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Frequently Asked Questions
I do not intend here to answer every question that
is obviously addressed in the main pages of this web site. There are a few questions that I
repeatedly get that are answered in the secondary pages of this web
site, especially the many newsletter pages, that I will address here
for the purpose of saving myself time.
1. What
about winter conditions? How do
you keep the water from freezing?
2.
What about water in the exhaust caused by the hydrogen gas?
3. What about
the leaner air/fuel mixture and the possibility of burning valves?
4. Will Hydrogen Boost void my warranty?
5. Will Hydrogen Boost work on Diesel
engines?
6. How much mileage increase can I
expect with Hydrogen Boost?
7. Why not have a
sight gauge on the side of the hydrogen generator so I can tell
when it needs water?
8. Do I need to use special water?
9. Where do I put my Hydrogen
Generator if there is no space in the engine compartment?
10. Are there any issues with hydrogen embrittlement?
11. How easy is installation? Do I need a Mechanic?
1. What about winter conditions? How do you keep the water from
freezing?
A. Cold Weather
solution
Thank you for your interest in Hydrogen-Boost. The system
operates especially well in cold weather. The fuel heater and
chosen vaporizing systems improve on winter mileage considerably.
The 0w30 Amsoil reduces the drag caused by more viscous oils and the
XCEL Plus engine treatment causes less drag year round. The
driving tips are especially applicable to cold weather, and the
recommended tire pressure is especially important in keeping your tires
safe from damage caused by under inflation. The electronic
control circuit works the same in cold weather as it does in hot
weather.
But I am sure you are especially asking about the hydrogen generator,
which uses water, which usually turns to ice in cold weather.
Well we have that solved too. Our electrolyte doesn't freeze and
for cold climates we suggest a coil of soft copper pipe wrapped around
our hydrogen generator through which is circulated engine coolant from
the heater hose circuit. So the
hydrogen generator is heated. It takes about five minutes to warm
up to optimum operating temperature.
Still
improving the system,
2.
What about water in the exhaust caused by the hydrogen gas?
A. Water in the
Exhaust
Hydrogen Boost Newsletter
7-18-01
Two days in a row now I have had questions emailed
to me about water in the exhaust caused by the Hydrogen-Boost system so
it is time for me to address the question in the form of a report that
I can cut and paste when asked again. So here we go.
Octane, a typical gasoline molecule has a chemical formula
of C8H18. When combusted in an internal combustion engine the
chemical equation is:
C8H18 + 12.5 O2 = 8CO2 +
9H20
As you can see over half of the exhaust gases formed are
water molecules (H2O). In a typical vehicle at 60 miles per hour
getting 30 mile per gallon the engine is burning up gasoline at the
rate of two gallons per hour. Gasoline weighs about 3 kilograms
per gallon so that typical vehicle is burning up 6 kilograms of
gasoline per hour. If Octane is the typical molecule of gasoline
then each 114 grams of octane (molecular weight of octane is 114 grams)
produces 162 grams of water (9 times the molecular weight of water, 18
grams). So every hour the typical vehicle produces 8.5 kilograms
of water. That equates to 18.75 pounds or 2.3 gallons of
water. The exhaust also contains 18.5 kilograms or 40.7 pounds of
Carbon Dioxide, every hour of driving, but that is not the focus
here. Let’s focus on the 2.3 gallons of water contained in the
exhaust of a typical vehicle.
Now if we could somehow decrease the amount of fuel used
by 20%, which is no great feat for Hydrogen-Boost, we could eliminate
0.46 gallons or 3.7 pounds or 59 ounces of water every hour from the
exhaust. Now if the Hydrogen-Boost system is producing gas at its
maximum rate it would inject into the intake 120 liters of gas per
hour. When this gas is combusted the water produced weighs 64.3
grams or 2.3 ounces. So if Hydrogen-Boost is saving 20% on the
fuel bill it is eliminating 59 ounces of water by injecting 2.3 ounces
of water in the form of gas. That is a net reduction of 56.7
ounces of water every hour.
So for those of you that are concerned that the hydrogen
gas injected by Hydrogen-Boost will cause all kinds of water in your
exhaust, relax. The Hydrogen-Boost system will reduce the amount
of water in your exhaust about 25 times as much as it injects.
And that is using a very conservative fuel savings figure of only 20%.
