The kitchen ladles turned out to be impresive quality, Indian SS is way better than I expected.

Here’s a pic of the surface of a ladle that has been subjected to over 48 hours use, alongside a new one.

The 48 hours were at about 3 amps, temperatures up to about 180F, and as there were only 4 plates (3 cells) voltage was about 4v. This stuff shows less degradation than the 304 stainless I normally use, at a fraction of the price.

Anyway, I was pleased enough with that test, and have bought several more of these ladles to test further.

My next step was to rebuild the unit with 7 plates in total to give 6 cells so that each cell would draw about 2 volts. Again, the whole unit has been wrapped with tape to reduce stray voltage. The tape glue does break down in use, but I have minimised that by cutting 2 circles of very thin plastic to go under the tape on each side. I also used cable ties to secure the tape ends and stop the electrolyte creeping under the tape.

As you can see in the video, this little unit produces a decent amount considering it is only drawing 3 amps.

Next step will be to hook it up to a car battery as the laptop power supply I’m using maxes out at 4.5 amps and I don’t want to cook it. If all goes well with that test at around 10 - 12 amps, I will then have the challenge of finding or making a suitable container so that I can measure the output properly. Current thoughts are to cut off most of the handles and encase the circular parts in glassfibre resin, with tubes top and bottom for electrolye and gas flow. That way I can use an external reservoir and keep the unit small.

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Get a 2.5 litre plastic coke bottle, pour out the coke and mix with good Panamanian rum with plenty of ice. Save this for later Now hack off the top part of the bottle with a knife or scissors so you have a container. Or you could use a plastic bucket. Drop your ladle assemby into the container. Handles sticking out of the top!!

Fill the container to just cover the plates with water. Tap water is ok for experimenting. You will be amazed at how much muck it contains and sediments out during electrolysis. For a proper cell always use distilled water.

Now grab some baking soda from the larder, or drain cleaner from under the sink ( if using drain cleaner check the label to make sure it’s 99% sodium hydroxide). Please don’t use salt as it gives off chlorine gas which is not healthy. Be careful handling this mix as it is unfriendly to skin and clothing. Read the warning labels.

Mix a couple of teaspoons of the above into a quart of water in a seperate plastic container. Be careful as heat is given off and always add powder to water, not the other way around.

Next we need power. For my testing I used an old laptop power supply that gives 4.5 amps. Any 6 -12 volt power supply or battery charger that gives out 4 - 6 amps will work though. If you have nothing else available, run leads from your car battery.

Attach your power source to the handles making sure they don’t touch. You should see tiny bubbles appearing from the gap between the handles coming out of the water. This is due to the impurities in the tap water. If you were using distilled water there would be no reaction.

Now add some of the water with baking soda/drain cleaner, just pour it into the container/bucket a bit at a time, mix it in and watch. Don’t overdo it as it reduces the resistance of the cell and increases the amps. This is where a battery charger is the best power supply as it will have a meter built into it. For a simple cell of this size power should be kept down to under 6 amps. The photos here show the gas production using just 3 amps.

The gas bubbles you can see in the photo are a mix of Hydrogen and Oxygen. The foaming is due to using tap water plus some contamination from the glue on the electricians tape. Be aware that this gas is highly explosive which is why this part should be done outdoors in an open top container. Hydrogen is 4 times lighter than air so the gas disperses easily as the bubbles burst.

The electricians tape is not suitable for long term use as the liquid attacks the glue and breaks it down. It will usually last for a day or so and is cheap enough for experimenting. For a real cell always use heat shrink tubing for insulation. A poor man’s heat shrink can be cut from plastic coke bottles of a suitable size. Cut tubular sections from the bottle and use gentle heat to shrink it into place.

Disclaimer: This whole article is about an experiment done by me. Nothing more is implied. If you choose to copy the experiment or make use of any of the ideas contained in this article, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. Electricity and water can be a dangerous combination, and the HHO/Hydroxy gas produced is HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE. You are responsible for your own safety and that of others nearby.

