OK, maybe this will start a discussion:  Sunshine came with a PUR 35 (now
Katadyn) powered water maker.  I'm guessing the watermaker is about 10 years
old and I'd like to resurrect it if possible.  I know very little about its
history but I did run it a couple of times as a test while we were on the
boat.  The pump pumps and water comes out, but the pump leaks a little (I
think new seals should fix that) and the water tasted OK to me but it tested
off the scale.  Our little Walmart water tester showed 999 parts per million
and blinking, so my co-captain is not happy with the output.

My PO told me that he had used the watermaker but I don't know much about
how -- or whether - he maintained it.  I'm hoping that the membrane is still
usable because, if it isn't, I'll probably not spend the money on a new one.

I took the watermaker off the boat and brought it home, thinking I would
replace the seals and see about the membrane.  I then discovered that it is
a 24 volt model and had been installed on a 12 volt boat.   Don't ask me
why.

I called Katadyn and tried to talk to a tech person but was told by a rather
snippy woman that they were too busy fixing things to take phone calls and
that she would have to relay any questions I have to them and she would call
me back with the answer -- kind of like talking to a doctor through a
nurse.  I asked her to relay several questions but the only one that she saw
fit to answer was the one about the voltage mis-match.  She told me that the
tech told her that the pump would run, which I already knew, but that the
motor would wear out a lot sooner and that it may already be on its last
legs.  This made me even less excited about investing in a new membrane.

My question, FINALLY:  Is there a cheap and simple gadget that I can install
in order to convert the 12 volts going to the pump into the 24 volts that
his watermaker seems to want -- maybe some sort of transformer?

Also, if anyone knows of a way to test the membrane to see it it's usable,
that you be very helpful as well.  That was one of my other questions that
the snippy woman at Katadyn saw fit to ignore.

Many thanks for any help you can provide.

Phil McGovern
s/v Sunshine
PDQ 36



On Sun, Jun 21, 2009 at 5:16 PM, Stephen Petri <[email protected]> wrote:

> Haven't seen a post in days.
>
> --
> Stephen Petri
>   S/V Witchcraft, Ranger 33 No. 161
>   http://www.teamwitchcraft.com
>
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