Even if Hydrogen-Boost did add water vapor into the
exhaust and didn’t give you any savings at all, it would only be an
increase of 0.7% of what is already being produced in the engine by the
combustion of the gasoline.
3. What about the leaner
air/fuel mixture and the possibility of burning valves?
A. Exhaust Gas Temperature, Lean Mixtures, and Burning Valves
Will operating my vehicle at a leaner mixture
with Hydrogen-Boost, cause damage to my valves?
With Hydrogen-Boost seeking
to run on the leanest air/fuel mixture that has acceptable torque and
power, in pursuit of the best possible gas mileage, we have had
repeated questions from misinformed customers concerning whether they
would burn their valves by running the extra lean mixture.
I am sure the
misinformation comes from the aviation field. Being an aviator until last year's
near fatal experimental aircraft accident, I know that piston engine aircraft take off and climb at
maximum power, and cruise at a leaner mixture, watching the EGT gauge
to insure a safe temperature. Of
course we all assume that safe temperature means a temperature that
doesn't burn the valves.
This information gets us to
assume that an electronic fuel injected engine runs at the rich mixture
that is cool enough to protect the valves from burning. Most also assume that if we lean out
the mixture we will be in danger of burning the valves. A too hot exhaust gas temperature
also would indicate a too hot combustion temperature that happens to
produce NOx, the oxides of nitrogen that are
considered as toxic pollution.
What most of us don't know
is that during warm up and acceleration the EFI (electronic fuel
injection) engine does indeed run with a rich mixture, but during
cruise the engine control unit (ECU) runs in what is called closed loop
operation, which targets a 14.7 to 1 air fuel ratio. This ratio is called stoichiometric,
meaning that there is a perfect mixture of air and fuel to insure
complete combustion. This also happens to be the perfect mixture to get
the highest temperature of combustion, and therefore the highest
exhaust gas temperature (EGT).
Any leaner (more air) mixture will cause a cooler combustion, and any richer (more fuel) mixture will
also cause a cooler combustion.
The following quote was
obtained from http://www.sdsefi.com/techegt.htm
and is chemically accurate:
Some gauge
manufacturers say you should tune to achieve maximum or peak EGT for
maximum performance. This is incorrect. Peak EGT generally occurs at an
AFR of around 14.7- 15.0 to 1 on gasoline. This is far too lean for
maximum power and is dangerous under continuous WOT conditions. Many people think that the leaner you go, the higher
the EGT gets. This is also incorrect. Peak EGT occurs at stoichiometry- about 15 to 1 for our purposes. If
you go richer than 15 to 1, EGT will drop and if you go leaner than 15
to 1 EGT will ALSO drop. It is VERY important to know which side of
peak EGT you are on before making adjustments. It is safe to say
that peak power will occur at an EGT somewhat colder than peak EGT.
As
you can probably figure out by now, leaning the mixture from the target
14.7 to 1 will NOT cause a hotter exhaust nor will it cause you
to burn your valves. This is not
to say that leaning the ECU's program under all conditions will cause a
cooler exhaust. There is one
condition that could be hotter and that would be running at WOT (wide
open throttle) at 14.7 to 1 instead of the programmed 13 to 1. A continuous running at this
condition might indeed burn your valves.
But how often would a
mileage conscientious driver equipped with
Hydrogen-Boost want to run at WOT for extended periods of time at 14.7
to 1 mixture? First of all a
conscientious driver would be following the driving tips in the manual
which discourages WOT driving all together, say nothing about an
extended WOT operation. Also if
a Hydrogen-Boost system is adjusted properly, it will be running at a
much higher (leaner) mixture than 14.7 to 1, even at full
throttle.
Being a research scientist,
I don't like to take anyone's word for anything so I have ordered two
EGT gauges, both of which can read the temperatures of two
sensors. I will verify all that
has been written in this newsletter and will report the results in a
later issue.
So to answer the original
question:
Will operating my vehicle
at a leaner mixture with Hydrogen-Boost, cause damage to my valves? NO.
Verification:
On
June 11th I finally installed one of my EGT gauges. The probe had a rather short lead so
I ended up running with the EGT gauge on top of my hood, rubber banded
to the windshield wiper. I had
to drill and tap a hole for the threaded probe, which worked out
fine. It was a little tight for
space inside the engine compartment so I used a right angle portable
drill and a socket and ratchet on the tap.
Once
the probe was warmed up I cruised at a constant speed and throttle setting
and dialed in a leaner fuel mixture while watching the gauge. What is claimed above regarding EGT
and fuel ratio was indeed verified.
