Your watermaker is designed to be run using sea water so you can use it coastally or offshore. The watermaker has pre filtration which may see a shorter life if used coastally due to the water being dirtier but pre-filters are a cheap consumable item. Wait until you get offshore if you only have limited spare filters. Caution should be taken when using the watermaker in estuaries as the water can be a little brackish. The absence of the high salt content in the water will allow the water to pass through the membranes too fast causing damage so you should test the water if you are unsure. Normally levels of salt in sea water is about 3.5% which is extremely salty if dip you finger in and taste.  

You should not use your watermaker when in big seas or when there is a lot of air bubbles in the sea. Air bubbles will often be seen in production sight tube but essive air will make the water look fizzy. In this case, you should postpone the use of the watermaker until a later period. An accumulation of air can build up in the membrane stack and released violently causing damage to the membrane.

Your water maker will not sense when the water tank is full so you will need to switch it off manually. Your boats water tank will have a tank breather vent and water will vent from here if your tanks reach the full point whilst the watermaker is in operation.

Automatic maintenance rinsing is not a feature on Dessalator watermakers as it is not necessary. The rinsing feature often found on energy recovery watermakers and is a way of preventing build up in the membranes settling and reducing the watermakers performance. Membrane buildup is not a problem on Dessalator watermakers and a lack of rinsing is of no detriment to the watermaker. However, a monthly rinse will help to prevent a build-up of odour in the system.      

Your watermaker requires sufficient volume of water in order to build pressure. Restricted water flow caused by a dirty pre-filter or air lock will result in the watermaker being unable to build any or sufficient pressure. Replace the pre-filter if the pressure is low and use the manual rinse lever to fill the system to expel the air introduced into the system. Using the manual rinse can also helps encourage any airlocks to pass if you cannot get any pressure at all.

A method which can be used if this is unsuccessful, ensure the pressure regulator full anticlockwise. Switch the pump ON and briefly rinse using the manual rinse, then quickly move the lever back to the seawater position. This may need to be done several times but will often help to allow the sea water to flow through the machine.

The good quality light will illuminate when the water quality is good enough to drink. This represents the average output of all the membranes combined and not each membrane individually. If an individual membrane has developed an issue, it will bring down the average of the combined output so the membranes must be checked individually to demine when the fault lies.