RP Tronic, the valve that revolutionized the watermakers, is turning 20
by HP Watermakers 20 Dec 2023 02:29 PST
RP Tronic © HP Watermakers
Restyling the RP Tronic valve after 20 years, and not even in a particularly significant manner in technical terms, underlines what a great intuition the introduction of this valve was for the desalination world.
"RP Tronic represented the watershed between manual and automatic watermakers," explains Gianni Zucco, Co-Founder of HP Watermakers. "Its introduction made it possible to automate the regulation of seawater pressure on osmotic membranes. In practical terms, the high-pressure pump (which sends seawater to the membranes and to the RP TRONIC valve downstream) ensures that the pressure is kept constant at 60 bar; if this does not happen, fresh water production is affected. The ordinary needle valve has an innovative element, RP Tronic (an HP Watermakers patented system), which allows automatic adjustment, whereas manual valves require a person to go down to the engine room to make the necessary adjustments every time there is a change in seawater conditions (i.e. salinity and temperature). And, as you can easily imagine, as you navigate, these parameters change all the time."
A pressure of 60 bar is the optimal condition that must be guaranteed on reverse osmosis membranes, but maintaining this pressure is not simple. A manual valve must be constantly checked, especially out at sea, because if salinity increases, production inevitably decreases and pressure rises, until it becomes too high and the system shuts down. An increase in temperature would cause the opposite phenomenon, i.e. the pressure would drop, as would the system's productivity. It is therefore easy to understand how the two elements interact with each other and can negatively affect the smooth operation of the watermaker. At the same time, it is just as easy to understand that manual control requires special attention, with the inconvenience of having to remember and to go down to the engine room every time. Instead, RP Tronic recognises temperature and salinity values and automatically maintains a constant pressure of 60 bar in the system.
HP Watermakers is the only watermaker manufacturer to have developed and patented an automatic system (the RP Tronic valve) to ensure continuous pressure regulation, and it is quite surprising that, in 20 years of honourable service, a substantial number of yachts still use manually regulated valves. Automatic adjustment is convenient, but it is not the only advantage - the RP Tronic valve also positively affects production efficiency and maintenance.
Less maintenance
During automatic flushing, which is standard on HP watermakers, RP Tronic, which like all pressure-regulating valves is located at the end of the circuit as if it were a closed tap, opens fully and automatically. This allows all the salt water to drain out of the system but especially out of the membranes. This too is an important aspect because, if membranes are not rinsed properly, the deposited salt will eventually crystallise on them and chemical flushing will be needed to restore full efficiency, as occurs regularly with a manual valve. Moreover, because of the perfect rinsing with fresh water, all metal parts in contact with seawater are completely protected against corrosion and rust. In addition, during the start-up phase, RP TRONIC gradually closes and adjusts the pressure to the crucial 60 bar in a 2-minute ramp-up cycle, checking all parameters and optimising the start-up cycle before operating at full capacity.
But HP Watermakers' focus on the durability and long-term efficiency of its watermakers goes even further. Thanks to the AMCS (Automatic Membrane Conservation System), another HP Watermakers exclusive, during each shutdown and washing cycle a dispenser injects a few drops of Sodium Metabisulphite onto the membranes. This inert acid does not damage the membranes, but is essential to prevent bacterial proliferation and therefore the creation of mucilage, which is always possible in the absence of chlorine. With all these systems, the service life of the membranes can extend to up to 10 years.
Restyling and total interface
"We carried out a slight restyling that, after 20 years of honourable service, hardly seems inappropriate," explains Gianni Zucco. "We actually just decided to colour RP Tronic blue, which is our corporate colour, so that it would be more easily identifiable on the machine and also highlight our name and brand. In recent years we have perhaps not sufficiently promoted the enormous competitive advantage that this solution guarantees: it is therefore time to make the entire nautical world aware of what a genuine revolution this valve is!"
But that's not all. With RP Tronic, the watermaker can be interfaced with all on-board plotters on the market (another HP Watermakers exclusive feature), allowing full control of its operation from the dashboard, as early as 2019. No other watermaker brand in the world is directly interfaced with MFDs. The interface is also available with the Sea0Spot system, the device that combines the functions of a watermaker with MWT (Marina Water Treatment) for softening the water supplied by marinas, which is increasingly necessary especially during the summer, when the water supplied by marinas is often brackish.
Appointment at BOOT in Düsseldorf
The restyled RP Tronic valve and other innovations that HP Watermakers has developed for the nautical world will be on display at the upcoming BOOT in Düsseldorf, at stand 10C60 of "Together We Boat!", HP Watermakers' alliance with Mase, GenSet and a newcomer, Besenzoni.
"We are united by a common passion for the pursuit of cutting-edge technology,'" explains Gianni Zucco. "After the commercial presentation at the beginning of the year, also in Düsseldorf, the first months have confirmed the validity of this strategic alliance with the launch of new commercial agreements in Europe. At the same time, the foundations were laid for a future collaboration in the American market, thanks also to our partners' long-standing experience in that area."