At cruise the EGT was about 10 degrees cooler at 13:1 air/fuel
ratio than it was at 14.7:1. At
17:1 it was also 10 degrees cooler.
At 19:1 it was 20 degrees cooler, and at 21:1 it was 30 degrees
cooler. The temperature really
had more to do with the throttle setting than anything else. At high throttle settings the EGT was
in the 900s, at high cruise in the 800s, at medium cruise in the 700s,
at low cruise in the 600s, and at idle in the 500s. With this large range of temperatures
the small change due to fuel ratio was insignificant.
One
thing that is notable is the fact that any set power output typically
produced the same or similar temperatures, regardless of the fuel
ratio. Even though the higher
fuel ratio caused a lower temperature at a set throttle position, to
keep the same power it took a slightly more open throttle, which caused
the temperature to rise back to the same reading as the lower ratio and
throttle setting that produced the same power. Of course this was not quite true
with those full throttle, rich ratio
conditions when the EGT is hot but not as hot as it would be at 14.7:1
fuel ratio.
The
throttle setting determined more than just the EGT,
it determined the amount of temperature drop that was caused by the
increasing fuel ratio. At idle
there was only a 5-10 degree drop, but at higher throttle settings
there was more than a 40 degrees of drop.
What
does all this mean in relation to the question that started this
discussion? Will operating my
vehicle at a leaner mixture with Hydrogen-Boost, cause damage to my
valves? To answer that question
we would determine the condition that causes the highest EGT. This would be at full throttle and
14.7:1 fuel ratio. Neither a
stock vehicle nor a Hydrogen-Boost system equipped vehicle would run at
this condition. The stock
vehicle would run at 12 or 13 to 1, and a Hydrogen-Boost equipped
vehicle would run at the same 12 or 13 to 1, for those using the old
electronic control circuit, or 18 or 20 to 1, for those with the new
electronic control circuit. Of
course any Hydrogen-Boost equipped vehicle would not likely be seen at
full throttle for extended periods of time. So to conclude, the EGT that causes
valves to burn would never be encountered with a Hydrogen-Boost
equipped vehicle.
4.
Will Hydrogen Boost void my warranty?
A. Warranty issues with Hydrogen Boost
Many have
asked whether Hydrogen Boost will void their warranty. The short answer is NO. The long answer is an explanation of
what a warranty is. It is
obvious that you are asking the wrong question. The proper question is, “If I have
Hydrogen Boost installed on my vehicle can my manufacturer refuse to
pay for fixing my car?” The
answer is the same as for anything added to your vehicle. For example if you change your tires
to a different brand than what the vehicle came with, can the
manufacturer refuse to pay for fire damage under my hood. Well, that would depend on whether
the tires caused the fire. If
the tire blew out and caused you to run off the road and crash into a
tree, leaking gasoline and catching fire, yes the manufacture could
say, “No, we are not responsible for that fire damage so we won’t
pay. So if something about the
Hydrogen Boost system, like improper installation, causes damage to
your engine, don’t expect the manufacturer to pay for the damage
done. The main thing that could
cause damage is dumping a water solution of strong chemicals into your
engine. That can not happen with
a properly installed Hydrogen Boost system but if you ignore the
installation instructions because you are a great experimenter who
“knows what he’s doing” then you could cause damage. There is nothing about the Hydrogen
Boost system that can cause damage by itself. Only improper installation or use can
possibly cause damage that the manufacturer should not pay for because
of his warranty. If you can read
and follow instructions, you won’t cause any damage and the
manufacturer is bound to repair your vehicle of any damage not caused
by you.
RE: The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act Federal
law sets forth requirements for warranties and contains a number of
provisions to prevent vehicle manufacturers, dealers and others from
unjustly denying warranty coverage. With regard to aftermarket parts,
warranty coverage cannot be denied simply because such parts are
present on the vehicle. The warranty coverage cannot be denied
unless the aftermarket part is proven to have caused the malfunction or
damage.
Magnuson Moss Warranty Act
US Code - Title 15, Chapter 50,
Sections 2301-2312 Legally, a vehicle
manufacturer can not void the warranty on a vehicle due to an
aftermarket part unless they can prove that the aftermarket part caused
or contributed to the failure in the vehicle (per the Magnuson Moss
Warranty Act (15 U.S.C. 2302(C)).
