How Fresh Water Generators Work

A freshwater generator is amongst the most important things on a marine ship. With its assistance, one can easily get a fresh supply of water for the entire voyage without the fear of ever running out of conserves. This brilliant machine works to convert salty seawater into pure, drinkable water which is also used for bathing and cooking. It also produces clean water needed to run other machines as well. Thus, simply put, it is not a machine the crew on the ship or the travelers can do without. Most of the times, these generator are produced on the shop using methods like the evaporation method wherein the salt is removed from seawater.

The fresh water generator typically needs two things in abundance in order to properly function. First and foremost, it needs plenty of saltwater and secondly, it needs heat. Both of them are readily available on a trip. Typically the heat is taken from the waters used in the main engine jacket. Even though these waters are used for cooling, most of the times, the average temperature at which it functions is seventy degrees Celsius. However, the heat is still not enough since water boils at at least a hundred degrees Celsius. Thus, one will have to create a vacuum inside the chamber where water is set to evaporate. When the water is cooled down, it is collected and then transferred into the tank out of which water is used by the crew for different purposes. 

As for the actual body of the fresh water generator, it is not that complex. The main component of the body is a huge cylindrical component which has two distinct components. While one of the components condenses the water body, the other one works at evaporating it. Of course, there are also a number of pipes and valves to allow the water to travel to different parts of the generator. There is also an educator which is supposed to generate the required vacuum. There are also two types of pumps; the fresh water pump and the ejector pump which helps with the water flow through the generator.

Moving on, the crew of the ship must also learn how to start the fresh water generator. In order to make sure that the water that goes into the generator is purely seawater and not water that also consists of city waste, one must make sure that they are at least twenty nautical miles away from the shore of the city and that the water pumping into the generator is not that of a congested canal. The engine must be above 50 rpm so that the water is properly warmed up. After that, each and every valve of the generator must be checked to make sure that it is not clogged.

After that, look for the seawater pump in the fresh water generator and make sure that the pressure of the pump is good and then, wait for the vacuum to build up. After ten minutes, when the vacuum has accumulated to ninety percent, open the valve for the treatment process to begin. Afterwards, the hot water inlets and the outlets should be opened up slowly; half of them can be opened in the beginning. When the vacuum drops to eighty-five percent, open the fresh water valve to let the water out. Check it for purity using the appropriate appliances and only after that allow the water to travel to the tanks of the ship.

A fresh water generator truly is the best backup to have on a voyage since when one is on the sea, they never know for sure what problems may befall them. It is good to know that one has an unlimited supply of pure water.