Watermaker pumps again
On eBay there's an ad for a 500 gpd watermaker (US Watermakers) that
uses a brass General pump. Question to co - most watermakers seem to use either bronze, s/s or titanium pumps - yours is brass. what's the expected pump life in tropical (85-90 deg) seawater. Answer from co - We have watermakers with brass pumps that have lasted 20 years. The damage that occurs to the pump is primarily when the pump sits in salt water. The system should be back flushed after each use with fresh water thus eliminating this problem. Most of the units we manufacture have stainless steel pumps. What about using the brass pumps - what he says is true WRT corrosion - typical operations would be 1 hr per day and back flushed with RO'd water. And brass should be fine in distilled water. But what about plain old wear from hours of operation. What about the pickling chemical? |
Watermaker pumps again
What really wears out are the seals and that is the same regardless of
the cylinder and manifold material. A commercial brass head pressure washer pump can last several thousand hours. 4 or 5 years of watermaking time. He does have a point that, properly maintained, backwashed and run every couple of days, the brass pump will probably last for a good while. OTOH, if it soaks in sodium metabisulfite pickling solution for long the cylinder walls have a good chance of pitting. SMBS turns to sodium bisulfite in water which if it gets warm can form a mild sulfuric acid. Then again, a brass pump cost about half what a bronze pump does and one quarter of a stainless pump. If it lasted more than a few years and you could replace it yourself, it might work out dollar wise. dg wrote: On eBay there's an ad for a 500 gpd watermaker (US Watermakers) that uses a brass General pump. Question to co - most watermakers seem to use either bronze, s/s or titanium pumps - yours is brass. what's the expected pump life in tropical (85-90 deg) seawater. Answer from co - We have watermakers with brass pumps that have lasted 20 years. The damage that occurs to the pump is primarily when the pump sits in salt water. The system should be back flushed after each use with fresh water thus eliminating this problem. Most of the units we manufacture have stainless steel pumps. What about using the brass pumps - what he says is true WRT corrosion - typical operations would be 1 hr per day and back flushed with RO'd water. And brass should be fine in distilled water. But what about plain old wear from hours of operation. What about the pickling chemical? -- Glenn Ashmore I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com |
Watermaker pumps again
I asked Brent Swain the same question on the metaboatsociety.com forum,
and he replied that he has used a brass pump for 6 years with no adverse affects, see here http://tinyurl.com/29cbw regards garry "dg" wrote in message ... On eBay there's an ad for a 500 gpd watermaker (US Watermakers) that uses a brass General pump. Question to co - most watermakers seem to use either bronze, s/s or titanium pumps - yours is brass. what's the expected pump life in tropical (85-90 deg) seawater. Answer from co - We have watermakers with brass pumps that have lasted 20 years. The damage that occurs to the pump is primarily when the pump sits in salt water. The system should be back flushed after each use with fresh water thus eliminating this problem. Most of the units we manufacture have stainless steel pumps. What about using the brass pumps - what he says is true WRT corrosion - typical operations would be 1 hr per day and back flushed with RO'd water. And brass should be fine in distilled water. But what about plain old wear from hours of operation. What about the pickling chemical? |
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 04:44 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004 - 2014 BoatBanter.com