8 Important Facts You Didn’t Know About Marine Watermakers

For the most part, unless you’re an avid boater, chances are you are unaware of the fact that boats can be equipped with water maker and desalination systems. Reverse osmosis desalination systems have been around for quite some time, but if you haven’t yet cruised the deep blue seas, it’s important that you get a basic understand about them. I’ve decided to put together 8 facts about marine water makers to get your started.

1. Compared to other devices on your boat, marine water makers can be relatively inexpensive

This is not to say that there isn’t some financial investment. There is. But like everything with your boat, perspective is needed. The boat itself and all of the devices, appliances, and parts of the boat require some cost, investment, and benefit calculations. For example, a marine water maker may cost you anywhere from $2,000 to $8,000.

Set this next to the cost of other things related to owning a boat and suddenly it not only doesn’t sound like that much, but it becomes a pretty decent investment. A decent GPS unit can cost you from a thousand dollars to $20,000 for a very high-end model. The cost of storing your boat for the winter months (just for one year) can cost as much as $2,000. These are all needed if not necessary expenditures when owning a boat. The fact is, a good quality marine water maker can be part of the mix that makes the entire package of boat ownership a worthwhile investment.

2. Compared to other parts of your boat, marine water makers can be relatively low maintenance

This is not to say there isn’t some maintenance but let us look at specific portions of the maintenance of a water maker. Generally speaking, the only completely necessary maintenance cost is replacing the pre-filters roughly every six months. This costs approximately $30 to $50.

You likely will read about the high cost of water maker membranes and how much they are to replace. But the fact is, if you take care of it, it will likely never need replacing. If you regularly flush every time it is used, pickle it if it will go some time without use, and generally follow the instructions, you will not have to deal with this cost whatsoever.

As for the parts, the cost of replacement can vary depending on the type of water maker your using. Although there are some specialty parts, which means that each of these pieces can be taken as individual parts that may need replacing with any given issue. That means rarely do you need to replace the entire system, unlike some other complex devices on your boat. So in many cases, maintenance can be less of a headache.

3. Pickling is part of the process, but a very easy part

Maintenance is something that not everyone get’s immediately accustomed to. The very word pickling throws up roadblocks in some people’s minds but pickling is no more complicated than many of the other basic steps you do to produce fresh, desalinated water.

Pickling involves storing your water maker and keeping dangerous bacteria from growing in it. It isn’t that different than other processes involved; it just involves certain chemicals that can flush out the bad stuff.

4. Most water makers are not engine-driven

Although most water makers not engine driven, most people would love to have an engine driven unit because it’s the most efficient way to create fresh water. When they’re engine driven they don’t take up much or any of the power being used on your boat.

For the most part, you are probably running your engine quite a bit, so having your water maker tap into that power is easy and efficient.

For instance the Aquamaax water maker which uses reverse osmosis desalination, is AC driven, DC driven or engine driven which most cruisers prefer to use because it gives them more options on how to power their system.

5. Desalination creates brine

The act of any desalination creates a natural by-product called brine which is a natural part of the process. It is more dense than the seawater salt. Roughly 20% of the incoming salt water gets converted to fresh water, and 80% gets thrown back into the ocean as brine. Even though brine goes back into the sea with a higher concentration of salt this type of brine doesn’t produce a negative affect on the environment. It simply dissolves and gets redistributed in the water. 

6. Most water makers use a process called reverse osmosis

During this process, a membrane is used to force freshwater through while holding back salt. There are other ways to desalinate water, such as boiling it, but reverse osmosis has become one of the most cost-effective and efficient ways to extract salt from salt water.

7. The water from water makers can be, but isn’t necessarily drinkable

Generally speaking, the water produced from an R/O system is always going to be drinkable, but long term use can lead to the loss of important minerals that are found in normal water. R/O water is great for boating and cruising needs, but if you plan to be on the waves for more than a month, it would be a good idea to bring your own water.

There are a number of things you can do to pass minerals into your R/O water. First be aware that the pH level needs to be appropriate at balanced levels. Secondly, most water makers involve purifying it, but that is a different process than desalination, so reading information about the specific water makers that you own is needed in order to get clarification as to whether your system makes the water pure. The following link will give you the full details about water purification and pH balances.

It is true that most water comes with healthy minerals that are extracted during the process that is undergone with water makers but it is an exaggeration that this is especially bad for your health. We get plenty of minerals from foods that we eat. It’s akin to distilled water. It of course isn’t widely consumed, and perhaps might have ill effects if that is all that is consumed for extended amounts of time, but otherwise it isn’t considered incredibly harsh to your system.

8. Recent innovations are potentially going to make water makers more effective and cost-effective

The process of reverse osmosis is just one way to desalinate water. Variations of this process are being developed that could have major effects on both global needs and water production, but may eventually affect the common U.S. marine water maker market. One recent innovation involves using carbon nanotube-based membranes. This could reduce the cost of desalination by up to 75%.