On September 26, 2020 at 7:31 PM rossirossix4 <rossidesigngroup@...> wrote:

Just a related comment...seems these boards fail alot....my MDKAV has this expensive board as well.  There has been at least one posting claiming that heat "melts" these boards.  When I run the generator and (almost always make water at the same time) I leave the engine room open (we are always at anchor or mooring ball so the noise to others is minimal).  That extractor fan is pretty feeble and I think the Dessalator motor likes to be cool as well.  Might make a difference.  My engine room has a 220V outlet mounted up high on the forward bulkhead and I have a 220 fan that is aimed at the Dessalator high pressure pump and in the general vacinity of the battery chargers.  Since this fan works anytime we are on shorepower or when the generator is producing 220 it might help.  Maybe I need to point another one at the generator control board area.  These portable plastic fans are cheap and also help when you are working in the engine room--can be run off the inverter or on shore power in those situations.

To ramble on a little more....a while back I wrote Fight Systems, Inc. that makes more reasonably priced replacement control boards for Onans and asked them if they could offer a board for MDKAVs and received the following reply"

Hi Bob, 

Thank you for reaching out to us. We consider many factors where looking at possible aftermarket replacement projects. The engineering process takes 6-8 months and costs well over $30,000, so we have to be sure a market exists that will allow for us to recover expenses in a reasonable amount of time. There are several drawbacks to designing a replacement for the 327-1533, the first is the customer case that the board rests in. That case will require an up front tooling cost of about $15,000 if we were to commission a plastic injection mold. That would be in addition to the $30,000 engineering investment. Unfortunately, at this time I am not confident we would be able to recoup our investment within a one year period based on the number of generators In the market that use this control. I wish it were as simple as snapping my fingers and having a replacement available. 

Regards,

Anthony Misiti
COO
Flight Systems

Maybe we could entice them with a pre purchase of a hundred or more.....seems like carrying a spare control board is a good idea.  Their boards run in the $250 to $300 range.

Bob and Suzanne Rossi, KAIMI SM 429