EFOY Pro Fuel Cell (Real World Thoughts and Usage Statistics on a Narrowboat)

I’m not sure what brought you to my page.. but welcome 🙂

As you may or may not know..  I have an EFOY Pro 2400 Duo installed on NB-EMMELINE, and there are at least 2 other boats I know of that also use something from the EFOY range.. (NB-PADDINGTON being one of them)

Everything in this page are my own thoughts on my installation and the running of it. Don’t take what I say here as gospel as I am not a qualified installer of these or any type of boat electrical or fuel system, so where I comment on the install – take it as that.. an example of how someone has done it (and not yet died from doing it wrong 🙂 ).. and seek professional advice before repeating anything I have done 🙂

General Thoughts

When we were planning on moving aboard, I did a lot of research regarding re-charging of the batteries as we will be liveaboards with absolutely no shore line – for many years to come – so we have to be totally self sufficient..  and trying to reduce the engine hours used for simply re-charging the batteries with a family of four aboard is not an easy task!

Of course, solar was a no brainer..  but what about those rainy or short winter days with little or no sun, or when the panels are simply covered by tree’s if moored in a bad location – or even snow and I don’t fancy going out there to sweep it off (lazy I know 🙂 ).. and what to do when we are in the middle of town.. or in an area where “The running of engines or generators beyond 8pm (or any time of day) is grossly frowned upon” (Thinking of Cropredy here, where the twitchers opposite sit at their living room windows overlooking the canal and start writing down boat numbers at 8:01pm 🙂 ).. and the batteries are low and I don’t fancy being woken up by the low battery alarm at 4am!

Space on the stern deck of our boat is very limited, so there were options of a suitcase petrol generator, small enough to stow away next to one of the rear lockers (and with the use it could get would need oil changes every other week! with lots of petrol cans stored in the gas locker – and as being in the middle of nowhere with no unleaded for the gennie is not an option..) and light enough to move to the bank whilst running.. but that would still not solve the “quiet or silent running” option.. A diesel generator would solve the fuel aspect – as I could siphon out the red diesel from the boat tanks, or run a fuel line from the fuel filter to it.. but there not small enough for me to stow away, weigh too much to lug about easily and are not exactly quiet.. and with both, were still limited via daylight running times, when the solar can possibly deal with it instead..

There was also the option of a fuel cell… whilst no where near the output of a gennie.. its silent ( or almost silent other than the occasional quiet chug of the pump, and the running of the air fan, neither of which you can hear standing on the bank right next to the boat) which means the option of night time running no matter where we are..

I have a lot of demand for Ah aboard NB-EMMELINE, not only because I work from home (as does the better half ( https://www.theenchantedannex.co.uk/ ) but with two kids also being home schooled from the boat, we have 2 x laptops (charged via 240v), 1 x QNap 8 Bay NAS box (which goes on occasionally when I need to access file stored in it), washing machine, microwave, Internet 4G Router, 240v TV, 240v XBOX (damn those things take a lot of power to run and will happily drain my battery bank in 4 hours!), 5 x phone chargers (2 run from a 12V car cigarette adaptor), a NiteCore Digicharge D4 battery charger (on 12v) for my ECIG and AA/AAA batteries, a 12v fridge and all the lights converted to LED (so at least that’s something taking less!)

To cover all this, there are 4 x 110A house batteries, connected to a 3kw Inverter.. with a 100A 12v alternator on the engine and 600w of solar on the roof going through a 40A controller. Would I have used the fuel cell differently when it was first installed..  Oh Yes..  There are lessons learned here, which have reduced the running times (and therefore the amount spent on fuel) considerably.. which I will cover later on..  and if I had done these sooner, the clock on the fuel cell would be reading a lot less running hours!

• Would I have a suitcase generator as well..  Possibly.. (but at the time of writing this – I don’t have one 🙂 ) As there are times when I look at the batteries, and the amps there taking and think to myself “If I put a gennie on the land line..  I can float charge them for a while and not worry about the washing machine pulling them down to <12.2v and damaging them even with the engine running..”

