# Efoy



## frogger (Jun 10, 2008)

Hi,

A question for the efoy owners out there. If you keep your van in a storage site do you leave the efoy connected and turned on over the winter? Is the efoy comfortable operating in an ambient of -10 for days at a time?

I am struggling for options to keep our ingition battery charged whilst the van is in storage, hookup is not an option. we already have a solar panel, but under a foot of snow it isn't much use. We have a battery master connected to our leisure battery.

Keen to hear user experiences of the EFOY in the wild.

Also does the heat created by the efoy become a problem when in storage? ( thinking condensation problems)

Thank you
David


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

Hi the operating temperature is -20 to + 40 

Seems and expensive way to keep the engine battery topped up though.

What sort of period are you expecting to leave the motorhome, and how old is the battery? (not the motorhome)

Eddie


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I agree with Eddie.

I have been using an Efoy for three years now, here are my thoughts.

It is a hugely expensive way of generating electricity. I don't have figures although they would be easy to produce and frightening to read. It is simply the simplest, most convenient way of staying off grid when sunlight is lacking. I only ever use it if there are no other options. I rule generators out as an option as I don't like the noise. I do have solar panels and a Sterling B2B as well.

I like my Efoy very much and will buy another when this one dies. They need to be used carefully because the life span could be as short as 3000 hours. Careless or indiscriminate use could mean buying a new one every couple of years which would be very wasteful of money.

I understand that when you need a new one they will credit you something for the old one or even possibly refurbish it. I have asked a couple of times what the cost of this would be but have not had a definite answer, Alan.


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## levoyden (Feb 25, 2008)

HI David

The Efoy turns on at 3deg to keep itself warm, but you can turn the large diameter pipe to warm your van (pure warm air no condensation, Exhaust is through a separate pipe.)

Cost wise,( I do not use hook up and leave the Efoy in the MH over winter,) is around £30, one container per year.

The new Efoy has upgraded software making it more economical and longer lasting.

It's one fine bit of kit, our second Efoy, first one i left with our previous MH. Efoy provide the upgrade FOC.

Dennis


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

When fitting the Efoy in my current van I spoke to SFC about whether the off heat pipe (the one which discharges the hot air outside) was needed. They said that it was only to prevent the unit overheating and that as I was fitting mine in quite a big garage I would be fine without it. This had two advantages for me. I didn't need a large hole in the floor and the garage and underfloor area is kept warm when the Efoy is in use, Alan.


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## frogger (Jun 10, 2008)

*efoy*

Thank you all for the feedback.

The ingnition battery is about 8 months old. Worst case is 3 weeks, however, with the alarm, immobiliser and horrendous winter weather the battery just doesn't hack it. The leisure battery would probably benefit from replacement this year, but it is a 145aH Deta Gel which still holds good charge and performs well even in the cold. relevent due to the battery master.

The storage site I use is over 300m altitude in Scotland which means that since late nov has had almost permanent snow cover and repeated spells of -18 temperatures.

The efoy is expensive, but it is something we have been considering for a while to assist when wild camping. however, if it would reliably do what we want then that might speed up the inclination to spend!!

It would live in a big double floor, so again the heat would be beneficial if it is dry heat.

Any other suggestions would be gratefully received. I had considered increasing leisure battery capacity to give the battery master more "stock" to give to the engine, but i suspect that the extreme cold won't help yield the best reward.

Thank you

David


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

*Re: efoy*



frogger said:


> Any other suggestions would be gratefully received. I had considered increasing leisure battery capacity to give the battery master more "stock" to give to the engine, but i suspect that the extreme cold won't help yield the best reward.
> 
> Thank you David


OK Get your new engine battery tested, three weeks duration with a Battery Master is unacceptable.

If the engine battery test up OK, check the leisure batteries, and the quiescent drain on both to find out the problem.

Buying a EFOY to eliminate this problem is not worth it as the problem isn't the three weeks it is a problem elsewhere.

Eddie


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## frogger (Jun 10, 2008)

*power*

Eddie,

I will test the batteries and see what response they are giving. I tested the leisure battery in November and it was performing admirably. However, the last 6 weeks have been very hard on both. The ignition battery is definately not performing as I would like.

My biggest challenge for measuring discharge is getting access to the battery! A-Class designers should have to maintain the vehicles too.

How much do you think the cold climate is making my experience worse? We have had weeks of sub zero temperatures.

Are any particular battery types more performant in cold weather (thinking ignition rather than leisure).


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## eddievanbitz (May 1, 2005)

The cold will have a devastating effect on your batteries, but they are designed for that.

Batteries with lids that you can peer inside are the best, allthough is access is a pain that idea pales a little!

Eddie


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## Antares1 (Nov 30, 2011)

Hi,
The efoy will switch on just because it is cold! In fact if you do not leave it connect to fuel and a battery it will be damaged by frost/burst pipes.

So -leave it switched on and it will keep your battery topped-up electrically, and it will also generate some heat that you might be able to use sensibly.

Charlie
(Note: The company I work for sells the EFOY units, so i do know them inside out.  .


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## SaddleTramp (Feb 15, 2007)

Was I you I would take a look at the Gasperini EG-20 which is an extremely quiet underfloor 12v generator, It automatically switches on when batteries get low and charges them up fully, it works on LPG and is extremely economical to use.

I have now an efoy but if I was honest and had the choice I would swap for my old EG-20 any day.

It will work at -25 and up to +50

Details <Here>

The Efoy 1600 gives 5.6 ah
The EG-20 gives 20 ah


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