Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

I've created a Fischer Panda Owner's Forum to act as a repository for
information related to these generators. If you own (or owned) one of
these generators, please post your history/experience in the forum.

I personally have had non-stop problems with my 4200 (mini) generator and
know of many other owners who have had similar problems. This forum is an
attempt to see if these problems are unique or systemic. The forum is
located at

www.FischerPandaSucks.com

and despite the URL, the intent is to collect information on both the good
and the bad.

-- Geoff Schultz

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

I replaced my 4200 with a NextGen 3.5 Kw unit (www.nextgenerationpower.com)
that utilizes a Kubota engine and other parts that are available anywhere. For
me, being able to repair it anywhere is a key issue.

Reading this dummies account shows he failed to do his homework. His attack on
the company is a long standing and rather odd affair.
Worth reading for laughs. There's a 48 foot ketch at my Marina with a Panda and
they never had a problem.

RB

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

I have started a new webpage for idiots who spam newsgroups
with material not related in any way to sailing. Check it out at

www.Geoffrey_W._Schultz_Sucks.com



"Geoffrey W. Schultz" wrote in message 4.17...
I've created a Fischer Panda Owner's Forum to act as a repository for
information related to these generators. If you own (or owned) one of
these generators, please post your history/experience in the forum.

I personally have had non-stop problems with my 4200 (mini) generator and
know of many other owners who have had similar problems. This forum is an
attempt to see if these problems are unique or systemic. The forum is
located at

www.FischerPandaSucks.com

and despite the URL, the intent is to collect information on both the good
and the bad.

-- Geoff Schultz

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

From what I now understand, the fellow asked a salesperson out at Panda, was
rejected and has not gotten over it.

RB

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

(Bobsprit) wrote in
:

I replaced my 4200 with a NextGen 3.5 Kw unit
(www.nextgenerationpower.com) that utilizes a Kubota engine and other
parts that are available anywhere. For me, being able to repair it
anywhere is a key issue.

Reading this dummies account shows he failed to do his homework. His
attack on the company is a long standing and rather odd affair.
Worth reading for laughs. There's a 48 foot ketch at my Marina with a
Panda and they never had a problem.

So the fact that there's a boat in your marina that has a Fischer Panda
that works is proof that they all work and they're reliable generators?
Huh?

When I bought my generator I tried to do my homework. I searched the net
and found very little info on them. Do a Google search prior to 1999 and
tell me what you find. Nothing.

I'm trying to rectify that. The fact of the matter is that while cruising
I've found other owners that have had worse problems than I have. My
problems are not unique.

-- Geoff

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

I've created a Fischer Panda Owner's Forum to act as a repository for
information related to these generators. If you own (or owned) one of
these generators, please post your history/experience in the forum.

I personally have had non-stop problems with my 4200 (mini) generator and
know of many other owners who have had similar problems. This forum is an
attempt to see if these problems are unique or systemic. The forum is
located at

www.FischerPandaSucks.com

and despite the URL, the intent is to collect information on both the good
and the bad.

-- Geoff Schultz


This guy is *still* on his crusade! Amazing.

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

Geoff,

I, unfortunately, have been in this sort of situation before. I've
learned from my mistakes. Before I make a major purchase,
I do some research to avoid costly mistakes.

Jonathan

"Geoffrey W. Schultz" wrote in message
9.17...
(Bobsprit) wrote in
:

I replaced my 4200 with a NextGen 3.5 Kw unit
(www.nextgenerationpower.com) that utilizes a Kubota engine and other
parts that are available anywhere. For me, being able to repair it
anywhere is a key issue.

Reading this dummies account shows he failed to do his homework. His
attack on the company is a long standing and rather odd affair.
Worth reading for laughs. There's a 48 foot ketch at my Marina with a
Panda and they never had a problem.

So the fact that there's a boat in your marina that has a Fischer Panda
that works is proof that they all work and they're reliable generators?
Huh?

When I bought my generator I tried to do my homework. I searched the net
and found very little info on them. Do a Google search prior to 1999 and
tell me what you find. Nothing.

I'm trying to rectify that. The fact of the matter is that while cruising
I've found other owners that have had worse problems than I have. My
problems are not unique.

-- Geoff

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

Fantastic page! Thanks!

"Simple Simon" wrote in message
...
I have started a new webpage for idiots who spam newsgroups
with material not related in any way to sailing. Check it out at

www.Geoffrey_W._Schultz_Sucks.com



"Geoffrey W. Schultz" wrote in message
4.17...
I've created a Fischer Panda Owner's Forum to act as a repository for
information related to these generators. If you own (or owned) one of
these generators, please post your history/experience in the forum.

