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Schenker Watermakers


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Anyone have experience with Schenker watermakers?

 

I just agreed to a Schenker ZEN 30, based on the fact that basically it's damn hard to fit most other models due to size constraints.

19kg and 30L/h which seems pretty damn efficient for a machine that draws 110watts.

 

Any dos or don'ts that I should be aware of when using it, prepping/storing?

 

Just really want to know what we're in for...

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Looks to be a copy of the Spectra Newport watermaker

Popular in Europe, not sure if there would be much service support elsewhere

This link has some useful comments

http://www.diycatamaran.com/diy-Schenker_30-watermaker-rebuild-install.HTML

Good to see they use a standard membrane.

Make sure the wáter inlet is as close to the centreline  as possible. Have a close look at the feed pump, these are often the problem área

The Schenker name is perhaps a bit misleading, people will think it is from the fatherland whereas it is actually Italian.

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We had a 60l but bought it in 2001 so no doubt they have moved on since then.

Very low power consumption, a bit noisy clunking away but overall pretty happy.

Back then they were hard to deal with for parts, quite reluctant to ship to remote locations.

It would pay to get some good contacts at the factory before you set off. 

The pre filters were off the shelf buy anywhere items which helps.

 

Yep they were located near Naples.

We had to get the main pump rebuilt and I ended up flying there (from the Canaries) to pick it up when completed.

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We are the NZ distributor for these here.  We have most parts off the shelf.  You can contact me on 021884827 if you need anything.  

 

Back up and support is pretty good these days.  

 

We see a lot of the European yachts arrive here with Schenker on them.  We have an Auckland based tech who can assist.  

 

The noise is pretty similar to the Spectra but power use is lower.  

 

We have the Zen 30 off the shelf if you want to buy one :-)

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Hi,
We now use the ZEN30 for almost 1 year. We are pretty happy, but since yesterday we are over the top.

Since installation, the noise produced by the pump was a bit disappointing. Just too loud,. We realized that the high pressure hose from the pump to the unit was almost 5 meters and made some bends and was touching parts of the interior and the vibration was amplified. At original installation I spend a lot of effort to install the pumpunit almost free hanging in the air to prevent vibrations to a wall or such, so you can imagine the disappointment.

As we are on anchor in Mindelo during this ongoing corona crisis, we have plenty of time to do improvements.

Long story short:  The buffer/damping tank needs to go as close to the pump as possible and in front of the filter, suspend this tank with proper damping material to get the best result.

Short story long:  At delivery, the pressure tank and filter housing are pre-assembled for quick installation. And in the diagram the tank comes after the filter, so while installing you don't doubt this. You like your filter housing in a location with easy access to replace the elements, and that is not always close to the pump as the pump needs to go close to a thru hull and at or below the waterline. We had 2 meters of hose between the pump and filter housing. So that 2 meters high pressure hose gave us a hard time. 
Another detail is that I think, and according the Shurflo manual, the tank needs to be installed upside down. With the connections in the bottom. So dirt or old water can not accumulate in the tank unit.

The above became very obvious in the last days before I changed the installation. I complained to my partner about the noise increase of the pump. As we were stuck on anchor we ran the unit daily and a change in performance was more noticeable. Than the unit switched off due to high pressure on the pump, I realized that the filter must have gotten clogged as the water in this bay is a bit sandy.
So, conclusion was that due to the clogged filter, that was installed between pump and damping tank, the damping performance has gone bad over time when the filter got clogged more and more. While modifying the system, I ran it without the tank and the noise was the same at the time with the clogged filter.
This was the first time we had a clogged filter ahead of the replacement time of 2 months that we usually take.

Another thing to think about with watermakers is the kind of pump used.  Our Schenker Zen30 has a Shurflo pump, 12V. I think it's called a membrane pump. This membrane pump makes more noise than another type of pump used in this field, the vane-pump I believe. The Vane-pump is very quiet but due to the precision parts in this rotary unit, it does not like sand particles. Where the membrane pump is okay with pumping debree, rather not but it does not harm the unit, and according the supplier therefore should be more reliable over time.
We can not confirm this theory since our unit only has 100 hours on the clock (retro installed).

Cheers to all and stay safe!

Akko

www.sailingchoctaw.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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On 20/01/2019 at 7:47 PM, southernman said:

We are the NZ distributor for these here.  We have most parts off the shelf.  You can contact me on 021884827 if you need anything.  

 

Back up and support is pretty good these days.  

 

We see a lot of the European yachts arrive here with Schenker on them.  We have an Auckland based tech who can assist.  

 

The noise is pretty similar to the Spectra but power use is lower.  

 

We have the Zen 30 off the shelf if you want to buy one :-)

I think Dr Watson is based in Europe (Switzerland)

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On 20/01/2019 at 7:47 PM, southernman said:

We are the NZ distributor for these here.  We have most parts off the shelf.  You can contact me on 021884827 if you need anything.  

 

Back up and support is pretty good these days.  

 

We see a lot of the European yachts arrive here with Schenker on them.  We have an Auckland based tech who can assist.  

 

The noise is pretty similar to the Spectra but power use is lower.  

 

We have the Zen 30 off the shelf if you want to buy one :-)

Hi, just wondering if you are still a supplier for parts for the schemer watermakers? We have inherited a Schenker smart 80 Basic 80S12 with a boat we bought . It hasn't been used in quite a while we understand but are looking at getting recommissioned. Wondering if you have an email we can contact you on? Cara and Julian SV Taurus sailingtaurusnz@gmail.com

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