The ladle part is almost 4″ diameter so that gives about 12 square inches of surface per plate (pi x r x r ) if I remember math from half a century ago

OK……… let’s go and build a kitchen cell. Minimum tools. A simple DIY project to generate HHO/ HYdroxy Gas.

First off, we need to get rid of the handles on all except 2 of the ladles. I used tin snips, but a hacksaw or angle grinder would do equally well. That’s the hardest part over.

Spacers: My 1st thought was to use some of the small self adhesive pads used as buffers for kitchen cabinet doors. Unfortunately I was unable to find any. Next best thing that is easily available here in Panama was the plastic tubing used to fix mosquito screen into it’s frame. Split it lengthways with a craft knife and then cut the tube so it fits slightly less than half way round the outside of each ladle. Fix the ends with superglue.

Only add the tube to alternate ladle/plates. In this case I had an even number (4) so the tubing was fixed to one of the ladles with a handle and one without. If I had an odd number of ladles I would have fixed the tubing to alternate ladles without handles.

These ladles have small holes punched in them which may cause a small power loss as current can pass through the inner plates. Solid plates would be better, but here I’m using easily available stock so will have to see how well it works.

A quick explanation of how this type of cell works and the formulas involved may be in order at this point.

There are 3 electrical things involved, Volts, Amps and Resistance. I will endevour to explain them in laymans terms.

Volts:
Electrolysis of water to produce HHO/Hydroxy gas only needs about 2 volts. Car systems are usually 12v or slightly higher when running as the alternator produces about 14volts to enable it to charge the battery.

If we just use 2 plates, anything over 2 volts is wasted as heat. There are 2 ways to overcome this problem. Either we make several 2 plate cells and wire them in series so that the current passes through them like a chain, or we can add neutral or floating plates between the positive and negative plates. Adding a neutral plate in effect creates 2 cells, one on each side, and halves the voltage. For a 12 volt system, adding 5 neutral plates creates 6 cells between the 2 powered plates and reduces the voltage to the level we require. This experimental cell has 2 neutrals, creating 3 cells at 4 volts each so it will run slightly hot.

Amps:
Amps or current are what make the water separate into gas. More amps……. more gas. However, we need to keep in mind that we do not have an unlimited supply. The car alternator has to supply current to many other things, as well as keep the battery charged. So what we want is the most gas for the least current.

Secondly, the amount of amps that we can use are also limited by the size of the plates. A good rule of thumb here is a maximum of 1 amp per square inch. For low grade stainless steel like chinese kitchenware it’s better to keep the current down to 1/4 amp per square inch as it will rust.

Resistance:
This is a measure of the difficulty that the volts are subject too while trying to push the amps through the cell. Less resistance means more amps. In the case of electrolysis this is adjusted by the strength of the electrolyte and the space between the plates. Wider spacing means more resistance, purer water means more resistance. This is the part we can adjust, both during the cell building and once we start testing.

Back to the cell building.

What we want to achieve is the maximum amount of current flowing through the plates and the liquid between them while minimising current escaping into the surrounding water. To help in this we need to insulate any metal that is in contact with the water apart from the actual plate surfaces inside the cell.

So the next step is to cover the handles. For this quick build I am using electricians insulating tape. For long term use a better alternative is heat shrink tubing. This just slides over the handles and is shrunk into place by gentle heat.

OK, We now have 2 ladles with the handles insulated, and 2 neutral plates. 1 of each has the thin tubing glued around both edges with a gap top and bottom. Let’s put it together.

To help keep the plates aligned I used 2 thin screws through the holes as a temporary fix. Start with the complete ladle with tubing attached, add the neutral plate without any tubing, then the one with tubing around the edge and finally the 2nd ladle with no tube. Keep the handles aligned.

