I have a 458 and am thinking of installing a water maker. Has anyone done so? Where did you locate it and what kind/brand did you use? Any information would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you, 

Stefano Basilico

SV WANDERER

tried Rainman potable water maker, 120-140L per hour, using AC power, cost is cheaper than ZEN 100 model.

After a bit research, just bought another patable water maker. AC 220V, 760W power, 120-140L per hour. Cost is 4450 USD including installation.

I am interested in a water maker and was looking at a Zen,but now you have me interested in Rainman which is fully supported here in Phuket.May I ask which model you have and where have you located it.

Cheers

Duncan

The model we have bought which is on its way to Tahiti by DHL is the 140AC Framed unit. This is the 140 lt/hr AC powered machine which draws 1250W 240v. They say it can be run off a "good" 2000W inverter or generator. Hanse mounted our old, factory option, HRO Seasafaris 400 (65lr/hr) 12V DC machine. Hanse had fitted a substantial shelf on the port side in the forepeak. The Rainman is roughly the same size frame and it will fit on the current shelf. The Rainman has 2 x 40inch membranes -the old unit had one 40 inch membrane. The two Rainman membranes can be fitted on the back of the frame, on the top of the frame or separate on the wall if you need to. The current watermaker has the CAT pump mounted under the floor in the owners cabin where the sounder transducer is mounted. The through hull for the sea water feed is there as well. I will use the same through hull because it is low in the water and I have not had any air in the feedwater problems.  The two pumps for the Rainman are both mounted within the frame. We have an 240V outlet in the forepeak already and we will be able to reuse all the current pipework. There is a cheaper "modular" Rainman 140 which comes with the power unit separate from the membranes. This can be fitted into a smaller area if you don't have space for the framed version. The modular version does not come with the control panel and has these components separate which can be mounted close to the machine. There is also a smaller output "framed" version which has three shorter membranes but I think the output is only 100lt/hr. I dealt direct with the manufacturer in Sydney which had a unit in stock. I checked with the NZ dealer and he did not have the unit in stock and he would have needed to get it from Sydney plus the price was more expensive. Our Rainman should arrive in the next 7-10 days and should take a day to install.  

Thank you for your detailed description of your installation.It will be a big help to me when I make a decision later on this year.

Most insightful

Duncan

Thank you for the detailed description. Would you be willing to post some photos of your installation?

We are currently halfway between Bora Bora and Samoa and am happy to post some photos of the unit fitted into our forepeak when we arrive in about 5 days time. We fitted the 140lt/hr framed unit. There is also 100lt/hr framed unit with 3 shorter ROs which could fit better for you. Rainman also supply these units  with a smaller mounting frame for the pump unit and the ROs separate so the unit can be mounted in pieces into a smaller area. They also supply most of their units as a complete portable systems. Look at their website - there is a lot of information and videos on fitting, running and maintaining their unit. They supplied about 95% of the fittings I needed to fit the new machine. They also list all the systems pricing in AUD$ ex factory in Sydney, Australia. They arranged shipping it to French Polynesia at a reasonable price. They also have some distributors in various parts of the world. 

Wayne, 

Much appreciated, 

Stefano

The unit is bolted to the platform which Hanse fitted for the original watermaker. The RW inlet if next to the sounder transducer just in front of the keel under the fwd cabin floor. There is a "plankton" filter there before the pipework runs direct to the watermaker.  We had a UV treatment unit fitted for the previous watermaker which we left in place. So product water leaves the watermaker, runs through a activated charcoal filter then through the UV unit then to the water tank. 

The control panel is simple and manual except for the auto flush. We flush the unit with FW for about 12 minutes after use. 

https://aquaplumb.co.nz/watermakers/" rel="nofollow - https://aquaplumb.co.nz/watermakers/

Two major decisions:

1.   Power (12V or AC)

2.   Contained or modular

Typically, an AC unit is capable of making more water per hour than a DC unit.  The obvious drawback is you need to make or have AC power to do so.   A DC unit can be powered by solar panels or batteries but typically makes less gallons per hour (say 13-15gph vs 30-40gph).   DC units are (usually) quieter.  As such they can almost run continuously and not be noticed.  AC units are similar to running a generator in noise output and, in fact, may require the generator to run at the same time. 

