Just in the process of buying a van and setting it up for touring and running most things on 12volt, just wondering if any one out there has had any experience with the EFOY Fuel cell system for recharging batteries.
Many thanks for any info.
KFT said
05:29 PM Oct 8, 2015
Welcome to the forum NFA
While you wait for someone with experience of those units do a search using the item in the blue bar at the top of the page under the ads. Try a few different search words and see how you go.
We are a happy lot in here and enjoy ribbing each other as well as helping to solve issues.
The polo shirts in the forum shop are a nice item, they look good and are very comfortable. They immediately identify you as a member to anyone else out and about.
frank
Dougwe said
07:18 PM Oct 8, 2015
Welcome to the gang NFA, enjoy here and out in the playground.
Sorry, I have never heard of what you ask so can't help but sure someone here will know something so I wait in the back stalls.
Hey KFC, are they pork ribs you are talking about mate?? I love pork ribs so tell me when and where mate.
Just be careful of KFC, NFA as he is king of going See, he just made me do it.
KFT said
07:22 PM Oct 8, 2015
Yeah Doug, cooked in my Weber bbq and they are yummo
seems I am off the OP topic but on topic with Dougwe who has hijacked this thread (again)
chief of hijacking hey?
hehehe
KFT
Woody n Sue said
07:52 PM Oct 8, 2015
And it's welcome from us two 2 NFA I too have never heard of that which you speak
Doug we had some spare ribs cooked them in the old verticle grill yummmmmm o you should have been here delish they were , dang have I gone off topic too
Gotta stop doing that
Jaahn said
10:13 PM Oct 8, 2015
No Fixed Address wrote:
Hi Folks,
Very new at this...my 1st post!
Just in the process of buying a van and setting it up for touring and running most things on 12volt, just wondering if any one out there has had any experience with the EFOY Fuel cell system for recharging batteries.
Many thanks for any info.
Hi,
I have no experience with these fuel cells but I believe there is a member who has used them in Europe while touring there. They may reply for themselves.
However they do look to me like a great unit but at a great cost. If purchased here in Australia the cost is even greater, as is usual Prices overseas are still high. So solar panels look pretty good and that is what I use along with most others I guess.
Jaahn
No Fixed Address said
07:15 AM Oct 9, 2015
Thanks to all who replied...and for those who got off topic... I am a great fan of spare ribs!
Peter_n_Margaret said
01:15 AM Oct 10, 2015
I have an Efoy 2200 that we have been using for the last 2 years when the 'sun don't shine' in Europe.
Great bit of kit.
We bought it from a friend so got it at the right price. Very expensive otherwise.
It is installed inside the van.
It produces a constant 90W battery charge (7,5A at 12V) and can run 24/7 if required.
It is a very small and light 'package'.
It makes about the same noise as a compressor fridge.
The 'waste' products are a little CO2 and some pure water. www.efoy.com/
The Australian agent is Kimberley Kampers. They offer them as an option.
Cheers,
Peter
Jaahn said
09:49 AM Oct 10, 2015
Hi Peter,
Thanks for that reply about the fuel cell. Interesting piece of kit ! Perhaps you would answer a couple of other questions too.
Do they produce some heat also when working ?
They need a specific fuel. Purity is important I guess. How is the cost of that per Whr.
Any maintainance required ?
Cheers jaahn
No Fixed Address said
12:04 PM Oct 10, 2015
I just got a quote from a dealer near Wollongong NSW, $7000 for a small unit $10000 for the larger unit (installation is extra) and $195 for a fuel cell which could last 2 to 3 months. But you still need solar or another form of recharging as well.
I then spoke to a company that installs these units to power remote comms equipment. (quote was similar price) This bloke was a tech and advised that there is virtually nil emissions and no heat due it's a catalytic process, a small amount of CO2 and H2O is produced, and it's extremely quiet. He also advised at this stage it is not worth the cost for a caravan type setup, like solar panels once they become common the price goes down. So unless you've got the cash to splash, a couple of solar panels and small petrol generator for a few hundred dollars to top up your batteries, etc seems the go.
Cruising Cruze said
11:09 PM Oct 10, 2015
Hi Ron
Are you not better of with a LifePo4 system
from that 7 or 10 grand you get heaps of change back
and if you get a 200 system you can nearly do what ever you want ( So I've been told )
Cheers John
Ondabeach said
12:55 AM Oct 11, 2015
Cover the roof of your van in solar panels, it'll cost a lot less, give you more power and cost nothing to run. Fuel cells will be great when the prices come down, but we have get so much sun down under that solar is the only way to go if you have the roof area to exploit.
Jaahn said
04:39 PM Oct 11, 2015
Hi,
For general information I will answer my own questions after reading the manuals on line.