I personally have had non-stop problems with my 4200 (mini) generator
and
know of many other owners who have had similar problems. This forum is
an
attempt to see if these problems are unique or systemic. The forum is
located at

www.FischerPandaSucks.com

and despite the URL, the intent is to collect information on both the
good
and the bad.

-- Geoff Schultz

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

"Gould 0738" wrote in message
| This guy is *still* on his crusade! Amazing.

Yeah... and if some dipwad company ripped me off by misrepresenting their
product... I'd be just as bad a thorn in their side. You on the other hand
are fatalist with a sheep like mentality and the result is companies that
can and will rip people off.... because you've laid the groundwork for their
assumptions.

The only IDIOT here is You!!!

CM

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

gee, why can't we all just get along.

At least the man did something about it, how many can say that?

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

Geoffrey, your pointer to Next Generation Power doesn't work off the
forum. I found another website I think belongs to them, truckgen.com,
but it is also a dead link from Google.

Have they gone pitchpole on us, too?



On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 13:03:07 GMT, "Geoffrey W. Schultz"
wrote:

I've created a Fischer Panda Owner's Forum to act as a repository for
information related to these generators. If you own (or owned) one of
these generators, please post your history/experience in the forum.

I personally have had non-stop problems with my 4200 (mini) generator and
know of many other owners who have had similar problems. This forum is an
attempt to see if these problems are unique or systemic. The forum is
located at

www.FischerPandaSucks.com

and despite the URL, the intent is to collect information on both the good
and the bad.

-- Geoff Schultz


Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

That link had been working as of last week. I suspect that it's a
problem with their web hosting site. Just try later this work week.

-- Geoff


(Larry W4CSC) wrote in
:

Geoffrey, your pointer to Next Generation Power doesn't work off the
forum. I found another website I think belongs to them, truckgen.com,
but it is also a dead link from Google.

Have they gone pitchpole on us, too?



On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 13:03:07 GMT, "Geoffrey W. Schultz"
wrote:

I've created a Fischer Panda Owner's Forum to act as a repository for
information related to these generators. If you own (or owned) one of
these generators, please post your history/experience in the forum.

I personally have had non-stop problems with my 4200 (mini) generator
and know of many other owners who have had similar problems. This
forum is an attempt to see if these problems are unique or systemic.
The forum is located at

www.FischerPandaSucks.com

and despite the URL, the intent is to collect information on both the
good and the bad.

-- Geoff Schultz


Larry W4CSC

3600 planes with transponders are burning 8-10 million
gallons of kerosene per hour over the USA. R-12 car air
conditioners are responsible for the ozone hole, right?

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

I have never seen a F-P genset, but I have heard a lot of complaints from
cruising owners. That aside, as a long-time marine engineer, I would never be a
fan of high-speed (3600RPM) gensets. Engine "wear" is directly related to
piston speed (read:RPM) and so if I were to consider a genset, I'd much prefer
an 1800 RPM unit. The only thing better than that is no genset at all; I've
cruised the Eastern Caribbean for many years with an Aerogen 6 wind machine and
four 75-watt Astro-Power PV panels.

John
"Truelove"
Westsail 43
Trinidad, W.I.

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

I have a friend that owns a marine busness that used to carry FP gensets.
He had many problems but they were all related to a failed capacitor or
diode (can't remember which) that cost $200 per failure to fix. Never any
problem with mechanical problems. Our generator is a 3600 RPM model
and we are very happy with it. The higher RPM gensets make it easier to
insulate the sound and are more fuel efficient.

If you are in Trinidad, why don't you own a KISS? Much better than
an Aerogen.

Doug
s/v Callista

"Truelove39" wrote in message
...
I have never seen a F-P genset, but I have heard a lot of complaints from
cruising owners. That aside, as a long-time marine engineer, I would never
be a
fan of high-speed (3600RPM) gensets. Engine "wear" is directly related to
piston speed (read:RPM) and so if I were to consider a genset, I'd much
prefer
an 1800 RPM unit. The only thing better than that is no genset at all;
I've
cruised the Eastern Caribbean for many years with an Aerogen 6 wind
machine and
four 75-watt Astro-Power PV panels.

John
"Truelove"
Westsail 43
Trinidad, W.I.

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

1. They are not well-balanced, and they vibrate
2. They are noisy, unlike the Aerogen which is virtually silent.
3. They have a thermal shut down device which functions juat as you are getting
good output.
4. I have had my Aerogen 6 since 1997 and it has performed flawlessly.

John

Doug wrote:
If you are in Trinidad, why don't you own a KISS? Much better than
an Aerogen.

