Water Power
Run your car or bakkie on water with a HHO or HHOO generator.
You may e-mail me at
john@hydroxypower.co.za with questions, suggestions or if you
can help in any way.
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Water Power
Run your car or bakkie on water with a HHO or HHOO generator.
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How to build a basic hydrogen-on-demand wet cell. Keep it green with organic Septic Tank and Pit Latrine Treatments
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2 March 2010 I have been driving uneventfully around town for the past few days. However, when I started up this morning the revs went up to 2000rpm and then it did what I previously experienced: revving up and down as if I was tapping the accelerator. But this time it was not as severe as before and also it was not an obstruction with the butterfly valve. I adjusted the MAP voltage controller, decreasing the resistance (i.e. bringing it closer to the original signal). For a short while the revs remained at 2000rpm. When I started the car after my first stop, all was back to normal. I will now run it at this setting and see how it goes over the next few days. I also noticed that the water in the second scrubber (in the engine compartment) was drastically reduced. We have had some warm weather for the past week and a bit. With the engine heat and the warm weather I presume that the water readily evaporated. I will top it up before I lose it all. 13 March 2010 The 316 SS plates that I ordered about 2 weeks ago for my dry cell have still not arrived yet, typical "Slower South Coast"! A few days ago I lowered the concentration of electrolyte so that at start-up the electrolyser was only drawing 17A. I did not measure the HHOO output but I'm guessing that it was in the region of 500 - 600ml per minute. I am now trying the principal of "more for less". At a guestimation my consumption is now 10km per liter in town, still not good enough, but improving. We made a 331km round trip to Durban today. Lovely summer's day (30°c ++) and the aircon full ball. I ran the electrolyser all the way to Toti. On arrival the amps were up to 18A. I felt the terminals: positive warm, negative tsshhhh hot! After a 20min stopover we went through to fetch my daughter on the Berea. When we arrived there the negative terminal was seriously hot. We then did a lot of town driving with the electrolyser off. On our return to Toti I ran the electrolyser while idling to try figure out what gives: first off I noticed that there was no bubbling action in either of the scrubbers! I straight away knew that there was a leak somewhere. I checked to make sure that the screw-on lid of the electrolyser was tight and secure, and that all the electrolyte and gas tubes were secure. No problem there. I checked for gas coming out to the first scrubber and there was zilch. I immediately suspected that there must be a leak by the Pratley's plug that I had put in by the negative terminal. Using soapy water, with the electrolyser running, I found the leak. The Pratley's was not sealing on the one side, even though to the eye it all looked okay. I need to strip the electrolyser to (1) secure the leak, and (2) to determine why the negative terminal is getting hot again. I suspect that the gas leak may be part of the problem, but I must check all wiring connections as well as the nuts holding the cell plates. In the mean time I'm trying to source a few strips of that insulating "plastic" curtaining that you find hanging in front of cold rooms. I need it for the gaskets for the dry cell. None of the local aircon places have any at hand, 'though one was prepared to sell me meter lengths at R80,00 per meter. I require just over 2 meters for this purpose, so the cost starts becoming a bit much if I have to buy it new. I've asked a few friends to be on the lookout for me - I'll see what comes up. Yesterday I pulled the electrolyser apart and found that the nut holding the negative terminal was loose. So this was the cause of the heat and ultimately the reason for the gas leak. Here you can see how the fiber washer on the left (negative terminal) blackened to charcoal. It broke into pieces when I tried to remove it, so the heat here must have been horrific.
I cleaned the area up and re-sealed where I could see where the plastic had deteriorated with the heat and pulled away from the original Pratley's patch.
I left it to dry overnight and then this morning I re-assembled it with anticipation. I started the car and switched the electrolyser on. It pulled 23A initially. The bubbling action in the second scrubber however did not reflect the amp draw, so straight away I knew that there was still a leak. I checked my patch and there was still a gas leak where the Pratley's met the plastic. I pulled it all apart and decided to do a major remake. I chipped out all the Pratley's and after cleaning out all the cooked plastic I remodeled a new Pratley's plug. I also stripped the cell. The electrolyte was remarkably clean and so were the plates.
I re-assembled the plates but this time I used only one washer as a spacer (1,6mm) between each plate (in the sets of 3). The spacings are still uneven because the plates are not completely flat.
The re-assembled cell mounted back in the boot. I have been using ss discs to try disperse any heat from the terminals. The little bit of town driving that I did after this resulted in these discs only being very slightly warm. Gas output is 800ml per minute at 24,5A. I recon that the output will rise slightly as time goes by and the cell settles in.
I also moved the MAP controller to the consol so that I could adjust it while driving, if necessary.
I have found a hardware store that has gone to the effort of ordering nylon threaded rod for me - eventually. Thank you David from Craft Hardware! It is ironic that now at a time when I am looking at making a dry cell as my next project, I now will have access to the materials (i.e. nylon threaded rod) that I needed all these years for my wet cell builds! Nou ja... 19 March 2010 A very sad moment for me. I e-mailed my friend Eddie Batista to find out why I couldn't access his website anymore since yesterday. Here is (a portion) of his reply:
greetings John!!! I am sorry to lose your presence on the internet, my friend. Thank you for your positive contribution to the cause and your inspiration to many others who are looking for such success stories to reinforce their own commitment. With Eddie's kind permission I have placed a download link to his e-book on my Information Archive page. This book was a diligent labour of love which Eddie has shared with the world for free. I have seen on some forums where the discussion regarding Eddie's HHOO theory has been slated. Well, the proof is in the pudding, reg of verkeerd! I have seen many theories relating to the cause of why the fuel burn is improved, but one fact remains true: add oxygen to a fire and it will burn more efficiently! On to other matters... I found out that the nylon threaded rod that had been "ordered" for me had in fact not been ordered, as they were confusing what I wanted with plastic bolts! Nou ja... I am also still waiting for the ss plates that I ordered yonks ago! Ja boet... Since my last update I have found that the negative terminal has remained cool, but the positive terminal can get quite hot. I want to strip the cell again this weekend to see if there is another not so tight connection. It may also relate to the higher amp draw. 20 March 2010 I opened up the cell housing to establish why the positive terminal was heating up. I found that some of the nuts in the cell construction as well as the nut holding the connecting strap to the positive terminal were ever so slightly loose. When I say loose, they could turn another ½ millimeter or so. The nut on the positive terminal could turn 2 - 3 millimeters. I tightened everything up and also replaced 500ml of the electrolyte with plain tap water to lower the amp draw. I also decided to put a fuel filter in the gas (HHOO) line to the intake manifold, after the last scrubber, to help prevent any contaminants from going into the engine (for Justin - just in case!).
Another view of the engine compartment.
The re-assembled electrolyser back in its spot in the boot.
Although I reduced the concentration of the electrolyte, the amp draw remained high. This was after the engine and electrolyser had been running for about 10 minutes. The positive and the negative terminals remained cool in this time, but a longer run on the road will tell. The gas output was 550ml per minute at this stage. I expect (from past experience) that tomorrow the amp draw will be much lower and the longer the system is run-in, the more gas output can be expected. I also adjusted the MAP voltage controller slightly.
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The information presented on this website is for you to look at, learn from, laugh at, or whatever. But if you try anything that you see here it is at your own risk. I will not take responsibility for your stupidity should something go wrong. |
