Chuck Cox wrote in
t:

We have no intention of competing with Honda, we will only proceed with
this project if our market research indicates we have found a true
niche. I see no reason why someone might not have both products for
different purposes.



You mean like this?
http://www.nextgenerationpower.com/Main.html

I know someone who used to own a canvas shop and got the dealership for
this Kubota-tractor-powered little genset. They worked great, turned slow,
and I don't think she ever had one that broke! I see on the webpage they
FINALLY got some belt guards on the fanbelts for the water pump and
generator drive pulleys.....a good thing.

I never heard one in the case, though.

If I can buy a reliable unit for under $1K, install it in my engine room,
cool with seawater, hook to existing fuel system, have an optional switch
for on/off/auto, keep my battery bank charged, I will buy one...if works
well, I will tell everyone I know. This is what I want...battery bank
charging but not a large generator such as commonly seen on larger
powerboats. Affordable quiet power.

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net


"Chuck Cox" wrote in message
...
Peter Wiley wrote:
In article , Chuck Cox
wrote:
Where
would you envision operating such a system on your boat?

Probably, depending on size, in a dedicated locker aft, sealed from the
interior spaces similar to a locker for gas bottles. Tell me how big
it's likely to be, how much ventilation it needs and I may have other
ideas.

If we use a fuel pump, it'll probably be about the size of a shoebox.
If we use gravity, it'll be maybe 50% taller. If there is no integral
tank, maybe 1/2 a shoebox. The intake and exhaust will probably be
under 1" in diameter. For short runs, appropriate tubing of that
diameter would suffice.

--
Chuck Cox - SynchroSystems - Synchro.com
,
my email is politician-proof, just remove the PORK

Yes, but at $6K-$7K not under $1K such as these folks are suggesting...for a
much smaller unit.

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net


"Larry" wrote in message
...
Chuck Cox wrote in
t:

We have no intention of competing with Honda, we will only proceed with
this project if our market research indicates we have found a true
niche. I see no reason why someone might not have both products for
different purposes.



You mean like this?
http://www.nextgenerationpower.com/Main.html

I know someone who used to own a canvas shop and got the dealership for
this Kubota-tractor-powered little genset. They worked great, turned
slow,
and I don't think she ever had one that broke! I see on the webpage they
FINALLY got some belt guards on the fanbelts for the water pump and
generator drive pulleys.....a good thing.

I never heard one in the case, though.

Glenn A. Heslop wrote:
Yes, but at $6K-$7K not under $1K such as these folks are suggesting...for a
much smaller unit.

Yeah, what he said. Plus, our design generates DC directly and is
optimized for battery charging loads, making it much more efficient for
charging.

--
Chuck Cox - SynchroSystems - Synchro.com
,
my email is politician-proof, just remove the PORK

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 10:54:07 -0500, Chuck Cox
wrote:

Yeah, what he said. Plus, our design generates DC directly and is
optimized for battery charging loads, making it much more efficient for
charging.

If the size and price are attractive, and it sounds like they are,
people will buy it. Probably your biggest challenge will be to get it
into the best distribution channels, which will also require good
after market support or they will drop you.

You will not believe the weird things that some people will try to do
with a unit like this and then expect it to keep on ticking. Just for
openers I would be prepared for a number of accidental reverse
polarity incidents. Then you've got the folks who will try to use it
indoors with the usual result, followed by the accidental muffler
burns, fires, salt water immersion, etc.

Wayne.B wrote:

You will not believe the weird things that some people will try to do
with a unit like this and then expect it to keep on ticking. Just for
openers I would be prepared for a number of accidental reverse
polarity incidents. Then you've got the folks who will try to use it
indoors with the usual result, followed by the accidental muffler
burns, fires, salt water immersion, etc.

I know, that is what worries me most about this product. Since it
incorporates a microcontroller, we intend to record diagnostic events,
so hopefully we can detect abuse. We will certainly incorporate
automatic protection for reversed polarity, shorts, over-voltage,
over-current, over-temperature, etc, etc. If we want to sell in
California I think we have to add a warning that it isn't safe to eat.

I once attended a symposium where a ladder manufacturer explained the
stupid user actions behind each warning sticker. I am wary, and our
insurance agent could easily crush this product if it increases our
insurance costs significantly beyond what we have already budgeted for.

--
Chuck Cox - SynchroSystems - Synchro.com
,
my email is politician-proof, just remove the PORK

Chuck Cox wrote:
Wayne.B wrote:
[snip]
I know, that is what worries me most about this product. Since it
incorporates a microcontroller, we intend to record diagnostic events,
so hopefully we can detect abuse. We will certainly incorporate
automatic protection for reversed polarity, shorts, over-voltage,
over-current, over-temperature, etc, etc. If we want to sell in
California I think we have to add a warning that it isn't safe to eat.

