EFOY Opinions?

[ceejayt]

Thinking of having an EFOY installed - not cheap! Wondered if anyone who has one has any opinions on how good or otherwise they are. I see they have a whole new range but starting at over £2,600

Secondly - anyone know who supplies and installs them and can recommend an installer?

Thanks

C

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

Thinking of having an EFOY installed - not cheap! Wondered if anyone who has one has any opinions on how good or otherwise they are. I see they have a whole new range but starting at over £2,600

Secondly - anyone know who supplies and installs them and can recommend an installer?

Thanks

C

Martin funflair had one for sale a few weeks back.

 

[ceejayt]

Martin funflair had one for sale a few weeks back.

Thanks - i see it on classifieds - have asked a couple of questions - it is an older model I think but reasonable price

 

[CazPaul]

Thought you had a built in genny?

 

[Taran_Las]

Mousy ?

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[funflair]

Thinking of having an EFOY installed - not cheap! Wondered if anyone who has one has any opinions on how good or otherwise they are. I see they have a whole new range but starting at over £2,600

Secondly - anyone know who supplies and installs them and can recommend an installer?

Thanks

C

Answers on the classified tread Chris, dead easy to install as its just a couple of power connections and plug in the control unit then a small hole for the drain pipe, no need for external ventilation if it can go in a reasonably well ventilated locker, I had it in the garage but with hindsight it should not have been right under our bed as on the odd occasion that it switched one while we were using the van you could hear the pump running, well I couldn't but Jen could as it was under her side

 

[ceejayt]

Thought you had a built in genny?

I do. Thinking of ditching it It’s great but not very sociable. Or just keep it as a backup to the backup

 

[CazPaul]

I do. Thinking of ditching it It’s great but not very sociable. Or just keep it as a backup to the backup

If it’s integrated in I would keep it it will help with reselling too.

 

[ceejayt]

If it’s integrated in I would keep it it will help with reselling too.

Yes. You are right. Easier to leave it in fir sure and put Efoy in garage or locker

 

[dulvil]

I’ve had one for about 11/12 years now ,it’s great. Keeps batteries topped up

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[Gaston aires]

This my take on it never having had Efoy.
Has solar, coupled with lithium or gel battery systems not done away with the need of Generators and Efoy ?
More questions than answers I know but I would spend my moneh on them first.
Phil

 

[Guigsy]

Aren't the power outputs terrible? Wouldn't a solar panel be better?

 

[Coastal Cruiser.]

but reasonable price

He’s from up north you know?

 

[Minxy]

Clive Mott would you share your experience please.

 

[funflair]

He’s from up north you know?

And he’s open to sensible offers before the fuel goes out of date

Up north thar know’s.

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[Clewsy]

We have an Efoy 210. Our van also has 4 solar panels each giving 90 Wp (so 360Wp in total). We used to have 3 x 110 Ah gel batteries but changed these to 3 x 100 Ah lithium last October – we have not used the van in anger much since changing to lithium so its too early to judge the difference.

The van is 7 years old, we had it from new and we full timed in it for the first 3.5 years, mostly without electric hook up. As I was working from the van some of this time we needed to be sure that we did not run out of electricity and we never came close to doing that.

In 7 years we have used 3 x 10 litre Efoy fuel cartridges and it has run a total of 290 hours. Some of this has because we deliberately ran it when fuel cartridges were going out of date.

If I were starting now I probably wouldn’t bother with the Efoy but we no longer full time or work from the van so our needs are different. The solar set up will be more than sufficient for most of our needs but I’m keeping the Efoy – just in case!

 

[uzsnowdrop]

Interesting thread, still dont know what an EFOY is.. small purring animal?

 

[funflair]

Interesting thread, still dont know what an EFOY is.. small purring animal?

Its a box of tricks that makes 12v from methanol fuel, it is very quiet though, not as in a quiet generator I mean properly quiet and the only exhaust is a little bit of hot air and a few drips of water.

 

[Pausim]

We have an Efoy and I think it is great. Solar is cheaper but the Efoy works well all year, in any type of weather and in any level of shading. I have the 140 which runs steadily at 5+ Amps and easily keeps on top of my daily demand of about 40Ah.

The UK importer and main agent is

https://www.fuelcellsystems.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwweyFBhDvARIsAA67M70p4mzQFBoGMgWERNn4vNe-BIhHIBP3_SRQZwdQfq6TGU9l4VutDGoaApR-EALw_wcB

in Hungerford. They are extremely helpful, knowledgeable and definitely the UK experts on the devices. They don’t mind if you eventually buy it from another agent. I would speak to them first.

 

[ceejayt]

Everyone says the fitting is very straightforward but U an like a chocolate fireguard when it comes to DIY. Need an agent that will also install

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[Pausim]

The most difficult part of the installation is finding the cable routes so I would first look to get the installation done by someone familiar with your make of motorhome. Talk to Fuel Cell Systems, they may know of a firm in your area which has recently installed one in a motorhome. The Efoy will have been supplied by them because dealers/agents are unlikely to keep one on their own shelves.

 

[ceejayt]

Probably easiest fir me to get RS to do it then

 

[funflair]

Probably easiest fir me to get RS to do it then

That was going to be my suggestion, there is a remote panel but I just fitted that in the garage so no cable runs inside, the automatic settings on it are quite good so it just looks after itself, or more importantly the batteries, our's does have a LiFePO4 profile.

 

[ceejayt]

I do wonder what it is that makes them so expensive? I reckon the margin on them must be huge

 

[funflair]

I do wonder what it is that makes them so expensive? I reckon the margin on them must be huge

Like a lot of things

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[peterc10]

the only exhaust is a little bit of hot air and a few drips of water.

Just like many funsters then

 

[Portland]

We had an EFOY for many years and you just start it up and let it run they only trickle charge but are really good. That said I wonder how they compere against a good Solar system, that for you to decide with your circumstances.
I do know where there is a good used 1600 unit for sale so if your interested give me a PM and I will contact the chap, he lives in Kent.

 

[ceejayt]

We had an EFOY for many years and you just start it up and let it run they only trickle charge but are really good. That said I wonder how they compere against a good Solar system, that for you to decide with your circumstances.
I do know where there is a good used 1600 unit for sale so if your interested give me a PM and I will contact the chap, he lives in Kent.

Work when solar doesn't is I guess the main reason as we tend to use our van as much in the winter as we do in the summer.

 

[CazPaul]

Just my opinion but I think you are crazy, for the few times when the solar isn’t putting much in, winter, etc you have 230v power at the press of a switch from sat inside in the warmth in your van.
Not sure what make underslung generator you have but we had a Dometic Tec 29 inbuilt on a previous van, a great bit of kit in winter on quiet sites.

 

[funflair]

Just my opinion but I think you are crazy, for the few times when the solar isn’t putting much in, winter, etc you have 230v power at the press of a switch from sat inside in the warmth in your van.
Not sure what make underslung generator you have but we had a Dometic Tec 29 inbuilt on a previous van, a great bit of kit in winter on quiet sites.

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