SY "Temptress"

"I have installed a 500-BML-1, 20 gallon per hour engine mount ECHOTec watermaker 6 years ago...and it is the best."
Ray Goodwin SY "Temptress", Farr 40

When we asked Ray if we may upload his unsolicited testimonial he answered:

"Yes you may. Your products and services are the BEST I have encountered in cruising the USA, the Caribbean and the Pacific to Australia, New Zealand and beyond.

Best regards,
Ray"

SY "Endymion"

"You installed a modular engine driven system in my Peterson 44, Endymion in 2002. 
It has worked wonderfully ever since. I am still on the original membranes and I don't treat them very well. A robust system."

Jim Nealon
SY "Endymion"

SV "First Light III"

"We are into our second year cruising aboard FIRST LIGHT III. We have travelled over 12,000 miles, cruising Tasmania, western Pacific islands, Indonesia and Malaysia. I installed an ECHOTec 900-BML-2 engine driven unit before departing and it has reliably provided ample water for all our needs.
My philosophy when equipping our yacht was to try to keep the weight down. By installing a high capacity watermaker, we don't need to carry much water (150 litres) as we can make it whenever we want and fill the tanks in an hour.

We have cruised in company with other yachts that don't have watermakers and it has made us appreciate the freedom we have by not having to cruise from one water supply to the next, not having to ration water and not having to lug heavy water containers often containing water of unknown quality. We often reflect on the systems we have installed on the yacht and rank them based on their value to our cruising life. We consistently rank our watermaker a close second, just behind the autopilot!"

Bernie & Dianne McGoldrick
SV "FIRST LIGHT III"

SY "Sherry Suzanne"

"We have been living aboard and cruising in the Caribbean since 1995.  During that period, we have replaced most of the original equipment that came with the boat.  Our experience has been that few of these items, regardless of price, perform exactly as advertised.  The one clear exception to this is our ECHOTec watermaker.
 
Three years ago we purchased your model 900-BML-2 watermaker.  The unit has a specification rating of 38 gallons an hour.  We have found that it actually substantially exceeds this rating. It consistently produces 42 gallons an hour.  Furthermore, testing of the product water shows that it meets or exceeds the quality of expensive bottled water.  In addition, the unit has required minimal maintenance.  In fact, we have made water almost every other day for in excess of 3.5 years and the only maintenance has been to change the oil in the high pressure pump and to replace the pre-filters.  It does not get any better than that.
 
Your product has greatly improved the quality of our live-aboard cruising life. 
Thank you so much. In summary, I recommend your product enthusiastically, without any hesitation or reservations."
 
Larry & Dayle Cox
SY "Sherry Suzanne"

SY "Queen of Hearts"

"In 2003 we replaced our Katadyn /PUR 80 that was producing 12,5 liters of water per hour by the ECHO Tec. 900-BML-2, producing 143 liters per hour.

The PUR used 8 amps at 12, 6 volts. The ECHOTec runs directly of the engine and so DC power consumption is both negligible (only the electro-magnetic coupling takes some dc power) and irrelevant.
The reason for choosing a belt driven unit on our main engine (55 hp Yanmar) is that we don't have a separate generator and a DC water maker that produces a fairish quantity of water (say over 100 liters at a time) requires too many amp. hours. (i.e. so that usually the engine or a generator must be run).

Furthermore we have to run our engine anyway for 2 hours every 4-5 days in order to assist the solar panels in keeping the batteries charged.
We run both a fridge and a freezer and use about 130-140Ah per day. Our solar panels generate about 80-100Ah/day. 
Our total (gel) battery capacity is 570Ah at 12.6volts. Our total alternator (charging) capacity is 260 amps. Our solar panels are 8 x 30 watts Solarex, horizontal.
So essentially we make use of the unavoidable battery charging every 4-5 days to produce about 300 liters of fresh water at the same time.

The reason for choosing an ECHO Tec. water maker is the well thought-out simplicity of the system, the rugged components that are used and the availability on site of knowledgeable technicians, along with a competitive price.
For our installation Echo Marine only manufactured and installed the mounting bracket required for the high pressure pump. In the way of assistance Echo provided the installation guidelines and advice and did the supervision and the commissioning.

In our installation we are only using 1 pre-filter, without a booster pump for the feed water. A second filter  with a carbon filter element is used for flushing the system with fresh water after every production cycle. The flushing takes about 5 minutes (including the back flushing of the pre-filter) and is quite simple to carry out.
The installation proved to be straight forward and the services rendered by Echo's management and technical staff were excellent.
The end result is a very neat and well functioning installation that has no trouble to produce the specified amount of fresh water and is easy to operate and maintain."

John  Van Logchem
SY "Queen of Hearts"
(Queen of Hearts is a Swan 47, designed by S&S and built in 1977; cruising Europe, Brazil, Caribbean, USA, since 1996; normally there are 2 persons on board).

