Bart wrote:
200 lbs is heavy. But not unreasonable for a
heavier boat like mine.

I asked about how it worked heeled over and
got a fuzzy look. Obviously he didn't know. I
did check online and saw a number of sailboats
using them. Including on worked hard Swan charter
boat that ran the thing up to 16 hours a day.

It is clear a combination of solar panels and perhaps
a wind generator would be worth the cost to supplement
the power made by a whispergen.

Jeff you hav a cat. The weight may not be worth it.
What do you have for solar panels on your cabintop?
What sort of dwell time do you want for cruising?

I have 150 Watts on the hardtop, but its often partially shaded. If I
got serious about it, I'd add 200 watts onto the davit system that
would be partially movable. Plus I might get 200 watts of flexible to
go on the foredeck. Deck space I have plenty of. And then I would
complement it I could get a wind gen near the stern. Of course, the
biggest thing I could do would be downsize the freezer and redo the
whole fridge system with the latest Danfoss technology. With $12K,
you can do a lot.


I'd like my boat to be able to stay out for 6 months or
more without refueling or having to plug in. The Whispergen
might be just the thing for me. While the cost seems on
the high side, the installation looks like a breeze.

Do you really need that much power? My liveaboard friends use a lot
of solar plus some wind, and can often go days without worrying about
recharging.

It seemed to me that the WhisperGen was a good match if you used a lot
of electricity (i.e. big freezer and/or big water maker) and also
wanted hot water and heat. This would seem to match up with something
bigger than my boat.




Jeff wrote:
I didn't notice any mention of how well it worked under way in rough
going. I probably wouldn't want to downsize the bank. BTW, did you
notice the its heavy? I think it was 200 lbs.

Bart wrote:
200 lbs is heavy. But not unreasonable for a
heavier boat like mine.

I asked about how it worked heeled over and
got a fuzzy look. Obviously he didn't know. I
did check online and saw a number of sailboats
using them. Including on worked hard Swan charter
boat that ran the thing up to 16 hours a day.

It is clear a combination of solar panels and perhaps
a wind generator would be worth the cost to supplement
the power made by a whispergen.

Jeff you hav a cat. The weight may not be worth it.
What do you have for solar panels on your cabintop?
What sort of dwell time do you want for cruising?

I'd like my boat to be able to stay out for 6 months or
more without refueling or having to plug in.

Man 6 mo is a long time, might as well get off the grid, you can buy
mucho solar and wind power with 12K.

Serious Bart, when you said 12 grand my ears glazed over and I will
never look at it.

If you are crusing, the a pull behind or even shaft driven charging
system may be as efficent.

Joe




The Whispergen
might be just the thing for me. While the cost seems on
the high side, the installation looks like a breeze.


Jeff wrote:

I didn't notice any mention of how well it worked under way in rough
going. I probably wouldn't want to downsize the bank. BTW, did you
notice the its heavy? I think it was 200 lbs.

I thought of one more thing the Whispergen
would be good for. In a cold climate, you
could preheat the inboard diesel for easier
starts.

At 800 watts for 1/2 gph, it's not very energy efficient.
You could do better than that with a 125 amp alternator and
your main engine just a click above idle. The quiet part is
really nice though.

Jeff wrote:
Yes, I checked it out at Newport last week. Very slick. But the Bang for
the Buck is a bit lacking - its $12K and doesn't put out enough to run a
coffeemaker. On the other hand, its a neat trickle charger, and would be a
good match for a lightweight boat that uses outboards instead of diesels
(like a catamaran).


Bart wrote:
A 5 cup DC 12 V coffee maker requires 240 watts of power.
This could easily run that.

The concept behind it is you run it longer than a Genset
and it is quite enough that it is not annoying.

Look at it like its a battery charger and a heater.
From the perspective it works better than a genset.
And you don't need as big a battery bank.


Viewed as an alternative to a bigger battery bank & bigger
charger to keep that bank up, it's a sensible concept. But
it's still *very* expensive; you could buy a small diesel
genset and built a soundproof enclosure yourself. If these
guys are actually making money, we should go into that business!

DSK

..2 gph is 1/5 gal per hour.

Even so, given the amount of energy produced
I'm still not convinced it is more efficient than a
diesel genset.

What intrigues me, is the quiet productin of power
and hot water.

BTW, I was trying to find out about the Aquanami
kinetic energy generators. They have near frictionless
solutions for inducing electric current by sliding
magnets. You may hve seen their flashlights.
I'm very curious to see what they can produce. Perhaps
enough to make up for internal resistance losses in
batteries for boat stored in the water.

DSK wrote:
At 800 watts for 1/2 gph, it's not very energy efficient.
You could do better than that with a 125 amp alternator and
your main engine just a click above idle. The quiet part is
really nice though.

