The Watermaker Dilemma

[BoundlessOutfitters]

Originally Posted by Trim50

From what I've seen, they really aren't titanium pumps, but rather stainless steel with a small amount of titanium constituent in the alloy. Is there a real titanium alloy pump...if so, I'd imagine they are enormously expensive.

Very interested in knowing...

Nice post!

I'm still building my system...it will be all DC now.

Hello Trim50,

Village Marine Tec (now a division of Parker/Racor) uses a titanium alloy in their high-pressure pumps, and they claim their "Titanium High Pressure Pump is impervious to the corrosive sea water environment." You would be surprised at the prices that are available if you look around.

I attached a copy of Parker/Village Marines new brochure for their Little Wonder series.

Please feel free to PM or email me if you have any questions on sourcing your components. Good luck with your project!

[Trim50]

Well, I'm back!

I've been so so busy working final projects, and the watermaker was one of the biggest which I just completed today.

So here it is after much talk...12V, 25 gallons/hour draws 52 amps.







Compact no frills...fits in hanging closet on wall and sub floor.

[MMNETSEA]

Ken,

1st. Mate will be very happy - I have seen some boats that your unit would fill an empty tank in 3 hours.

Richard

[Trim50]

She is...however after 5 solid days busting my ars, she notices and drip of water...not the 25 gallons per hour of fresh water being produced!

[Trim50]

FYI...I'm still thinking about adding an AC pump. I have a nice CAT 333 sitting in storage which could be coupled to a Ac motor in a few hours.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Trim50

FYI...I'm still thinking about adding an AC pump. I have a nice CAT 333 sitting in storage which could be coupled to a Ac motor in a few hours.

Hi Trim,

It's been awhile since I posted here. I lurk every now and then to see what happened with your quest to build your own WM, it looks great. Could you delve a bit deeper for me into the high pressure pump attached to the motor? I'm not all that familiar with it. I also see that you opted for wound pre-filters from looking at the pics you posted. Can you tell me why you went that route instead of pleated? Also did you bend the SS tubing yourself and how did you do it? What is your product out put and did it match your expectations? Sorry for the 40 questions routine but I'm really curious.

Thanks Tellie

[Trim50]

Tellie,

The high pressure pump is a Hydra-cell F20X. This is a pump that I had a lot of experience with from work and I know how to rebuild it and how long it will last if taken care of...it is an excellent pump producing 5-6gpm at 800psi.

http://www.hydra-cell.com/

Filters were also something that I have experience with and I can get them at a very good price...no other real reason for choosing wound over pleated.

http://www.boundlessoutfitters.com/Plumbing-s/7.htm

I have all the tools for bending SS tubing and prefer to us Swagelok. I did have a solid tube running to the inlet of the membrane housing, but the vibration of the pump and pulsation caused a lot of noise and would eventually break...I replaced it with a steel braided Swagelok line. This reduced noise considerably.

My product output is between 20-25gph at 800psi using 50-56amps/12V...about what I expected.

[Tellie]

Originally Posted by Trim50

Tellie,

The high pressure pump is a Hydra-cell F20X. This is a pump that I had a lot of experience with from work and I know how to rebuild it and how long it will last if taken care of...it is an excellent pump producing 5-6gpm at 800psi.

http://www.hydra-cell.com/

Filters were also something that I have experience with and I can get them at a very good price...no other real reason for choosing wound over pleated.

http://www.boundlessoutfitters.com/Plumbing-s/7.htm

I have all the tools for bending SS tubing and prefer to us Swagelok. I did have a solid tube running to the inlet of the membrane housing, but the vibration of the pump and pulsation caused a lot of noise and would eventually break...I replaced it with a steel braided Swagelok line. This reduced noise considerably.

My product output is between 20-25gph at 800psi using 50-56amps/12V...about what I expected.

Thanks Trim.

I went to the hydra cell site. I have a lot of reading to do. Very very interesting. I see they also are into RO units. I gather at a glance that they do only large units. Would the F20X be easy to rebuild for the average handy boater guy?

[Trim50]

Originally Posted by Tellie

Thanks Trim.

I went to the hydra cell site. I have a lot of reading to do. Very very interesting. I see they also are into RO units. I gather at a glance that they do only large units. Would the F20X be easy to rebuild for the average handy boater guy?

Easier than most...but not simple. There is only one piston which makes for fewer seals.

[Louiesails]

Originally Posted by Trim50

This is very interesting, because I have a very real third option close at hand which would be an engine driven unit. The reason this option make sense for me is that I removed an engine driven refrigeration compressor and I still have the sturdy compressor mount and two belt pulley installed. I also already have the dedicated thru-hulls installed. I could very easily buy a CAT pump, a clutch and install them in one weekend.

If you have not already done your watermaker, http://www.rutuonline.com/html/watermaker.html is a very interesting and practical approach with the parts, etc....

[jcapo]

Originally Posted by Trim50

My product output is between 20-25gph at 800psi using 50-56amps/12V...about what I expected.

Hello Trim,

I just ran across this thread and I'm wondering if there is a typo above.

According to Hydra Cell the F20X pump will deliver just under a gallon per minute or close to 60 gallons an hour. A 20 gallon per hour permeate flow would be a 33% recovery rate. That recovery rate seems quite high and still produce a low TDS.

I am a few days away from pulling the trigger on a F20X pump with a 2540 membrane or an F20E pump with a 2521 membrane. In theory according to Dow's ROSA software, neither combo will work properly. But, there are a number of published cases where an F20E and a 2521 membrane deliver 20% recovery rates with low TDS.

Dow wants at least 1 gallon per minute of concentrate flow out of the 2540 membrane. That concentrate flow can't be reached with a F20X pumping 1 gallon per minute in. How is your 2540 holding up with less than recommended concentrate flow rate?

Any further operational details on your watermaker is appreciated.

Very nice installation, BTW.

John

[haiqu]

Here's a couple of DIY watermakers, FYI:

Sail-World.com : DIY

http://www.albin25.eu/our-a25ak-dido...dos-watermaker

[Maia1]

any new informations about the performance of the Hydracell F20X high pressure pump?
Here again what "Trim50" claimed:
So here it is after much talk...12V, 25 gallons/hour draws 52 amps.

In my opinion too good to be true for 1gpm pump!!!

Are there any experiences with DC driven Hydracell pumps in RO systems?

Thanks
Maia

[Brent Swain]

I built my own 540 gallon per day watermaker , for around $750.
I used a General TT911 pressure washer pump , engine driven. Works well. My book tells you how to build one. The guy who showed me how, has been using his since the mid 90's, no problems.