For Sale: Whisper Gen

[smith401]

Yes it is sad what happened over there and times are tough for everyone especially rebuilding a full production factory again. It takes time and money. So back to selling the unit at hand. I do have spare parts and manuals. It is a good unit and in prestine condition. Let me know if anyone is interested.

[kiwitrucker]

I may be interested but not at that price. My offer would be around $3000. As they are no longer built and parts will soon not be available that would be the best I could do.

[karlrudi]

I am interested in your WhisperGen. Please drop my a message....

Kindly,

KArl

[woff]

Could this technology be used to power the boat through an electric motor along the lines adopted by racing boats and disposed of the old thumper?

[witzgall]

Woff,

Way to little to provide all of the power needed - most sailboats are looking at perhaps 40x the power, or 80a at 48v.

I think the whispergen would be ideal for a yacht cruising in northern lattitudes - provide heat, and plenty of power for typical house loads.

Chris

Chris

[Andrew Troup]

Originally Posted by woff

Could this technology be used to power the boat through an electric motor along the lines adopted by racing boats and disposed of the old thumper?

Indeed, (as on the Scandinavian submarines mentioned earlier in - I think - this same thread?) although it is not necessary to use a generator and motor as an intermediary: a Stirling engine could drive a propshaft or saildrive directly.

The engine wouldn't even need to be one with a sophisticated ability to vary displacement 'on the fly', which was a hallmark of the Whispergen with its ingenious wobble-yoke. (like having a 327 Chev which seamlessly became a 454 on demand)

As I understand it, this was advantageous given the need for almost instantaneous response to sudden load variations (like switching an electrical load on or off) - but the situation of a marine prime mover is not quite so demanding.
However the wobble-yoke was in some ways the Achilles heel of the unit: AFAIK it proved very difficult to provide it with (and provide lubrication to) bearings which were affordable, durable and compact.

I don't know how feasible it is to have such a Stirling engine routinely come to a full stop, the way steam engines can: this would be another advantage because firstly it would avoid the need to keep juggling between in-gear and neutral when you're using a diesel to hold station (eg chatting to an anchored boat in a light breeze), and secondly it would mean the gearbox would not need heavy duty clutches.

If they can easily be restarted in reverse, so much the better: no need for a reversing gearbox. If the revs are suitable, no need for a gearbox full stop.

I keenly anticipate a day where we can affordably install a marine prime mover with such simplicity, absence of noise and vibration, multi fuel capable with low emissions.