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Prefilter Maintenance
Background: Maintaining a healthy watermaker largely involves taking proper care of the
prefilter assembly and seawater intake plumbing. Failure to do so is the most common cause of
the two most frequent types of watermaker “failure” we hear about: (1) producing diminished or
no freshwater output, or (2) producing “bad-smelling” product freshwater. Here is what happens:
No Freshwater Output: The most common cause of diminished or no product
freshwater output is air entering the seawater intake system at some point. The pump volume is
small and the pressure required to press water through the membrane is high (about 800 psi).
Since air is highly compressible, a very small amount of air can keep the pump from producing
enough pressure to produce product freshwater. Periodically inspect and test the entire
seawater intake system to assure that all joints and fittings are airtight, especially the
connections at the prefilter assembly. (Note: Be aware that a stable air gap at the top of the
prefilter housing while operating is not uncommon, and doesn’t necessarily mean that air is
getting to the pump itself.)
Bad-smelling Product Freshwater: The purpose of the prefilter assembly is to trap
any particulates in the intake seawater that are larger than 30 microns. A coarse strainer (if
installed) performs the same chore for contaminants of larger size. In each case, trapped
material remains in the prefilter housing (and/or strainer bowl) until removed.
Much of the trapped material is organic: plankton, seaweeds and flotsam of all types. After a
watermaker has been turned off, this material soon begins to decompose. As it does, it breaks
down into a number of chemicals composed of smaller molecules. Some of these molecules are
small enough to pass through the watermaker membrane along with the product freshwater.
Perhaps the best-known example of such a chemical is hydrogen sulfide, a gas which (in small
concentrations) smells like “rotten eggs.”
Two main factors affect the speed with which these products of organic decomposition will
contaminate a watermaker system: (1) the ambient temperature and (2) the quantity of trapped
material. We realize that many users of our equipment run their watermakers in near-shore
situations while anchored. The amount of trapped material is usually high in such locations, and
the prefilter assembly will require more frequent attention. Moreover, the high ambient
temperatures in tropical locations greatly accelerate the rate of the decomposition process.
The following maintenance routine for the prefilter assembly is appropriate for a “worst case”
scenario: using the watermaker in a near-shore location in the tropics. Users in temperate
climate areas or users processing open-ocean seawater during offshore passages are not as
likely to require the same diligence.
Prefilter Maintenance: At the end of each run of your watermaker, examine the prefilter
assembly (and the coarse strainer, if installed) for trapped material. If anything is visible,
perform the following procedure:
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