Contained versus modular is a space and accessibility issue.    Modular units let you put the setup under bunks or in tight spaces while a contained unit puts it all in front of you in some kind of casing.    From a repair or maintenance perspective, its far easier to work on a contained unit.  I take the membranes from my unit home every winter for storage and its simple to do so.   If I had to work in a tight space or under a berth to do so.....well....

As I had a "utility" cabin on my 575 with a washer / dryer, tool storage, etc. I put a contained unit in there.   One benefit of a contained unit is that you can install a tray under it to catch any water from maintenance or problems (leaks, etc.).   Mine is stainless steel and works great when I winterize the unit or change filters.   My system is a "Blue Water Desalination" Express system with a rating of 38-40GPH.  I could expand it by adding another membrane, but no need.   Its an AC unit.    Given the size of my solar array (900 watts) and the fact that I have an excess of DC Solar in the PM, I might have gone with a DC system, but hindsight is cheap.

See pic:

Note the stainless tray and the fact that "its all right there".    A modular unit is probably better for someone trying to find space here and there on a boat.   What you see here is the space you need in a contained unit.

FWIW

I am glad that you have shown your installation as I am about to use the same place.So I have a couple of questions for you if I may.

First off I was little concerned if the shelf would be strong enough to hold the considerable weight of the unit so obviously you are very happy with that.

Could you please share how you plumbed your unit in.

I was thinking to take the raw water supply from the A/C raw water intake  and use the washing machine outlet for the waste water

I was going to use the power supply to the washing machine to power the water maker.

Did you bolt the water maker to the shelf?

I am a little concerned that the A/C raw water intake is not close enough to the centre of the boat and air could get in the system in a small chop!

I am putting in a contained Rainman 140 lph and it looks very similar in dimensions to yours

Any advice would be most welcome

Cheers

Duncan

Hanse did not provide an option for fresh water heads when we built the boat.    As such I took the normal, manual, heads and converted them during the commissioning process.  This left a raw water seacock unused aft.  I re-used that to be the intake for the water maker.  A strainer was added.   This leads under the sole to the high pressure pump under the floor where the air conditioning manifold resides.  From there it runs to the water maker.  I suppose you could add one more connection to the AC manifold, but I'd be wary of running the water maker and the AC at the same time for flow rate reasons.

Note that I don't have much respect for how Hanse does seacocks so in 2020 I replaced all the seacocks and thru-hulls with solid bronze, one piece, flanged, GROCO units.  On the engine, AC and watermaker I also added exterior hull strainers (we have eel grass in a lot of New England and this helps quite a bit in avoiding the HF errors when the strainer is clogged).  Probably TruDesign (marlon) would be another acceptable option, but this is really unrelated to the question.  Same plumbing outside of this. 

We often make water whilst sailing, motoring or motorsailing and haven't had any problems. The seawater intake position you are talking about should be fine to use whilst underway. On our boat the washing machine water going over board is plumbed to the  aft greywater sump and I would think this would not be a good option for a watermaker because of the amount of water going through the unit and back to the sea - about 700ltrs an hour for the Rainman 140 units. I would think you would need a overboard going directly overboard - you could maybe use the sink over board (on our boat this going directly overboard).We have a dedicated above water thru hull for the return water which I think is better. You could fit a similar thru hull whilst the boat is in teh water because it is best to be above the resting water line. I think ours is about 100mm above the top hull stripe. Lastly if the two RO housings on the normal 140 unit are too long for the space you have Rainman supply a three RO unit with shorter ROs compared to the two RO version. The mounting plate for the ROs (seen as the blue RO frame in my photos can be mounted on top of the unit - like we have, or on the back of the unit or remotely if this makes your install easier.