Monday, September 21, 2009

Re: [Electric Boats] Re: DMFC Fuel Cells - Hybrid Nirvana?

 

The big question would be how long does the cell stack will last, what is
the service interval, how much does the service cost.
Here is one for sale at West Marine:

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/producte/10001/-1/10001/
294367/377%20710/0/fuel%20cell/Primary%20Search/mode%20matchallpartial/0/0?N
=377%20710&Ne=0&Ntt=fuel%20cell&Ntk=Primary%20Search&Ntx=mode%20matchallpart
ial&Nao=0&Ns=0&keyword=fuel%20cell&isLTokenURL=true&storeNum=5002&subdeptNum
=9&classNum=14923

This one has been discussed before, the short run time (1500-5000h) before
the stack needs replaced is a real limiting factor for this unit, as it is
designed for house battery charging. If it only outputs ~4ah @12v, you have
to run it almost continuously for most applications. The unit you pointed to
puts out 16x the power, so the run times could be less.

Chris

On 9/21/09 8:24 AM, "perry924" <perry.mondesir@btopenworld.com> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> Hey Keith
> This is a great find! I've been researching the availibility of Direct Alcohol
> Fuel Cells for a while now and I've never found these guys. Pros for DMFC;
> silence & resilience. Cons; Toxicity of Methanol, expense. This company seem
> to be producing the largest capacity cells that I've seen and these would be
> great for e-Boats. Please let me know when you get some numbers (but I suspect
> they will be shocking!)Having methanol on board could give you the chance to
> ditch the Gas (methane)canister too! The perfect generator would of course be
> a direct ethanol fuel cell, but I'm afraid they are still a way off yet.
> Cheers,
> Perry
>
> --- In electricboats@yahoogroups.com <mailto:electricboats%40yahoogroups.com>
> , "Carel Ruysink" <c.ruysink@...> wrote:
>> >
>> > This means that the fuelcell has an efficienty of 26%. (900/(900+2600) =
>> 900/3500).
>> > That is in the same range as an IC motor like a Honda 2000i.
>> >
>> > So you will need the same kind of coolingcapacity as a Honda 2000i wich is
>> aircooled.
>> > This means you need a fan. That will be the only thing you will hear.
>> > So techniquely it is no more or less demanding than a genset. But it needs
>> a bit DIY at the moment.
>> > Or you can of course watercool the whole thing but that needs quite a set
>> up in your boat.
>> >
>> > Carel.
>> >
>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: Myles Twete
>> > To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
>> <mailto:electricboats%40yahoogroups.com>
>> > Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 11:36 PM
>> > Subject: RE: [Electric Boats] DMFC Fuel Cells - Hybrid Nirvana?
>> >
>> >
>> > Thanks Keith-
>> >
>> > But at 1gal/hr for 1kw, that wouldn't compare to the gensets
>> > available.looking at the website, I see it indicates 1 liter/hr at
>> 900watts
>> > (out at 20-56v), which ain't bad.
>> >
>> > I think my Honda EU2000i is rated at 1.6kw output (AC) for nominally the
>> > same fuel rate (gas instead of methanol). And given the Honda's 1.6kw
>> goes
>> > thru nom. 80% efficient charger, it's only delivering about 1.2-1.3kw per
>> > liter/hr. But how awesome it would be to have quiet fuel cells doing this
>> > work?
>> >
>> > Still, can someone translate for me how to understand the 2.6kw Cooling
>> > requirement for the IRD Fuel Cell 900w generator?
>> >
>> > I mean, if I have to provide 2.6kw of energy to cool the cells which will
>> > "consume" fuel, yet only deliver 900watt, am I a fool to consider this a
>> > good thing?
>> >
>> > The math just don't seem to work out---I'm sure I'm missing something
>> > here.maybe with marine application it just means we have to pump cool
>> river
>> > water thru it for cooling?
>> >
>> > Still, 2.6kw of cooling seems like a huge requirement.
>> >
>> > -Myles Twete, Portland, Or.
>> >
>> > From: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
>> <mailto:electricboats%40yahoogroups.com>
>> [mailto:electricboats@yahoogroups.com
>> <mailto:electricboats%40yahoogroups.com> ]
>> > On Behalf Of aweekdaysailor
>> > Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 9:50 AM
>> > To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
>> <mailto:electricboats%40yahoogroups.com>
>> > Subject: [Electric Boats] DMFC Fuel Cells - Hybrid Nirvana?
>> >
>> > OK, I know this may seem a little far-out but I remain convinced that
>> > fuel cells are the "perfect" e-boat solution. Not as primary power, but
>> > as "continuous" chargers.
>> >
>> > I think we can all agree that eboat benefits are about
>> > noise/smell/green/convenience/simplicity - roughly in that order.
>> >
>> > For example - on my boat with 200AH (lead-acid) capacity, I have about
>> > 2 hours of cruising time @ 2KW draw to 60% DOD. That has averaged out
>> > pretty well for a typical day of sailing on SF bay (some days <20AH
>> > total, some days >80).
>> >
>> > But with continuous charging (500W) a couple of interesting things
>> > happen. I get another 45min (40%) of cruising (in 5 hours average
>> > sailing day). Plus extended cruising is now enabled. Lets say I tap out
>> > and want to anchor for the night somewhere without power. 500watts
>> > continuous over 10 hours = 5KW. That's pretty much topped the batteries
>> > off again and I have another day of sailing. In 15 hours I will have
>> > used about 7gallons of fuel - not inconsiderable, but manageable (oh and
>> > you can cook with it too)
>> >
>> > For all their power density - lithium batteries can't touch this - at
>> > most they just delay the inevitable for another day. Marine genny's are
>> > expensive AND they fail the noise/smell/green/convenience/simplicity
>> > test.
>> >
>> > I'm contacting several of the vendors now. This one looks most
>> > promising:
>> >
>> > http://www.ird.dk/products_fuel_cell_systems.html
>> > <http://www.ird.dk/products_fuel_cell_systems.html> They have a 1KW
>> > unit (consuming about 1g/hour) which improves the equation even more.
>> >
>> > Based on pricing info so far, these systems are cheaper in capital
>> > outlay than either Li cells or marine genny's (< $10K) - and net
>> > cost-to-run is cheaper than lead-acid (membrane life is still a concern,
>> > but I expect that to evolve rapidly). You get full house-power for your
>> > flat-screen and ice-maker. Drinking water (and unfortunately a little
>> > CO2) and heat to boot.
>> >
>> > Thoughts?
>> >
>> > -Keith
>> >
>> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> >
>> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>> >
>
>
>
>
>>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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