efoy generator

[Donk]

Hi all have any functors got an efoy generator are they good for off grid
was the installation straight forward and can anybody recommend a company that fits them sorry for questions thinking of getting one for the motorhome many thanks Dave aka Donk

 

[Robert Clark]

funflair has one I believe

 

[funflair]

Hi Dave

Robert is indeed correct, yes I have one but it's in the garage at home and not sure if it's needed on the new van as we have LiFePO4 quite a bit of solar and battery to battery charge booster which puts about 90 amps in when driving so we can be fully charged in a short drive.

EFOY? yes it's dead easy to fit, put it in a well ventilated space in the van and then you don't need to cut an exhaust air hole, you will need a small hole for the pipe that drops a little water out but other than heat and water the only other thing they make is 12v power, they have a good control panel and can be set up to just switch on at a voltage of your choice and off again when they are full, they are very quiet as long as it not directly under your bed, they are expensive to buy and quite expensive to run but other than solar it's the only option for silent power production.

Martin

 

[busby]

Think Lithium batteries are a cheaper option,,BUSBY.

 

[funflair]

Think Lithium batteries are a cheaper option,,BUSBY.

Ours weren't a cheap option by any means but they are great so far, if I sell the EFOY I might buy another Lithium but they are close to £2k a pop.

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[dulvil]

Ours weren't a cheap option by any means but they are great so far, if I sell the EFOY I might buy another Lithium but they are close to £2k a pop.

I’d still put the Efoy in for those emergencies. I’ve only used mine once this year but perhaps more in the winter if I’m not on electric

 

[poppycamper]

Ours weren't a cheap option by any means but they are great so far, if I sell the EFOY I might buy another Lithium but they are close to £2k a pop.

When and how big is yours. (No battery silly). Think you will find lithiums have come down considerably in price Recently.

 

[Pausim]

I think my Efoy is a great. I use 40 or 50Ah per day which it quietly replaces in about 8 hours, whatever the weather or time of year. I also have the option of parking in a shady spot in hot weather. I only need one 100Ah lithium battery. The down side is that Efoys are expensive to buy. It costs me less than £5 a day to run which is probably less than an electric hook up would cost.

I had the dealer I bought my motorhome from install my Efoy but it is not a complex installation. I have found Fuel Cell Systems at Hungerford very helpful and worth talking to.

Fuel Cell Systems

www.fuelcellsystems.co.uk

 

[JJ]

Cripes...

£5 per day.

I need to go for a lie down...

JJ

 

[Pausim]

Cripes...

£5 per day.

I need to go for a lie down...

JJ

I run a CPAP and humidifier all night which is the main consumer of electricity. It sounds a lot but people seem happy to pay £5 to £8 extra per night for a hook up. Most will find solar a better solution but it isn’t reliable enough for me and my medical equipment. If I am moving on the next day I don’t turn it on and let the engine charge the battery.

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[funflair]

When and how big is yours. (No battery silly). Think you will find lithiums have come down considerably in price Recently.

We have 2x160ah and would consider another 160ah, <Broken link removed>

 

[busby]

I run a CPAP and humidifier all night which is the main consumer of electricity. It sounds a lot but people seem happy to pay £5 to £8 extra per night for a hook up. Most will find solar a better solution but it isn’t reliable enough for me and my medical equipment. If I am moving on the next day I don’t turn it on and let the engine charge the battery.

Can think of many on here that would not pay that amount for a site never mind leccy ,,I have never paid for leccy unless its included in site fee,,usually ACSI..BUSBY.

 

[Pausim]

Can think of many on here that would not pay that amount for a site never mind leccy ,,I have never paid for leccy unless its included in site fee,,usually ACSI..BUSBY.

The site leccy is not free, it is built into the pitch fees and adds at least £5 to the cost. Compare CLs and CSs with and without ehu. Sites are not charities.

 

[busby]

The site leccy is not free, it is built into the pitch fees and adds at least £5 to the cost. Compare CLs and CSs with and without ehu. Sites are not charities.

I know that but what I am saying is that on some sites ACSI in Europe it's cheaper to use ACSI card with leccy included than not use ACSI and have a pitch with no leccy..Many good sites in France using ACSI including leccy can be had for 12 pounds a night.Camperstops in Spain can be had for 10 or 12 euros inc leccy which makes 5 pound a night just for leccy seems rather expensive though no doubt it's charged.BUSBY.

 

[Pausim]

In the UK with 16A supplies it is perfectly possible to use 50p of electricity per hour but I hear European supplies are often only 5A. Most GB registered motorhomes have electric/gas boilers and expect to use the electric setting most of the time and can expect to be paying for it somewhere.

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[two]

If only for emergencies, you could consider a genny converted to gas.
Less expensive but heavier. Useful, perhaps, at home.
That's what I have done. I'd suggest the 1kW honda suitcase model.

 

[peterc10]

Ours weren't a cheap option by any means but they are great so far, if I sell the EFOY I might buy another Lithium but they are close to £2k a pop.