OK.. The fuel is expensive and hard to source when you compare it to petrol – this is my only concern as I get further and further north – further from my only fuel supplier.. The only people that seem to do it at the lowest price (and who to be honest are the only company I would trust to supply it for me) are Fuel Cell Systems based in Hungerford (https://www.fuelcellsystems.co.uk/) – which is handy as they are on the K&A (bridge 83) and just off the M4 if driving to them 🙂  They were the company that supplied the fuel cell, as well as a lot of advice on fitting and getting the best out of it, and I cannot fault them on their pre and post sales service or the unit they supplied.

If you are thinking of getting a fuel cell, or even just researching it for your boat (Narrow-boat, crystal gin palace, yogurt pot, sailing yacht or whatever), car, truck or even a camper-van – I would suggest you speak to them before anyone else – you will not regret it.

• Even if you want to power rack mounted computer equipment from you’re van (yes I work in IT)..  ( talking possible military, parking enforcement and/or police mobile speed cameras here – as the boo’s slowly rise from the background into a cacophony of geering ) there is even a unit – the EFOY Pro 12,000 Duo – that can be rack mounted and generate 500w ( 10A @ 24v, 20A @ 12v if you send it though a step-down transformer) – but I doubt that you would rack it in a data centre.. the storage of flammable materials it needs, in the data hall, will be frowned upon 🙂

So why did I decide on the EFOY Pro 2400 Duo.

The choice of a fuel cell over a generator was done..  but which one, and at what cost..

• I wanted to be able to connect 2 fuel bottles, so when one ran dry, the second would kick in, allowing me to change the empty one without turning the unit off, or at my leisure during the day when the rain eased so I didn’t get soaked getting the new bottle from the gas locker! (you can still swap an empty bottle over if you only have a single connection – there is a small tank in the unit that it runs from, and this is topped up from the larger external bottle – so quickly changing the empty is possible without turning it off – but do you want to do it at 3am? (as this will get used mostly during the night) – I dont!), and for longer running times if we were ever away from the boat for an extended time. So duo capability was a requirement.
  • This could be done with the optional DuoCartSwitch that’s available, allowing two bottles to be connected to a single fuel cell feed (or with the duo.. 4 bottles connected to two feeds).. but this was prohibitively expensive (we were talking three zeros here just for a connector!) so that’s out.. so were left with the range that has two connectors on it to start with.
• I wanted the best output I could get, obviously 🙂  so the 2400 was the choice over the 800 (which are both the same physical size). The 2400 can generate 9A @ 12v, the 800 can generate 3.7A @ 12v
• After speaking with Fuel Cell Systems about the EFOY comfort range, they recommended I consider the Pro range instead. The Pro range is designed for longer life, longer running times than the comfort, and comes with a 4500 hour/ 2 year warranty, which (I believe) is expandable to 5 years. So the Pro was the choice..
• There is also the option of buying two of them..  yes.. at twice the cost..  but in theory you can run 4 of these in parallel, producing upto 36A (with one of them taking the lead and controlling the other 3), but obviously, each needs fuel.. so with 4 of them, you need 8 bottles, space for it all, and each will still have the same fuel consumption rate..

And what did this come in at.. not telling.. already said that 🙂  but the options between single feed and dual feed, comfort or pro was not that disconcerting, and did not raise the cost from the lowest model to the one I chose that much that I worried about the extra cost to cover anyway.

Installation

There is still the question of the BSS regulations.. as there is no mention about the storing of methanol aboard – so if you are thinking of installing one – for now – treat it like a permanently installed petrol generator with regard to fuel spillages and location and you should not go far wrong. (but in the end, its only 1 plug and a two thumb screws to disconnect and remove it from the boat if really needed on inspection day – shh. I didn’t say that 😉 )

