Whispergen Sterling Generators

[Doodlebug]

Hi all,

 

Been searching all over for these. Do they just not make them any more? They look like a really good product (although expensive!) but as I say, the latest bit of info I have found suggested that powergen sell them although their webpage has been taken down.

 

Does anyone know anything about these?

 

Thank you

 

Doodle

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Hi ya,

I'm not sure if it's the same as what you're looking for, but I have a

Mastervolt WhisperGen 3.5kva.

Very happy with it,and has given faultless reliable service over the 7years I've had it ad a livaboard CCr.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h9c9azk95bgof92/2014-04-30%2016.27.31.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qas4x9w02pf0jik/2014-04-14%2012.31.34.jpg

[Doodlebug]

Hi ya,

I'm not sure if it's the same as what you're looking for, but I have a

Mastervolt WhisperGen 3.5kva.

Very happy with it,and has given faultless reliable service over the 7years I've had it ad a livaboard CCr.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h9c9azk95bgof92/2014-04-30%2016.27.31.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qas4x9w02pf0jik/2014-04-14%2012.31.34.jpg

 

Its a sterling right? I.e so quiet you can run it all night if you wanted to?

 

Where on earth did you get it? It seems they have gone out of business or something?

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Well mine is a 'Mastervolt' make, yes it's very quiet, Watercooled, & From outside the boat you really can't hear it at all from say 6 / 10 feet away,

Inside you CAN hear it a bit if you listen for it, but it's certainly not invasive, if the TV or Radio is on you can't hear it at all. As far as leaving it on all night goes, We have done this while in Scotland, to keep the Electric Heating & Water Heater on, but to be Honest, The Cabin is right next to the Fire Break Bulkhead of the Engine bay, & YES you can definitely hear it all night.

& if being used at a mooring, or in a Marina, I have extension that fits snugly into the already waterlocked & Silenced Exhaust Outlets that then takes it just under the water surface to discharge, so you don't get that sloshing noise.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[phill]

Hi all,

 

Been searching all over for these. Do they just not make them any more? They look like a really good product (although expensive!) but as I say, the latest bit of info I have found suggested that powergen sell them although their webpage has been taken down.

 

Does anyone know anything about these?

 

Thank you

 

Doodle

They were made in Wellington, New Zealand and went out of business in the earthquake a few years ago. There is a company selling parts but the units themselves are very rare indeed.

 

They are not the same at all as the Mastervolt which is a conventional generator, it's based on a Sterling engine (sometimes know as an external combustion engine)

[Doodlebug]

Well mine is a 'Mastervolt' make, yes it's very quiet, Watercooled, & From outside the boat you really can't hear it at all from say 6 / 10 feet away,

Inside you CAN hear it a bit if you listen for it, but it's certainly not invasive, if the TV or Radio is on you can't hear it at all. As far as leaving it on all night goes, We have done this while in Scotland, to keep the Electric Heating & Water Heater on, but to be Honest, The Cabin is right next to the Fire Break Bulkhead of the Engine bay, & YES you can definitely hear it all night.

& if being used at a mooring, or in a Marina, I have extension that fits snugly into the already waterlocked Exhaust Outlets that then takes it just under the water surface, so you don't get that sloshing noise.

 

So would you be happy moored up next to someone running it at 2am in the morning without worrying that your going to annoy anyone? (Other than yourself of course!)

 

Where on earth do I get one from?

 

Thank you

They were made in Wellington, New Zealand and went out of business in the earthquake a few years ago. There is a company selling parts but the units themselves are very rare indeed.

 

They are not the same at all as the Mastervolt which is a conventional generator, it's based on a Sterling engine (sometimes know as an external combustion engine)

 

Ahh right that makes sense. Thats a shame because they looked pretty good. But these mastervolt things look pretty good too.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

Well I've got to be Honest and say ive never done that, but if they was moored on the opposite side to the installation, & after speaking with them,tested it to see if it was an annoyance to them, Ofcourse I would be more than happy, But out of courtesy it wouldn't be up to me, you would have to take guidance from your neighbours at the Time.