The manual says; the moisture-saturated waste gases temperature may exceed 60deg C when operating. They must be vented outside because they may contain harmful substances. There is a hose for this purpose.
The methanol fuel use is 0.9 liters/KWhr. Which for the small 80 unit is about 0.9 liters per 24 hour day. Charging 3.3 A into a 12v battery. The bottles of fuel supplied are also very expensive !
No maintainance required except for some service fluid when it asks for some ??? Hmm not sure about that !
Jaahn
Peter_n_Margaret said
05:21 AM Oct 13, 2015
From experience... They emit a small amount of waste heat and CO2 which can be vented INSIDE the vehicle. There is also a small amount of PURE water which can be sent to waste or directed to your water tank. The fuel is very high purity methanol which costs about $6/litre (I think) in Australia (less in Europe). It is necessary to use the fuel supplied by Efoy. No maintenance is required. The reference to "service fluid" is a requirement that may be needed if the unit has not been used for a long time. Ours did not need any after 2 years not being used. "Service fluid" I believe is simply about 100ml of methanol in a special bottle.
The great value of this devise is that it can operate fully automatically (switch on when battery low, switch off when fully charged) and the very quiet operation.
There is nothing else like this that can charge your batteries virtually silently when there is no sun. "Installation" took me about 10 minutes.
Cheers, Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Tuesday 13th of October 2015 05:23:03 AM
Long Weekend said
12:13 PM Oct 13, 2015
Hmm, methanol - isn't that another name for metholated spirits?
Murray
Jaahn said
12:47 PM Oct 13, 2015
Long Weekend wrote:
Hmm, methanol - isn't that another name for metholated spirits?
Murray
Hi Murray,
No ! That is actually enthanol with a bit of methanol in it to make it poisonous to drink as methanol is poisonous. The ethanol of course is what we like to drink as the active ingredient in boose of all types.
Methanol is used in racing fuel and making bio diesel and other processes. It can also be produced by mistake in bad brewing and kills people or sends them blind
Jaahn
Peter_n_Margaret said
06:14 PM Oct 14, 2015
Cruising Cruze wrote:
Hi Ron
Are you not better of with a LifePo4 system
from that 7 or 10 grand you get heaps of change back
and if you get a 200 system you can nearly do what ever you want ( So I've been told )
Cheers John
Does not matter if you use LiFePO4 batteries or lead acid batteries or some other sort, they all need charging.
You can not take out more than you put in.
The EFOY will charge LiFePO4 batteries too.
In my view fuel cells are not a replacement for solar, they supplement it (when there is no sun).
A petrol generator can do that, but has the problem of noise and pollution.
Cheers,
Peter
ps,..... We have finished our European adventure and so our EFOY is for sale.
Price is 3,000 Euros (a bargain), pick up in northern Germany. :)
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Wednesday 14th of October 2015 06:16:46 PM
dorian said
08:38 AM Oct 21, 2015
No Fixed Address wrote:
Just in the process of buying a van and setting it up for touring and running most things on 12volt, just wondering if any one out there has had any experience with the EFOY Fuel cell system for recharging batteries.
No experience, but I was reading about fuel cells recently. AFAICT, the author of the following article is suggesting that using an efficient fuel cell to charge a less efficient battery makes no sense.
Both the EFOY and VeGA units need a battery to cope with peak loads. Long term battery storage is not required because the energy is stored far more efficiently in the fuel these units run from. Because of their ability to deliver high current (and light weight), lithium batteries are ideal such partners.
-- Edited by dorian on Wednesday 21st of October 2015 08:43:50 AM
Hi Folks,
Very new at this...my 1st post!
Just in the process of buying a van and setting it up for touring and running most things on 12volt, just wondering if any one out there has had any experience with the EFOY Fuel cell system for recharging batteries.
Many thanks for any info.
While you wait for someone with experience of those units do a search using the item in the blue bar at the top of the page under the ads. Try a few different search words and see how you go.
We are a happy lot in here and enjoy ribbing each other as well as helping to solve issues.
The polo shirts in the forum shop are a nice item, they look good and are very comfortable. They immediately identify you as a member to anyone else out and about.
frank
Welcome to the gang NFA, enjoy here and out in the playground.
See, he just made me do it.
Sorry, I have never heard of what you ask so can't help but sure someone here will know something so I wait in the back stalls.
Hey KFC, are they pork ribs you are talking about mate?? I love pork ribs so tell me when and where mate.
Just be careful of KFC, NFA as he is king of going
seems I am off the OP topic but on topic with Dougwe who has hijacked this thread (again)
chief of hijacking hey?
hehehe
KFT
Doug we had some spare ribs cooked them in the old verticle grill yummmmmm o you should have been here delish they were , dang have I gone off topic too
Gotta stop doing that
Hi,
I have no experience with these fuel cells but I believe there is a member who has used them in Europe while touring there. They may reply for themselves.