Martin, if you are thinking about flogging it let me know please.

 

[Rapidoman 2011]

When l brought my Rapido 9009 they come as a standard fit, however the dealer removed it saying previous owner had fitted it and they could not cover it on the 3 month warranty, anyway l got it all back in a box. On the 9009 the efoy is fitted under the bed with a cut out in the floor for exhaust. The control panel fits above door and is connected using a Cat5 cable. Two wires from the Efoy go to the leisure batteries. It will come on as and when needed when switched to auto but so far as l have a solar panel it’s never come on, only when temperature drops below outside to keep the unit warm. They are expensive things and the methanol is expensive too. If it was not standard would l buy one now a days?, No as l said with solar and two leisure batteries it’s not needed. Back in 2011 when l had my first 9009, it was on most of the time. No solar then.

 

[AndyVW]

The way to look at Efoy .. Its like one large solar panel that produces when theres no sunlight, to recharge
the batts ,,, say over night. The best you can get is 8 Amp,s per hour, if thats enough for your usage,
you'll be full in the morning. If not Its not the way to go. I have one and im more concerned the methanol has gone off, as it hasn't kicked in in two years.

 

[Littlewheels]

The way to look at Efoy .. Its like one large solar panel that produces when theres no sunlight, to recharge
the batts ,,, say over night. The best you can get is 8 Amp,s per hour, if thats enough for your usage,
you'll be full in the morning. If not Its not the way to go. I have one and im more concerned the methanol has gone off, as it hasn't kicked in in two years.

And thats the benefit knowing that should you need it you have a 24hour reliable source of energy to charge your batteries.
I’ve currently been off grid for over three weeks, l have Solars and Lithium’s and all is well despite getting plenty of use from my set up but the knowledge that the EFoy system is there when needed stops the constant worry that l had prior.

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[Cairngorm]

If only for emergencies, you could consider a genny converted to gas.
Less expensive but heavier. Useful, perhaps, at home.
That's what I have done. I'd suggest the 1kW honda suitcase model.

So you bought the Honda and converted it to lpg?. How much did that cost please.

 

[Mousy]

We’ve got eFoy, last van had it too. One thing to consider if you are installing is the space you have available for the methanol container as one 10 litre is much cheaper than 2 x 5 litre

our last Hymer only had space for a 5lt, delivery charges can be high and it’s not the sort of stuff you want to store at home. The new vans eFoy locker takes 10 lts but we are lucky to have a ”silent” petrol generator fitted in a locker too.

 

[busbuddy]

The way to look at Efoy .. Its like one large solar panel that produces when theres no sunlight, to recharge
the batts ,,, say over night. The best you can get is 8 Amp,s per hour, if thats enough for your usage,
you'll be full in the morning. If not Its not the way to go. I have one and im more concerned the methanol has gone off, as it hasn't kicked in in two years.

Doubt the methanol will go off, we have ran our race car on it for decades and never had any go bad.....I think it will kill anything biological that might cause degrading

 

[funflair]

What they say is that it gets contaminated with the plasticiser from the container and this can cause problems in the fuel cell.

 

[Littlewheels]

We’ve got eFoy, last van had it too. One thing to consider if you are installing is the space you have available for the methanol container as one 10 litre is much cheaper than 2 x 5 litre

our last Hymer only had space for a 5lt, delivery charges can be high and it’s not the sort of stuff you want to store at home. The new vans eFoy locker takes 10 lts but we are lucky to have a ”silent” petrol generator fitted in a locker too.

l use the 5litre and found these people very competitive though delivered direct from Germany the cost was just short of €9.00 amazing,ordered Sunday delivered Wednesday morning.

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[busbuddy]

Does it come in clear plastic? Should be kept in the dark
It will dissolve cheap plastic

 

[TheDogMan]

I had one fitted in my Hobby Sphinx, when I PX it the dealer fitted in the replacement van FOC, its pretty good it just switches itself on and tops the battery up, I probably have too much power, I have two solar panels on the roof and the van also came with built in generator. we use very little gas as we have a fitted inverter. Yes I would recommend an efoy the fuel is expensive BUT a 10 litre lasts me the season.

 

[Littlewheels]

Does it come in clear plastic? Should be kept in the dark
It will dissolve cheap plastic

It’s an Efoy branded product l should think they know what they are doing

 

[TheDogMan]

Does it come in clear plastic? Should be kept in the dark
It will dissolve cheap plastic

It has to stay in the plastic bottle in comes in ! when it all used up you just put a new bottle on and away you go. if you change the bottle any left in the empty bottle is unusable so you only change the bottle when it is completely empty

 

[Pausim]

it’s not the sort of stuff you want to store at home.

Why? It is no more dangerous than storing a can of petrol in the garage at home and it is in a sealed container. Methanol is more difficult to ignite than petrol and it burns slower, it releases heat at one eighth the rate of petrol. If it does catch fire it can be attacked with water. I would much rather keep methanol at home than petrol.

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