Watermaker overview

Watermaker (Desalinators)

The following desalinators are (at least in the USA and Karibik) spread:

Manufacturer

Market share

Evaluation

Service

Breakdown

others

1999

1 = very well

Aqua Marine

10%

2,2

2,6

ECHO Tec

new

First EchoTec (ech2o) reports sound good.

PURwater

49%

3,4

5,8

taken over by Katadyn 2002
see 80E test since 2004

Sea Recovery

2,2

Spectra

12%

1,2

Village Marine

16%

2,1

2,3

We report market shares and evaluation from USA skippers, Trinidad radio skipper net (channel 68 VHF) and USA Caribbean net 8104 USB. We do not take over any guarantee for correctness.

According to age we did not differentiate: Watermakers became only since some years standard on yachts. Also many watermakers are converted into the newest model while being repaired.

Who is the best one, who the worst one?

Top?

Clearly Spectra has good evaluations, also with service Spectra has good evaluations.

Flop?

Clearly PURwater had (until 2003) the worst evaluations, particularly their service.

That was changed dramatically when Katadyn/Switzerland took over (2004) the watermaker line from PURwater.

In the Caribbean watermakers are particularly frequently to be found:

There are few marinas or places, where water can be refuelled easily. And nobody wants to leave the anchorage in fantastic bays or behind reefs, only because he needs water. Thus he buys a watermaker, in order to be more independent.

Technically seen differ watermakers, apart from size, numbers of the diaphragms and delivery of course, essentially by 3 characteristics:

Use of the "energy recovery" technology or not

The use of the "energy recovery" technology, whereby the pressure in the diaphragms, produced by the pump, becomes "recovered" as pressure amplifiers for the pump, is technically first captivating: It gets along with smaller energy than without such technology. This is particularly interesting for 12 V units.

Unfortunately this technology may be (or was) very trouble-prone.

Units, which work without this technology, need more energy, are however clearly more reliable.

A much promising new way goes Echo Tec (ech2o, ech2otec): There one orients oneself to how the industry builds such units: Renouncement of all technical play stuff, which may (and will) fail. Clear construction at expense of somewhat higher energy consumption.

Production from own construction units or from industry construction units

Nearly all manufacturers use construction units, which are manufactured for their models only.

Disadvantage: One must buy nearly all spare parts of the manufacturer and is delivered in the moment to the manufacturer, its service and his prices.

EchoTec goes also here a new way: EchoTec does not manufacture one part of its units by themselves, but buys all parts from the industry, in high numbers of items with high quality and moderate price. The industry would never use plastics or aluminum "toy items", which are sold to skippers plus "marina addition".

Kind of drive of the high pressure pump, which presses seawater through the diaphragms.

Pump is driven by
-	12 Volt DC
-	110 / 230 Volt AC
-	Drive belt driven by boat engine