Besides, haven't you got rules about running Generators an such things between certain hours on the inland waterways ?.

(We haven't, so can't comment).

Check out the Mastervolt website !.

I think my set up came to about £6500 buy the time it was fully installed some 7years ago, so probably a lot cheaper now ofcourse.

[Doodlebug]

Well I've got to be Honest and say ive never done that, but if they was moored on the opposite side to the installation, & after speaking with them,tested it to see if it was an annoyance to them, Ofcourse I would be more than happy, But out of courtesy it wouldn't be up to me, you would have to take guidance from your neighbours at the Time.

Besides, haven't you got rules about running Generators an such things between certain hours on the inland waterways ?.

(We haven't, so can't comment).

Check out the Mastervolt website !.

I think my set up came to about £6500 buy the time it was fully installed some 7years ago, so probably a lot cheaper now ofcourse.

 

Cool, of course it would be a case of checking with them but i'm just trying to get an idea of the noise thats all.

 

Thats pretty expensive. Some of my weirder ideas come in cheaper than that! But i suppose its about long term useage.

[nb Innisfree]

Whispergen is a trade name, 12/24v dc generator driven by a Stirling hot air piston engine. Diesel or petrol external combustion, basically a battery charger, not very efficient as a charger but very efficient if the 5kw water heating is utilised at the same tine. Extremely quiet so not antisocial but they have had lots of issues in the past with owners.

 

Used to be marketed by various dealers, Victron did at one time, but I think they all gave up on them due to warranty issues.

 

ETA: IIRC they generated 70amps @12v.

Edited July 14, 2014 by nb Innisfree

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

There's one on eBay at the moment

It's second hand ofcourse, no gas seperator, no Generator control, no Water lock silencers ect ect but it's only just shy of £2000 !..(+ probably another £1300 for the additional add on bits required for the in installation)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/diesel-generator-marine-generator-fully-rebuilt-master-vault-whisper-4000-4kva-/331254618674?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_Boat_Engines_EngineParts_SM&hash=item4d20505a32

Edited July 14, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[pearley]

I seem to recall from a review in one of the Waterways mags that it was not that quiet, with the exhaust having an annoying whistle.

Edited July 14, 2014 by pearley

[nb Innisfree]

There's one on eBay at the moment

It's second hand ofcourse, no gas seperator, no Generator control, no Water lock ect ect but it's only just shy of £2000 !..

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/diesel-generator-marine-generator-fully-rebuilt-master-vault-whisper-4000-4kva-/331254618674?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_Boat_Engines_EngineParts_SM&hash=item4d20505a32

That's not a true 'Whispergen'.

 

When I investigated a Whispergen in '03 they were £8500!

I seem to recall from a review in one of the Waterways mags that it was not that quiet, with the exhaust having an annoying whistle.

They were sdvertised as 'silent' but when I heard one it was far from silent but still much quieter than conventional gennies such as Mastervolt.

 

Makes me smile when manufacturers refer to gennies as 'silent', only silent when not running!

http://www.microchap.info/stirling_engine.htm

 

Some run on natural gas for domestic use.

Edited July 14, 2014 by nb Innisfree

[Eeyore]

Whispergen is a trade name, 12/24v dc generator driven by a Stirling hot air piston engine. Diesel or petrol external combustion, basically a battery charger, not very efficient as a charger but very efficient if the 5kw water heating is utilised at the same tine. Extremely quiet so not antisocial but they have had lots of issues in the past with owners.

 

Used to be marketed by various dealers, Victron did at one time, but I think they all gave up on them due to warranty issues.

 

ETA: IIRC they generated 70amps @12v.

Warranty issues certainly drove one "all electric" boat owner to give up and replace his whispergen sterling unit with a conventional diesel generator.

He told me that it had received numerous core engines and control boards (about 10 of each I think), and finally gave up due to lack of support.