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

Sorry, but that is not my experience having a KISS for over a year
and using it all last winter. A friend just down the pier said that his
Aerogen
is very quiet (I've heard it, it is very quiet). He also says it really
doesn't
generate that much power compared to some of the newer generators but
he is happy with it.

"Truelove39" wrote in message
...
1. They are not well-balanced, and they vibrate.

You balance it yourself after installation and attaching the blades to
the hub. If you take your time and do it right there is little or no
vibration. Mine has no disernable vibration.

2. They are noisy, unlike the Aerogen which is virtually silent.

Just not true. It is one of the quietest generators I have heard. The only
one
that is more quiet is the Rutland but it had the unfortunate property of not
generating much power. In a 15kt breeze you can hardly hear it when
sitting in the cockpitright under it. Does start to woosh a bit ubove that.

3. They have a thermal shut down device which functions juat as you are
getting
good output.

Mine will run continuously in a 20+ knot breeze while outputing over 20
amps.
It will shut down when it gets up around 30 though. Better than burning up
the
alternator.

4. I have had my Aerogen 6 since 1997 and it has performed flawlessly.

Well, the jury is still out on that for me having only had mine for 1.5
years. I
know someone that bought one of the original models something like 4+
years ago. Only problem they have had is a burned up switch. Other than
that it is still operating as good as when it was new. They did say they
have
the original blades which are noisier than those provided now. In the
anchorage we shared I can agree that theirs was noisier but not nearly as
loud as the Air Marine units. Although the new Air Marines are much quieter
than the older ones.

John

Doug wrote:
If you are in Trinidad, why don't you own a KISS? Much better than
an Aerogen.

KISS Wind Generators (was Fischer Panda Owner's Forum)
 

Doug,

I just installed a KISS in Ft. Lauderdale (where I was replacing my
Fischer Panda (ooops, slap, slap, slap :-) ) before I moved the boat
back to Guatemala. As a result I only have a few weeks experience with
it.

I will say that I'm having trouble with vibration. I've carefully
followed their instructions on ballancing the blades, but I'm still
getting vibration. I'm planning on machining a replacement support-pole
hub that will have a bearing in it that will ride against the stainless
pole. That will get rid of most of the vibration I suspect.

I will also agree that the thermal cutouts seem to cut-out too soon. I
noted I was getting cut-outs in the 20-25 kt range. Even worse, this
seemed to have disabled the STOP switch position. To me this means that
if I don't stop it in time that I may have to use a pole to swing it
sideways into the wind, which is probably something that I don't want to
do if the wind is getting up there and especially if I'm out at sea. If
this is what is really happening (and I think that it is), this is a
serious design flaw.

On the plus side it's very easy to maintain and parts are available
anywhere. And it's VERY quiet. You can hear the blades woosh, but
that's about all. I hate the Air Marines and have even moved in an
anchorage due to their noise.

-- Geoff

P.S. If you're interested, there's a photo of the generator at
http://www.geoffschultz.org/2003
_Sailing/BlueJacket_Work/imagepages/image9.htm

"Doug Dotson" wrote in
:

Sorry, but that is not my experience having a KISS for over a year
and using it all last winter. A friend just down the pier said that
his Aerogen
is very quiet (I've heard it, it is very quiet). He also says it
really doesn't
generate that much power compared to some of the newer generators but
he is happy with it.

"Truelove39" wrote in message
...
1. They are not well-balanced, and they vibrate.

You balance it yourself after installation and attaching the blades to
the hub. If you take your time and do it right there is little or no
vibration. Mine has no disernable vibration.

2. They are noisy, unlike the Aerogen which is virtually silent.

Just not true. It is one of the quietest generators I have heard. The
only one
that is more quiet is the Rutland but it had the unfortunate property
of not generating much power. In a 15kt breeze you can hardly hear it
when sitting in the cockpitright under it. Does start to woosh a bit
ubove that.

3. They have a thermal shut down device which functions juat as you
are
getting
good output.

Mine will run continuously in a 20+ knot breeze while outputing over
20 amps.
It will shut down when it gets up around 30 though. Better than
burning up the
alternator.

4. I have had my Aerogen 6 since 1997 and it has performed
flawlessly.

Well, the jury is still out on that for me having only had mine for
1.5 years. I
know someone that bought one of the original models something like 4+
years ago. Only problem they have had is a burned up switch. Other
than that it is still operating as good as when it was new. They did
say they have
the original blades which are noisier than those provided now. In the
anchorage we shared I can agree that theirs was noisier but not nearly
as loud as the Air Marine units. Although the new Air Marines are much
quieter than the older ones.

