The watermaker...where were we? Let's see. I took off the many end fittings, then bounced the membrane housings up and down on the heavy wooden deck of one of the dinghy docks, enough to break loose the stainless end caps with their two O-rings. Before they slid out completely, we returned to Infini to finish the job. When the four end caps were removed, the membranes came sliding out with a bit of jostling, and I tied a line thru the center of each and hung them over the transom, hoping the movement of the water would help break up some of the micro-bacterial growth evident on them. Wishful thinking; didn't happen. Thinking that high pressure would be the only thing that may prove beneficial, I spoke with Cheryl, the woman who runs the morning VHF ch 68 radio net in the mornings, and got the name of a local person with a pressure washer. Off I went, and spent about a half hour pressure washing the membranes, getting a good shower as well in the deal. The results didn't appear all that promising, but there was nothing left to do but put the entire watermaker together again and test it. That didn't go so well, as there were beaucoup leaks in the fittings I had just reinstalled as soon as I attempted to put the membranes under pressure. The boost pump was dribbling at best, showing that the membranes were just about totally blocked. After tightening all the fittings, I went thru the start-up procedures again, and the leaks were still there, but manageable. The high pressure pump was turned up, and we started making desalinated water. I ran the unit for an hour before filling our tanks. I still need to tighten everything up, but it appears we're in business. I'll probably clean the membranes, but they appear to be on their last hurrah, so we feel fortunate to actually be able to get use out of them, yet alone take decent fresh water showers again; what a luxury. The saga continues, but the outcome seems to be improving....While all this was going on, a high pressure system in the Atlantic has been causing enhanced trade wind activity throughout the windward (where we are in Bequia) and leeward islands. We saw 35 knots at anchor the other night! Yikes! Didn't get much sleep with the wind howling and just worrying too much. It's moderated a bit; steady winds are less than 20 knots with gusts in the 25-27 range. Lighter winds aren't expected until next week, so it will be awhile until we move up the island chain. All's well aboard.
Pic: It's been interesting watching the different boats/ships come and go...
No comments:
Post a Comment