Just spotted this thread... I made a prototype hydrogen generator at the end of last year using ss plates in one of those clip-top food storage boxes.
Unfortunately due to some minor miscellaneous engine trouble and being busy elsewhere I haven't really had the chance yet to try it out on any good runs (not that my fuel gauge is much to go on anyway!). However I think it was producing close to a litre a minute with about 10-12 amps of current - something I hope to improve upon.
I'd be happy to share information on my design.
VW Engine Run On Water
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- VWlewis
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Moving up to mainstream! VW Engine Run On Water
So Samsung is now on board with this technology
http://www.got2begreen.com/green-lifest ... -by-water/
Time to get serious folks!
http://www.got2begreen.com/green-lifest ... -by-water/
Time to get serious folks!
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- mirams
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Re: VW Engine Run On Water
I think that's pretty different. I can see how that would work - reacting a metal to produce hydrogen (essentially using up the metal).
But we seem to be talking about applying an electric current to water to produce hydrogen (not reacting our electrodes) so I don't know how that is supposed to help...
Taking a step back and thinking about the physics of this:
- splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen takes exactly the same amount of energy as burning hydrogen and oxygen (producing water) releases.
- at best by the time you have converted this heat into mechanical energy, into electrical energy, then back into chemical energy you will actually be losing engine power not gaining it!
(I can see there would be some argument if hydrogen acted as a catalyst and made the burning of your petrol much more efficient - but the petrol reacts almost completely into carbon dioxide and water anyway so there are few gains to be made.)
Can anyone explain the science behind these claims to me?!
But we seem to be talking about applying an electric current to water to produce hydrogen (not reacting our electrodes) so I don't know how that is supposed to help...
Taking a step back and thinking about the physics of this:
- splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen takes exactly the same amount of energy as burning hydrogen and oxygen (producing water) releases.
- at best by the time you have converted this heat into mechanical energy, into electrical energy, then back into chemical energy you will actually be losing engine power not gaining it!
(I can see there would be some argument if hydrogen acted as a catalyst and made the burning of your petrol much more efficient - but the petrol reacts almost completely into carbon dioxide and water anyway so there are few gains to be made.)
Can anyone explain the science behind these claims to me?!
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Re: VW Engine Run On Water
It's a bad idea to spend your money on this idea at present.
Keep trying though i'm sure there are a few people getting rich out of this.
Beware when choosing what to power the hydrogen generator from, one guy just installed a switch.
Unfortunately he forgot to switch it off once the car had stopped, it filled the pipework with hydrdogen and blew a cast alloy intake apart when he next started the car up.
Taking money from people to highlight a school project type of thing is just wrong.
Playing with it and having fun at the same time is a good thing though, it gets people thinking about ways to get this idea working in other ways.
For those who claim to be getting results from this, take your vehicle to a rolling road and do your tests there in a controlled enviroment.
Then post your results.
Keep trying though i'm sure there are a few people getting rich out of this.
Beware when choosing what to power the hydrogen generator from, one guy just installed a switch.
Unfortunately he forgot to switch it off once the car had stopped, it filled the pipework with hydrdogen and blew a cast alloy intake apart when he next started the car up.
Taking money from people to highlight a school project type of thing is just wrong.
Playing with it and having fun at the same time is a good thing though, it gets people thinking about ways to get this idea working in other ways.
For those who claim to be getting results from this, take your vehicle to a rolling road and do your tests there in a controlled enviroment.
Then post your results.
- dugcati
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Re: VW Engine Run On Water
has anyone tried using static electricity as the power source for these? static is dead easy to produce only I'm not sure how you would convert it into 12v DC though
Electrics/electronics bods your turn on my suggestion.........
Electrics/electronics bods your turn on my suggestion.........
It is by will alone that I set my 'van' in motion!
Re: VW Engine Run On Water
Could anyone that have built this make a how-to with pics of where the tubes, wires, injectors and so on go? With the gas prices today i really need to get my consumption down. I paid almost 90£ for a fill up yesterday!
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- ambivert
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Re: VW Engine Run On Water
static electricity can build up charge on objects to a very high voltage, but unless the object is as big as a thundercloud, there won't be enough energy stored in that charge to do any useful work... and the higher the voltage, the more likely it is to 'leak' out, and the less controllable it would be.
...and I have to agree with the other posts on here about the hydrogen generation idea seeming too good to be true.
The amount of energy released by combining H2 and O, to make H20, is EXACTLY the SAME amount of energy required to split H20 up, back into H2 and O.
If you have an electrolysis cell which draws 10A from your battery, at 12V, you are using 120W of power to split water, and creating some quantity of hydrogen and oxygen gas. Then if you are feeding those gases into your engine, where they react, and re-combine to form water, the absolute MAXIMUM power increase your engine will get from this reaction is 120W. It simply can't be any higher. There is only 120W's worth of gas available. But due to various inefficiencies, it WILL be much lower.
However, the post about using it in a regenerative power scheme rings a little truer. That MIGHT work. Its basically the same idea as a petrol/electric hybrid, but you are storing energy in chemical form rather than electric.
Perhaps we should consider other methods of storage, such as spinning up a giant flywheel, or pulling a weight up a tower
...and I have to agree with the other posts on here about the hydrogen generation idea seeming too good to be true.
The amount of energy released by combining H2 and O, to make H20, is EXACTLY the SAME amount of energy required to split H20 up, back into H2 and O.
If you have an electrolysis cell which draws 10A from your battery, at 12V, you are using 120W of power to split water, and creating some quantity of hydrogen and oxygen gas. Then if you are feeding those gases into your engine, where they react, and re-combine to form water, the absolute MAXIMUM power increase your engine will get from this reaction is 120W. It simply can't be any higher. There is only 120W's worth of gas available. But due to various inefficiencies, it WILL be much lower.
However, the post about using it in a regenerative power scheme rings a little truer. That MIGHT work. Its basically the same idea as a petrol/electric hybrid, but you are storing energy in chemical form rather than electric.
Perhaps we should consider other methods of storage, such as spinning up a giant flywheel, or pulling a weight up a tower
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Re: VW Engine Run On Water
Have a search for vacboost. I can't remember the full web address.
Its an old electrician who comes into work sometimes he really is a nice bloke and quite clever .
He has made a hydrogen generator ( severall actually) he doesn't totally run his vehicle on it but has improved his fuel economey by about a third he get around 60 mpg from a 1.6 petrol car!!!!!!!!!!
Its an old electrician who comes into work sometimes he really is a nice bloke and quite clever .
He has made a hydrogen generator ( severall actually) he doesn't totally run his vehicle on it but has improved his fuel economey by about a third he get around 60 mpg from a 1.6 petrol car!!!!!!!!!!
- xpress
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Re: VW Engine Run On Water
truly great thread with some great thoughts and ideas.
can we think about this japanese car that's running totally on water and do that with our vans? loll.
can we think about this japanese car that's running totally on water and do that with our vans? loll.
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