John

Doug wrote:
If you are in Trinidad, why don't you own a KISS? Much better than
an Aerogen.

KISS Wind Generators (was Fischer Panda Owner's Forum)
 

Geoff,

Interesting about the thermal cutout bypassing the switch. That
bears looking into. The few times I experienced the cutouts
engaging, I just went and threw the switch and it shutdown. It
could have been that the cutouts had released by then anyway.
I used the pole mount kit that had rubber pads at the base. The
2 braces go to the side and top of the radar arch and also have
rubber pads inside the pipe clamps. Very little vibration and then
only at higher speeds.

Doug

"Geoffrey W. Schultz" wrote in message
7.77...
Doug,

I just installed a KISS in Ft. Lauderdale (where I was replacing my
Fischer Panda (ooops, slap, slap, slap :-) ) before I moved the boat
back to Guatemala. As a result I only have a few weeks experience with
it.

I will say that I'm having trouble with vibration. I've carefully
followed their instructions on ballancing the blades, but I'm still
getting vibration. I'm planning on machining a replacement support-pole
hub that will have a bearing in it that will ride against the stainless
pole. That will get rid of most of the vibration I suspect.

I will also agree that the thermal cutouts seem to cut-out too soon. I
noted I was getting cut-outs in the 20-25 kt range. Even worse, this
seemed to have disabled the STOP switch position. To me this means that
if I don't stop it in time that I may have to use a pole to swing it
sideways into the wind, which is probably something that I don't want to
do if the wind is getting up there and especially if I'm out at sea. If
this is what is really happening (and I think that it is), this is a
serious design flaw.

On the plus side it's very easy to maintain and parts are available
anywhere. And it's VERY quiet. You can hear the blades woosh, but
that's about all. I hate the Air Marines and have even moved in an
anchorage due to their noise.

-- Geoff

P.S. If you're interested, there's a photo of the generator at
http://www.geoffschultz.org/2003
_Sailing/BlueJacket_Work/imagepages/image9.htm

"Doug Dotson" wrote in
:

Sorry, but that is not my experience having a KISS for over a year
and using it all last winter. A friend just down the pier said that
his Aerogen
is very quiet (I've heard it, it is very quiet). He also says it
really doesn't
generate that much power compared to some of the newer generators but
he is happy with it.

"Truelove39" wrote in message
...
1. They are not well-balanced, and they vibrate.

You balance it yourself after installation and attaching the blades to
the hub. If you take your time and do it right there is little or no
vibration. Mine has no disernable vibration.

2. They are noisy, unlike the Aerogen which is virtually silent.

Just not true. It is one of the quietest generators I have heard. The
only one
that is more quiet is the Rutland but it had the unfortunate property
of not generating much power. In a 15kt breeze you can hardly hear it
when sitting in the cockpitright under it. Does start to woosh a bit
ubove that.

3. They have a thermal shut down device which functions juat as you
are
getting
good output.

Mine will run continuously in a 20+ knot breeze while outputing over
20 amps.
It will shut down when it gets up around 30 though. Better than
burning up the
alternator.

4. I have had my Aerogen 6 since 1997 and it has performed
flawlessly.

Well, the jury is still out on that for me having only had mine for
1.5 years. I
know someone that bought one of the original models something like 4+
years ago. Only problem they have had is a burned up switch. Other
than that it is still operating as good as when it was new. They did
say they have
the original blades which are noisier than those provided now. In the
anchorage we shared I can agree that theirs was noisier but not nearly
as loud as the Air Marine units. Although the new Air Marines are much
quieter than the older ones.

John

Doug wrote:
If you are in Trinidad, why don't you own a KISS? Much better than
an Aerogen.

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

I have an F-P 12Kw and it will not shut down electrically. I have to
go down to mechanically choke of the fuel supply. The mechanics can't
find what is wrong?

Any experiences?

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

Fischer Panda Owner's Forum
 

"Geoffrey W. Schultz" wrote in message 04.17...
I've created a Fischer Panda Owner's Forum to act as a repository for
information related to these generators. If you own (or owned) one of
these generators, please post your history/experience in the forum.

I personally have had non-stop problems with my 4200 (mini) generator and
know of many other owners who have had similar problems. This forum is an
attempt to see if these problems are unique or systemic. The forum is
located at

www.FischerPandaSucks.com

and despite the URL, the intent is to collect information on both the good
and the bad.

-- Geoff Schultz

Never had one, my buds boat did from the factory. I think in the 1st
year it ran a couple hours, went in the shop 3 times. He sold the
boat, a month later the generator broke again the buyer said. Not
ready for prime time, definently not a honda thats fer sure