• Store the full unused fuel bottles in the gas locker – that’s what its designed for…
• Keep at least one empty bottle and remove the “self sealing non drip connector” carefully from the top leaving the outer threaded part intact and untouched so you can still get the cap back on. This will come out (eventually) along with the float and pipes that deliver the fuel through the cap. ( I went though three empty bottles to perfect this and end up with a repeatable process that works every time and can be completed in less than a minute 🙂 )
  • Why you ask..  You cant re-fill it (you can I suppose..  but as I don’t want non EFOY methanol corrupting the fuel cell (even if I did have a dragster with fuel to spare), non pure methanol could damage the cell, voiding the warranty – and I’m not going to do that to save ££ on fuel, and waste ££££££ on the fuel cell), but anyway – the M10 bottle is perfect (once all the gubbins is out of the way) for oil changes, and being a square bottomed 10 litre bottle with a 1″ hole for the cap (or funnel to sit in it whilst the oil filter drains), it can sit on the engine room floor, and not fall over.. with a pipe from the engine oil siphon to it and you can remove the old engine oil (along with the gearbox oil as well) with no mess (other than the always badly designed oil filter position – but lets not go there!) and possibly still have room in the bottle for the next change – and more importantly.. a cap that you can screw back on and re-seal it so none leaks out as you lift it from the engine room and before you get it to a recycling point!
• Where the Fuel Cell is installed – with currently attached bottles in the same space (if enclosed like mine – which it may be as these things don’t like to be moved about a lot or rained on).. then ensure there are drain holes at the bottom of the locker that DO NOT drain into the engine room and go directly overboard) so any spilled fuel – which I am 99% sure there will be none of – goes overboard and not in the bilge..  as stated before.. treat it like petrol.. methanol does eventually evaporate – the same as petrol does.. and an enclosed bilge full of the stuff when you fire up the engine or the diesel heater will not end well!
  • To date.. I have NEVER had any fuel spillages. Not even a drip! At the time of writing – I am on M10 bottle #22 currently..  and I still don’t expect to ever have any issues with fuel leakage.
  • What I do get however: occasionally is a small amount of methanol left in the bottle that the pipework cant suck up. With those, I remove the “self sealing non drip connector” (see above)..  loosely put the cap back on and leave it to evaporate to the open air (on the roof, strapped up via the handle so it doesn’t blow away!) until totally empty and dry. This usually takes a few days – then either reuse the bottle (see above) or dispose of it in the general plastics rubbish (after removing the labels from the bottle as it no longer contains flammable liquid).
• Where the unit is installed, there are 4 main requirements to consider..
  1. Cable runs: The cables you get with the EFOY (shown on the right) are a reasonable size (more than enough to cover the amperage and not have a voltage drop to worry about) but they are short. There designed for use in a vehicle, not a narrow boat where the batteries and installation location could be some distance away, so installing this in a boat, and reaching the battery bank will – in most cases – require extension leads. These are pre-plugged cables that are manufactured by EFOY (so the usage of them is covered under the warranty) and were supplied with the unit (at a small extra cost) as I knew that the cables it came with would be too short (again – thanks to the advice from Fuel Cell Systems). You don’t need to cut, join and mess with them.. just connect the extension between the EFOY end cable and the battery end cable and tidy away any excess (in the photo, the inline connections are where you separate the two, and use the extension lead).. Just make sure you run it the right way round 🙂  check male/female connections first – or after running and tidying up, you may need to undo it all again – I know 🙂
     • IMHO the fuses it has (which are bladed vehicle types, one for the sense line, one for the charge line) are at the wrong end of the cable, but at least it does have some. I always believe the fuse should be at the source of the power (for normal house batteries, this is as close to the source/battery as it can be, not at the device drawing the power).. but with the EFOY.. its not, I would expect it to be as close to the EFOY as possible, but its at the battery connection end – possibly this is to protect the unit and cables if the EFOY shorts out and the battery starts to feed back into it – which would make the location of the fuse a sensible one..  but needless to say, I have left everything as supplied and cabled it up as per the instructions.. (warranty and all that!)
       • If you have a look at the comments, you should find one from a more knowledgeable electrical engineer than me..  who explains why the fuses are at the battery end of the cable!
       • Update: I did eventually find why the fuse it at the battery end. Looking at the two ends of the cable..  one is on the battery bank, the other on the EFOY.  The EFOY can generate 8A..  the house bank – 440A!!! So if there is a short in the EFOY, the fuse should be closer to the battery as that is the source of the largest power which – at 440A..  can cause some serious damage to the wiring if it shorts out.   If the short is elsewhere, and the EFOY tries to deliver power over a short..   the power it produces will not be enough to melt the insulation on the wires before the fuse can pop..