Wrap the whole unit using electricians tape, or large diameter heat shrink tubing if available, except for the small area at the bottom where liquid will enter. Remove the temporary screws once you have got at least half the tape in place. The Hydroxy gas will escape from the gap between the handles. This wrapping holds the unit together and also insulates the plate edges and outer surfaces. Just like the handles, this keeps all the current in the area between the plates where it can produce gas, rather than allowing it to escape into the surrounding liquid where it will only create heat.

Voila!!……… We now have 4 kitchen ladles taped together. Lets go make some gas in the next article.

Disclaimer: This whole article is about an experiment done by me. Nothing more is implied. If you choose to copy the experiment or make use of any of the ideas contained in this article, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. Electricity and water can be a dangerous combination, and the HHO/Hydroxy gas produced is HIGHLY EXPLOSIVE. You are responsible for your own safety and that of others nearby.

Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts

Changed the theme, I prefer light colours. The old theme was too hard on these old eyes. I hope you like it too.

I’ve also added a forum. Comments are less than practical for discussion so you now have two choices. A quick comment if that’s all that’s needed, or an opportunity to have an extended discussion via the forum format. To post in the forum you will need to register, simple form but it helps keep the spammers out.

It’s kinda bare in there at the moment, no point in adding loads of sections until we see how it develops. Easy enough to create separate areas for the different subjects as it grows.

Please, if you do decide to experiment, read the legal and disclaimer pages at the top of the blog. Both for your own safety and to cover my butt if anything goes wrong.

Rik

These ebooks show you how to convert a regular gasoline engine car into a Hydroxy Hybrid  and claim that you can improve gas mileage by up to 100% - effectively doubling your gas mileage.

Like most marketing claims, these figures need to be taken with a pinch of salt. I am actively involved with a number of forums dedicated to the subject, as well as building several different designs of Hydroxy generators for my own use. I also manufacture and install Hydroxy generators for diesel plant and commercial equipment.

While there are ocasional wild claims, most of the experimenters I have met are getting anywhere from 10% to 60% savings, with the majority in the 20-30% range. There are also a number of top end experimenters who are taking the process to really high levels, but also spending far more on their Hydroxy generators than most of us would consider practical. I want to save money by buying less gasoline for my everyday drive, not spend $1000’s building a system that needs a truck to carry it.

For the home experimenter there are a number of ebooks available via the internet. I have only reviewed a few of them, and can comfortably recommend  The 2008 ULTIMATE Gas Saver Guide as the best value of the 3 I have read. It covers all the main areas concerning Hydroxy from the next 2 books, while reducing the technical jargon from one and the fluff from the other. This book also covers many other ways to reduce gas consumption.

The Water4Gas ebook is very extensive, with easy to follow instructions and customer service. It contains a lot of valuable information on the subject in general but is let down by the generator design that the author provides. The wire in jar cell is at best a high school project, despite the number of cowboys selling them on ebay.

Run Your Car On Water is half the price of the water4gas book, but is much harder to follow as it is more technical in nature.  However the designs provided are much more substantial and effective.

All 3 books come with the clickbank money-back guarantee.

Click here for The 2008 ULTIMATE Gas Saver Guide.

Click here for Run Your Car On Water.

Click here for Water4gas.

If you have more patience, you can also bookmark this blog and follow my progress.  Or you can do your own searches on the net for forums and articles on the subject.

Most of the information is out there, freely available for those of us with more time than money or an enthusiasm for the whole subject. The ebooks have the advantage of putting the same information into your hands in an easy to read format, rather than having to sift through an overload of contradictory facts and opinions.

Over the next few months I aim to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the various designs given in the ebooks or freely available on the net, as well as some of the commercially available units on the market. I will also try to explain the many different electrical and chemical processes involved in calculating cell size and configuration for efficient Hydroxy production.

Another area I will cover is how to install a Hydroxy generator safely. sound wiring, heat problems, flashback protection, auto shut off, etc. as well as the sensor modifications that are usually needed for modern computer controlled engines.

