| COVER STORY New
Power Source for RVs
REVOLUTIONARY!
By Don Magary, editor
A "must-read" for all
RV manufacturers and design engineers
|
| It was proud day when CFG
founders (l-r) Nick Ballinger, Dr. Iraj Parchamazad, and John Joannes, unveiled the first
prototype of their R3500 and demonstrated to a group of invited guests its ability to not
only provide the AC power requirements for the motorhome but also co-generated heat, hot
water and fresh water. |
It isn't often when something
comes along that is unique enough in function and design to truly be considered
revolutionary. And when it does it may fail to get the attention it deserves because ad
copy writers have so over-used the word "revolutionary" in describing rather
mundane improvements in products ranging from dishwasher detergents to garden tools.
Something is revolutionary when it has the potential to
change the way things are done. The first desktop personal computer, for example, was
revolutionary. In the RV industry, the first indoor plumbed toilet was revolutionary.
And the new product RV News saw at a recent event on a
small Southern California university campus is revolutionary, in the highest definition of
the word.
Before saying what it is, let me tell you what it does.
It provides an almost unending source of 120-volt electrical power for RVers who want to
camp in remote locations without the noise and vibration of a generator. Its byproducts
(co-generation) include hot water, heat for the coach and fresh water. In other words, the
product can replace the generator, the hot water heater and the furnace.
In addition it could dramatically reduce the need for
12-VDC appliances such as refrigerators since the power source's economical fuel
usage and nearly soundless operation would make it possible to use AC appliances
continuously.
The science behind this revolutionary new product is fuel
cell technology, and the company bringing this technology to the RV industry is Clean Fuel
Generation LLC, (CFG).
A few weeks ago, CFG invited RV News and a few key
industry officials to the first public demonstration of its R3500 model at University of
LaVerne, LaVerne, California. National RV had provided a coach and the R3500 provided the
total power requirements to run all the AC appliances including air conditioners. You can
stand right beside the power generation equipment and carry on a conversation because the
only sound you heard was the quiet whir of two exhaust fans. The co-generated byproducts
were also on display, providing scalding hot water and fresh pure water. The R3500 was too
large to put inside the coach's compartment at this stage of development; however,
miniaturization will make it fit comfortably in any RV compartment designed for a
generator. The output of the R3500 was approximately equal to a 4kw RV generator.
According to CFG, fuel cell technology was developed as
part of the space program and has received extensive funding by the U.S. Department of
Energy. Currently, the automobile industry is working on developing fuel cell technology
to power cars in the future and other large industries are doing research on fuel cell
technology to meet the worldwide demand for a reliable, efficient source of energy.
So why is this technology being introduced into the RV
industry rather than the automobile or other large industry first? There are a variety of
reasons, not the least of which is the vision of one of the founders of CFG, Nick
Ballinger, a third generation RV industry visionary.
Ballinger's grandfather opened a parts and accessories
store in the fifties in Inglewood, CA. Eventually, Nick's father took over the business. continued
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