EFoy

jhbgaiem

jhbgaiem

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Does anyone here use Efoy batteries as an alternative to solar panels?
They are very expensive but they seem to be one solution for getting more power without using a generator.
 
jhbgaiem said:
Does anyone here use Efoy batteries as an alternative to solar panels?
They are very expensive but they seem to be one solution for getting more power without using a generator.
Click to expand...

Hi

This is the Link Removed you refer to.

Until prices drop I wouldn't consider it, for the half the money you could have a large solar array.. with no running costs. There is also the problem of sourcing and storing methanol .
 
Thanks for the link Jim. Is the web site owner a funster?:Smile:

I too have been looking at supplementing our power supply.

I am hoping to go skiing in our RV and I'm worried about keeping warm as I have no idea what sort of hook up (if any) will be available.

I'm also unsure if we will be able to use the slideouts as that is bound to really let out the heat.:thumbdown:

We have an oil filled radiator (which I leave plugged in when at home if a frost is predicted ,I'm not sure of it's electrical needs) and the RV is fitted with a thermostatically controlled "furnace" which i believe draws its power from the LPG tank.

Any thoughts?:BigGrin:

Andy
 
AJHales said:
Thanks for the link Jim. Is the web site owner a funster?:Smile:

I too have been looking at supplementing our power supply.

I am hoping to go skiing in our RV and I'm worried about keeping warm as I have no idea what sort of hook up (if any) will be available.

I'm also unsure if we will be able to use the slideouts as that is bound to really let out the heat.:thumbdown:

We have an oil filled radiator (which I leave plugged in when at home if a frost is predicted ,I'm not sure of it's electrical needs) and the RV is fitted with a thermostatically controlled "furnace" which i believe draws its power from the LPG tank.

Any thoughts?:BigGrin:

Andy
Click to expand...
Taking one thing at a time and apologising if I'm teaching you to suck eggs
You should be concerned about power reserves, although as you say your heating is run on gas, RVs are blown air and the fan eats battery's, no power =no fan=heating shut down, it wont run without the fan blowing

Having the slide in or out makes a little difference but not a lot, the heating can cope when its running with the larger area, of course the smaller the room the less gas will be consumed to heat it to the desired temp

Most oil filled heaters are between 3/4 and 2 KW with variable settings, you will find the size of yours on a label attached to the heater,these can not be run of batteries

Given the climate your going to and the possibilities of no hook up I would carry a small generator approx 2 kW, a fraction of the cost to run than the main on board one unless your main Genny also runs on LPG
Geo

ps another thing to find out is to see if on board genny will start with very low house battery and check if battery link relay works, Mine didnt!!!!
 
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AJHales said:
Thanks for the link Jim. Is the web site owner a funster?:Smile:

I too have been looking at supplementing our power supply.

I am hoping to go skiing in our RV and I'm worried about keeping warm as I have no idea what sort of hook up (if any) will be available.

I'm also unsure if we will be able to use the slideouts as that is bound to really let out the heat.:thumbdown:

We have an oil filled radiator (which I leave plugged in when at home if a frost is predicted ,I'm not sure of it's electrical needs) and the RV is fitted with a thermostatically controlled "furnace" which i believe draws its power from the LPG tank.

Any thoughts?:BigGrin:

Andy
Click to expand...

Hi Andy

I wouldn't consider going to a winter location for any more than a couple of days without a 16A hook up..
As Geo says, blown air gas heating is good but it eats batteries, and drinks LPG at an alarming rate.
A 2kw genny would be on for several hours a day just to keep the bateries charged, that's assuming you have a decent charger, most RVS come ill equiped in the charger department, .. IMO a genny isn't a viable option in winter.

I recomend fitting two oil filled wall mounted panel heaters, around 800 watt each, this will keep the temp about 10 deg above ambient .. extra heat can be provided by using a portable fan heater on low power, and as a last resort use the gas blown air to boost the temp up to a comfy 22c

Another tip, fit an electric blanket .. :thumb::thumb:

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Thanks for the advice Geo,
So to sum up (hopefully):Wink: :-
Furnace will work great but running out of propane isn't what should concern me it's running out of battery power needed for the fans that the furnace needs!!
The oil filled heater is no good unless I can hook up to the mains (or want to run the generator)
Darren (from motorhome medics) checked out the RV and arrange for the coach and engine batteries to charge up no matter the source and if needed (because the coach battery is flat) the engine battery can be used to start up the genny (which runs on petrol ...I think).
Don't think the misses will let me buy anything at the moment, so I'm just wishing and dreaming about what I could/should/hope to buy :BigGrin:Andy
 
jhbgaiem said:
Does anyone here use Efoy batteries as an alternative to solar panels?
They are very expensive but they seem to be one solution for getting more power without using a generator.
Click to expand...

