Posted on 08/11/2008 7:17:09 PM PDT by M.K. Borders
Dubois County Herald By MIKE MORRIS Herald Staff Writer
Water helps his fuel gauge
As fuel prices climb, everything from natural gas to switchgrass has been mentioned as a potential power source for vehicles. But several local handymen aren't waiting on those changes - they're using water to boost fuel economy.
If it sounds like a grade-school science fair project, that's fine with Jason Martin, who first extracted hydrogen gas from water in science class at Jasper High School.
After all, it works.
"It's going to be mainstream if it's not already," the Ferdinand resident said. "It's going to be the next fuel."
"HHO" systems, detailed explanations of which litter the Internet, basically work like this:
Distilled water is held in a PVC pipe, into which at least two stainless steel plates or bolts are anchored.
A small amount of baking soda is poured "into the water to help it carry an electric current, which is created by charging one plate or bolt with a positive charge and the other with a negative charge, usually using the two leads of a battery.
With a current running between the steel pieces, the water molecules are zapped into their component parts, hydrogen gas and oxygen gas.
The highly flammable hydrogen gas is fed through a tube into the air intake of an engine, making the explosions that power the vehicle more efficient and requiring that less fuel be burned to propel it. The process also improves emissions.
Though online companies are rushing to cash in on this open secret and Martin has seen many units selling on eBay; he's reluctant to assume the liability of distributing units himself.
Hydrogen is a dicey gas. Still, he has helped friends build the systems. "If you seal it, then ignite it, it's the Hindenburg," he says. "Build it at your own risk. I'm willing to show people, but I don't think I'd build it for them."
To make the hydrogen bubbles smaller and safer, Martin pipes the gas through a one-way water valve. The filter creates a more measured flow of gas and prevents an engine spark from traveling back up the tube and igniting the hydrogen at its source.
Putting a pipe bomb'in your engine block is no way to boost gas mileage. Martin also attached a fuse to the unit he installed in his F150 truck so that if the electricity produced gets too great, the fuse trips before it blows out his turn signals, for instance; that happened the fIrst time around.
Real'though the risks are, the benefits are worth it for the toolsavvy; like Martin. Mowing his 4.5 acres used to drain one full tank of fuel from his 12.5-horsepower Cub Cadet. Installing an HHO system cut that to a quarter tank. He hasn't calculated mileage for his truck yet. Riding his larger John Deere tractor on a breezy day was a good recipe for a face full of oily diesel xhaust. After installing an HHO system, the black smoke is gone and the engine runs cooler.
"it's good for the environment, so why stop that?
Keeping 10 gallons of water in your 20 gallon tank will cut your fill up price in half. Doubling your tire pressure will double your mileage.
We can’t drill our way out of this but we can fill our way out of it.
I’m Barack Obama and I am an Idiot
Where’s the BS meter?
Of course, the energy needed to generate that current to release the H2 molecules is greater than that recover in burning, but hey, it does work!
In addition, good luck on getting any metal parts to last long under the barrage of H2 and pure 02. But hey, it works on YouTube!
Petroleum, natural gas, ethanol, etc are simply energy storage mediums (akin to batteries I suppose). If you try to pull energy from water, you’re probably gonna be disappointed with what you get once you go thru the trouble of breaking those atomic bonds.
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/Hydroxy/
This is nothing more than snake oil. Any imagined benefit is due to modified driving habits that would achieve the same result without some Rube Goldberg contraption.
Give it a rest already. Not even Scotty could change the laws of thermodynamics.
You can “save at the pump” by removing the gas tank on your vehicle and putting a smaller tank on it. Inflating your tires and getting a “tune up” also helps.
Though online companies are rushing to cash in on this open secret
At least one shyster/idiot on Free Republic is actually selling this gear.
It’s all an oil company conspiracy, donchaknow.
Like soo many things, it's real Americans working quietly in their basements. Coming up with answers that seem beyond the capabilities of Educated Detroit professionals.
If this IS the real deal (and I'm looking for something that says fraud) then we have truly been had by Detroit and God knows who else for a great many years.
It would seem that David Hannum was correct all those many yers ago.....
(http://sniggle.net/barnum.php)
LOL
The laws of thermodynamics?
No violation of Thermodynamics is implied.
Thank you for reading my post. I will be sending you a free republic coupon for 2000 words of free posting.
Other than that, how have you been?
Busy, depolyed and back now.
All is good.
depolyed = deployed
and I am retarded.
It is not the real deal. It requires more energy to make the hydrogen then you get by burning it. The hydrogen is not a “special sauce” that somehow “makes up” for this energy loss. It is a pipe dream.
TANSTAAFL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.