If you work on or maintain a boat, offshore rig, or offshore oil or gas production platform, you know that one of your most important consumables is fresh, potable water. The saltwater with which you’re surrounded is filled with not only salt but also refuse, seaweed, silt, and other contaminants that can make it unsafe for regular use. 

Through the process of reverse osmosis, you can take any kind of water; filter, neutralize, and disinfect it; and get fresh water as an output. A device known as a watermaker harnesses the power of reverse osmosis and uses specialized protocols to make sure that the processed water is safe for drinking—and safe for long-term storage. 

A watermaker depends, in part, on a fine-tuned high-pressure pump to drive the integral reverse osmosis process. It’s important to know how your watermaker works, what the unsafe conditions for your high-pressure pump may be, and how to maintain your system to ensure a constant source of safe water.

How to Properly Maintain Your Desalination Unit

Water, water, everywhere: As the saying goes, when you’re out at sea, it can seem like your most precious commodity is just out of reach. Making sure that you have safe, potable water for your crew is vital for a successful venture, and chief among the tools you’ll need to accomplish this is a desalination unit. 

When you’re prioritizing maintenance for your vessel or offshore production platform, it’s important to know the reasoning behind your investment. Taking the time to understand what each machine on your vessel does can help clarify why maintenance and replacement parts are crucial for your safety and quality of life while at sea.

One such machine is your vessel’s sodium hypochlorite generator. From time to time, you’ll need to invest time and money into ensuring that this generator is working the way it should. Why is this important? What does your sodium hypochlorite generator do, anyway? What will happen if you don’t care for it as you should? 

We’ll discuss these questions and more in this blog:

When you’re looking for sanitation units for your boat, you’re likely looking to achieve some pretty basic goals. You want the sewage treatment process to be streamlined and contained, you don’t want to have to deal with the sewage directly or notice any unpleasant aromas, and you want all discharge to be compliant with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) or International Maritime Organization (IMO) standards so you don’t face any fines.

If your boat has a marine sanitation device, you already know how important it is for your vessel’s overall function. Having that system properly up and running will make your multiday excursions much more pleasant (not to say possible). Your sewage treatment system also ensures all of the waste that is discharged from your boat is completely up to U.S. Coast Guard or International Maritime Organization regulatory standards. 

Your marine sanitation device is a hugely important part of your boat, keeping conditions aboard your vessel sanitary, safe, and enjoyable for you, your crew, and your guests. It also helps you treat and dispose of your waste in a way that meets maritime regulations and is good for the environment.

When you’re looking for ways to make your time aboard your vessel as efficient and enjoyable as possible along with ensuring you are compliant with regulations set forth by International Marine Organization (IMO) and United States Coast Guard (USCG) , it’s a good idea to take a quick look at the status of your marine sanitation device.

Why is my seawater hypochlorite generator not producing the concentration I want? The short answer to the that question is to stop worrying about concentration (how strong the hypochlorite is) and instead understand your plant’s specified generating capacity, which is typically rated as the mass of hypochlorite generated over a period of time. This is typically measured in kg/hour or lbs/day generated.

When it comes to the critical choice of selecting a watermaker for your offshore, marine or industrial location you have very important factors to consider.

Chlorine tablets are all the same, right? Nope … and the difference is more important than you might think. It’s true that they are all commodity chemicals, but several different forms of chlorine tablets are commonly available; the difference can cause serious safety, operations, legal and environmental problems for you and the crew.