500 ppm, around 450. A few days ago
the ppm suddenly went up to 960, and I notice that the
watermaker often goes beyond the green range after some time of
water production, and turns off (Red light). I immediately
think about replacing the membranes, but I have no experience in
the behavior of the membrane, if it deteriorates quickly, or the
tds goes down slowly. Another observation is that the value of
the membrane in the USA is around 250 usd, and in Europe where I
am, the Desalator dealer asks for 400 euros per membrane. Any
help will be welcome
-- Jose Prieto SV Wayag, SM 323 Currently Menorca, Spain -- SM #121 Nausicaä
Nantes, France
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