  2. Ambient Air in from the outside: The colder the better I have found! I do not have the cold air routed from the outside – this was an option, but the time to drill a 100mm hole in 10mm steel through the side of the boat and my external paintwork caused me to decide not to. On my install, it takes the air from the locker – at whatever temperature that is at..  So with the engine running, it is a little warmer than ambient..  but also.. in winter without the engine.. its still a little warmer than ambient 🙂
     • Also at the time, I figured that if the engine can take air from the engine room without that air being ducted to the filter from the outside and it still runs ok, why not the fuel cell – hence why I was not worried about not routing air ducts to the air inlet of the cell.
     • Whilst running the unit during the winter with snow, and summer with 30c+ outside, the unit does prefer colder air, is more efficient and produces a higher amperage the colder the source air is (its only about 1A difference at its extreme, but when you look at a drop between 95% to 80% of the maximum rated output from the same amount of fuel.. that’s a lot to consider)..
     • The unit also has frost protection – as a frozen fuel cell is a screwed fuel cell! – so if the ambient temperature drops to <3c during winter it will turn itself on even if you don’t need the power it generates to ensure it doesn’t freeze inside.. so expect higher fuel usage if its damn cold out there, and always ensure there is fuel connected for it to use – even if the unit is off  (set to “manual off” – but still powered on)- never have it anywhere it will get cold without fuel!.. and never have it off off (dis-connected from the battery if it can freeze up) –  If you don’t have the fuel to enable the use of frost protection – disconnect it and bring it inside the boat where – in theory – it will be warmer and not freeze!  If you marina your boat over the winter and don’t live aboard.. and don’t have fuel connected to last the months that the boat will be unattended..  leave the solar or land-line connected to the boat, disconnect the fuel cell and take it home with you to protect your investment in it!
     • The unit only weighs 9kilos.. and will easily fit in the boot or rear footwell of a car – so taking it home and storing it should not be a problem 🙂
  3. Hot air exhaust (off heat ducting): The white disk shown in the photo which is 100mm diameter – The air from this is warm, but not dangerously so, and can be routed to warm the inside of the boat if you so wish – (if you do so – remember – if it’s a hot summers evening, and you are running this at night so you have the power to finish watching that late night movie, or need the internet router running from the inverter as you are working late..  an already warm cabin WILL get even warmer!) – this is why mine warms the area on the stern deck enclosed by the pram hood, and not the main cabin.. so when its time for a cigarette (I don’t smoke inside the boat due to kids/stained wood work etc), in winter, its quite comfortable out there – even when there is snow on the ground and you are frozen in 🙂
  4. Hot water exhaust: This is a small tube, about 10mm is size, which is very flexible, covered in armourflex (or an alternative) to stop it freezing and becoming brittle. The water that this generates is hot, as is the steam that comes with it. This must be routed down from the unit, as the water in it is gravity drained, not pumped – and putting a loop in the line or running it upward will cause a siphon blockage – which is a bad idea and will cause the EFOY to fail – so this must run down and away from the unit.
     • In theory, the liquid this generates can be used to top up the batteries – once its cold enough.. But I never have as mine are sealed, maintenance free ones..
     • I did when I first installed the unit, run this into the bilge over the area covered by the propeller shaft, so that the water collected could be pumped out with the rest of the bilge water when needed. This eventually proved to be a BAD idea.. so DON’T DO THIS..  What I found was that it worked perfectly OK, the water collected where it should, pumped out ok when needed.. until the temperature dropped and the snow came..  yes, the water was still collected – but I forgot about the steam aspect..   And yes..  releasing steam into a freezing cold steel box of an engine room that’s next to a frozen canal can only have one result.. condensation on everything..  the walls, skin tank.. engine.. pipework.. diesel heater..  batteries.. cables.. everything was dripping wet from the condensation generated by the steam from the EFOY..  So take my advice..  DON’T run the water exhaust into the bilge.. you will regret it.
       • If you have no choice..  take a leaf from the air-conditioning engineers book.. install a collection tank that can take the hot water and deal with evaporating the steam, positioned next to, or preferably below the unit..   Yes you will need to empty it occasionally – or once the steam aspect is dealt with, drain the cooled water into the bilge or bottles for use with the batteries from the collection tank.. but don’t run the water exhaust directly into the open bilge from the EFOY – ever!
     • After that little discovery..  the water exhaust was re-routed through and out of one of the drain holes for the locker the EFOY is in, and to date.. I have had no issues with this solution. The pipe run is not a perfect vertical drop like it was with the bilge run.. its at about 45 degrees for the first foot or so, and then almost horizontal out the side of the boat..  but everything is not objecting to it being run like that – and there are no siphon loops, so were good at the moment..

