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

I was talking about a coffee make that can make coffee.


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

Yes, I admit it has its virtues. But still, $12K buys a lot of solar
panels, and even a quiet wind generator or two.


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.

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.



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).

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.

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. 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.

http://www.whispergen.com/

Stirling Engine FAQ

http://www.stirlingengine.com/faq/on...ublic&faq_id=1

These are very efficient engines Scotty. You could probably
put one in an electric car to charge the batteries.


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

Scotty

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.

That's a curious thought. There have been Sterling cars made, but
they take a long time to warm up. Not a problem if its only used for
recharging.

Bart wrote:
http://www.whispergen.com/

Stirling Engine FAQ

http://www.stirlingengine.com/faq/on...ublic&faq_id=1

These are very efficient engines Scotty. You could probably
put one in an electric car to charge the batteries.


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

Scotty

For $12K I could buy enough solar panels to outproduce that thing and
pay $0.00 running costs for fuel.

Some of my guys built a small genset a couple years ago to deploy on
Heard Is. It used a tiny Honda weed-wacker type powerhead driving a PM
generator. Cost even with Govt R&D accounting a fraction of this
thing.

Reminds me of a salesman who tried to sell me a 600W 12V microwave for
some ungodly price. I did a quick mental calculation & pointed out I
could buy a $100 microwave and a 1Kv inverter to run it for less than
half his price, so who but an idiot would buy one?

This thing falls into the same category.

PDW

Bart wrote:
Look at it from the prespective of A-H produced
per gal of fuel. Then balance that against the
benefit of quiet power and it's versatility as a
heat source for hot water. I think it is a winner.

BTW. There are no libricants and only easy to
replace seals.

The big question is the lifespan of the unit. If it
last far longer than a genset per A-H produced
then I'm sure it will have a broader appeal.

Longevity is the question I'd want to ask, and I
have not gotten a straight answer to that one.

Peter wrote:

More like *at least* $11K too much. Who in their right mind would pay
that much for that little?

Jeff wrote:
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.

If 'external combustion' engines were more efficient than internal
ones, we'd be using them more widely. This is probably some variant on
a Stirling cycle engine.

PDW

Peter wrote:
Jeff wrote:
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.

If 'external combustion' engines were more efficient than internal
ones, we'd be using them more widely. This is probably some variant on
a Stirling cycle engine.

Yes, it is a Stirling. They are enjoying a bit a of renaissance as
new technologies have brought the price down. They are quite
efficient, but have limitations that prevent their use in some
applications, like cars. There are a number of work boats that use
them for propulsion.