E FOY Fuel Cell Generator

[phantomracer]

Originally Posted by Big Joe Bob

Hi,

Great thread by the way...................


I assume that your referance to refigiration you are referring to Air Conditioning.

Question....................... can you run Air-con from you batteries. ?

I am installing a refrigeration system in the icebox in our boat this winter (not air conditioning), which we need to recharge the batteries when the boat is not in use in order to keep the fridge running between use.

[Big Joe Bob]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Sorry I think you are slightly confused. Refrigeration as in refrigerator where you store cold food.

It is not practical to run air conditioning from batteries. Even a very small air conditioner will draw so much power it would take a ton of batteries to run even one night.

Skipmac,

Thant’s for clearing that up, that’s what I originally thought.

If you can’t run Aircon with an EFOY, then what’s the point, as the sun is free and solar is cheap.

[phantomracer]

Originally Posted by Big Joe Bob

Skipmac,

Thant’s for clearing that up, that’s what I originally thought.

If you can’t run Aircon with an EFOY, then what’s the point, as the sun is free and solar is cheap.

true, but its also bigger, heavier, uglier, add windage, exposed to the elements and works poorly at night and bad weather.

I am sure if you had to run air conditioning using solar as the battery recharger.. you would need a lot of panels to keep up with the draw. Be no worse off than the efoy.

Like with solar, you can run more than one efoy at a time and get greater, safe, hidden, quiet, reliable, albeit expensive , power. still probably not practical to run air though.. never looked into it myself.

[Big Joe Bob]

Originally Posted by phantomracer

I am installing a refrigeration system in the icebox in our boat this winter (not air conditioning), which we need to recharge the batteries when the boat is not in use in order to keep the fridge running between use.

Paul,

OK, thanks for that.

We fitted aircon and a 5KW generator a few years back, we have 2 refrigeration units big TV etc. and use a LOT of power.
Would have considered a EFOY, if they had more power.

[zboss]

The efoy is certainly a better and safer option for long distance smaller sailing vessels than festooning your boat with solar panels for the reasons previously mentioned.

If you think about the process around using any type of technology on your boat, there are certain rituals that are observed and the efoy simply offers an extension of that ritual...

If I were a small vessel it would be safer to remove potential problem solar panels (e.g. those hanging on the rail) during a passage and store them down below, supplementing with the efoy. Then when arriving across the ocean, put the solar back on so you do not have to use the efoy so much. This would extend the life of the efoy considerably and still allow you to use your solar. Its a complementary system.

[phantomracer]

Originally Posted by Big Joe Bob

Paul,

OK, thanks for that.

We fitted aircon and a 5KW generator a few years back, we have 2 refrigeration units big TV etc. and use a LOT of power.
Would have considered a EFOY, if they had more power.

right. got to pick your installation. I am sure fitting 2+ of the later units would likely work, but got to weigh the cost/benefit of it. generators have plenty of downsides, that have been mentioned earlier, for most sailors

There is no one right technology. got to pick what will work for your boat.

[phantomracer]

Knew this day would come! finally had to replace the methanol canister. Almost a year on one. So that is a good baseline.

I bought, but haven't installed, a refrigeration system ( the main reason for the EFOY), and will see how much more methanol I go through this season. Even if it is 2, that's still a pretty decent budget.

So far I am thrilled with the performance, value, ease of use and installation, noise level, safety level, and aesthetics. Only downside I can see is the initial cost of the system. If you are a energy hog, then this is surely a bargain!

[Alenka]

A new alternative to the Efoy would be the Hydromax 150.

Again, a fairly small, quite unit with a similar footprint. This unit runs on acid derived from apples and a salt solution (two small external tanks) which the unit mixes to produce hydrogen. From what I can determine the basic fuel comes in smallish containers as powder which you mix with water.

Max power is 180w with a charging capacity/day of 3600w. If my math is correct that equals 300 amp hours for a 12v system. Subject of course to the usual loss and charging inefficiencies/restraints.

The basic price in the UK is around £3,000 but then the naughty man tried to put VAT on which seems to put it back in the price bracket of the Efoy. Fuel costs £50 per 10 litres, no doubt plus VAT. Usage is 1.25 ltrs/KWh.

£50 per 10ltrs of fuel (8KWh) strikes me as being rather expensive and I would hazard a guess that Hydromax are trying too get as close to Efoy prices as they can regardless of base costs.

The salesmen was rather vague about the life of the unit and would only say that Hydromax have a policy of repair to ensure a long working life!!!

I have come to the conclusion that 200w of solar plus something of this sort would suffice for our needs (I have given up the idea of a diesel generator to power the AirCon, they are just too noisy in use for our liking) but current prices are too prohibitive for the current generation of machines.

A word of warning. If you search YouTube looking for Hydromax you might just end up watching videos on an all together different item which will surely raise an eyebrow!

[phantomracer]

very interesting concept. talk about thinking outside the box.

With any of these alternative fuel battery chargers (fuel cells), they are all a good augment to solar. A solar/fuel cell set up would be ideal, for sure. fuel cell will run less during the sunny day, extending the life of the fuel cell canister.

Don't know if I would be on the bleeding edge buying the Hydromax as it is a new concept/product. The efoy has been around a while, and the technology around longer than I have been alive. It is great having alternative engineering solutions for the power issues of todays boaters!

I don't have room (or desire) to have solar panels on our boat. No need, as the fuel cell seems like it can handle the load that I throw at it. If we were long distance cruiser, no doubt solar would be in the mix.

great find!

[COLINFLTENG]

hope to get efoy 180 if boat show price down

Sent from my SGH-I547C using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[phantomracer]

Just an update on the fuel cell.. now that the refrigerator is running and been using the boat a few weeks... so far so good.. seems to be getting about 4-5 weeks on a fuel canister.. not too bad.

it is more than up to the task of running the refrigerator, autopilot, electronics, etc while sailing..

I like it!

[COLINFLTENG]

Me too first week done working great

Sent from my SGH-I547C using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[phantomracer]

Originally Posted by COLINFLTENG

Me too first week done working great

Thats great!

[zboss]

Does the efoy have a three stage charger? How does the system know when to run or not? I would like the efoy to turn on when the voltage hits a given low and remain off while the voltage is above a certain level - is the charger programmable in this regard?

[phantomracer]

Originally Posted by zboss

Does the efoy have a three stage charger? How does the system know when to run or not? I would like the efoy to turn on when the voltage hits a given low and remain off while the voltage is above a certain level - is the charger programmable in this regard?

There is a sense wire. when the voltage gets lower (low 12.x) it will come on and run til it is (IIRC) 14.4v .

The unit is basically a battery charger. There are several stages..The efoy site has some technical information on the actual stages.

I believe it is adjustable, not positive though.