EFOY Fuel Cells - Thoughts?

dLj

dLj

.
Mar 23, 2017
4,728
Belliure 41 Back in the Chesapeake
GeneraiT001 said:
Aside from being pricey...$5,000 - $8,000 does anyone have any experience or thoughts on these?

EFOY Fuel Cell Generator Systems | Fisheries Supply

EFOY fuel cell generators are compact, lightweight, and environmentally friendly power sources that convert chemical energy from methanol into electrical ...
www.fisheriessupply.com www.fisheriessupply.com
Click to expand
No direct experience with them, but just looking over the specs and understanding how fuel cells work - it wouldn't be anything I'd consider on my boat.... Prices are insane (for my budget), output is too low (unless you go to the biggest unit available, and that's more output than I'd need), and how do you get refills, as in where do you buy them? They certainly are not available anywhere I've been sailing... There did not seem to be a canister that allows you to refill it...

Here's what it says on the website:

"Extremely high energy density
10 litres (2.64 Gal.) of methanol has a capacity of 11.1 kWh of energy and weighs just 8.4 kg. To deliver the same quantity of energy, around 280 kg of lead-gel batteries would be needed.
With a single M10 fuel cartridge you can use your notebook to plan 1,000 outings, you can enjoy 700 cups of coffee from your automatic coffee maker, you can transmit 550 hours of radio messages from your boat or you can eat 800 slices of fresh toast ... and all this fully independent of a mains electrical supply. Enjoy the freedom. "

A lot of marketing BS as far as I'm concerned...

dj
 
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jssailem

jssailem

SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
Oct 22, 2014
23,727
CAL 35 Cruiser #21 moored EVERETT WA
Beyond expensive initial costs...
Trigger wording for me regarding METHANOL :
  • Toxic
  • Colorless
  • Volatile flammable Liquid Alcohol
:yikes:
 
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danstanford

danstanford

.
Aug 2, 2010
540
J-Boat J/99 Cobourg
I have seen quite a few on ocean race boat listings. If you are running lots of load over a multi-day race you either need something like this, a much heaver battery bank, or to run your engine on a race boat. I can see the appeal.
 
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marcham

marcham

.
Jun 17, 2022
368
Hunter 380 Comox BC
Pros:
1. Simple installation
2. Will recharge batteries automatically based on state of charge
3. Way safer than a gas generator
4. Safe to carry the fuel onbard
5. Almost silent

Cons:
1. Initial cost
2. A few years ago they doubled the cost of the fuel cannisters...
3. You're pretty much stuck with them as the supplier for the fuel
4. If you use it 3-4 hrs 365 days a week the costs will add up very quickly.
5. High price / kWh

I know one boater that has one, I came close to installing one as well. He goes through 2-3 cannisters per season, doing a few 1-2 week trips. His use case was limited solar panel coverage on a power boat. Cruising in the PNW, it makes sense from Oct to March, as solar doesn't do much at that time of year.

If you have decent sun exposure, I'd stick to solar. A little more complex to install but much cheaper than Efoy if you do it yourself.

If you're space limited for solar and/or you sail when there's cloud coverage, it's a good option that doesn't take much space on the boat. If you can get 400W + of solar and you have plenty of sunshine... .I'd stick with solar.
 
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SycloneDriver

SycloneDriver

.
Jul 23, 2009
919
Beneteau 31 Oceanis Grand Lake, Oklahoma
I was just looking over the specs on these units a short time ago. The thought of silent almost effortless power generation is appealing, the cost of the unit and the fuel is very expensive for the amount of power delivered.
 
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