Real World Usage Statistics

OK.. So this is really why you are here..   how much does it cost to run an EFOY Pro 2400 Fuel Cell. I’m not going to cover the purchase and install costs, same as I am not going to compare suitcase generator purchase costs (as I don’t have one) – but I can guess at the running costs of a suitcase generator based on the documented running stats..

I have figures from when it went in, based on usage hours and fuel left so have a good idea from Dec to Aug on what it costs, when it costs it and how long fuel will last for – based on my demands.. Your demands may be different, so you will get different results..

January

The fuel cell was still set to its default operating settings..  and running on fully automatic mode. The inverter was also on 24×7 charging mobile phones/laptops during the night.

Setting / Option	Currently set to
Switch On Delay	Default (60 seconds)
Switch On Voltage	Default (12.3v)
Switch Off Voltage	Default (14.2v)
Switch Off Current	Default (4A)
Absorption Time	Default (3 hours)
Maximum Charge Time	Default (24 hours)

On average, during January, the fuel cell was running quite a bit as you can see, around 50% of the time, the cell was operational, but as we were winter moored in Banbury, driving to Hungerford for more fuel was not an issue.

This was mainly during the night due to the default settings still being set.. where the voltage would drop to the trigger point of 12.3v, the cell would start up, and keep going until the batteries reached the switch off setting of 14.2V or were only accepting a 4A charge, indicating that they were fully charged. This was checked, and proved to be correct as readings taken at the start and end of the day showed no usage, with almost 100% usage over that night into the following morning.

Once it was time to leave the winter mooring, the car was sold off and the summer cruise could start… But the running figures of the fuel cell did not change.. even though the solar panels were kicking out 20A+ all day long topping up the batteries and even leaving them in float all afternoon..

Now this started to cause an issue..  Without a car continually available, getting the fuel would become an problem if we continued to burn through the fuel at this rate..  A hire car we get every month anyway to see family and collect the post..  but driving to Hungerford.. from Manchester etc for 4 bottles of fuel is not my idea of a day out away from the boat (and the kids 🙂 ).. least of which is the size of the gas locker you need to store multiple full bottles in..

May

At first, we started by turning the inverter off at night, and re-thinking how we re-charge battery powered devices (mobiles/laptops) – which are now done during the day.. We also started turning the fuel cell to “manual off” so no matter what, the fuel cell would not start unless we wanted it to (and it was not getting cold enough for frost protection to kick in). It was still on, just not on “Automatic”.

This worked well for a while (and cut down the fuel usage considerably) with us manually turning it on if we knew that it was going to be a late night, or the batteries were lower than normal when the engine went off (due to washing machine or microwave being used and the batteries not being as fully charged as they could be to last the whole night without the fuel cell being on).. and then turning it off again at bed time. Only a few times were we woken up by the low voltage alarm (due to that blasted fridge door again)…

But..   low voltage alarms..  if there are enough of them – this is an indication that you are destroying your batteries by taking them well below the 50% mark too often..

So it was time to start messing with the numbers and settings on the fuel cell to see if it can be tuned to just make sure that we get just enough to last a night if we have a state of low charge in the house bank.. and let the solar (or engine on a dark winter morning) deal with the rest of the charging the following day..

August

First.. time to re-read the manual 🙂  When you change the settings on the EFOY..  if you start to enter settings that it will take, but thinks you need to check what you are doing.. it will warn you to check the manual so you are sure you are still setting it correctly..  which is a good idea..   it even gives you the chapter number to look at..

