Haloo
Senior Member
You say you are considering combining, if you are thinking Efoy (which isn't cheap) why not just go with it. Your boat is larger than mine and I'm going with the 210 Efoy along with my Fireflies. I have no plans to go solar. Combining shore power with alternator power and Efoy power, I will have all the juice I need. I do plan to use some higher draw electrical goodies but for a not too long time and when I went to their planing chart as to which unit to use, it said the 210 was most suited for inverters over 1000. If I didn't plan on using some items that will have a draw off my 2000 inverter, I would go for the middle model.
I have sat through enough crappy June and early July PNW and coastal BC weather to not really want to rely on solar.
My suggestion is go with Efoy and if it doesn't meet your needs then add solar. If you already have solar then, there you go, maybe add Efoy. One caveat, some of the reviews I have read, the person regretted getting the smallest unit and wish they had gone with the middle one.
I just read the OP and here in BC I can get Efoy fuel in many places from Vancouver to Victoria to Nanaimo (probably Duncan) to Comox to Campbell River to Port Hardy. I don't know about Lund or Powell River.
The Panbo article mentioned in post #2 refers to Efoy amps as “premium amps.” They are more costly. There are still a good number of sunny days in the Puget Sound and up the Strait of Georgia to take advantage of solar — cheap amps. I don’t have enough room to deploy a lot of solar panels. But I can probably get one or two 100 watt panels up top. Then with a fuel cell generator I can augment the solar more cost effectively and reliably...I think.
I don’t have a generator and don’t really want one. My boat’s engines are gas fueled, so a diesel generator is somewhat problematic. I don’t want to pour fuel, diesel or gas. Solar is not a completely reliable option. But we don’t have big energy draws like bigger boats.
If I already owned a diesel generator it would be tough to justify a fuel cell generator given the cost. But since I don’t, I could justify the cost of premium amps if I’m not using a lot of them. And the quiet is a big big plus. So is the self contained nature of the Efoy fuel cells — no pouring fuel. I think I can store the fuel cells safely.
Now this Watt fuel cell system looks interesting too. Don’t need to make a move until spring, so maybe this would be the solution.