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Hydrogen Generator

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Technical Discussion' started by LoveToSail, Aug 13, 2008.

  1. Dozzer

    Dozzer Prius Noob

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    Agreed.. there must be something in it..

    MagDrive Fuel From H2O - Latest News

    Testing with law enforcement vehicles... Also Toyota Yaris test.
     
  2. dwreed3rd

    dwreed3rd New Member

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  3. LoveToSail

    LoveToSail New Member

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    He makes some good points, but he failed to mention that the output and amps are dependent on the strength of the electrolyte. Two teaspoons of KOH per Gallon of water will draw a lot more amps and produce more HHO Gas than a solution using only one teaspoon. You have to come up with a mixture that meets the production and amps that you are looking for. That is why it is difficult to determine what production you will get from any particular cell.

    His statement "Alot of the sellers dont even know how much their system makes! They say "ALOT" but in reality all the cells I have tested that seemed to make alot, made 1/4-3/4 LPM" shows that he either is ignoring this point altogether.....or he is not as knowledgeable as he claims. :noidea:

    I notice that he did have positive results for the Smack Booster (the one that I have built).:)
     
  4. a priori

    a priori Canonus Curiosus

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    DISCLAIMER: I am not an engineer.

    Getting away from the discussion of breaking two or all three of the laws of thermodynamics . . .

    I don't understand how you take a precision-built instrument that has computer-controlled gas/air mixture and highly-regulated fuel injection systems and make it better by adding into the combustion chamber an amount of fuel that is not regulated -- or, if it is regulated is not so precisely measured. It just sounds like you are adding more fuel to an exothermic reaction. Also, this is happening in an Atkinson-mode engine that is not built for higher compression or temperatures. Doesn't this seem odd? OK -- let me rephrase: This seems odd to me.

    I don't mean to ask for a full explanation of the whole system. I am just wondering why this is happening in the first place. It seems akin to putting bigger, heavier hands on the face of a precision-engineered Swiss watch, just so you can see the time better. I would think that extra resistance could wear down or wear out the very parts that make the watch so valuable. In the end, you would be able to see the time better, but would it be so reliable after the change?
     
  5. bwilson4web

    bwilson4web BMW i3 and Model 3

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    Remember this is "Prius Technical Discussion" and near as I can tell, Toyota does not offer a hydrogen generator on any of their vehicles, much less a Prius. The only hydrogen generator I know of is the traction battery that uses a metal hydride to absorb hydrogen when charging and releases hydrogen during discharge.

    You propose to generate hydrogen by other means and achieve some claimed benefit. When we offer our opinions based upon engineering facts and data, it isn't right to call this a "lack of positive input."

    I endorse moving this whole thread to "Fred's House of Pancakes" where the lack of "positive" engineering options is not required. If "positive input" is what you crave:

    I positively endorse you making as many modifications as you wish to your own car.
    But here, the hydrogen claims will continue to face a "lack of positive input" based upon the continued absence of credible, empirical data. It isn't emotional, it is basic engineering.

    Bob Wilson
     
  6. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    I second this. I only ask that you don't drive your car around where I live if you 'spoof' your O2 sensor because we already have enough NOx in the air as it is.
     
  7. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    I think you hit the nail on the head. My understanding of this exception is to allow people to do things like full electric conversions. This is a case where tailpipe emissions are obviously lower because there is no tailpipe. However without this exception, removing the ICE from the vehicle would constitute a violation of the "no tampering with the Emissions Control System" rules.

    Rob
     
  8. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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  9. miscrms

    miscrms Plug Envious Member

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    There must be something to it because a company that is selling them says it works? Or because a local law enforcement department that is facing huge budget overruns and cutbacks because of fuel costs is desperate enough to try them?

    Rob
     
  10. LoveToSail

    LoveToSail New Member

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    Necessity is the mother of invention.........:cool:

    Greed by a few............is forcing a lot of hard-working Americans to make hard decisions.
     
  11. dwreed3rd

    dwreed3rd New Member

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    I wonder if the law rnforcement department that is using them paid fair market price, reasonable discounts acceptible, or got a free or deep discount for an endorsement. Actually, I did not read the advertisement, so I don't know if it's actually an endrosement or that they are just trying them?
     
  12. dogfriend

    dogfriend Human - Animal Hybrid

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    Bold added by me for emphasis.


