sir pete Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 As a new owner of a Motorhome and also a new member of this Forum I would appreciate any information or thoughts on the use of these fuel cells as I will sometimes be on hook -up and sometimes not. I would also like to do winter and summer travel in this country and abroad. Having read about Solar Panels I am unsure whether they would be sufficient when not in ideal conditions. I realise the Efoy are expensive but do they work out cheaper in the long run knowing our climate? Thanks in anticipation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EJB Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 With a cost of thousands of pounds it's a case of.... if price is a factor......don't bother! Every other system is vastly more price competitive! ;-) They do work very well though!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crinklystarfish Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 There's nearly always a more cost efficient solution, that doesn't involve obtaining and storing special fuel either. If remote rough camping in deep midwinter for long stretches of time in the same spot is high on the agenda, then just maybe. Otherwise, bit of a plaything - unless the price tumbles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I heard the same .........nice idea....... tooooo expensive.......better of with solar and a decent battery bank ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 IMO batteries and solar will be ok for most people, thats what we use and works out ok. Where I think efoy would be better option is if you need garrenteed overnight power source for health reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 We have an Efoy 1600 in our motorhome but have not used it much. It was already in the van when we bought it last year. As far as expense is concerned, we wouldn't have paid that sort of money out for one. We have a solar panel as well. The Methanol comes in 10 lt containers and are very safe, it is strapped in and the filler tube from the Efoy sits permanently in the container. When we do switch it on it goes on auto so that we don't have to do anything at all. We are still on the first container of Methanol and apparently it is very economical AFTER you have bought the unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Hi Yes they work very efficiently and economically. Whether they are worth the initial outlay is questionable. I managed to obtain an ex display unit. I have a solar panel and two leisure batteries and have just spent some two and a half months in Portugal, Spain and France with minimal hookups. The efoy on automatic cuts in and stops the batteries getting sucked too low. It cuts in around 12v and cuts off at 14.2v. If you can get a second hand one at the right price then they are great. Three grand is out of the question. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 can you take the fuel across channel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 Yes, you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sir pete Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Thank you all for your replies.It has given me plenty to think about. Also have to see how the funds are !!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 A lot depends on your van and whether it has diesel or gas / electric heating and how much you use it all. If you don't use every light every evening and are generally sensible with power use a 110 ah battery should last several days even in winter unless you have diesel heating. The cheapest solution is always to start with a second leisure battery which ideally should be the same age, make and output as the original to satisfy the purists - but in practical terms any battery of the same type and capacity should sufice. Next most of us would opt for a solar panel and regulator and perceived wisdom is to opt for the largest that you can either afford, justify or fit on your roof. That said a 60 or 80 watt panel should see you OK. A generator is an option but you need space to carry and all the bits and petrol and it can be a bit of a pain setting it all up - and will make you VERY unpopular when close (ie within half a mile!) of many other campers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Hi Something I forgot, if you need 240v then you need a generator or an inverter, Efoy does not give you a 240v option. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobbys Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 hi all i believe there could be a prolem with some insurance companies i have spoken to some dealers about installing the effoy system iwas keen to fit the system but was put off have installed a solar panel instead 130 watts itdid suprise me about the insurance ithink it put me off but for that iwould have gone ahead your thoughts thanks for good subject nobbys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 The insurance issue is a red herring and this has been delt with by brokers on this and other forums. No you cannot justify the cost BUT How did you justify the purchase of your motorhome? THEN use the same justification OK. If you want total peace of mind all year round then why not? More reading on the subject here http://www.motts.org/FUEL%20CELL%20COMPILATION.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1footinthegrave Posted June 2, 2012 Share Posted June 2, 2012 Here's my take on the subject. First off reduce your power consumption as much as possible, replace halogen units for good quality LED/SMD lighting equivalents , get a LED TV, with our LED tv on, and all 15 SMD lights ( yes 15 a bit over the top I know ) on we only draw about 2.5 amps, get a van with a Truma convector heater ( probably not an option for you having bought your van ). Given those changes even a single 80 amp will last for many days, and is fairly quick to recharge on a moderate run. Extra leisure batteries, yes fine, BUT here's the fatal flaw they will at some point need recharging, and you have to drive a very long way to recharge a couple of depleted 100 amp ones, will a Solar panel do the job in the depths of Winter, especially in the UK, very very unlikely, maybe down in southern Spain a different matter. Given the cost of one of these Efoy units and the spreading availability of hook ups even on CL/CL sites and even many Aires or very reasonably priced municipal sites why bother at all. We wild camp or use Aires all the time, but aim to go on a hookup every few days to keep our twin batteries well topped up and for no other reason, a simple and cheap solution for us, and of course in Winter a hookup is very cost effective saving on gas for heating and hot water, running your fridge and in our case making use of a small electric hob and mini oven for cooking ( yes I know, cheapskate ) mind you a bit of switching required abroad as many are only 6 amp supplies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.