You will need patience though. I write when I have the time and inclination and share my knowledge freely. One day I may collate everything into an ebook, but for now this blog is enough to keep me occupied.

If there is a particular system or design that you are considering buying, but want a second opinion, just ask via a comment. I don’t sell systems or act as an agent for any manufacturer so no bias from that angle.

Comments help me to focus on what to write about first. and you, my loyal reader, get the information that interests you.  Win Win.

Rik

My theory in the last post, that an even # of plates would make each plate hold either positive or negative polarity on both sides turned out to be wrong. Thanks to a friend in fuel-saver.org Forum for pointing out the error. Lots of good info over there.

Anyways, I tested with odd and even #s of neutrals, and he was correct, the neutral plates always act as bipolars so the gas going up the tubes would be a mixture.

All is not lost tho, here’s a redesign of the cell array using separators to create 3 series cells from the same materials, rather than the 5 cells created by the neutrals. Each cell now has just 1 of each, positive and negative, with the individual cells connected by external wiring.

The gas coming off each plate can now be collected separately on either side of the permeable membrane in each cell. Although only 1 side of each plate is actually producing gas.

If it works maybe it could be renamed as the Panama cell, it’s moved a long way from the Tero cell that it was based on, with the tube outlets, separator membranes and cell dividers, plus it’s fully flooded due to the external reservoirs/gas collectors.

Royalties anyone??? 

Seriously tho, I’m happy to share any ideas I come up with, for personal use. Helps to spread the knowledge to a wider community.  If you want to produce stuff to sell on ebay, go and buy an overpriced ebook that gives you the rights to build crappy designs and join the rest of the scammers over there.

HHO IS effective in cutting fossil fuel consumption, as well as cleaning up the environment.

My Cavalier failed it’s emissions test due to a bad cat last year. It was 10 years old tho. I replaced the cat back then, but still had the old one in the shed. Just for research purposes, I took the old, blocked cat and gutted it with a length of rebar in an electric drill. Then fitted it back on the chevy for this years test. Passed with flying colors thanks to hydroxy. Emissions were way below the levels from last year.

Shut up Rik, before you go blathering on about big oil, conspiracy theories and political crap

Have fun building.

I use the same method of output tubes for my own fully flooded Tero type cells, the only addition is the membranes between 2 thinner neoprene gaskets to separate the gas and 2 recirculation reservoirs.

The tubes are cut to slot over the plates and on my big cells they are silver soldered in place. Goop should work for a trial run tho.

Using 2 separate reservoirs for the gases and any electrolyte that is circulated with the gas, with the returns fed back into each end of the Tero, means the liquid only has to pass through 2 membranes on each side of the cell.

The plates are all identical, just mirrored so that the electric tags, feed holes and output tubes do not align. This gives more gasket depth for compression around the output tubes.

It is essential to keep to an even number of plates (odd # of cells) so that the intermediate plates work as either negative or positive, not bipolar. 5 cells between 6 plates should be optimum due to the 4mm+ spacing. 7 cells would need very strong electrolyte.

This design is still theoretical, but at worst it still gives a decent producing HHO system. The only extra cost is for the membranes. I plan to build one for my cavalier to replace the plastic pipe arrangement I’m using ATM to see if Hydrogen alone will give a better result.

A further modification could easily be made if the neutral plates act as bipolars. Replace permeable membranes 2 & 4 with thin rigid plastic with a feed hole for liquid at the bottom like the S/S plates. The unit will then operate as 3 independent cells and can be wired in series using the external tags. Easy to dismantle and add more plates and membranes to drop the voltage per cell, or build 2 complete units and wire them in series.

It’s based on the fully flooded tero cell design I’m currently using for diesel generators, but reduced to 6″ X 6″ for car type amperages. Should run comfortably between 12 and 20 amps.  My diesel units are 12″ X 12″ with 12 cells, designed to run from 60 up to 120 amps @ 24volt. The recirculation reservoirs help keep things cool.