• There are no options that allow you to enter a number on the panel, everything is a sliding scale..  select the option to change and use the UP/DOWN keys to move the slider from the minimum setting to the maximum allowed within the range for that setting. It also shows you what the default setting would be if its currently not at this default number. This is pretty good, as it stops you from putting in stupid values that the unit cannot handle..

So the settings were adjusted to the following :

Setting / Option	Currently set to
Switch On Delay	300 seconds / 5 minutes (The maximum it will allow) Only when the voltage is below the trigger point, and it stays there for this time, will the cell startup. So the occasional heavy short term usage (microwave/washing machine water heater etc) with the engine running will not kick it on during the day..
Switch On Voltage	12.15v A little below the recommended 50% (about 45% actually), but well above when the low voltage alarm goes off, and about as low as I would like to take the battery bank at any point.
Switch Off Voltage	13.5v (the lowest setting that can be set) If the voltage at the batteries is at or above this, the cell will stop running..  Usually, the alternator (with engine running) and/or solar panels are reading over this during the day, so the cell should switch off when the engine or solar can do the job. Update: How does the EFOY know what the battery voltage is, when its charging the same battery bank ? Every now and then.. the EFOY stops outputting a charge..  gives the battery 10 seconds to settle, takes a reading, then starts again if it still needs charging. During normal scenarios, this will go un-noticed, but – occasionally when the battery’s are low and the TV’s still on..   when the EFOY starts its reading cycle you do notice the power drop (lights dim etc..) and then come back once it outputs a charge again..
Switch Off Current	10A (this is the maximum you can set) Setting this to the maximum tells the fuel cell to only use the voltage readings for the switch off settings. If this is set to something like 4A, when the battery is only accepting that amount, will it switch off. Obviously, if you want to use this, work out what amps your own battery bank will take when full (after float) – 440Ah will be about 4A..  100Ah.. about 1A..   600Ah.. 6A and so on.. and set it to that..  as long as that amount can be delivered by the EFOY..  Hence why a setting of 10A turns it off, as this is above the rated maximum the EFOY can produce.. and will therefore never reach it.
Absorption Time	0 minutes (the minimum you can set) Normally, when the switch off voltage is met, the unit will keep going for the absorption time. As we only want this as a “get through the night” charge, the absorption phase can be dealt with by the engine or solar panels in the morning..
Maximum Charge Time	2 hours (the minimum you can set) The unit will run for 2 hours..  if the startup parameters are still being met, it will keep running and check again.. if the startup parameters are no longer being met (ie resting voltage of the battery is greater than 12.15v, the unit will shut down). For me, usually, 2-4 hours is enough to take the bank from 12.1v back up to 12.5v (with everything off other than the fridge)

With the above settings configured, and the fuel cell back on automatic mode, the following run times were observed..

As you can see, the times are still variable – but no where near the continual >50% usage..  and at the moment, I’m happy with the settings its using – and not being woken up by the low voltage alarm..  I also know that at this rate.. I have 20 days to go get some more fuel.. as I’m currently on my last bottle!

December

And the winter is here..  the sun is at best depressing, and certainly no where near enough to keep the lights on with our power usage..   So if the engine is not on.. its the fuel cell that’s running.

Now..   the usage is currently as expected – higher than in the summer, but I am still happy with the settings..  were topping out at 31% usage.. still well below the 70% we had last year during winter.. The one setting I have changed is the maximum charge time – this I have increased to 3 hours (just so I don’t have to turn the engine on at 8am!)..  but the rest stay the same..

But.. it does help having a fairly good regimental process to go through each day (but when you live on a boat with no permanent mooring, you cant avoid that!)..  Run the engine as needed.. upto 8pm..  When the engine goes off for the night, the cell goes onto “Manual On”..  and it then keeps up with the demand during the evening so the batteries don’t get drained for the night ahead..  until we go to bed and the cell is left on its own to finish up any top-offs needed and to switch itself back to standby.

Yes – if needed, we could drop that 31% average by not forcing it to start and reducing the run time back to 2 hours.. and leaving it to deal with it itself.. but for now – the reduced fuel (and hour) usage compared to last year – and having it keep the TV, internet, lights and fridge running during the evening (which can run to midnight sometimes) is a good one to be in..

