T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] DMFC Fuel Cells

Monday, September 21, 2009

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

How much water do these things generate?

Chris

On 9/20/09 12:49 PM, "aweekdaysailor" <aweekdaysailor@yahoo.com> wrote:

>
>
>
>
> 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]