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Monitor and operate watermakers

Use Tools > Watermaker to monitor an enabled watermaker, start or stop production, and request a fresh-water flush. BoatKit keeps this page available when a configured controller is temporarily disconnected so you can distinguish the controller's operating status from its connection status.

Spectra Connect is currently the only supported provider. See Set up Spectra Connect before using this page with a new controller.

Follow the manufacturer's procedures

Commissioning, seacock operation, feed-water and product-water routing, storage chemicals, maintenance, and physical safety remain governed by the current manual for your exact watermaker model. Remote control is not a reason to operate a watermaker unattended.

Use Spectra's current manuals and support information alongside BoatKit.

Before you start​

Confirm that:

  • The controller is configured and enabled under Settings > Integrations > Spectra Connect.
  • Its status is Connected before you attempt a command.
  • You have administrator access if you need to start, stop, flush, change a tank target, or use the mirrored controller controls.
  • Seacocks, valves, hoses, filters, electrical supply, and product-water routing are set as required by the manufacturer's manual.
  • Any tank used for automatic stopping has an active, current level reading in BoatKit.

BoatKit does not publish a model and firmware compatibility matrix yet. A configured controller is supported only when it exposes the Spectra Connect HMI pages, labels, and controls that BoatKit recognizes. Verify the connection, displayed status, and available controls while supervising the equipment.

Choose and name a watermaker​

When more than one enabled watermaker is available, Tools > Watermaker displays a Watermaker selector. Entries are sorted alphabetically by their friendly or automatic names. When you explicitly select one, BoatKit remembers that choice only in the current Viewer.

Use Settings > Equipment > Watermakers to:

  • Assign a friendly name that identifies the unit on your boat.
  • Choose whether the watermaker appears in normal tools and equipment selectors.

Configure the controller itself under Settings > Integrations > Spectra Connect. Hiding a watermaker from normal selectors does not replace or remove its integration configuration.

Understand the operating page​

The common watermaker view can display:

  • Controller state and reported model
  • Connection or error status
  • Whether product water is Producing to tank, Dumping overboard, or Unknown
  • Input-water and product-water quality in PPM
  • Production rate
  • Feed and boost pressure
  • Water temperature
  • Supply voltage
  • Filter condition percentage, when supplied

Production rate, pressure, and temperature follow the Viewer's preferred units. PPM, volts, and percentages remain in their named units. If the controller has not supplied a measurement, BoatKit displays it as unavailable rather than treating it as zero.

Status, fault, service, and support text shown for Spectra equipment comes from the controller. Use the model's manual to interpret it; BoatKit does not turn that text into a separate fault diagnosis.

Start, stop, or flush​

  1. Open Tools > Watermaker.
  2. If the Watermaker selector appears, choose the unit you intend to operate.
  3. Confirm that the selected controller is Connected and compare its state with the physical controller.
  4. Confirm the product-water routing and other operating conditions required by the manufacturer's manual.
  5. Select the appropriate action:
    • Start requests normal production. For Spectra, the common Start action uses a maximum run time of 12 hours, and the confirmation dialog states that limit. You can stop the run sooner.
    • Stop requests the controller's normal stop flow. It can also cancel an active fresh-water flush when the controller exposes its Stop control.
    • Fresh-water flush requests the controller's Fresh Water Flush cycle.
  6. Watch the reported state and output disposition to confirm the controller responded as expected.

Start and fresh-water flush are available only when the connected controller displays the exact recognized control on a page BoatKit considers safe for that command. A missing or disabled action can therefore mean that the controller is disconnected, is on a different page, is in an incompatible state, or has not exposed the expected control.

All operating actions require administrator access. BoatKit reports command failures, but it cannot guarantee that a remote request changed the physical equipment. Verify the result on the operating page and, when necessary, use the controller's physical controls according to its manual.

Use the primary Spectra controls​

The first-created Spectra Connect integration that has not been deleted is the compatibility primary. Primary selection is not currently configurable.

