Latest Fuel Cell Technology

What are the thoughts on this?????
The Angstrom A2 Fuel Cell Flashlight is a highly-advanced LED flashlight powered by a proprietary Angstrom fuel cell. The fuel cell runs on hydrogen fuel stored in the handle of the flashlight and air from the surrounding environment. No batteries are required.

http://www.angstrompower.com/products_a2.html

Actually that's not true. The fuel cell charges a NiMH battery that is in the flashlight. I don't think this light is available to you right now, but if they do accept your order, remember to order the hydrogen refueling station so that you'll be able to refill the fuel cell. I think the two totals out to about $3700 USD, with additional lights being available for about $1200 each, and I think it falls under NAFTA so you won't have to pay Customs tarrifs, though you may be obligated to pay your state sales/use tax.

You might also want to search this forum a bit further, I think there has been previous discussion on this product.

tommygunn said:

The Angstrom A2 Fuel Cell Flashlight is a highly-advanced LED flashlight powered by a proprietary Angstrom fuel cell. The fuel cell runs on hydrogen fuel stored in the handle of the flashlight and air from the surrounding environment. No batteries are required.

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I'm always wondering what the next battery/power storage technology will be that will be affordable and widely available. This doesn't seem like it... yet, but it's good to know that progress is being made.

If it's running a 1 watt LED which lasts 24 hours (to what % of it's original lux I wonder - website doesn't mention if it's regulated or not), I wonder how long it would last with a 5 watt LED... I'm sure there's people here that could answer that.

john

If mere lithium cells are so dangerous, I'd be more than a little nervous around a hydrogen-powered light.

jch79 said:

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If it's running a 1 watt LED which lasts 24 hours (to what % of it's original lux I wonder - website doesn't mention if it's regulated or not), I wonder how long it would last with a 5 watt LED... I'm sure there's people here that could answer that.

john

Click to expand...

The website says: "Light output stays constant and does not dim like battery-powered flashlights." That may be because it's powered by a sort of motor, like a car or some such. After all, a car with a quarter tank left can go just as fast as if it had a full tank.

I think the Lux type doesn't matter as much as the construction of a light. For example, the SLPPL4AA can easily compete with Fenix's LuxIII lights, by virtue of its excellent reflector. I have yet to see a Luxeon that significantly outperforms others when installed in the same body.

YMMV!

In addition to the fact that the battery getting charged by the fuel cell, NiMH batteries have a fairly stable discharge curve until the charge is exhausted. And on top of that, they chould choose to add regulation as well.

For the most part, that's more of a marketing line and the insinuation is a comparison to an alkaline battery.

For a couple of examples, the SL PP 4AA Lux exhibits this kind of performance as well since the Luxeon module is regulated, and you would get the a constant level of output even if you were using alkaline batteries. On non-regulated lights, say a Mag LED, you're likely to get a fairly flat level of output through most of it's discharge cycle if you're using NiMH or NiCD batteries (come to think of it, it's pretty flat for much of the cycle even with alkalines.)

And to give you an example involving an incandescent bulb, if you have a SL-20 or Mag Charger that has fully exhausted it's useful battery life (not fully drained, but say to 50% output), you could put it back on the charger for a relatively short time (30 min to 1 hr) and you would get a level of light comparable to full output, albeit for only a short period.

TigerhawkT3 said:

The website says: "Light output stays constant and does not dim like battery-powered flashlights."

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You hit the nail on the head, Brighteyez.

I've had more than enough of non-regulated light. I always smile when I see a flat output curve! :twothumbs

There is also new capacitor based storage technology that uses nanotubes to increase surface area (hence storage capacity). Capacitors of this new design are expected to rival storage found in batteries in a much more compact form. An additional benefit is that these capacitors will fully charge in minutes, as opposed to hours for chemical based storage batteries. Their first appearance will be in small personal electronics (cameras, phones, music players). I haven't seen enough specs to see how they perform for higher draw uses like lights. Still, something to keep an eye on.

I have to admit an H2 powered flashlight is a very cool demonstration of modern technology.

Some have mentioned that they were concerned with the safety of having hydrogen on board, but it is stored in a metal hydride "fuel tank" at low pressure and is actually quite safe. This is the proposed method of storing hydrogen in fuel cell powered cars. Interestingly enough, storing H2 in the hydride form actually packs more hydrogen into a given space than storing it in liquid form. Strange isn't it?

Anyhow, it looks like the achillies heel of this thing is the lifetime of the fuel cell. From their own spec sheet, it is only rated to last 500 hours. They don't mention how much it would cost to replace and or how difficult that would be...