Duncan,

 

     We can process payment at your convenience. Please provide an “invoice” or payment details for 50% of the diagnostic costs, and we will arrange a telegraphic transfer payment for the said amount. Please copy cglyncher@fischerpanda.com with these details.

 

    Based on the photographs only, we believe that the root cause of the “carbon deposits” is bad fuel and/or over loading of the engine. The AGT4000 is designed for intermittent use and if used for a continuous period, it should be operated at about 125 amps maximum.

 

Thanks and best wishes,

 

Ashley Rushton

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Duncan Owen [mailto:"Whisper"]
Sent: Saturday, July 23, 2005 12:22 AM
To: ASHLEY RUSHTON
Cc: 'Colin Pawson - Enertec Services NZ'; service@fischerpanda.com
Subject: RE: Whisper's AGT 4000

 

-----Original Message-----
From: ASHLEY RUSHTON [mailto:arushton@fischerpanda.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 14, 2005 9:32 AM
To: "Whisper"
Cc: 'Colin Pawson - Enertec Services NZ'; service@fischerpanda.com; 'ASHLEY RUSHTON'
Subject: RE: Whisper's AGT 4000

Duncan,

      I apologize for the delayed response.

      Your proposal is very comprehensive and appears to have covered all likely options to evaluate the viability and cost of restoring your generator to full operation. We are willing to work with you to assess what is the best option, but are not willing to do this at 100% our cost

    We believe that our initial offer to cover 50% of the diagnosis costs is fair under the circumstances.

Please appreciate that:-

       1. The cost of diagnosis is not normally covered under warranty,

       2. The warranty on your generator engine has expired and

       3. Current speculation suggests that the installation may have

          contributed to the generator problems.

 

At this stage I can confirm that Fischer Panda Generators will contribute 50% of the diagnosis cost – up to $400.00

 

Regards,

 

Ashley Rushton

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Duncan Owen [mailto:"Whisper"]
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 5:22 PM
To: ASHLEY RUSHTON
Cc: Colin Pawson; Bob Grubert; Dave Thompson; Todd Rickard; Shea Weston; sjewell@fischerpanda.com; myerex@fischerpanda.com
Subject: Whisper's AGT 4000

 

Ashley,

 

Duncan Owen here RE: our Fischer Panda AGT 4000 12V DC genset.  I talked to

Colin the other morning and he suggested I contact you directly to sort this

out.  I have a proposal that may be palatable to both of us and may help us

get the unit running again.  It is an incremental diagnostic plan with each

step indicating what the next step will be.  We will leave the unit in the

boat.

 

If Fischer Panda will pay for an initial 4 to 8 hours of diagnostic work (up

to $300 USD), we will know better what our next step should be.  I would

propose the following tasks be performed in the first 4-8 hours:

 

Day 1 (4-8 hours)

 

1.)  Pull the injector and check (determine need for service, service is

likely required)

2.)  Check the compression and deduce valve/ring condition as a result of

this test

3.)  Pull off the old corroded exhaust elbow, inspect inside the head

through the exhaust outlet (if possible, to ensure no clogging, rust, or

other obstructions)

4.)  Pull off the intake manifold, determine condition of manifold, screws,

and lock-washers -- decide if replacement is required or can be modified and

bracketed to stay tight (with worn-oval mounting holes).

 

At the end of Day 1, we will have enough information to decide whether to

proceed to day 2.  Assuming the compression is good, the valves and rings

appear to be in good condition, and the injector is fine (or once serviced,

will be), we will want to go to the next step.

 

If there is a problem with the compression and it is determined that the

valves and/or rings are bad (i.e. the engine is shot or nearing failure and

will require a re-build), we will discuss what to do next.  One option might

be to remove the genset from the boat for a full diagnostic assessment on

why/how this happened.  I would not ask Fischer Panda to pay for a re-build

until we understand what caused the failures, how much the repairs would

cost, and whether it is even worth fixing.

 

If the engine is still fundamentally sound, I would like to proceed to "fix"

the genset in-place with a minimal 8-16 hours further investment by Fischer

Panda.  Before day 2 & 3 commences, service or replace the injector if

necessary (we can discuss who pays for this service/replacement once we get

a report on the condition and a quote for service/replacement).

 

Day 2 & 3 (8-16 hours)

 

1.)  Replace the exhaust cooler elbow, studs, lock washers, nuts, and gasket

(have the main cooler and other fasteners, will need an appropriate hosebarb

and gasket).

2.)  Replace (or if unnecessary, just re-install) the intake manifold,

bolts, lockwasher, and gasket -- add a bracket to reinforce the top of the

manifold.

3.)  Replace the crankcase end-plate and gasket (I have this part and a

gasket).  Re-attach all wires and brackets to end-plate (return to factory

condition).

4.)  Clean, replace, or remove the oil screen (need to tilt the engine to do

this?).

5.)  Replace the internal engine mounts (have these) while the engine is

tilted.

6.)  Clean up the unit and inside of sound shield as much as possible (from

prior oil and saltwater leaks).

7.)  Get the unit running.

8.)  Adjust the fuel setting and RPM's to the correct level.

9.)  Check the engine output (electrically and mechanically, look for dirty

burning).

10.) Try to determine the root cause of the dirty burning (again).

11.) Try to determine why the generator is only delivering 2/3 its rated

electrical output.

 

This day 2 & 3 work will cost about $600 USD.

 

If we can discover the root cause of the dirty burning engine, that would be

great.  However, during all the investigative work performed while still in

California, no one could figure out what was causing the dirty burning and

sooty water-filled exhaust.  The long exhaust run with less than 2 PSI of

back-pressure (as tested in San Diego by Shea Weston in 2002) were never

enough to explain the sooty exhaust -- and the water separator, though

correctly sized, allowed soot-filled water to pass through.  I'm willing to

make compromises to get another 1000 hours out of the unit if possible.  The

unit has just over 1130 hours on it today, and it has not been run for three

months (and cannot run because of a corroded-through exhaust elbow).  Let's

see what we can learn after the initial day of diagnostics.

 

I have attached a Word Document that provides an email thread of most

correspondence to-date regarding this AGT unit.  Todd Rickard, Dave

Thompson, Shea Weston, Bob Grubert, Sara Jewell, and Mark Yerex have all

been involved with these issues over the last 3+ years.  I am CC'ing the

prior participants in this issue as a reminder, so they can discuss this

with you if needed.

 

If there is a concern that we didn't file appropriate paperwork for the

initial warranty, I believe Dave Thompson may have copies of the paperwork

he filed when he performed our 30 hour service.  We have been in contact

with Fischer Panda enough times over the years that if there was a problem

filing our warranty paperwork, we would have discussed it before now.

 

I'd appreciate your response to my above request via email.  I look forward

to hearing from you.

 

Thank you,

 

Duncan Owen

s/v Whisper

Bayswater Marina

Auckland, New Zealand