For that primary controller, the Watermaker tool retains the detailed Spectra view, including:

  • A mirror of the controller HMI and its recognized controls
  • Production and run details
  • Fault, service, troubleshooting, and support information reported by the controller
  • Autorun targets based on hours, gallons, or tank percentage

Additional Spectra controllers remain available through the common telemetry and Start, Stop, and Fresh-water flush actions.

Spectra autoruns must always have a bounded target. In the detailed primary view, select one of these modes before pressing Start:

  • Hours runs for the requested duration.
  • Gallons uses the Spectra controller's Auto Run quantity in U.S. gallons. This field does not change when you select a different preferred volume unit in the Viewer.
  • Tank % runs toward a selected fresh-water tank percentage.

Pressing Stop during a BoatKit-initiated run cancels it through the controller's normal stop flow.

Configure tank-based stopping​

For the primary Spectra integration, open Settings > Integrations > Spectra Connect and configure:

  • Fresh Water Tank: the BoatKit tank-level source used for fill-to-percent runs and the high-level safeguard.
  • Always stop watermaker above: an additional percentage threshold at which BoatKit requests a stop whenever it observes that controller running.

A newly created integration defaults Always stop watermaker above to 95%. A value of zero is an active 0% threshold, not an off setting. With an active selected tank, zero prevents BoatKit from starting a run.

Fill-to-percent runs​

A Tank % run requires the selected fresh-water tank to have an active, current reading. If the tank is already at the requested limit, BoatKit does not need to start a fill-to-percent run.

BoatKit persists the target of a BoatKit-initiated run across a restart only when it can verify that the Spectra controller is still performing that same run. If the controller state does not match, BoatKit clears the saved target instead of taking ownership of a later run that may have been started manually.

Always-stop threshold​

Always stop watermaker above is an additional safeguard. It applies to any running state BoatKit observes for that controller, including a run started manually at the controller. If the selected tank is already at the threshold, BoatKit refuses to start a new run.

When both a fill target and the always-stop threshold apply, the first percentage reached wins and BoatKit requests the controller's normal stop flow.

Tank stopping is not fail-safe

Tank-based stopping depends on a selected, active fresh-water tank reading and a live connection to the controller. If the tank source becomes inactive or unavailable, BoatKit cannot evaluate the threshold. If the controller disconnects, BoatKit cannot send the stop request. Automatic stopping resumes only when the required valid live state returns.

Use proper tank sensing, overflow protection, manufacturer-required safeguards, and supervision. Do not rely on BoatKit automation as the only protection against overfilling.

Confirm it is working​

During supervised operation, confirm that:

  • Connection shows Connected separately from the controller's operating state.
  • Starting production changes the state to starting or running.
  • Output reports whether water is going to the tank or being dumped overboard when the controller supplies that information.
  • Available quality, production, pressure, temperature, voltage, and filter readings update without unavailable values being shown as zero.
  • A tank-target run shows the intended BoatKit tank and target.
  • A stop request progresses to stopping and then to a non-running state on both BoatKit and the controller.
  • A fresh-water flush is identified as a flush rather than normal production.

Operation without an internet connection​

Aboard the vessel, monitoring and control can continue without internet access when your Viewer can reach BoatKit on the boat and BoatKit can still reach the Spectra controller.

Remote monitoring and control depend on the applicable internet connections and BoatKit Cloud relay path. Loss of that remote path does not itself stop the physical watermaker and must not be treated as an automatic safety action.

Troubleshooting​

If the page appears but status or controls are not as expected, check in this order:

  1. Open Settings > Integrations > Spectra Connect. Confirm that the intended integration is enabled and that its controller address is correct.
  2. Inspect its Connected, Disconnected, or Error status and read any accompanying error text. The Watermaker tool remains available for an enabled configured unit even while its controller is disconnected.
  3. For tank-based stopping, confirm that Fresh Water Tank selects the intended tank and that its reading is active and current.
  4. Compare the controller's own screen and operating state with BoatKit. Confirm that the expected Start, Stop, or Fresh Water Flush control is actually visible before retrying.

If a command fails, keep supervising the equipment and use the physical or controller controls as directed by the manufacturer's manual. Do not begin by deleting the integration, resetting the controller, or changing vessel network settings.