EchoTec Pump/Motor Specifications

I'm currently in the middle of a pretty significant refit and just pulled the old watermaker out of the lazarette. It's an EchoTec unit (hence the title), control panel looks pretty poor, pressure vessels bit rusty but hopefully ok, and pump/motor assembly look decent albeit flaking paint and some surface rust.

Nameplates on pump and motor have been removed with ET putting their own branded labels on. There is literally no useful info on them (see attached pic). After further digging I believe the model is 690-AML-2. This was scrawled on some loose ET documents.

I contacted ET with all the info I had, asking for confirmation of model and basic specs like power supply voltage and frequency. I got a very short answer saying they wanted to sell me a new motor and panel breaker. I replied requesting specs again so I could source my own equipment, possibly even boosting output somewhat.

The brief reply simply told me they don't disclose the "engineering details of our systems, as this directly contributed to the proliferation of ECHOTec imitators on the market today." He also mentioned any increase would require both pump and motor replacement.

I replied again stating I can provide my own motor and assured him I wouldn't be running out making chinese knock-offs of their gear. Not that they even manufacture anything

He then replied with a treatise about how their systems are a result of 25 years of r&d, millions of hours of real-world testing, other companies using information obtained from them, yawn... comparing my question to requesting proprietary engine design from a car manufacturer.

My response reminded him we were talking about small-scale RO watermakers, the principles of which are well established and understood. Especially when you're using COTS equipment, i.e. non-proprietary commodity parts. Not sure where he thought the IP was...

Anyway, that route seems to be a dead end. So my question remains as per the title: does anyone know anything about these systems so I can put together something I can actually use and know what I've got onboard for spares, repairs, etc?

I read somewhere that Speck (Germany) makes the HP pumps, motors can be picked up from Baldor/Leeson to fit my supply. Also, 2x 40" membranes should be able to output up to 50gph, significantly more than with the current arrangement.

This is the system, except with 2 pv/membranes. The system voltage (for some reason) is 230 Vac 50 Hz, hence the supply issues.
My understanding is the pumps are made by Speck, not common west of the Atlantic. Motor, no idea.

It's definitely not a Cat but I certainly agree with you, the Cat 277 seems to be the gold standard for this size range. As you said, spares are plentiful, tech specs are easily found, many others are using it so advice/troubleshooting is that much easier, documentation e.g. exploded diagrams, parts lists, etc are all available, on and on...

Problem is, by the time I've bought that pump plus a suitable motor another few thousand has been spent. I was hoping to use as much of the existing system as possible to minimise that. Boat bucks are in short supply when there's so many other projects on the go too.

Thanks Pascal, great resource. They're selling a plated HP pump that'll do 40gph for US$500

Have a feeling I'll be going back to their site quite often, maybe for a complete system, maybe just for all the goodies they're selling at decent prices if I cobble together my own. They owe you a commission

In order of preference:

1. Utilise existing pump/motor assembly
This is why I requested basic motor specs, e.g. voltage and frequency. Obviously I need to provide suitable power supply to motor, 120 vs 240 Vac, never really thought freq would have been an issue (assumed 60 Hz). Anyway, many motors can be supplied with either 50 or 60 Hz with slightly different run charactistics.
Cost: Negligible

2. Replace motor
After initial contact with ET, they immediately started talking about replacing the motor with one that could accept my preferred power supply. If this route is necessary, I would like to size motor to maximise output from pump/membrane combo. I could not get any info whatsoever from ET in order to do this.
Cost: Moderate

3. Replace motor and HP pump
As I now have a motor with unknown run characteristics mated to a "mystery meat" pump, it seemed reasonable to replace both so that, at the very least, I'd know what gear I actually have and what it's rated for. See the discussion above re: Cat pumps. I could then size according to membrane limitations. The redundant mystery meat pump/motor would have minimal resale value, as I wouldn't even to be able to define extremely basic info e.g. makes and models.
Cost: Painful

4. Scrap the whole system and start over
A full system could be provided by a different company (see Seawater Pro link above) or assembled myself from various parts. This seems to be the most ridiculous option as a full system had already been installed; however, after interaction with ET's customer service, I really don't feel comfortable having their gear anywhere near my vessel, not to mention I still have no idea what any of it is.
Cost: Maximal

Yes, of course that's true.

By definition, that means your system is oversized for a single membrane. There may be advantages in doing so.

Looks like ET disagrees with you. Notice how current draw and power required increases with increasing output?

In case anyone might be interested, here is some info re: pumps and motors used in these ET systems.

Pumps are Speck NP10 series triplex plunger type rated at 1420rpm, likely the NP10/4-150 in the 690 shown above. This pump is probably used in the five systems 260 thru 780. It's not clear if they're using two or three pumps to cover the full range, the 1200, 1400 & 1500 are likely using the Speck NP10/7-150 but can't say for certain.

Motors are more straightforward, Leeson capacitor-start TEFC 56C general purpose type. Rated power starts at 1hp for systems 390 thru 780. This motor must be spec'd 50Hz or 60Hz. For 1000 & 1300, rating is 1.5hp, can be wired 120/240Vac 50/60Hz as desired. 1200, 1400 & 1500 rated power is 2hp, again 120/240Vac 50/60Hz.

Hope this helps