    Last month, I met with a salesman who wants to sell my company a digital microscope. He initiated the demo because he wants us to buy his product. Although he has a really nice system, my boss is a frugal businessman (aka cheapskate), so we won't be buying the system.

    So, if I agree to talk to someone for 15 min about their product, it does not mean that I will endorse said product or purchase said product. It only means I might consider it.
     
  13. dwreed3rd

    dwreed3rd New Member

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    Gee! Someone willing to listen to another perspective. Wow! How unique and informative. :thumb:
     
  14. donalmilligan089

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    TVs myth busters proved it a myth
     
  15. alanh

    alanh Active Member

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    The Mythbusters test wasn't quite what's being suggested here -- they tried to see if a car could be run on just the hydrogen generator. Needless to say, it didn't produce anywhere near enough hydrogen.

    The didn't test to see if a tiny amount of hydrogen would increase fuel efficiency when mixed with gasoline.
     
  16. creatorcake

    creatorcake Junior Member

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    I have ordered a hydrogen generator for my prius to test for a company that is selling online the reality is if the generator is made correctly it can produce a lot more hydrogen than you may think with around 3 to 5 amps of draw. Production can be increased by use of a catalyst usually lye making the release hydrogen and oxygen with less power At least that's what I understand at this point. I plan to test 2 different models in the near future. It can increase mpg 20 to 35 % the real question is can the electrical system handle the addition electrical draw. If not you can add another 12 volt battery in parallel to make the difference but it may require periodic charging of auxiliary battery to continue to be used. Or maybe shutting it down for a day ounce a week to build up battery strength. I'll be posting my results in the near future when device is installed and operating.
    The person I talked to is very knoledgable and confident I'll be pleased by device. He is guaranteeing it to work but the increase is not yet determined on the device as its a new model with titanium plates instead of stainless steel. To all naysayers Toyota and Honda are both making hydrogen cars very soon.
     
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I'm pretty sure when Toyota and Honda build such things, they're paying engineers to do the actual calculations of how much energy will be used, where it will come from, and how it will get delivered to the car, and if their work ends up sounding like "a lot more than you may think" and so on, that gets brought up at their performance review.

    But as long as you didn't need the money for anything higher priority, it'll be fun, and cheap tuition if you approach it in that spirit.

    -Chap
     
  18. GreenPriusGuy

    GreenPriusGuy Junior Member

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    Just dropping in to say that I've actually thought about this to an extent. Probably an extent that's further than most have.

    The HHO generator in a car doesn't work because the energy used to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen is coming from your battery. The energy in the 12V battery comes from the alternator, which is driven by a belt from the crank of the engine (in all cars I know of). The engine is where you're putting the HHO to burn to make your car move. So, we're generating power from turning the alternator with a belt. That isn't 100% efficient. Then we're generating HHO using that power, which isn't 100% efficient. We're taking power from our engine, using fuel, to inefficiently make a fuel for our engine. I, or anyone doing this, would see a loss in efficiency because of this. We're not getting as much potential energy out as we're putting in.

    This doesn't mean an HHO system is down right stupid. NO! It means we have to get creative!

    The big question to ask one's self at this point is to ask where we could possible get some free energy, right? Well, solar panels of course! 12 Volt 100 Watt solar panels can be bought for as little as $125 dollars today on Ebay and probably elsewhere. We could use that energy to charge a bank of 12V batteries, or possibly just one large battery, during any time like when the vehicle isn't being driven, and also to help maintain the charge when driving during the day. One would have to design a system that would periodically check the battery voltage and stop the battery from charging further if it is full. I would think a Raspberry Pi or Arduino is capable of this paired up with a relay and some sort of sensor for reading the battery voltage. Obviously a script would need to be written too.

    Of course, the power from the battery would have to be fed into an HHO generator and be piped into the engine. In an older car or a car that doesn't cut off the engine at stops and such this would be easier as one could just wire a relay into the wire from the battery to the HHO generator that went to a wire in the car that had 12V only when the engine is running. I'm not sure how this would work in a Prius, and I've only got some idea as to how I could do it in a regular car.

    I'm not sure how much of an increase in gas mileage this would net. I'm fairly confident in saying that it would be less than enough to offset the cost of the installation for a long time afterward. It's one of those things that I plan to do in the future on something like a Geo Metro, Ford Festiva, or similar small car. Some sophisticated engine tuning may also be required if I wanted to maximize my gas mileage.