Photo courtesy ElectroSea
ElectroSea — Barnacles don’t just live on a boat’s hull, they make their way into the raw-water system where they clog pipes and wreak havoc on air conditioners, refrigeration and other equipment that depend on this water for cooling.
AN AGE-OLD PROBLEM
“CLEARLINE by ElectroSea sovles an age-old problem for boaters,” said Daniel L. Cosentino, ElectroSea CEO and President. Typically, owners and captains frequently have to remove barnacles and marine growth from the boat’s raw-water circuit to ensure that air-conditioners, chillers and hydraulics are running efficiently.
These systems require continuous seawater flow, and if marine growth clogs the pipes that feed this equipment, they will shut down. Blockages caused by barnacles and mussels can result in air conditioner overheating, high-pressure alarms, and system failure at the worst possible time.
This is something that is often overlooked, until it’s too late. Who do you think your customer will call when the air conditioner “breaks” on their boat? That’s right…it’s probably you…the broker.
THE DOWNSIDE TO DESCALING AND OTHER TREATMENT METHODS
“Before CLEARLINE, treatment methods for marine growth in raw-water pipes were reactionary instead of preventive,” said Cosentino. Without CLEARLINE, once crew receives a high-pressure alert or system failure, they’ll need to descale the boat’s raw-water plumbing by flushing the conduits, usually with an acid. Just like your health…it’s best to take preventative action instead of being reactive.
Another disadvantage to reactive descaling is that it allows marine growth to manifest in the plumbing. Without disassembling manifolds and fittings, there is no way to tell how much growth has accumulated in the pipes. So, most of the time crew won’t descale until they’ve received a high-pressure alert or experience a system failure. Even then, when the systems are disassembled and the marine growth breaks apart, it has to go somewhere…and you can only hope it makes its way to a bucket or tank and does not get stuck somewhere in the cooling system causing an even worse problem.
DOCK TALK
Old salts and early adopters report positive results using this new technology.
66′ VIKING YACHTS, SEA WOLF – Capt. Harry Schaffer
“Like clockwork, I would clean my A/C strainer every Tuesday for years until we installed the ElectroSea CLEARLINE system,” says Captain Harry Schaffer. “Based in Jupiter, FL the water around our dock can get really warm, especially in summer, and the barnacles, sludge and sea critters would thrive in our A/C system. After installing the [CLEARLINE] System, I only check on my A/C Strainer about every five weeks. When I do check it, I hardly clean anything, no barnacles or gunk. I’ve had the system installed for six months now and can honestly say this will change how the industry thinks about descaling saltwater systems. I haven’t had to call for air-conditioning service since we installed it [CLEARLINE]. In my opinion, this is one of the best improvements to boating in recent years.”
90′ JARRETT BAY, JARUCO – Capt. James Brown
“Although I was skeptical at first, I have been thoroughly impressed with the performance of the ElectroSea [CLEARLINE] system. Our systems are now constantly running at maximum efficiency and require far less maintenance.”
50′ MARITIMO – Owner
“I have 6 air conditioners on my Maritimo M50 and what seems like miles of tubing. Descaling was required much too often, to say nothing of the ongoing costs. Had CLEARLINE installed several months ago and have not experience any growth issues since. Thank you ElectroSea!”
HOW CLEARLINE WORKS
The engineers at ElectroSea harnessed the proven power of chlorine (sodium hypochlorite). It is a well-tested, safe technology with a long history of worldwide industrial application as a disinfectant in drinking water, cooling towers, and desalination plants.
CLEARLINE uses the sodium from saltwater and electricity to produce a consistent, precise amount of chlorine based on a vessel’s flow rate. This chlorine circulates through raw-water plumbing making it an uninhabitable environment for marine growth. The continuous, low-level of chlorine is a proven anti-fouling treatment that controls the growth of a range of marine organisms including barnacles and biofilms.
The patent pending CLEARLINE system includes two key components: the CLEARLINE Control Unit, which is the brain, and ClearCell electrochlorinator, which is the heart of the system.
