Are you looking for a cool Christmas present? How about a fuel cell car for just under 90 euros? We assembled the “Fischertechnik H2 Fuel Cell Car” and tried out whether and how the fuel cell technology works at home.
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Test: PC-Welt builds hydrogen cars with Fischertechnik
© Fischertechnik
You can build your own fuel cell car with Fischertechnik. We tried this exciting kit.
Conclusion: Advantage through Fischertechnik
A cool kit by no means just for children, but also for adults who want to experience how fuel cell technology works with hydrogen as an energy store. This is made possible by the Fischertechnik H2 Fuel Cell Car kit. Thanks to the reversible fuel cell, you can also experience both directions of conversion. A head start through Fischertechnik one would almost like to squeal, in a modification of the Audi advertising slogan.
Per
Easy to assemble
Reversible fuel cell as a highlight
Good online explanation of the technique
Good printed assembly instructions
Solid construction
Drives quickly and quite long distances
Contra
Buy Fischertechnik fuel cell car kit
The Fischertechnik 559880 Profi H2 Fuel Cell Car kit for just under 78 euros includes 117 parts. For some small parts susceptible to wear, such as the cable clamps, additional copies are included as a reserve. According to Fischertechnik, the kit is suitable for children aged 9 and over.
Well-illustrated instructions guide you through the assembly of the plastic and rubber parts, the electric motor and the fuel cell, including the two storage cylinders for water, hydrogen and oxygen. Tools or batteries are not required for assembly, but they are essential
distilled water.
The model is assembled after a short time and does not require any special skill, even if you were not familiar with the Fischertechnik kits beforehand.
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The fuel cell is placed on the car together with the two storage cylinders. The journey can begin.
It was completely different with the much more complex 3D printer from Fischertechnik, this kit required a lot of time and a passion for handicrafts. You can read more about this here: Fischertechnik 3D printer. But back to the fuel cell car for the home.
Buy Fischertechnik fuel cell car kit
Expandable by:
Fischertechnik experiment kit Green Energy
So the assembly is done, but now comes the really exciting part: the power generation. To do this, follow the instructions on the Fischertechnik website. These instructions are not available in printed form.
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Here the fuel cell is attached to the power pack. It now generates hydrogen and oxygen from H2O. More and more water is pressed into the two upper overflow chambers, while H2 and O2 are obtained.
But in order to be able to generate electricity at all, you first need hydrogen and oxygen. You don’t have to store these two substances in separate form at home. That is why Fischertechnik includes a so-called “reversible fuel cell”. In other words: This can not only generate electricity and water from hydrogen and oxygen, but also first produce hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) from distilled water in a previous step.
To put it simply: We first fill the distilled water into the two storage cylinders up to the mark. Please note the various instructions, such as opening the vent plugs. Then we connect the supplied power pack to the fuel cell – it does not necessarily have to be on the car. Now the fuel cell generates the components hydrogen and oxygen from the distilled water. Give the fuel cell plenty of time to do this, especially when it comes to commissioning it for the first time.
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The car is waiting to be equipped with the fuel cell including the two storage cylinders. On the right behind the container with the distilled water.
After a while, disconnect the power pack and attach the fuel cell with the two storage cylinders to the mini-car. Now connect the two cables coming from the electric motor to the fuel cell. This is a somewhat unfortunate solution, because there is no on / off switch to start the car, but the car drives off immediately as soon as the second terminal is connected to the fuel cell and the current flows.
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The fuel cell is placed on the car together with the two storage cylinders. The journey can begin. All we have to do is connect the second cable, which is now hanging loosely.
Note: According to the manufacturer, the “fischertechnik H2 Fuel Cell Car” construction kit is suitable as a supplement to the
Green Energy construction kit
explaining the principles of hydropower, wind power and solar energy.
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The fuel cell in the middle between the two storage cylinders. Here the cylinders are upside down.
Tips: If the car does not start, watch whether the water level in the two storage cylinders drops. Then the fuel cell will definitely work, but maybe the first time it just needs more time charging and taking in the water before it can deliver optimal performance. You should also check that all four wheels turn smoothly. In our case, the left rear drive wheel was indeed stiff and slowed down significantly. We then loosened the wing nut a little and the fuel cell car whizzed away.
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The fuel cell can of course also be used to generate hydrogen when it is installed.
When all wheels run smoothly and the drive shaft of the electric motor engages neatly in the drive pinion and the fuel cell has swung up to full power, then nothing stands in the way of a considerable driving pleasure. The Fischertechnik H2 Fuel Cell Car drives quickly through our apartment several times until the hydrogen and oxygen are completely converted back to water. Then the whole thing can start all over again: with the electrolysis of water to hydrogen and oxygen.
Buy Fischertechnik fuel cell car kit
Expandable by:
Fischertechnik experiment kit Green Energy
Hydrogen kit car now available from Fischertechnik for 90 euros