I once attended a symposium where a ladder manufacturer explained the
stupid user actions behind each warning sticker. I am wary, and our
insurance agent could easily crush this product if it increases our
insurance costs significantly beyond what we have already budgeted for.

i admit i have done the reverse-polarity thing before. after doing a
big install of radios in the truck i removed the deep cycle batteries
so that i could install a little battery shelf i had made and service
the batteries while i had them out. i was just finishing the install,
putting heat shrink tubing on all the wires, soldering connectors on
where i just had twisted wires, that kind of thing, and damn wouldn't
you know it ... i put one of the deep cycle batteries into the truck
backwards. i hooked the positive terminal up to the ground ... then i
reached over, grabbed the hot wire, and hooked it to the negative
terminal, and there was a huge ARC of electricity, like i was trying to
do some welding. i hadn't gotten to the second battery yet, the first
one was the one that was backwards from how it had been installed
before.

you can imagine the result, burned out both radios and an audio
amplifier, basically everything i had been installing that week. had
to send one radio back to the manufacturer, had to replace the
amplifier, and took the other radio to a cb shop where a guy soldered
it's melted board back together. he had to replace a coil and rebuild
some of the traces on the circuit board. amazingly the manufacturer,
even with a note describing that it was totally my fault, fixed the
other radio and sent it back without any charge at all. i didn't even
feel it was their responsibility. also the amplifier salesman replaced
the busted amplifier (that i got locally) with another one without
charge. in the end the only thing i had to pay for was the soldering
job the guy at the cb shop had to do. in some ways i sort of felt like
they should fix it though because reverse polarity just happens
sometimes, and the radios should have burned a fuse or something
instead of relying on a surface mount diode that isn't easilly replaced.

On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:39:58 -0500,
Chuck Cox wrote:
Jim Richardson wrote:
On Thu, 23 Feb 2006 16:06:11 -0500,
Chuck Cox wrote:
So, if you were to put such a system on your boat, what would you prefer?

Diesel definately. I'd rather not deal with gasoline at all, since I
don't have a gasoline aux or main, I don't want to haul it for a genset.

Standalone would be preferable for me, but either way would work. What
price point are you looking at?

It'll probably cost about as much as a typical 1 kW genset. If we can't
sell it for under $1k retail, we probably won't bother. Right now our
engineering estimates have the MSRP below that.

Competing with the little and quiet
(although gas) honda's is gong to be tough. But good luck, and please
keep us posted, I for one would be interested.

We have no intention of competing with Honda, we will only proceed with
this project if our market research indicates we have found a true
niche. I see no reason why someone might not have both products for
different purposes.



Well, I have a 1500W inverter, so would likely be more interested in
charging the batts, than buying the honda for AC stuff. But that's me.

If it comes in at under $1000, I would definately be interested.


--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
Yield to temptation; it may not pass your way again.
-- Lazarus Long

On Tue, 28 Feb 2006 17:23:19 -0500,
Chuck Cox wrote:
Peter Wiley wrote:
In article , Chuck Cox
wrote:
Where
would you envision operating such a system on your boat?

Probably, depending on size, in a dedicated locker aft, sealed from the
interior spaces similar to a locker for gas bottles. Tell me how big
it's likely to be, how much ventilation it needs and I may have other
ideas.

If we use a fuel pump, it'll probably be about the size of a shoebox.
If we use gravity, it'll be maybe 50% taller. If there is no integral
tank, maybe 1/2 a shoebox. The intake and exhaust will probably be
under 1" in diameter. For short runs, appropriate tubing of that
diameter would suffice.


You're looking at something about 12" long, and maybe 6" on width and
height? really? heck, that sounds great. Or am I misunderstanding?


--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles
as if she laid an asteroid.
-- Mark Twain

On Wed, 01 Mar 2006 05:36:23 GMT,
Glenn A. Heslop wrote:
If I can buy a reliable unit for under $1K, install it in my engine room,
cool with seawater, hook to existing fuel system, have an optional switch
for on/off/auto, keep my battery bank charged, I will buy one...if works
well, I will tell everyone I know. This is what I want...battery bank
charging but not a large generator such as commonly seen on larger
powerboats. Affordable quiet power.

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net




ditto....

--
Jim Richardson http://www.eskimo.com/~warlock
Those who live by the sword are shot by those who don't.