Fischer Panda Generators

[svHyLyte]

As a registered owner of a Fischer-Panda Generator, I receive periodic announcements by the Company and recently received the following Press Release that I thought some might be interested in knowing about:

Press Release Date: 29.06.2012


Winning “Gold” with Fischer Panda in the disciplines ONBOARD POWER SUPPLY and HYBRID DRIVE SYSTEMS


Owners of a generator or hybrid drive system purchased from Fischer Panda have the possibility to register their product directly with the manufacturer. The registration is the ideal way to ensure that Fischer Panda customers receive optimal service and support around the clock.

During this year's “Summer Special” from 1st June until 30 September all owners who register their Fischer Panda generators and hybrid drive systems will receive two matching service kits, a water-tight storage box and the Company's Global Service Directory.

The product registration can be done in a few steps on the Fischer Panda website:

http://www.fischerpanda.de/register.htm

Fischer Panda is also celebrating its 35th anniversary this year.

The generator and hybrid drive system manufacturer, located in Paderborn/Germany, is offering all long-term customers a further highlight this summer:

The company is looking for the oldest Fischer Panda generator that is installed and still fully functioning. The owner of the oldest model has the chance to exchange his old generator free of charge for a new environmentally friendly model - 4800i or 5000i - with variable speed and a performance of 3.5 kW.* Interested owners who would like to participate are requested to make a video of their product while in operation and to send the video to Fischer Panda. “We would like to thank our customers for their trust over the past 35 years. We are expecting and looking forward to a great response”, said Jens Langer, Sales and Marketing Director at Fischer Panda.

*Fischer Panda reserves the right to possibly verify the functionality and the age of the generator. A substitution of the new generator for cash is not possible. When the old generator is exchanged for a model with a higher performance the list price of the 5000i is taken into account and credited.

Fischer Panda GmbH is manufacturer of diesel generators, hybrid and drive systems for mobile naval and vehicle applications. The generators are well-known for their compact design and the extremely low sound levels while operating. The Fischer Panda team covers world-wide more than 400 technicians and salesmen in over 70 countries.

FWIW...

[svHyLyte]

In connection with my earlier post, above, I registered our Panda with the manufacturer and just received a nice note of thanks from Panda's office in Germany informing me that two "complimentary" service kits where being forwarded to us as a courtesy. Considering the retail cost of the kits, that's a pretty nice "Thank You" from the Company.

FWIW...

[ronbo1]

Though I registered my FP 10 years ago I didn't receive confirmation of it.
Fortunately, my 8kw FP has operated All that time with no issues, just normal maintenance.
Think I'll try registering again.

This looks like a great move to improve their customer service image. They make a good product, perhaps over designed and engineered but when they run they run well.

Ronbo

[svHyLyte]

Ronbo--

When we purchased our generator in 2002, we also registered it with FP here in the US. The latest registration is with the manufacturer in Germany which I think has to do more with quality control metrics although that's just my guess.

FWIW...

[svHyLyte]

Following up on my earlier posts...

As "Consideration" for registering our now 10 year old Panda with the Manufacturer, we have just received, from the factory, at no cost to us, a very nice Pelican type waterproof storage box for the storage of the spares for our generator, a Panda Service Book and world-wide guide to Panda service agencies and two major service kits including filters, a toothed drive belt for the water pump">raw water pump; and, a service kit for the raw water pump including an impellor, O-rings, and a lip seal. (Our "gift" box also included a cute little stuffed Panda doll that a neighbor's daughter was very happy to recieve.) The service kits are not inexpensive and these were a very nice gift from Panda indeed.

svHyLyte

[Maine Sail]

Originally Posted by svHyLyte

Following up on my earlier posts...

As "Consideration" for registering our now 10 year old Panda with the Manufacturer, we have just received, from the factory, at no cost to us, a very nice Pelican type waterproof storage box for the storage of the spares for our generator, a Panda Service Book and world-wide guide to Panda service agencies and two major service kits including filters, a toothed drive belt for the raw water pump; and, a service kit for the raw water pump including an impellor, O-rings, and a lip seal. (Our "gift" box also included a cute little stuffed Panda doll that a neighbor's daughter was very happy to recieve.) The service kits are not inexpensive and these were a very nice gift from Panda indeed.

svHyLyte

Oh cool I'll have my customer who's FP nearly burned his boat to the waterline last week, due to poor engineering, register and get a free plastic box full of parts....

Perhaps it will make him .001% less angry at this horrendous money pit...

Last week this FP melted down as I sat with the owner having a cocktail.

How about FP give this guy a new gen set not because it is old but because it has had light use and has been nothing but a money pit......

Pathetic really.....

