EFOY Fuel Cells (or alternatives!) (1 Viewer)

[paulweller84]

Hello,

Does anyone have or know much about the capacity of an EFOY 1600 FC Generator? It is the lowest priced version our local supplier sells, but I'm finding it tricky to work out how much we'd be able to run from it.

Alternatively, what other options are there? I looked at a Honda EU20i generator but they're far too noisy. Is there another way, apart from fuel cells and petrol/diesel generators?

Cheers

Paul

 

[pappajohn]

as the Efoy generator is a 12vdc power source you will be restricted to 12v appliances....unless you also run an inverter for 230vac appliances in which case the Efoy will never keep up with demand.

To give some idea what you could run and for what time.....


EFOY 1600
Appliance Rating (W) Time (h) Energy (Wh)
Computer 90 1 90
Hairdryer 1500 0.2 300
Coffee maker 1500 0.2 300
Heating 30 10 300
Satellite/TV 70 3 210
Charging devices 20 3 60
Lighting 100 3 300
Water pump 40 0.5 20

Total consumption 1580

 

[pappajohn]

Over £2000 for an Efoy buys a lot of solar energy.

At todays prices for solar panels that would buy at least ten 100w panels....you just need enough roof space. oh:

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[CazPaul]

This months MMM(April 2014) page 228.

There is a small article on Hydromax fuel cells.

They are much cheaper to buy initially than the Efoy and output is 15Amp which is nearly double that of the largest Efoy(8.8Amp). Great news you think until you continue reading and see the fuel prices.

One 5 litre can costs £68 and to go with you will use of a £18 supply of apple juice so £9.00. Each kilowatt hour will cost £19.25 as opposed to £5.31 per kilowatt from the Efoy. However, prices of the fuel are expected to fall once they become established the article says.

Bleeding hell, they need to become established quickly.

There's the alternative for you.

Paul.

 

[Snowbird]

Yes I have seen them but never owned one. They are quiet but at a price. Solar is cheaper as PJ says, but only works during daylight hours when the sun is shining. Have you thought about a Gasperini, they are a form of generator but like the Effoy, not cheap. I have 250 watts of solar panels and a wind turbine for when the sun dont shine, charging a battery bank of 330 amps. This works indefinitely for me as everything is 12 volt in the van.

 

[pappajohn]

This months MMM(April 2014) page 228.

There is a small article on Hydromax fuel cells.

They are much cheaper to buy initially than the Efoy and output is 15Amp which is nearly double that of the largest Efoy(8.8Amp). Great news you think until you continue reading and see the fuel prices.

One 5 litre can costs £68 and to go with you will use of a £18[HI] supply of apple juice[/HI] so £9.00. Each kilowatt hour will cost £19.25 as opposed to £5.31 per kilowatt from the Efoy. However, prices of the fuel are expected to fall once they become established the article says.

Bleeding hell, they need to become established quickly.

There's the alternative for you.

Paul.

dont understand this bit ?

The only additive to the methanol with an Efoy is water....which is recycled by the generator.

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[CazPaul]

dont understand this bit ?

The only additive to the methanol with an Efoy is water....which is recycled by the generator.

Neither do I.

I have just quoted from the article on the Hydramax fuel cell.

Paul.

 

[Reallyretired]

Yes I have seen them but never owned one. They are quiet but at a price. Solar is cheaper as PJ says, but only works during daylight hours when the sun is shining. Have you thought about a Gasperini, they are a form of generator but like the Effoy, not cheap. I have 250 watts of solar panels and a wind turbine for when the sun dont shine, charging a battery bank of 330 amps. This works indefinitely for me as everything is 12 volt in the van.

Gasperini have been taken over by Telair who make several gas powered generators

 

[funflair]

Neither do I.

I have just quoted from the article on the Hydramax fuel cell.

Paul.

I think the Hydramax is a Hydrogen fuel cell so it uses malic acid (Apple juice) along with the fuel powder to produce a hydrogen.

Martin

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[TheDogMan]

Gasperini have been taken over by Telair who make several gas powered generators

My service guy say they have no fixed the exhaust problem with these and they have a very limited life and big money to replace

 

[TheDogMan]

Hello,

Does anyone have or know much about the capacity of an EFOY 1600 FC Generator? It is the lowest priced version our local supplier sells, but I'm finding it tricky to work out how much we'd be able to run from it.

Alternatively, what other options are there? I looked at a Honda EU20i generator but they're far too noisy. Is there another way, apart from fuel cells and petrol/diesel generators?

Cheers

Paul

To get the best out of an efoy you need, good high capacity batteries and high capacity fitted inverter, the efoy will then auto switch on when you are down to 12.2v and keep going until the batteries reach 13.8v, does have manual override as well, vitually silent running and due to this can be fitted under a bench seat, they vent through the floor of the van the downside is they are bloody expensive

 

[Macarena Williams]

Hi Paul,

I'm a Fuel Cell Specialist for a company called Fuel Cell Systems Ltd Based in Berkshire.
Many of our customers are motor homers and sailors.

The Efoy to which you refer has been discontinued and now replaced with the EFOY 80, 140 and 210. The technology is the same but the look and the power has improved.
I've attached the datasheet for these units for anyone interested.

We have a power calculator on our website at :
http://www.fuelcellsystems.co.uk/technical/power-calculator/
it is a good way of plugging in all your equipment and get a recommendation for which Fuel Cell would be best for you. Make sure select the box with the dropdown saying yacht and select motorhome.

For those worried about 12V we find a lot of people use inverters and can connect to their pre-existing solar panels. Remember that all your equipment will not be running constantly, some things like a radio for a few hours a day therefore your power usage may not be as big as you may have initially thought.

Fuel Prices vary around the country, we ourselves sell 2x10L Cartridges for £78.00 costing £3.90 per kilowatt hour of charging.
You'll get more for your money that the 2x 5L Cartridges we sell at £62.00.
Remember Efoys do not use Fuel when they are not charging.

Hoped this was informative and cleared up a few things and not too sales heavy. Fuel Cells aren't for everyone but it is important people can be informed in their knowledge about them.

Do give us a look up at www.fuelcellsystems.co.uk if your interested in the EFOY or other Fuel Cell Technology.

- Macarena

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[funflair]

We have the EFOY 140 fuel cell, it's a neat bit of kits looks well made and easy to fit. It's only for emergencies as we have 320watt of solar for the sun, but it does not always shine (enough) so the EFOY will get us through dark winter days when not on EHU.

The EFOY have a nice user interface so you can set parameters to suit yourself like automatic switch on volts but more importantly a delay at this voltage so that if you are running an inverter and it takes your batteries down to less than the switch on voltage for a minute or so you can set the time delay longer so when the inverter goes off the solar panels can take care of replenishing the batteries.

Yes it's expensive but I could afford it, I wanted it, I got it, and if we ever change the van it's easy to take out if the new owners don't want to chip in extra for it.

Martin