• I even caught myself saying “Who needs a shore line in winter”..  which I may come to regret..  but not yet 😉

Summary

Even through all the months of running, the figures on how much fuel is consumed for a given hour remains roughly the same..  so if you run this 24×7, or for 1 hour a week..  the generated AH will still cost the same, per hour, in fuel regardless of how many AH’s you need to generate.

• An M10 fuel bottle will last for 113 hours of continual 24×7 use (over 4.5 days, so 9 days on 2 bottles).
  • At our current rate of use.. 2 x M10 bottles will last well over two months..  ( but this is based on August daylight hours and leaving it on automatic 🙂 )
  • Even when the fuel cell has 2,500 hours on the clock.. it still uses roughly the same fuel, per hour it did when new.. ( it’s just outputting 0.9A less than it did when it was new – so needs to run a little longer to produce the same total AH output as before, but this was to be expected – and warned about..  that as the cell gets older.. the power it can generate per hour will drop slightly on a linear scale, after 4,500 hours of use, the expected minimum the cell will generate will drop to 6.7A (from 8.5A when it was new – so a 22% drop) and will continue to drop at that rate as it gets even older – so the less hours it runs for, the longer you will get more out of it)
    • In fact, if you run the fuel cell for multiple shorter times (5 runs of 2 hours), rather than one long session (1 run of 10 hours) – it will use slightly more fuel (0.1L more in total) – as you have the “startup” and “shutdown” overheads to cover, as you cant just turn these units on and off..  they need to warm up and cool down again, with each warm/cool cycle taking 2-5 minutes to complete.
• At current fuel prices (excluding delivery – as being a C.Cruiser – deliveries of controlled substances is difficult so I have to collect it – you try getting a delivery of flammable liquid via a post office using post restante – if you do, let me know how 🙂 ), it costs £0.42 an hour to run the fuel cell..  with a daily average between 2 to 4 hours run time (with the current settings, 6 hours on a bad day – working until 3am that morning!) its between £0.84 and £ 1.68 a day for peace of mind of non fudged batteries..
  • A petrol generator (Honda EU22i – which you cant run at night time unless you have no neighbours to disturb) will consume 3.6 litres over 3.5 hours..  so roughly 1 litre an hour.. or at pump prices..  £ 1.28 an hour..  add to that the oil changes, maintenance (plugs etc) that you also need to pay for..  none of which you need to do with the fuel cell.. and the running cost of the fuel cell seems to roughly line up with the running cost of a gennie.. at least for our usage anyway.. its just the initial purchase price that smarts a bit..
  • Yes.. the purchase price of the EU22i is a LOT less than the fuel cell, and the output is about the same if you use the 12v socket (or more if you use the 240v supply through a combi).. but you still cant run it at 2am on a popular mooring when you are on-call and working to fix issues..
• The running hours on the engine when not moving have also dropped a lot, as the solar panels deal with this mainly, and the fuel cell can take over when the sun goes down and the voltage drops..   again.. less engine hours = less oil changes and maintenance needed for the engine as well..  I would not like to see what the engine hours would be if the 2,500 hours on the fuel cell went on the engine instead! – that’s a lot of servicing and wear & tear, which again.. costs money!

What happens when we get back into shorter daylight hours during winter, and the solar is available for less of the day – we will see..   as I wont have a car to go get the fuel this year whenever I need it..  but we will also be moving all winter, not hunkering down in one spot for 3 months..   so we should be OK 🙂

• If not.. that’s when I may re-evaluate the use of a suitcase genny..  During winter I can see that it would be solar during daylight..  Gennie at dusk, but before 8pm.. then the fuel Cell during the night until the following dawn – if needed – when solar can start to kick in again..   All without the engine – hopefully..
• If I do end up getting a gennie.. I will update this page and let you know.. 🙂
  • No need for a gennie yet…   🙂

 

 

If this has helped you to decide to buy one, or made your mind up that the benefits for you are just not worth the initial spend.. let me know (hopefully the comments section is working), and others that may find their way to this page could also find your thoughts useful as well.