The plates are designed so that they are assembled with the electric tags on opposite sides for each alternate plate. This also alternates the electrolyte feed holes and the output tubes.

I use 5mm neoprene gaskets, but with this modification it would need twice as many gaskets, 2 mm thick, with the seperator material trapped between. Testing thin woven glassfibre cloth for now, but nylon or even ‘J’ cloth may work. Any material that can stand up to the electrolytic action while allowing liquid and electrons to flow, yet fine enough weaqve to keep the hydrogen and oxygen bubbles apart. Make the seperator a fraction smaller than the plate size so that the neoprene gaskets seal the outer edges when compressed.

The outlet tubes are cut from SS brake pipe and should have a bulge flare on the output end for security. Use a small amount of goop to seal them. The neoprene gasket will crush down to make most of the seal. They need to extend inside just beyond the inner gasket edge and the slot in the plates should be kept as small as practical. They will catch gas generated on both sides of the plate.

Use an EVEN number of plates so that each plate takes on the opposite polarity to the next if running as a series array. Positive to one end plate and negative to the other, with the rest getting their polarity via the electrolyte. Use 6 plates for 5 cells, or 8 plates for 7cells, but note that 7 cells is pushing the electrolyte strength into orbit. 11 plates can be wired -ve at each end and+ve to the centre for 2 x 5 cell series units in parallel.

Or play with different combinations using the tabs on each plate. That is the best feature of this design, easy to try combinations, and also easy to dismantle/rebuild to make changes. No glue except the goop holding the output tubes to the plates/gaskets.

Use 2 seperate reservoirs to collect the gasses, one fed from the tubes over the negative plates for hydrogen, the other from the tubes over the positive plates for oxygen. Returns from both reservoirs feed back into the cell via fittings in the end plates.

If the amount of S/S drilling is a problem, make oversized end plates like the original Tero and arrange the bolts around the outside of the s/steel plates. Use thicker end plates made from acrylic to minimise distortion. That reduces the hole drilling to 1 per plate. Use 22 or 24 gauge 304 or 316L and the slots and electric tags can be cut with hand snips. With thin guage S/S yellow crimpon cable connectors can be used, cut the tags to fit. 10g wire will handle the 20amp current. Or leave the tag larger if you prefer to drill for a bolt on connection.

Have fun.

So here’s a picture of the hydroxy generator installed in the cavalier:

As you can see it’s virtually invisible to other road users.

Here’s a picture of the main Hydroxy generator unit:

A little bit different to the usual 4″ pipe or jamjar, this is the latest in a long line of experiments and the best producing HHO generator I have made.  At 12 amps this array produces 1.6litres/minute. I am currently testing it at lower amperages to see where the ’sweet spot’ is for this engine. Each vertical ‘T’ section contains a single 2 plate cell ( +& -) but the way I have folded the stainless steel gives me about 24 square inches on each electrode surface within that tiny space. Distance between cells, plus the fact that most of the electrodes are within the vertical tube, means very little stray current being wasted as heat. Gas collects in the top section and passes to a header with any electrolyte being recirculated to the bottom of the cell array. Being only 45mm thick it fits into the space in front of the radiator and is protected by the bumper/crossmember. The open design of the array also allows air to pass easily to the radiator.

The Header:

From the header the HHO passes through a bubbler to clean the gas and also to prevent any backflash. The bubbler is a simple design that allows gas to pass freely, yet in the event of a backfire will instantly block the flash from going to the header or main unit. It also allows air to pass back into the unit when cooling, without sucking the water back into the main unit.

The Bubbler:

And then goes into the air intake close to the throttle body.

I have since added an extra electrolyte catcher between the header and the bubbler to catch any overflow from the header and stop electrolyte from contaminating the bubbler’s water. I made the mistake of overfilling the unit on one occasion and it overfilled the bubbler. The new water catch tank now prevents this from happening, and any overflow gets sucked back from the catcher into the header when it cools down, without affecting the bubbler.

Rik