Being supportive
When I installed our new watermaker I noted right away that the bracket which holds the pre-filter appeared to be, at least in my opinion, a bit too flexible. I had visions of it banging around and breaking in heavy seas and when I mentioned this to another cruiser with a similar unit, he admitted that he had similar misgivings about it.
The unsupported filter.
I wanted to add some support to the filter housing but I didn’t want to impede access the filter, making it difficult to service and clean it. The pics below show the solution I came up with.
Two pieces of wood, cut to shape, glued together and then coated with epoxy form the main bracket. The easily-removed cord holds the filter secure into the bracket. Even though it doesn’t really move without it, I added the hockey puck underneath the housing to fill the gap in the event that we are really pounding.
The filter can still easily be inspected without removing it from the bracket. To remove the filter for cleaning is as simple as sliding the puck out, easing the cord and unscrewing the housing. I think it should do the trick!
I think you’re a closet hockey fan. Yup.
Just trying to give it a Canadian touch. 🙂
Then it wont work!!!
Now that’s not nice!
Yet another use for a hockey puck! I don’t think we could find any here in Louisiana, but maybe we should start looking.
We could ship you a box of them.
I think it’s a law in Canada that everything has to somehow make use of hockey pucks!
Perhaps not a law, but highly recommended. 🙂
Mike – What is it with the hockey pucks? I believe that you are the only boater that I have heard of who has a drawer full of hockey pucks. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single hockey puck here at Shilshole, with 1600 slips.
bob
I’ve got a few, but I use them for (gasp) hockey. None on the boat. I’m going to make a bold statment and guess that when Katana comes through the Chesapeake, they will have the only pucks on the water, though.
I like it!
But I shouldn’t talk:
* My chain lock is cut from a piece of internal tank-truck baffel that was condemed during an inspection.
* My winch backing plates were cut from FRP tanks. My motor mounts were rebuilt using surplus FRP clarifier weirs from a wastewater plant.
* Climbing gear has snuck in dozzens of places.
* Some of the smaller carabiners are salvaged from oil clean-up booms (like those used on the Gulf).
… and so forth.
When I originally came up with the idea for using the puck as a spacer for the chartplotter bracket, that was an original idea. After that, a friend of ours cruising in the Caribbean told me that he had often had a use for such a thing, but being down there already, couldn’t buy any. He suggested that I get a couple extra, and so we did. Sliding the puck under the bracket, as I mentioned, is likely not even necessary. If I need the puck for some other use though I’ll know where to find it. 🙂
Perhaps you should be the first, Bob?
Mike,
I am gradually reading my way through all of your postings and I found myself here in the middle of the Sens-Rangers April 2012 playoffs. (Sens are down 2-1 right now but that will hopefully change tonight for the +’ve)
Anyhow I wanted to draw attention to what Lee Valley Tools of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada has created as a use for hockey puck…Bench Pucks …the perfect spacers for things like paint projects. What Lee Valley sells are actually stick-on disks that make the pucks non-skid.
For those who live a deprived life they will also sell you the pucks.
Browse their online catalogs…they may have some sailing appropriate solutions.
Cheers!
http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=67844&cat=1,43456,43465
Nice! Lee Valley does have some cool stuff. We visited the Ottawa store once to do some Christmas shopping for someone who is a big fan of their products.
So, did the Sens win?
Considering to buy a Katadyn WM, so I found your site. Thanks for some very useful posts on installation and thought after 6 months.
Saw your pre-filter support system, with string tie. I thought that if you swap the sting for some bungee cord with a sewn loop on one side, detaching it will be even easier than with string.
Perhaps. In retrospect it was probably not needed. The watermaker filter assembly on One Love is of the same construction and has held up fine with no additional support.