The CLEARLINE Control Unit works in concert with the ClearCell to deliver a precise, low-level of chlorine. The System provides real-time monitoring, dynamic chlorine adjustment based on seawater and cell conditions, and automatic pump switching if necessary. The Control Unit is intuitive and easy to use with a full LED display, status indicator lights, and audible alarm.
The ClearCell is a specialized seawater electrochlorinator made from a unique formula of rare earth metal oxides for long life. The ClearCell is installed directly in the seawater intake circuit. Chlorinated water flows through the air conditioner, refrigeration, and other systems; and a secondary line runs back through the strainers. CLEARLINE’s low level of chlorine is compatible with titanium, copper nickel and other marine alloys. Further, this anti-fouling agent produces no heavy metal pollution (i.e. copper or
lead). The ClearCell is easy to maintain, long-lasting and designed for the marine environment.
CUSTOMIZED TO EACH VESSEL
The CLEARLINE system is customized to each vessel’s seawater intake demand and is recommended for vessels ranging 25 ft. – 200 ft.
CLEARLINE can be installed on new builds or retrofitted into existing vessels. Retrofitting a boat with the CLEARLINE System is a simple process that involves an ElectroSea field technician or certified dealer inspecting the boat’s raw-water system to determine the best location to plumb in the ClearCell and mount the Control Unit.
“Every boat is a little different,” said Cabe Regnerus, ElectroSea Senior Field Technician. “The first thing we’ll do is determine the optimal location for the ClearCell. We want to maintain the original flow characteristics of the vessel and have ClearCell as close to the raw-water pump as possible.”
After plumbing the ClearCell into the raw-water system, the technician will mount the Control Unit and wire it to 12 or 24 volt DC power.
ElectroSea offers five CLEARLINE models based on seawater pump flow rate. The CLEARLINE CL-410 fits 1/4 to 1/2-inch pipe and up to 7 gpm (gallons per minute) and runs on 12 or 24 volts. The CLEARLINE CL-430 fits 5/8 to 1-inch pipe, up to 26 gpm and runs on 12 or 24 volts. The CLEARLINE CL-990 fits 1¼ to 1½-inch pipe and up to 50 gpm. The CLEARLINE CL-1000 also fits 1¼ to 1½-inch pipe and up to 50 gpm and includes dual pump control and an inhibit feature that forces CLEARLINE into standby when running a reverse-osmosis water maker or live well. The CL-990 and 1000 models run on 24 volts. The CLEARLINE CL-2000 fits 2” pipe, and up to 75 gpm for larger vessels. The entire installation of the CLEARLINE System takes about a day and can be done with the boat in the water or out.
GLOBAL SUPPORT NETWORK
ElectroSea continues to expand its CLEARLINE OEM and refit dealer network and has been installed on over 35 boat brands globally.
“We are proud to be working with esteemed OEM brands and have been included in new builds with Catman Cats, F&S Yachts, Garlington, Hargrave Custom Yachts, Jarrett Bay, Jim Smith Sportfish, Marlow Yachts, Paul Mann Custom Boats, Princess Yachts Americas, Ricky Scarborough, Riviera Yachts, Viking Yachts, and Winter Custom Yachts” said Cosentino.
ElectroSea’s CLEARLINE System has also been refit on vessels from additional premier boat brands including: Custom Carolina, Dean Johnson, Hatteras, Horizon, Maritimo, Merritt, Navigator, Ocean Alexander, Riva, Sea Ray, Spencer, Symbol, Weaver, and Westport.
“With the new CLEARLINE System, the days of descaling raw-water conduits are over forever. Pumps will run at peak flow rates and the crew will incur less downtime caused by high pressure, and low flow alarms due to clogged pipes,” said Regnerus.
PROTECT YOUR CUSTOMER
CLEARLINE is backed by a global dealer network of refit dealers and OEM partners. To find a refit dealer for your customer or inquire about new build installation, contact ElectroSea at info@electrosea.com or (888) 384-8881.
Learn more at www.electrosea.com.
Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.
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