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

Monday, September 21, 2009

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

At $8500 for a 5.8A 15v output (fuel cell) wouldn't and 160w solar panel
solar be more feasible?

They still require a battery for storage to supply sufficient power for
propulsion

Andrew Gilchrist

www.fastelectrics.com

612 4982 5481

Australia

_____

From: electricboats@yahoogroups.com [mailto:electricboats@yahoogroups.com]
On Behalf Of aweekdaysailor
Sent: Tuesday, 22 September 2009 10:27 AM
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [Electric Boats] DMFC Fuel Cells - Hybrid Nirvana?

Ooh, you're gonna make me remember Avogadro's number and all...

So I think it's 2 CH3OH + 3 O2 → 2 CO2 + 4 H2O

Without doing the math I'd guess about as much water comes out as methanol
goes in.

I think that answers Myles question as well - much of the "cooling" is via
hot water. I think we can find a use for that!

Note that these will require venting - CO2 is heavier than air (although
warm CO2 maybe not so much)

--- In electricboats@ <mailto:electricboats%40yahoogroups.com>
yahoogroups.com, Chris Witzgall <chris@...> wrote:
>
> How much water do these things generate?
>
>
> Chris
>
>
> On 9/20/09 12:49 PM, "aweekdaysailor" <aweekdaysailor@...> 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. <http://www.ird.dk/products_fuel_cell_systems.html>
dk/products_fuel_cell_systems.html
> > <http://www.ird. <http://www.ird.dk/products_fuel_cell_systems.html>
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]