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Vital Lyfe Access Portable Watermaker & Water Purification System - 6 GPH Saltwater
Vital Lyfe Access turns the ocean into drinking water. Drop the intake hose over the side, press one button, and a 25 lb case the size of a large shoebox delivers 6 gallons an hour of clean fresh water from seawater — or 12 gallons an hour from a river, lake or tank. Reverse osmosis, UV-C sterilisation, smart sensors and a 210 Wh battery, all built in. No through-hulls, no plumbing, no installation.
Pre-order — US units are scheduled to ship Fall 2026.
Every watermaker on this site until now has asked the same thing of you: find space, cut a through-hull, run plumbing, wire it in, commission it. Vital Lyfe Access asks you to put a hose in the water and press a button. Its maker calls it “the world’s first truly universal water purification system,” and the practical translation for a boat owner is that a complete desalination plant — pump, reverse-osmosis membrane, UV-C chamber, sensor array and battery — now fits in a 25 lb case you carry in one hand.
That makes it a different kind of tool than an installed watermaker. It lives in a locker and comes out when you need it: at anchor, in the tender, on the delivery, in the ditch bag, at the cabin, in the truck. It is sealed to IP66 Type 5, rated to ISTA-6 for impact, and built to shrug off shock, vibration and UV — which is to say it is built to live on a boat rather than in a workshop.
No installation, no through-hull: Access comes out of the locker, goes on deck, and goes back when you are done.
What it actually does
- 99.5%+ salt rejection — genuine seawater desalination, not a sediment filter
- 6 gal/hr from saltwater (22.7 L/hr) and 12 gal/hr from fresh water (45.5 L/hr)
- Runs on its own battery — 210 Wh internal pack, about one hour of saltwater production per charge
- 200 W draw — roughly the same as a television; run it from shore power, the boat’s DC system, a car socket or a solar bank
- 25 lb, 20 x 9 x 8 in — smaller than a carry-on, lighter than an outboard fuel tank
- Zero installation — nothing to mount, plumb, wire or commission
At 25 lb it is a one-hand carry — boat, tender, truck, dock cart or cabin.
Under the hood: five stages
Inside Access: high-efficiency pump, reverse-osmosis membrane, UV-C chamber and the sensors that police both ends of the process.
- Inline feed sensor. The system reads the incoming water continuously and in real time, then sets its own optimal operating pressure for the source it is actually drawing from — brackish river mouth, clear lake or open ocean.
- High-efficiency variable-speed pump. A custom pump with variable speed control holds the correct pressure and flow for the water in front of it, instead of forcing every source through the same fixed cycle.
- Reverse-osmosis membrane. A high-performance RO membrane strips salt, contaminants and impurities at the molecular level. Pressurised water crosses the semi-permeable membrane; rejected contaminants are flushed away.
- UV-C exposure chamber. Before water leaves the unit it passes through a UV-C module that neutralises bacteria and microorganisms. The module is NSF 55 Class B certified — a second, independent layer of protection behind the membrane.
- Output sensors. Sensors on the outlet monitor contamination levels after filtration, and water only flows out of the system once they confirm it is clean. If it is not right, it does not come out.
Three steps, start to finish
- Put the intake hose in the water.
- Press start.
- Hydrate.
There is no training, no priming ritual and no guesswork. Anyone aboard can operate it, which is exactly the point of a piece of safety equipment.
Step one: the intake hose goes in the water. Ocean, river, lake or tank — the feed sensor works out the rest.
What comes with it
- Access unit — pump, RO membrane, UV-C module, sensor array and control electronics, all integrated
- Flexible intake and output hoses — sized for fast deployment in rivers, lakes and coastal water; durable and light enough to stow anywhere
- Integrated 210 Wh battery — AC and DC charging, so it recharges from almost anything you have aboard or in the vehicle
- Quick-connect bulkheads — precision fittings that lock the hoses on securely and release in seconds for stowage or transport
Quick-connect bulkheads on the face of the unit: hoses on and off in seconds.
The Vital Lyfe app
Access stays connected. The companion app shows water quality, battery level and membrane health in real time, lets you manage system performance from your phone, and lets you order accessories or a replacement membrane directly when the app tells you the current one is nearing the end of its life. Membrane changes take seconds.
Water quality, battery state and membrane health, live on your phone.
Specifications
Sealed to IP66 Type 5 and rated to ISTA-6, with shock, vibration and UV resistance built in.
| Salt rejection rate | 99.5%+ |
| Saltwater flow rate | 6 gallons/hour (22.7 L/hr) |
| Fresh water flow rate | 12 gallons/hour (45.5 L/hr) |
| Environmental protection | IP66 Type 5 |
| Impact resistance | ISTA-6 |
| Additional resistance | Shock, vibration and UV |
| UV-C module | NSF 55 Class B certified |
| Integrated battery | 210 Wh |
| Run time per charge | 1 hour¹ |
| Operating power | 200 W¹ |
| Power source | AC / DC compatible |
| Length | 20 in (508 mm) |
| Width | 9 in (230 mm) |
| Height | 8 in (205 mm) |
| Membrane length | 13 in (340 mm) |
| Unit weight | 25 lb (11.3 kg) |
| Estimated service life | Approx. 6,000 hours in typical saltwater conditions |
¹ Based on saltwater at 32,000 ppm total dissolved solids.
Questions we get asked
Can it really handle saltwater, or just murky fresh water?
Both. Access is designed to filter any naturally occurring water source, saltwater included, and its smart power management adapts to the input water to find the most efficient treatment pathway for that specific source at the lowest possible energy cost.
How portable is it, really?
Lighter and smaller than a carry-on suitcase, roughly the size of a large shoebox. The built-in battery means it works where there is no power at all, and it recharges from grid, car or solar.
How long does it last?
Estimated system life is approximately 6,000 hours of operation under typical saltwater conditions, and longer in fresh water. Actual life varies with water quality, usage and operating conditions. Membranes are user-replaceable in seconds and can be ordered through the app.
The 13 in RO membrane is user-replaceable in seconds — no tools, no service call.
What can I run it from?
AC or DC — shore power, an inverter, the boat’s DC system, a car socket or a solar battery. At around 200 watts it draws about as much as a TV.
Does it need servicing or winterising like an installed watermaker?
There is no installation to commission and no dedicated plumbing to pickle. Follow Vital Lyfe’s storage guidance for the membrane between uses.
Availability
Access is a new-release product. US units are scheduled to ship Fall 2026, with international markets following later in 2026 or 2027. Order here to hold your place in the production queue — our team will confirm your delivery window and keep you updated as launch approaches. For fleet, charter or dealer quantities, contact Citimarine Store directly.