4. Install Seawater Intake Plumbing: There are two common approaches to
providing the seawater intake circuit:
• Tee into an existing seawater intake (e.g., engine cooling water or manual seawater
pump inlet).
• Install a dedicated thru-hull for the watermaker.
Either of these configurations should meet the following criteria:
• It should be at a low point on the vessel’s hull, to minimize the chance of air intake
during heeling or rough conditions.
• The thru-hull should be a minimum of 1/2" I.D., and possibly larger if it is a shared inlet.
(Note: If there is the possibility that in the future you will want to upgrade by adding a
second PowerSurvivor watermaker to implement redundant systems—you should
consider substituting 5/8" I.D. thru-hull, hoses and hose fittings during your initial
installation).
• An easy-to-reach seacock should be installed on the thru-hull immediately inside the
hull.
• A coarse seawater strainer is strongly recommended. It should be easy to reach and
clean.
The easiest and most commonly used approach is to tee into an existing seawater intake
system. Because the flow rate and volume of seawater intake for the PowerSurvivor 160E are
both modest, the pump may be adequately supplied by some pre-existing intakes—even inlets
that operate at modest negative pressures, such as the cooling water inlet for an engine or
generator.
When teeing into an existing seawater supply, we recommend installing a separate seacock or
valve (in addition to the one at the thru-hull) to independently control the supply to the
watermaker.
5. Install Reject Brine Plumbing: The reject brine water can be teed into an existing
scupper or sink drain hose for draining overboard. Use the 1/2" reinforced hose and supplied
hose clamps. A tee of the correct size will have to be supplied. Alternatively, a dedicated thru-
hull may be installed at a convenient location. In this case, we recommend that a seacock be
installed at the thru-hull.
6. Install Product Freshwater Plumbing: Your product freshwater plumbing design
should allow for both saving and discarding of product freshwater. This normally requires (1) a
container for collecting good product freshwater and (2) a drain location.
In no case should the product freshwater hose be permanently plumbed into the ship’s potable
water storage tank(s), without providing a way to reject the product freshwater when necessary.
Note that product freshwater should always be rejected during the first few minutes after startup,
and especially after treating with membrane preservative or chemical cleaners. For that reason
alone, a means must be provided for disposing of unwanted product freshwater.
In general, we do not recommend that the output of product freshwater be routed directly into a
vessel’s freshwater storage tank(s). If for any reason the watermaker should fail during
operation, there is a good chance that the entire supply of freshwater in the storage tank could
become contaminated by unpurified seawater. This is especially important if:
• you have only a single tank for storing potable water.
• you will be making extended offshore passages and depend on your watermaker for
your potable water supply.
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