Fuel Cells for Onboard Power

[waterdog]

Saw a really interesting item at the boat show last week.    It is a direct methanol fuel cell that was running on one of the display boats.  Vendor claims that it will put out about 180 Ah a day.  Weighs nothing.  Very quiet operating.  No moving parts.  No maintenance.   Not that expensive - in relative terms about $4 or 5K to buy and a couple of dollars a day to operate.   One little jug of methanol will run it for two weeks.   Keeps the batteries topped up automatically and has a monitor interface display device.   

Of course that's sales pitch, but as indication of where technology is going, it may be interesting to watch. 

Power is one of the biggest challenges in cruising.   Big improvement over an internal combustion engine driven generator.   But then again last time I checked I could actually get fuel for those in remote cruising areas...

http://www.efoy-comfort.com/benefits#c_238

[efhughes3]

That is pretty interesting. Thanks for posting.

[Ron Hill]

Steve : $4 or $5 K is alot of money to me !!  Especially for a comsumer limited tested item.
 
Neat technology, but my $700 1KW Honda does a great job !

[horsemel]

There was an article in a recent issue of Sail Magazine about this technology.

[Mike and Joanne Stimmler]

And I don't think methanol is any safer than gasoline to cary on board.

[waterdog]

And I don't think methanol is any safer than gasoline to cary on board.

At least gasoline burns with a visible flame!   I don't think the methanol has the same explosive potential, but it would burn your boat good.   

[waterdog]

Steve : $4 or $5 K is alot of money to me !!  Especially for a comsumer limited tested item.
 
Neat technology, but my $700 1KW Honda does a great job !

The point wasn't to rush out and buy one.   I thought people might be interested in learning about something new.    In ten years when your Honda dies, this might have advanced to a cost point where it has some appeal.   I don't think your Honda will ever get to the point where you could run it in your cabin, sleep through the noise, and not die from CO poisoning...   

[efhughes3]

I am happy to see companies try to market new technology. And if they are successful, the technologies will only get more affordable.

In case anyone hadn't noticed, LED's have dropped in price quite a lot. They started out pretty expensive too. I am going to relight most of our boat soon, and it will be a fraction of what it would've cost 3 years ago.

[Stu Jackson]

I am going to relight most of our boat soon, and it will be a fraction of what it would've cost 3 years ago.

I did that 13 years ago:  only use one light at a time and mainly the trawler oil lamp.  What's an LED?

[Ron Hill]

Guys : Most of us have installed LED bulbs in most of our sockets on the boat.  I'm sure when the prices go down, we'll do the same in our homes.

Steve : I'd be hard pressed to EVER have a burning ANYthing left on while I sleep.  Guess I'm from the OLD school!
(If it doesn't burn the alocohol then the electrical power must come from evaporation??)  

A few thoughts

[efhughes3]

Most existing sailboats I see these days, be they Catalina, Hunter, Beneteau, whatever....seem to have filament bulbs in place. Maybe many have installed LED's here, but I doubt it is most.

[waterdog]

Steve : I'd be hard pressed to EVER have a burning ANYthing left on while I sleep.  Guess I'm from the OLD school! 

A few thoughts

A fuel cell isn't based on combustion.

[Indian Falls]

Is this approaching the practicality of having an all electric sailboat?  What is the longest period anyone had to motor?
There is an electric motor upgrade that charges batteries while the prop spins under-sail. 
This in conjunction with the fuel cell and solar panel might be workable? 
What would be easier to get?  Biodiesel or methanol?  Could you make enough methanol on board with a still?
Could you use your water-maker to pull the methanol from the wort you fermented?
Does this sound like I want to make my boat into a "bug out" vehicle?

[waterdog]

Interesting questions.   Let's commit a little mathematics and make a bunch of assumptions about some things and ignore a bunch of issues around mechanical and electrical efficiency:

My little diesel is 23 or 25 hp.   I don't run it flat out and would have no idea how to measure the actual output, but let's say it typically is putting out 15HP.   At 746 W per HP, that would be about 11.1 kW.

I have had runs as long as several days (flat calm sea of Cortez or motoring north against the wind), but a 36 hour run is pretty common and within the bounds of a single tank of fuel.    But lets say for a moment you were only going to run for 5 hours.   A 5 hour run would require about 56 kWh of energy or roughly 4600 Ah.  So Imagine trying to fit in a battery bank 10 times larger than the typical configuration of 4 golf carts.   Not very practical for a C34.

So the fuel cell would need to more or less keep up with the demands of  an electric motor on a continuous basis if you were planning to do anything more than motor out of the marina.

Back to the fuel cell.   So with a demand of 11.1 kW, I would need about 106 of the larger 105W fuel cells to meet demand.    That's a box about the size of a sewing machine.    Looks like we would need to dedicate at least the entire aft cabin to an array of fuel cells.  

Now the fuel cells need fuel.    10L of methanol will put out 11.1 kWh.   That 36 hour run is going to take a bit over 400 kWh.    Or more or less 362 L of methanol.   With my diesel, I burn about 2L per hour or more less 72L of diesel to make the same run.   So now I need about 5 times as much liquid fuel storage capacity for the same range.  

I don't think you will be running a fuel cell for propulsion any time soon.   Of course a pure hydrogen fuel cell would probably be more efficient.   I wonder how you would feel about a giant tank of highly pressurized hydrogen under the aft bunk?

[Ralph Masters]

Nice math work Steve, now go cool your brain with a cold one.  Hard to beat that 25 HP Universal for forward movement of the boat.

Ralph