I was just curious what kind of hours to expect from a westerbeke generator. Of course normal maintenece has been done. Finman
It depends on the load it was carrying. Anywhere from 4000hrs to 10,000hrs is what I'd expect. There is catch in that though, and that is how much sitting it does. Machines hate to sit. They like to run every day. If the genset sits, especially without being properly preserved, for a period of weeks or months without being run, it may only go a couple hundred hours. That's why aircraft engines have 2 recommended TBOs (Time Between Overhaul), one based on hours, one based on calendar years. Calendar year TBO on most all reciprocating aircraft engines is 12 years regardless if they have met the 1600-2000 hr TBO typical to most aircraft recips. The marine environment is a tough one to "store" engines in.
westerbeke are good gensets, for one to fail at 42 hours suggest negligence at some point. 42hrs in 6 years is a problem... most good diesel gennies, inlc Ws, shoudl make it to at least 5000hrs before requiring major work.
Another important factor is the load. Gensets do not like to run with light loads. IIRC, the optimum is in the neighborhood of 75 - 85%.