Bart wrote:
.2 gph is 1/5 gal per hour.


Ah so, I mis-read the number. That's a lot better.

Even so, given the amount of energy produced
I'm still not convinced it is more efficient than a
diesel genset.


Me neither. If you're going to that level of expense &
weight & complexity, a diesel genset makes just as much
sense and should be that efficient.


What intrigues me, is the quiet productin of power
and hot water.


A good modern diesel can be pretty quiet and if you put it
inside an enclosure, the noise just isn't there any more.


BTW, I was trying to find out about the Aquanami
kinetic energy generators. They have near frictionless
solutions for inducing electric current by sliding
magnets.

Yep, the same way an electric guitar works


.... You may hve seen their flashlights.
I'm very curious to see what they can produce. Perhaps
enough to make up for internal resistance losses in
batteries for boat stored in the water.


Wouldn't they generate AC power? Still, producing energy
from waves to keep the batteries topped off would be very
nice. And underway it would generate more... every little
bit helps.

DSK

$12 k !!!! Holy ****! You could buy a dozen Honda gens
for that.

SBV


"Bart" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a chance to see a DC WhisperGen at the
Norwalk Boat Show today. I was very impressed.

The price was $12k. It provided 800 watts of power,
70 amps at 12 Volts for 1/5 gal per hour or about
.75 ltrs/hr.

It provided heat for hot water and was efficent enough
such that the exhaust was comfortable to touch.

Most impressive was the quiet sound it made--quieter
than a small window AC unit. With the sound cover
on it was difficult to hear.

Until noisy diesel gensets that are so annoying, this
unit can be set up to start when needed and was
quiet enough not to be a nuisance when running.

If agumented with solar cells, or even a wind generator,
I think the daily fuel consumption would be quite low.

So anyone considering a new genset, and/or heater, and
possibly AC for their boat, this with a good battery bank
would make a nice system.

$12 k !!!! Holy ****! You could buy a dozen Honda gens
for that.



Uh, ok.



RB
35s5
NY

These are a different beast - because they are "external combustion"
(like a house furnace) they are very efficient and can be set to run
unattended, so they claim. Also, they are extremely quiet. I stood
next to one at the show and could barely hear it running. Also, I
could hold the exhaust flew in my hand (briefly). I can see an
situation where it would fit in nicely. However, for my purposes, I
can see better uses for $12K.


Scotty wrote:
$12 k !!!! Holy ****! You could buy a dozen Honda gens
for that.

SBV


"Bart" wrote in message
ups.com...
I have a chance to see a DC WhisperGen at the
Norwalk Boat Show today. I was very impressed.

The price was $12k. It provided 800 watts of power,
70 amps at 12 Volts for 1/5 gal per hour or about
.75 ltrs/hr.

It provided heat for hot water and was efficent enough
such that the exhaust was comfortable to touch.

Most impressive was the quiet sound it made--quieter
than a small window AC unit. With the sound cover
on it was difficult to hear.

Until noisy diesel gensets that are so annoying, this
unit can be set up to start when needed and was
quiet enough not to be a nuisance when running.

If agumented with solar cells, or even a wind generator,
I think the daily fuel consumption would be quite low.

So anyone considering a new genset, and/or heater, and
possibly AC for their boat, this with a good battery bank
would make a nice system.

Oh, maybe I should have looked at the link first. Where was
the link?

Scotty


"Jeff" wrote in message
. ..
These are a different beast - because they are "external
combustion"
(like a house furnace) they are very efficient and can be
set to run
unattended, so they claim. Also, they are extremely
quiet. I stood
next to one at the show and could barely hear it running.
Also, I
could hold the exhaust flew in my hand (briefly). I can
see an
situation where it would fit in nicely. However, for my
purposes, I
can see better uses for $12K.


Scotty wrote:
$12 k !!!! Holy ****! You could buy a dozen Honda
gens
for that.

SBV


"Bart" wrote in message

ups.com...
I have a chance to see a DC WhisperGen at the
Norwalk Boat Show today. I was very impressed.

The price was $12k. It provided 800 watts of power,
70 amps at 12 Volts for 1/5 gal per hour or about
.75 ltrs/hr.

It provided heat for hot water and was efficent enough
such that the exhaust was comfortable to touch.

Most impressive was the quiet sound it made--quieter
than a small window AC unit. With the sound cover
on it was difficult to hear.

Until noisy diesel gensets that are so annoying, this
unit can be set up to start when needed and was
quiet enough not to be a nuisance when running.

If agumented with solar cells, or even a wind
generator,
I think the daily fuel consumption would be quite low.

So anyone considering a new genset, and/or heater, and
possibly AC for their boat, this with a good battery
bank
would make a nice system.