Katadyn makes rugged watermakers for rugged use - under all kinds of conditions.

Our highly efficient Katadyn Power Survivior 12 & 24 volt systems produce a plentiful supply of drinking water while putting the least demand on your power supply. Each model runs independently of a generator; indeed, our units commonly run off standard marine batteries, photo-voltaic cells or wind generators. As a result, you minimise battery drain and recharging time.

 If, on the other hand, you are looking for a watermaker as a means of survival, whether or not your watermaker is up to it can be a matter of life or death. No survival kit or liferaft should be without a Katadyn Survivor hand-operated watermaker. Compact, lightweight and easy to use, they supply enough emergency drinking water to make the difference between dehydration and survival. Adding a Survivor to your safety package is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Click on an image to the right for complete specifications or scroll down for answers on frequently asked questions.

Why should I install a Watermaker?

• Emergency Water. If your tanks spring a leak and dump all your fresh water into your bilge. Water can also become undrinkable if you fill up in some cruising "paradise" and lack the ability to purify it.
• You can reduce your water burden. By taking some water in your tanks and supplementing it using the watermaker. This is obviously of great interest to racers, but can also allow a cruising sail or powerboat to perform more efficiently by cutting down on weight.
• You can extend your range. If you have been water-capacity limited. Instead of planning your trip based on where you can fill up your tanks, you can push on knowing that you can make your own.
• You can save money. In foreign ports where potable water can be very costly.
• Safe Water Supply. The water quality in many parts of the world is questionable and we can all do without a sickness caused by some unattractive parasite.

Why are Katadyn Watermakers better than other reverse osmosis models?

Reverse osmosis desalinisation was developed over two decades ago. The principle is simple; squeeze salt water through a semi-permeable membrane fine enough to remove salt and other minerals and contaminates. Unfortunately, the membrane must be so fine that the filtering process requires enormous pressure (typically 800psi) to push the fresh water through; developing that pressure requires alot of energy.

Katadyn improved this process by capturing some of that energy and reusing it. When seawater is forced against the membrane, only 10% passes through as fresh water. Instead of sending the remainder, still under high pressure, to over board discharge, as other watermakers do, Katadyn Watermakers use a patented high pressure energy recovery pump: the "waste" pressure is redirected to the backside of the pump's piston, creating energy to balance the force on the piston's front side. This reduces the energy expenditure and allows both easier hand pumping as well as the use of 12 volt motors at low amperage.

The result is that Katadyn produces the world's most energy-efficient watermakers.

How much water is enough?

If you are going to have a watermaker on board, plan on a luxurious 8 litres per person per day and really live it up. That translates to approximately 80 minutes of Katadyn PowerSurvivor 40 operation per person per day, or half as much of that using the PowerSurvivor 80E. That in turn translates to about 5 amps per day per person for lots of fresh water.

Based on this, most cruising boats can exist harmoniously with a PowerSurvivor 40 and not have to operate it day and night. When your consumption, whether due to having too many friends or a profligate use of water, rises to over 40 litres per day, we'd go with the PowerSurvivor 80E. Should your consumption be over 75 litres per day, we'd recommend the PowerSurvivor 160.