The marine version had a water cooled heat exchanger which caused issues, although some of that may have been related to raw water plumbing.

It can only be surmised that this heat exchanger was fitted to get over a ventilation issue, so maybe the domestic version could be used if mounted at deck level?

[nb Innisfree]

Warranty issues certainly drove one "all electric" boat owner to give up and replace his whispergen sterling unit with a conventional diesel generator.

He told me that it had received numerous core engines and control boards (about 10 of each I think), and finally gave up due to lack of support.

The marine version had a water cooled heat exchanger which caused issues, although some of that may have been related to raw water plumbing.

It can only be surmised that this heat exchanger was fitted to get over a ventilation issue, so maybe the domestic version could be used if mounted at deck level?

Might be the same boater I met.

 

Could never figure out why skin tank cooling couldn't be employed, the makers claimed an expected lifetime of 20,000+ hrs. I was tempted at the time but it seemed too good to be true (I was right as it turned out)

 

Pedant hat on: it's actually Stirling, not Sterling, which can be confused with a certain manufacturer of marine electrical equipment.

Edited July 14, 2014 by nb Innisfree

[MtB]

These things were heavily marketed by Baxi or Glow Worm for use in domestic houses a few years back. They were an even better answer than 42 according to the marketing but they sunk without trace after three of four years.

 

It's always the same story with bleeding edge technology. It works fine for a while then the problems begin to surface and the manufacturers go bust leaving the early adopters stranded with no parts or technical support.

 

MtB

[Titus]

I have one of these which was on the boat when I bought it, I've had it serviced by a firm call Onboard Energy (Kevin) at Nuneaton,

theres also a bloke near Rotherham that services/repairs them other than ringing them and asking you might struggle

to find one.

 

 

http://www.onboardenergydirect.co.uk/

 

 

Dave

Edited July 14, 2014 by Titus

[by'eck]

These things were heavily marketed by Baxi or Glow Worm for use in domestic houses a few years back. They were an even better answer than 42 according to the marketing but they sunk without trace after three of four years.

 

It's always the same story with bleeding edge technology. It works fine for a while then the problems begin to surface and the manufacturers go bust leaving the early adopters stranded with no parts or technical support.

 

MtB

 

I met a Dutch guy on a huge motor-sailor in Sardinia in 2001. He had the first one ever fitted to a European boat on the understanding if it failed anywhere in the world the suppliers would fly out and fix it.

 

He ran it up for me. Lots of battery draw as the starter runs for a few minutes then almost total silence in operation. Seemed to produce plenty of hot water and some DC power but not overly impressed.

[peterboat]

I have one as well it was second hand from Tipos marine in Rotherham into its third year now and seems to work well I have over 5 kw of rads and calorifier and it works very well wake up to hot rads and when I come in from work hot rads/water. It is silent mine lives in the wheelhouse in its wooden box not in a damp area which I suspect is one of the problems when it lives with the engine. 72 amps per hour 3 and a half hours a day for between 1 1/2 to 3 litres of kero/diesel per day works very well for me

 

Peter

[peterboat]

These things were heavily marketed by Baxi or Glow Worm for use in domestic houses a few years back. They were an even better answer than 42 according to the marketing but they sunk without trace after three of four years.

 

It's always the same story with bleeding edge technology. It works fine for a while then the problems begin to surface and the manufacturers go bust leaving the early adopters stranded with no parts or technical support.

 

MtB

Mike the earthquake destroyed the factory for the diesel version so they didnt go bankrupt more like bang up the gas version was produced in spain afterwards and mostly marketed by EON or so Ian from Tipos told me he has one in his house has been going for years

 

Peter

[bigcol]

Bought! Deposit paid

Collecting hopefully today

Thanks for the post

and X Paul and Charlie the hound for the PM

 

So there be a 7 month old Clarke generator for sale soon!

 

 

Col

Edited July 15, 2014 by bigcol