SY "Moira"

“I bought an ECHOTec watermaker 3 years ago, installed it myself (easy) and fired it up. It has worked perfectly, with absolutely no problem at all every day since (we are not marina people). I can truly say that this is the best watermaker I have ever had and I never hesitate even a second to recommend it to anyone and everyone.”

We have just returned to Noumea from a couple of months of cruising and uploaded comments on the ECHOTec 500-BML-1 on our cruising website: http://www.cruising-newcaledonia.com/water-makers-desalinators-comparisons.html
Still working just great – I can’t tell you what a pleasure it is to have good gear that serves an essential role in our cruising life.

Richard Chesher
SY "Moira"
http://www.log-of-the-moira.com

SY "Candine"

"About a year ago, I purchased an Echotec engine-driven watermaker 500-BML-1 (20 gph) for my Spencer 44 ketch, "Candine". We have now safely crossed the Pacific, and enjoyed Mexico, the Marquesas, Tuamotu, Society Islands, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, Fiji, and are now en route to New Zealand.

The Echotec watermaker has performed flawlessly. In fact, I have relied on it to fill my tanks 100% of the time, and never had to take on water anywhere. I have made thousands of gallons in the past year and have had not a single problem so far.

I have recommended it to many cruisers, especially those I see hauling water jugs in their dinghy, or waiting at the customs office to clear more spare parts for your competitors' brands. It is one of the few systems on board that I have not had to fix or modify in some way. It was easy to install, easy to operate and simple to maintain, and best of all, it provides refreshing, crystal clear water.

Thank you for a superior product. "

Tim Russell
SY "Candine"

SY "NatHape"

In a few words: best Product, best service, best price...
We had the watermaker delivered from Trinidad to Panama, installed it ourselves and it works perfectly.

Hanspeter & Nathalie
SY "NatHape"

SY "Splash"

"As a sailor, setting my boat up for cruising I did what every other sailor does and I asked as many cruisers and live aboard's as possible about what they have and what other cruisers say and think about what to buy.

I was speaking at length to a circumnavigator who took 5 years to do his circumnavigation and as he was a member of my club we had a great chin wag about everything. My big item list had a watermaker on it and I asked him what he thought would be a good one to buy. The conversation went much like this.
Q. So what watermaker do you have?
A. I have an XXXX model (not an ECHOTec) which did do the job ok.
Q. What brand would you recommend and why?
A. Well, most cruising sailors are using the ECHOTec. They are very simple, you can get parts anywhere, no electronics to play up and they will eventually, ask me. They just seem to be incredibly reliable.

We all know that there are many brands out there and as I have worked very closely with the marine industry as a sailing instructor I have heard of other brands of watermakers causing problems.

I called Peter, Blue Sea Machines on several occasions with questions that might seem and were straight forward, but I wanted everything to be perfect. I found Peter to be very helpful which is rare these days. When someone has your money they forget you very quickly but not Peter.

We have used the water maker consistently without any problems. We make 50 to 60 liter a day as this is our daily usage and the water maker goes on when we start the 2kva Honda which heats the water for showers, charges the batteries and makes water. When we are motoring and need water, we turn the watermaker on (and travel at 5 knots max to prevent cavitation) and run it till the tank overflows.

I can recommend the ECHOTec to any prospective buyer as it is robust, easy to install and maintain. I have been using my ECHOTec commercially with students on board so it has had a work out.

My yacht is “Splash” and is in Pittwater, NSW, so if you see me at anchor and would like to have a look at the installation come on over."

Peter Wilson
SY "Splash"

SY "Bluesipp"

Having recently passed Captain Cook's "Thirsty Sound" inside Australia's Great Barrier Reef, it seemed a good time to send a note thanking you for my excellent water maker. Given the choice I shall never sail without one. 

There are surprisingly many boats with your equipment on board and without exception we are all very happy with our water-makers and the excellent and prompt back-up you have given us. 

John Kirkus 
SY "Bluesipp"

SY "Charmar"

"We installed an ECHOTec Watermaker three years ago knowing we would be cruising in remote areas of South East Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Borneo, where it would be difficult to contact suppliers or get parts or help and where the water supplies are notoriously unreliable. Therefore we wanted a system that worked, had utmost reliability and no need to get supplies, parts or help from supplier.
I am delighted to say that after initial commissioning, where assistance from the company was extra-ordinary, all our criteria of reliability, performance and ease of use have been more than met. To say the least we are delighted!
It is also great to be able to use water freely without constraint, to shower and wash, and even wash the boat down in the tropics without concern for water. We used to carry a 1,000 litres of water, now we just carry an emergency supply and make it as we go."

Chris and Dianne White
'SY Charmar' 
www.sailblogs.com/member/charmar