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Oh cool I'll have my customer who's FP nearly burned his boat to the waterline last week, due to poor engineering, register and get a free plastic box full of parts....

Perhaps it will make him .001% less angry at this horrendous money pit...

Last week this FP melted down as I sat with the owner having a cocktail.

How about FP give this guy a new gen set not because it is old but because it has had light use and has been nothing but a money pit......

Pathetic really.....

Main--

Since the snap is posted without context it is difficult for me to comment, however, I have referred this thread to the guys I know at FP and I am sure they'll want to know about the incident. (Considering the snap seems to show capacitors, I am assuming that's a control module?) Whether they will/can offer any recompense is beyond me. I don't work for them. I only know the Company and some of it's staff because I am an owner and they have helped me with issues from time to time.

On that score, I've only had two major problems with our machine in 10 years. Once because the "Expert Electrician 1.0" installed the Control Module incorrectly; and, once because the Johnson made raw water pump had a casting flaw in the pump body that allowed water to flow around the lip-seal and into the impellor shaft gallery destroying the bearings. That was not a fault of Panda, but of the pump manufacturer and not detectable save with a forensic examination of the remains of the pump. Never-the-less, the FP officials in Ft. Lauderdale shipped me a replacement pump, plus spares, at no cost to us even though our machine was long out of warranty.

Of the failures of the machine I have seen, many have been due to improper installations, or inadaquate maintenance. Not all, but many, and FP seems to go out of its way to help--at least that has been my experience over the last 10 years.

As noted, above, I don't work for FP, nor do I have an interest in the Company in any respect. I do, however, appreciate the efforts they have made on my behalf; and, I know that one or two disaffected owners--regardless the cause--can do rather a great deal of damage to a company, deserved or not.

And with the foregoing, here Homer nods...

FWIW...

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by Maine Sail

Oh cool I'll have my customer who's FP nearly burned his boat to the waterline last week, due to poor engineering, register and get a free plastic box full of parts....

Perhaps it will make him .001% less angry at this horrendous money pit...

Last week this FP melted down as I sat with the owner having a cocktail.

How about FP give this guy a new gen set not because it is old but because it has had light use and has been nothing but a money pit......

Pathetic really.....

Main--Further to my earlier response, I forwarded your comments and a link to this thread to FP.

The following is the first response I got from FP Florida:

Thanks for the heads up and feel free to post my response.

I had one of our engineers look at the picture to try and figure out what happened. He tells me that those black rubber caps are an aftermarket item that we do not sell nor install on our generators. From looking at the picture it appears he might have had a loose connection on the capacitor and melted the aftermarket capacitor cover.

I have emailed the link to the engineer at Fischer Panda Germany to see if they have ever used this type of cap cover. As soon as I hear back I will let you know but it might not be until next week and I leave for vacation until Aug 5.

If you could have them email me the serial number for the generator I would like to dig a little deeper into this issue. This cap cover is definitely not something we have seen or used in the USA.

Jeff Till
Vehicle and Marine Sales Representative
Fischer Panda Generators
Office:954-462-2800
Cell:954-849-5120
www.fischerpanda.com

The following is the second response:

In my phone conversation with the Germany the real issue is that whoever installed these covers used a rubber batter terminal cover. The rubber covers sag when they get to temperature over 110F. Since we reach these temperatures inside the sound shield the rubber sagged and touched the terminal and melted. We always used hard plastic or metal covers like you see in the picture below. The is definitely the work of a backyard engineer and not a Fischer Panda engineer.

I am still willing to help the customer but they must contact me by phone.

Please post this.


Here is the email from Germany it doesn’t say much. (below) Not sure if you can post the picture in your response but that would be nice.

Jeff Till
Vehicle and Marine Sales Representative
Fischer Panda Generators
Office:954-462-2800
Cell:954-849-5120
www.fischerpanda.com


From: Boris Schönberger [mailto:bschoenberger@fischerpanda.de]
Sent: Friday, July 27, 2012 9:26 AM
To: Jeff Till
Subject: AW: Panda--No Good Deed Goes Unpunished.



Hello Jeff,

this rubber covers on the capacitors are defiantly not from the factory side we use only white hard plastic or metal cover.

Mostly rubber is not temperature stabile and the result you can see at the pictures (See attached Picture, below)



Mit freundlichen Grüssen / With best regards,

Boris Schönberger
Technical Support Manager / Quality management

Fischer Panda GmbH
Otto-Hahn-Str. 40
33104 Paderborn
Germany

Given the foregoing, there is more to the story. I urge you to contact Jeff Till at the numbers given. (Also, as you can see from the photo below, there are no "battery covers" on the capacitors as the system comes from the manufacturer. That was likely the source of your problem as noted.)