However they do look to me like a great unit but at a great cost. If purchased here in Australia the cost is even greater, as is usual
Prices overseas are still high. So solar panels look pretty good and that is what I use along with most others I guess.
Jaahn
Thanks to all who replied...and for those who got off topic... I am a great fan of spare ribs!
Great bit of kit.
We bought it from a friend so got it at the right price. Very expensive otherwise.
It is installed inside the van.
It produces a constant 90W battery charge (7,5A at 12V) and can run 24/7 if required.
It is a very small and light 'package'.
It makes about the same noise as a compressor fridge.
The 'waste' products are a little CO2 and some pure water.
www.efoy.com/
The Australian agent is Kimberley Kampers. They offer them as an option.
Cheers,
Peter
Hi Peter,
Thanks for that reply about the fuel cell. Interesting piece of kit ! Perhaps you would answer a couple of other questions too.
Do they produce some heat also when working ?
They need a specific fuel. Purity is important I guess. How is the cost of that per Whr.
Any maintainance required ?
Cheers jaahn
I just got a quote from a dealer near Wollongong NSW, $7000 for a small unit $10000 for the larger unit (installation is extra) and $195 for a fuel cell which could last 2 to 3 months. But you still need solar or another form of recharging as well.
I then spoke to a company that installs these units to power remote comms equipment. (quote was similar price) This bloke was a tech and advised that there is virtually nil emissions and no heat due it's a catalytic process, a small amount of CO2 and H2O is produced, and it's extremely quiet. He also advised at this stage it is not worth the cost for a caravan type setup, like solar panels once they become common the price goes down. So unless you've got the cash to splash, a couple of solar panels and small petrol generator for a few hundred dollars to top up your batteries, etc seems the go.
Hi Ron
Are you not better of with a LifePo4 system
from that 7 or 10 grand you get heaps of change back
and if you get a 200 system you can nearly do what ever you want ( So I've been told )
Cheers John
Cover the roof of your van in solar panels, it'll cost a lot less, give you more power and cost nothing to run. Fuel cells will be great when the prices come down, but we have get so much sun down under that solar is the only way to go if you have the roof area to exploit.
Hi,
For general information I will answer my own questions after reading the manuals on line.
The manual says; the moisture-saturated waste gases temperature may exceed 60deg C when operating.
They must be vented outside because they may contain harmful substances. There is a hose for this purpose.
The methanol fuel use is 0.9 liters/KWhr. Which for the small 80 unit is about 0.9 liters per 24 hour day. Charging 3.3 A into a 12v battery. The bottles of fuel supplied are also very expensive !
No maintainance required except for some service fluid when it asks for some ??? Hmm not sure about that !
Jaahn
From experience...
They emit a small amount of waste heat and CO2 which can be vented INSIDE the vehicle. There is also a small amount of PURE water which can be sent to waste or directed to your water tank.
The fuel is very high purity methanol which costs about $6/litre (I think) in Australia (less in Europe). It is necessary to use the fuel supplied by Efoy.
No maintenance is required. The reference to "service fluid" is a requirement that may be needed if the unit has not been used for a long time. Ours did not need any after 2 years not being used. "Service fluid" I believe is simply about 100ml of methanol in a special bottle.
The great value of this devise is that it can operate fully automatically (switch on when battery low, switch off when fully charged) and the very quiet operation.
There is nothing else like this that can charge your batteries virtually silently when there is no sun.
"Installation" took me about 10 minutes.
Cheers,
Peter
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Tuesday 13th of October 2015 05:23:03 AM
Murray
Hi Murray,
No ! That is actually enthanol with a bit of methanol in it to make it poisonous to drink as methanol is poisonous. The ethanol of course is what we like to drink as the active ingredient in boose of all types.
Methanol is used in racing fuel and making bio diesel and other processes. It can also be produced by mistake in bad brewing and kills people or sends them blind
Jaahn
Does not matter if you use LiFePO4 batteries or lead acid batteries or some other sort, they all need charging.
You can not take out more than you put in.
The EFOY will charge LiFePO4 batteries too.
In my view fuel cells are not a replacement for solar, they supplement it (when there is no sun).
A petrol generator can do that, but has the problem of noise and pollution.
Cheers,
Peter
ps,..... We have finished our European adventure and so our EFOY is for sale.
Price is 3,000 Euros (a bargain), pick up in northern Germany. :)
-- Edited by Peter_n_Margaret on Wednesday 14th of October 2015 06:16:46 PM
No experience, but I was reading about fuel cells recently. AFAICT, the author of the following article is suggesting that using an efficient fuel cell to charge a less efficient battery makes no sense.
http://caravanandmotorhomebooks.com/fuel-cells-for-caravans
-- Edited by dorian on Wednesday 21st of October 2015 08:43:50 AM