We fit Efoy systems at work, the boss has one fitted in his new Swift and swears by it. :thumb:
 
Errrrrrrrrr don't think its that much money !

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Hi their was a big thread about the EFOY on the "other" site last week, general consensus was; buy a genny :BigGrin:

According to eddie vanbitz who used to flog them, its the availability of the methanol cartridges that's a big problem, only about 40-50 dealers stock it, and it can't be delivered, pick up only.

The situation abroad is better, but not ideal, 1 cartridge will last about a week apparently.

DAB reckons on waiting until Truma LPG fuel cells become available late next year.

Olley
 
ScotJimland said:
Category: Power on the move
Manufacturer: Efoy (SFC)
Price: £2,579.00
SKU: EFOY FUEL CELL 1200


see above link
Click to expand...

Jim, I will check on our price but didn't think it was that much:Smile:
 
Reply from work:
Eileen, There are four power outputs of the Efoy, 600, 900,1200 and 1600. We
use the 1600 unit which generates 5.4 amp when needed. The two best sellers
are the 600 and the 1600. On all units we offer free fitting (max 2 hours)
and a free 5 litre cartridge of fuel. So on each Efoy unit there is a saving
of £100. Our unit has run for 120 hours and used 3/4 of a 10 litre fuel
container. There is very little noise, on fact we sleep on the bed over the
Efoy unit and cant hear it.

600:- £1649
900:- £2099
1200:-£2599
1600:-£2999
5 litres of fuel:- £17.99
10 litres of fuel:-£26.99

We have also developed a way of putting the output of the Efoy back into the
charging/240v system with the use a high power inverter. However this is
costly and not really needed. We have also fitted more Efoy systems than
anybody else in the U.K!!

Seems right Jim - sorry only had price for smaller system in my head. Boss is happy to answer any questions from members and I will give mobile phone number by PM if asked. :Smile:
 
Thanks Eileen for your detailed and informative reply ..

Jim

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The social side of generators

Hi all

We wild camp 99.9% of the time and we do come across the odd generator or two, my thoughts, and this seems almost universal amongs the people we meet who dont have generators, is that they are a bloody nusiance and they are used by people who dont give a dam for anybody else. but of course this is a personal view and we are not all the same, I have my tin hat on waiting........ Hi HI.

Doug and Sandra.
 
dougcumiskey said:
Hi all

We wild camp 99.9% of the time and we do come across the odd generator or two, my thoughts, and this seems almost universal amongs the people we meet who dont have generators, is that they are a bloody nusiance and they are used by people who dont give a dam for anybody else. but of course this is a personal view and we are not all the same, I have my tin hat on waiting........ Hi HI.

Doug and Sandra.
Click to expand...

TIN HAT not needed ! you have only said what every one else on this site thinks ! by the way what boat ? i had a 32 ft. sadler in Dartmouth for a couple of years .....and,,,,i like the HooPoe !!!! regards Stephen. :Wink:
 
steve4kay said:
TIN HAT not needed ! you have only said what every one else on this site thinks !
Click to expand...


Never knew you were clairvoyant... :RollEyes:

I for one happen to disagree, but I won't be drawn into an argument about the pros/cons of gennies, live and let live is my motto, if I don't like something I move on..
 
ScotJimland said:
Never knew you were clairvoyant... :RollEyes:

I for one happen to disagree, but I won't be drawn into an argument about the pros/cons of gennies, live and let live is my motto, if I don't like something I move on..
Click to expand...

Ah! but what about if I am there first, I have found the the people who use generators are blind to the nusiance they course. Do I have to leave or what?
 
ScotJimland said:
I for one happen to disagree, but I won't be drawn into an argument about the pros/cons of gennies,
Click to expand...

dougcumiskey said:
Ah! but what about if I am there first, I have found the the people who use generators are blind to the nusiance they course. Do I have to leave or what?
Click to expand...

see above.. :Smile:

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Quote "you have only said what every one else on this site thinks" not true I'm with Jim not all gennie users are irresponsible. Can you explain why I should ask anyone else if I can run my gennie when it is within the rules. No one asks me if I mind their dog barking or their kids screaming and shouting. As Jim says "live and let live". :thumb:
 
Just to update you all we had 203 hours use out of 10l of fuel in the Efoy. However they are going up in price this month! The N.E.C next week maybe the last time we will see the Efoy at the lower price:cry:



Dan
 
Q = Freeze to death or use the Genny.
A = Use the Genny.

