Fischer Panda Generator

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VelaFella

VelaFella

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Mar 29, 2005
50
Hunter 41 Aft Cockpit Herring Bay, MD
I am having serious doubts about the quality of this product, and I am curious about if others have had similar experiences. I am now out of warranty (four years old), but the engine only has 140 hrs. on it. The exhaust elbow rotted out (galvanic corrosion) and caused the hose that is attached to it to leak. I replaced these items with parts ordered from Fischer-Panda, but immediately discovered that the genset no longer produced any AC current. The factory-authorized mechanic has made a preliminary analysis that all four capacitors have failed. There may be more issues as he delves into this. I also had a fuel pump failure at 20 hrs., as well as a relay switch and fuse failure later on. It seems ridiculous to have this many problems at so few hours, as well as the type of failures. Did I end up with a lemon or are my problems common with this product? The exhaust-elbow-hose design seems like a design failure issue, not simply a defective part problem. Also, why on earth should a new genset be deemed out of warranty after only 140 hrs. of use?
 
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sgbridge98

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Jun 18, 2007
15
-Hunter 41 DS -2009 port washington ny
I've had problems with mine (installed by Hunter on a 2009 41'). Generator often dies and two sets of mechanics plus a replacement control panel from F-P haven't cured the problem. F-P thinks currently thinks that the fuel pump may be the problem and will supply one to the second set of mechanics when they are readcy to do the installation. F-P (Jim Gagnon ) has been friendly and reasonable responsive, but there certainly is a problem adn has been from day one.
 
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Rick486

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Oct 1, 2007
1,865
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
I think your experience is mostly typical from what I have heard. I like the generator myself, it is small, quiet, and easy to work on in my installation. I have about 300 hours on mine and I have also had relay failure and raw water pump leakage and rebuild to this point, so mine has been comparatively good. A friend of mine had the exhaust elbow failure just as you describe, prompting me to replace mine and the attached hose. I haven't heard about capacitor failure. And I agree the tech support has been good but they are quick to rule you out of warranty coverage, because I'm sure FP is very strict. There is a fairly large community of users out here who have seen many of the same issues and it would be great to have some sort of a forum to share experiences and prepare for expected issues.

I presume you have the same 6kw unit that I have and I will give you one important heads up. On the rear of the machine is a sight glass on the generator end closure. Apparently there is an oil cooled bearing back there and the seal which contains the oil is apparently prone to failure. Be certain to check this frequently and be sure there is oil visible in the sight glass and, better yet, talk with tech support on this. A friend of mine had an expensive repair when the oil completely ran out, resulting in failure of the bearing.

All in all, as I said, I like the machine but I consider it a science project requiring very close monitoring and a robust supply of on-board repair parts, although I have no experience with any of the 1800 RPM machines out there.
 
VelaFella

VelaFella

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Mar 29, 2005
50
Hunter 41 Aft Cockpit Herring Bay, MD
Yes, I have the F-P 6kw, and when it works it is great. It produces sufficient AC to run both air-conditioning/heating units on the boat at anchor. Reliability is the issue though. My experience with failures at low hrs. has been a major disappointment. Thanks for the heads up re the sight glass. I will have to try to find it first though, since I have not noticed it before. Is it on the engine end or the generator end. (P.S. I haven't talked to my mechanic yet, but I saw that he did reinstall the capacitors. Unfortunately, I also noticed that he has a panel open on the side of the generator, suggesting that he is stll working on a fix. I'm getting very nervous.)
 
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sgbridge98

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Jun 18, 2007
15
-Hunter 41 DS -2009 port washington ny
Funny. My problem (or the problem of the Lordess or Lioness of the Adimaralty) has been that the 6Kw FP will not reliably run the 2 A/C units. However, it will even conk out when it has a lesser load. None of the mechanics that have tried to address the issue (or FP for that matter) has cited the oil cooled bearing as an issue.l
 
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Jeff Till

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Sep 17, 2010
5
Fischer Panda None Ft. Lauderdale
sgbridge98 said:
Funny. My problem (or the problem of the Lordess or Lioness of the Adimaralty) has been that the 6Kw FP will not reliably run the 2 A/C units. However, it will even conk out when it has a lesser load. None of the mechanics that have tried to address the issue (or FP for that matter) has cited the oil cooled bearing as an issue.l
Click to expand

This sounds like you might have a fuel restriction have you checked/changed your fuel filter?

As far as the oil cooled bearing losing oil. We had a recall in I believe 2006 for a certain run of serial numbers. There was a bad seal that was replaced and that was the only time we had issues with the rear bearing. It is still a good idea to check the site glass on the backend or on newer models the site tube every time you change your engine oil. If you do not use your boat frequently it is a good idea to check all fluids prior to using the genset or your main engines.

To the other posters I would like to help you all out so please contact me via email or phone and let’s see if we can get your issues figured out.

Jeff Till
jtill@fischerpanda.com
800-508-6494
www.fischerpanda.com
 
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Rick486

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Oct 1, 2007
1,865
Boston Whaler Super Sport Pt. Judith
The sight glass is on the generator end, opposite the motor. If you go to your owner's manual you will see it clearly shown in the photos, although I believe it is called out differently with some Germanic nomenclature.
 
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