A Plug for Katadyn

[sv_bruadair]

As we all know it's much easier to share stories of bad experiences or bad service, and unfortunately we don't take the same time to share outstanding experiences or service.

I want to change that. I want to share my experience with the watermaker company Katadyn, a company that has provided a product, service and technical support so good it's a shame that it's not an industry standard.

Two years ago David and I purchased a 40E watermaker. During the installation we contacted DeeDee at Katadyn on several occasions with questions, and answers were usually received within one business day if not the same day. After installation the watermaker performed flawlessly and as advertised.

After a year of use while I was pickling the watermaker I accidently broke the bypass valve (my fault). I contacted DeeDee and she sent me a replacement vavle that same day. After two years of use the watermaker continued to work as advertised, but there was one small issue. Because of how I mounted the motor/pump assembly oil was dripping from the pump into the motor causing a small burning odor. Now I have to admit that this was not the fault of Katadyn or their product, it was just a result of the orientation of how I installed the unit. During the troubleshooting period I was in constant communication with DeeDee and Chris, both of whom helped me figure out what the problem was. Chris suggested that I return the unit so he could look at it and see what was going on and help me get it fixed back to factory standards. Again, emails were replied to within one business day.

So in December of 2006 after two years of use I took the watermaker out and brought it back to the states. I contacted Chris at Katadyn and made arrangements to send the unit back to have it rebuilt back to new condition. Since the 40e unit was out of the boat, and since David and I had talked about how we wished we had more water, I made the executive decision to go ahead and upgrade to the 80E, with twice the output. Trying to decide if we should upgrade and to which model was the hard part, knowing which company we were going to buy from was the easy part.

Katadyn has won our business and our loyalty. It's refreshing to do business with a company that is willing to back up their product, with a company that provides excellent technical support, and with a company that actually picks up the phone and answers emails. It's nice to know that if we have a problem down the road with the new watermaker that we'll have people to take care of us.

If you ever want to discuss watermakers call Chris or DeeDee at Katadyn (www.katadyn.com). They're open monday through thursday.

Of course I have to say this. No, I don't work for them. I'm a full time cruiser that just really appreciates having a company that stands behind their product and goes out of their way to make sure I'm happy. My 40e is being rebuilt as I write this and will be returned to me soon. If anyone is looking for a good deal on a freshly factory rebuilt (or replaced) 40E watermaker you can email me at dsarin@yahoo.com for more details.

[mitchk]

Thanks Damon, A lot of us here at the dock are getting our boats outfitted to go cruising. During a lot of those evening dock get togethers which usually invole a few spirits we get to discussing stuff like watermakers! As most of you know when you mix a few drinks with a bunch of sailors and start discussing cruising equipment the conversation goes well into the night. Of course it seems like watermakers and customer service from manufacturer's are always in those discussions. I have also been considering the 80E and its good to know that they can be depended on for a quality product and good after sale support. Thats one of the reasons we all read the message board, to learn what works and what doesnt from each other and.

[sv_bruadair]

It'll be a couple of weeks before the watermaker makes it to Roatan and another before I get it installed, but when it's done if you want photos of the install let me know. We're going to try to put it in the forward locker under the pullman berth, that's where we had the 40E.

If the 80E performs like the 40E did for us I can tell you that we'll be very happy. s/v Valentina has been in the Roatan area with us for a couple of months and they absolutely love their 80E. s/v Blow Me Away has a HRO watermaker that makes 30 gallons per hour! Unfortunately they don't run it often (not good for a watermaker) because it makes too much water. Tough to have problems like that....