Jim :Smile:
 
Hi from what other posters have said most winter sites abroad charge by the watt, and it can work out very expensive, I believe someone mentioned around £60 per week at Camping Arlberg in Austria.

Olley
 
olley said:
Hi from what other posters have said most winter sites abroad charge by the watt, and it can work out very expensive, I believe someone mentioned around £60 per week at Camping Arlberg in Austria.

Olley
Click to expand...

Many campers have been shouting off about how expensive is the fixed charge for electricity on many sites.

Many have said that they would prefer a meter with a charge per unit.

Now they are seeing that th4 charge per unit is so high I bet they are now wishing for the older cheaper fixed charge.

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djchapple said:
Many campers have been shouting off about how expensive is the fixed charge for electricity on many sites.

Many have said that they would prefer a meter with a charge per unit.

Now they are seeing that th4 charge per unit is so high I bet they are now wishing for the older cheaper fixed charge.
Click to expand...

I was thinking exactly the same thing, talking to people at the NEC they were telling us that they couldn't afford the cost of the electric when they were away:Eeek:

As for power, Scotlandjim is right (as he often is except about campsites:Rofl1:) Oil filled rads and panel heaters are a great source of heating when power is available, and most RV chargers are not that effective. We have a Sterling 50amp four stage charger that bangs in, virually 50 amps when the genny is running (we can always find the odd hour or so to run the genny some time during the day without upsetting some one) The Winnie had a 40amp Magnatek charger in which only actually charged at about 9 amps which is why we changed it. We wanted the biggest quickest charge to make the most when the genny was running.

EFoy is OK and yes I sell them so I am biased as well :Smile: I would advise anyone to get the OK from their insurance company before buying one.

We had a customer last week that was in tears having shelled out £3K for his when he bought the van, that his insurance company limited him to 5Ltrs of methanol only. The fuel is in 10 ltr containers and he had three on board. A straw poll of our own insurers :Eeek:confirmed that 5 ltrs was the most that we would be allowed to carry.

Better to ask and be sure as all companies differ

Eddie
 
Why would anybody want to carry 30 litres of fuel! Thats approx 800 hours run time! I would imagine a 5l container would last in excess of 100 hours if used with a 1600 Efoy, more if the smaller units are used. Has for insurance Norwich Union/Aviva have no limits for the carrying of methanol for private use.


Hope this helps.
 
I would advise anyone to check with their insurers before carrying methanol.

The 800 hours run time is theoretical :Smile: They quote for example 910 hours use with a 10 watt bulb 9100 watts divided by 12 (the multiplier they use) gives you 758 Amps! The maximum the Efoy 1600 puts out is 130 amps per day (Their figures) so 758 divided by 130 amps equals 5.8 days use from a 10 ltr container

Now I have two 125 batteries and can last without hookup for two days in the winter so my theoretcial use is approximately 125 amps a day, so: 758 divided by 125 = 6 days use of of one 10 ltr canister! These are base on SFC (Smart Fuel Cells) own figures.

Now I know that some use there systems very frugally and could really make this figure last much longer but at £3000 I would not want to compromise using power, that would be the rational for getting the thing!

Add to this so few people stock the methanol and your quicky forced into carrying a couple of spares wen away for a winter trip.

We asked four different insureres for a customer of ours and the general agreement is 5 Ltrs

Eddie
 
eddievanbitz said:
As for power, Scotlandjim is right (as he often is except about campsites:Rofl1:)
Click to expand...

that's bellow the belt Eddie :cry::cry::cry:

The solution to all the problems (Eddies too) is a cell that runs on 'black waste' .. Site owners would then be BUYING it.. instead of charging for it.. :Laughing::Laughing: and when a big un rolled up .. whoopeee .. it's Christmas time :Rofl1::Rofl1:
 
dylan said:
Errrrrrrrrr don't think its that much money !
Click to expand...

Just edited 'cos I have now read the whole thread (Doh!)

Bit disappionted to read that whichever way you calculate it the use of the methanol is higher than I thought it would be.

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