Click for Mulder Click for JetForums Click for Glendinning Click for Burger Click for Delta

Dometic Water Maker Reliability?

Discussion in 'Watermakers' started by tusindtak, Jan 27, 2021.

You need to be registered and signed in to view this content.
  1. tusindtak

    tusindtak Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    Messages:
    43
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Looking to order a water maker with a spot free system. Two systems integrate together. XZII + Spot Zero at 1200 gpd & 2000 gpd respectively. Does anyone here have experience with Dometic reliability? Thank you in advance.
  2. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    I had a domestic sea recover 46 gph on a 2019 yacht. We did 14 day bahamas trips every 3 months and used the hell out of it. It never missed a beat
  3. tusindtak

    tusindtak Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    Messages:
    43
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Great to hear. Haven’t read much about Dometic water makers. Maybe that turns out to be a good indicator. Thanks for sharing.
  4. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    12,648
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    What manufacturing line did Dometic purchase that enabled them to sell any RO system with their name on it?
  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    They started the company. Seaxchange.
  6. tusindtak

    tusindtak Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    Messages:
    43
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Did a bit of looking online just now about Dometic. Dometic was spun out of Electrolux in 2001. Appears to have $2 billion annual revenue. Seastar Solutions was acquired, per 2017 announcement webpage:
    The brands Condaria, Cruisair, Marine Air and Sealand play a key role in the shipping industry. They are now sold under the Dometic brand.
    Looks like they own VacuFlush and began marketing Spot Zero in 2014. Dometic offers up to 40,000 gpd commercial water makers.
    I sense that they have been at it more that just a few years, based upon their wide number of offerings including accessories.
    To find the water makers, it is under "sanitation" products - brings immediate less than pleasant connection. HA! https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/products/hygiene-and-sanitation/sanitation/water-makers
  7. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Searecovery is very good also and owned by Parker. Domestic has been having huge supply issues with their marine AC units, back ordered several months.
  8. tusindtak

    tusindtak Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    Messages:
    43
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    I did not realize they had a spot free 2 pass system. Thank you for the heads up.
  9. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    12,648
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    As last September, No more R147 equipment from Dumbmedic.
    This has put a huge back log on A/C orders for R410 products.
  10. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    12,648
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    Soon, Dumbmedic's purchasing plans " Why compete, Buy out your competition" will backfire.
    Monopoly laws may kick in when they end up owning the majority of the marine trades supplies.

    1550CCED-90A5-4F91-BD9A-B1034B667A00.jpg
  11. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2008
    Messages:
    8,118
    Location:
    Miami, FL
    I m not a big fan of Sea Recovery. They messed up the design of their touch screens back in the 2000s and instead of stepping up to the plate by offering a reasonably priced fix, they came up with a new screen which requires a new motherboard and pump bypass. A $5000 job. Yes they work pretty well but I don’t trust their support.

    As to Dometic, I avoid their products. For instance Cruisair quality has gone down the tubes with some units (air handlers, chillers or remote condensers) failing after as little as 5 years. Long gone are the days of their blue condensers still ticking after 20 years
  12. BRyachts

    BRyachts Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2006
    Messages:
    122
    Location:
    Ft Lauderdale
    I'm not a fan of any of the automated/touchscreen type stuff. A basic watermaker is nothing but prefilters, a high pressure pump, and membranes. Keep it as simple as possible, it's the automation that breaks. In a "**** hits the fan" situation you can always make water with a hand held salinity meter, and a manual three way dump valve as long as you can get the pumps to run.
  13. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2008
    Messages:
    8,118
    Location:
    Miami, FL
    Some of the sea recovery units work like that. The Aquamatic is the one to avoid as you can’t adjust the pressure without using the electronic control

    others like the aquawhispers have a manual pressure valve and you can manually force the output to the tank overriding the electronics.
  14. tusindtak

    tusindtak Member

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    Messages:
    43
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    I have read frequently about the digital controls going out. I will want to purchase a system that can operate mechanically if the fancy stuff fails. Will need to learn some system basics.
  15. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Yes, I’ve had really good luck with the aqua whisper series. Water makers inc makes some of the most basic (non electronic) ones and quite frankly as long as the pumps and membranes are good, you can bypass the salinity valve or etc. and get them to make water.
  16. BRyachts

    BRyachts Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2006
    Messages:
    122
    Location:
    Ft Lauderdale
    Also many mfg install the potable flow meter before the three way valve, and after several three way valve or salinity probe failures where I thought I was making water but it was being dumped ovbd., A modification I always specify or make myself, is to plumb the potable flow meter AFTER the three way valve directly into the potable tank feed line. This insures that flow thru the meter is actually going to potable tank.
  17. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2008
    Messages:
    8,118
    Location:
    Miami, FL
    I always wait to hear the click of the diversion valve before leaving the ER and the aquawhisper has a remote panel with a green led indicating the valve is open

    one downside to having no product flow meter before the valve is that you can’t set the pressure to rated output until the valve opens. Kind of flying blknd
  18. BRyachts

    BRyachts Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2006
    Messages:
    122
    Location:
    Ft Lauderdale
    On the mega's I built/ran, 99.99% of the time we were in full salinity water, I could always ball park it on startup, flow always changed a bit anyway so just do a fine adjust after running a while. And with gen running can rarely hear valve click, if the mains were running underway definitely could not hear anything.
    About the only times not in full salinity was running thru Lake Gatun in the Panama Canal, or if I had to make mater in the Great Lakes (rarely) because there we docked most every night.