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From: (no name) (no email)
Date: Thu Sep 09 2004 - 23:04:15 EDT
While I am on the subject of watermakers, I thought I would update the list
on my battle with Village Marine.
Several years ago I bought a 25 gph watermaker from Village Marine Tech in Ft
Lauderdale.
It has been one problem after another ever since.
I have already written about many of them, and at first VM sent me new parts
to fix the problems which included:
Failure of both electronic boards (various parts on the boards).
No auto shutdown for low feed water pressure to high pressure pump to prevent
cavitation damage. This low pressure happens normally, when the filters plug
up with silt from the seawater. The sensing pressure switch was in the
machine and wired up but the software ignored it. Instead of simply sending me the
proper eprom, they sent me an entire PCB and a new sensing switch!
Failure of all three membrane housings. There were actually two failures,
illustrating both lousy engineering and lousy craftsmanship. During the
changing of these housings I discovered several "316" fittings in the high pressure
seawater circuit ("all fittings are 316 stainless", VMT brochure) were
actually plated brass. They were replaced with 316 by VMT.
Failure of salinity/temperature sensor. Bad materials causing cracks in the
plastic body.
And so it went, one thing after another until finally the "Lifetime
Guaranteed" titanium high pressure pump failed.
This pump consists of a three-plunger high pressure pump very much like a
pressure washer pump. The pump head is a titanium block with various holes
drilled in it. There are basically three cyclinder bores with a intake gallery and
a discharger gallery, six check vavles (two for each cyclinder) and cyclinder
seals for the ceramic pistons driven by a gearbox and 240 vac electric motor.
Norm
S/V Bandersnatch
Lying Gloucester MA
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