If your vehicle manufacturer fails to honor the warranty,
contact the FTC at (202) 326-3128 or www.ftc.gov
.
5.
Will Hydrogen Boost work on Diesel engines?
Diesel
A. Hydrogen-Boost with
Diesel Engines
Many have asked if Hydrogen-Boost will work on diesel powered
vehicles. The answer is
yes. All of the components of
the Hydrogen-Boost System will help increase the mileage of diesel
powered vehicles. In addition to
increase in efficiency, hydrogen has already been proven in tests to
help reduce the harmful exhaust emissions.
In spring of 2007 we had
our hydrogen generator subjected to dynamometer tests on a John Deer
diesel engine by Purdue
University. Results are reported in our May 2007
newsletter at http://hydrogen-boost.com/May%202007.html An
average increase in work done per gallon of fuel was 15% over the
entire operating range.
Increases at common operating conditions (throttle settings and
RPM) were as high as 30% and at an isolated best case point there was a
60% increase reported. This was
on a mechanical injection pump equipped diesel engine. Results on an electronic fuel
injected diesel may vary.
Following
the Purdue
University
testing we got report of an independent trucker who had purchased our
hydrogen generator. Those
results are reported in our June 2007 newsletter at http://hydrogen-boost.com/June%202007.html 20%
increase in mileage was initially reported with the hydrogen generator
alone, and over 30% total increase was reported when the engine,
transmission, and differential treatments were installed. This was on a tractor trailer with a
Detroit Diesel engine.
There are now close to a dozen companies in North
America that market a hydrogen only device for diesel
vehicles that are claimed to achieve 8-15% increase in efficiency at
the cost of between $6000 and $15,000.
Their devices are advertised to produce only one third to one
half as much hydrogen as that produced by the Hydrogen-Boost unit. The "guarantee" offered by
these companies is not a money back guarantee but rather an offer to
have the equipment removed and payment schedule cancelled, usually
after the customer has spent well in excess of the total cost of a
complete Hydrogen-Boost system.
Reimbursement of the expense to the customer is usually refused
by these companies. Also I
notice no published documentation of their claimed increases in
efficiency. They depend on
testimonials of "customers" that believe they are getting
results from their devices but without any scientifically controlled
experimental data to support their beliefs. An 8-10% increase is impossible to
verify without controlled scientific experimentation. It is easy for a customer to believe
a perceived improvement when such is not the case. We have not done any experiments on
diesel powered vehicles because there are none available to us at a
reasonable cost, and we have focused our efforts on the more prominent
gasoline powered vehicle.
In January 2006 in Austria we installed part
of the Hydrogen Boost system on a diesel powered Ford Fiesta. Even without the XCEL PLUS engine treatment,
which I consider a very important part of the system, we achieved a 9%
increase in mileage and a 10% reduction in acceleration times
(indicating an increase in power, but not necessarily 10%). When the complete is applied I expect
more like 15-18% increase in mileage and decrease in acceleration
times.
Diesel update:
To our surprise we have had excellent reports from our first
diesel small vehicle system customers.
One purchased a gasoline system and decided to install the hydrogen
generator onto his diesel pickup and achieved a 20% increase in
mileage, then purchased a complete diesel system and installed the
hydrogen generator on his wife’s car who was so impressed with the
Hydrogen Boost results on the diesel pickup,
she wanted one for her car.
Another diesel system customer pulls a huge fifth wheel camper
followed by a large boat, total length 60 feet. He has a regular route to camp of 211
miles which normally took 25 gallons of diesel fuel. Since installing the hydrogen Boost
diesel system he has done the trip with a heavier load and faster
driving with only 20 gallons of fuel.
This is a 25% increase in mileage. This customer has also been the first
to test the expanded hydrogen gas production capability of the larger
diesel hydrogen generator, running the unit at 37.5 amps with a forty
amp fuse. Diesel
6. How much mileage increase can I
expect with Hydrogen Boost?
A. To get a
comprehensive answer, please read our November 2001 newsletter at http://www.hydrogen-boost.com/november2001.html but to give you an idea of our
experience, we have consistently achieved 50% increase in highway
mileage and over 100% increase in city mileage when we applied all the
components of the system including driving tips. For those who refuse to change their
driving habits we can only say that in controlled cruising road tests
we have consistently achieved 15-25% increases,
and on the dynamometer we have achieved 18-31% increases. For more information on these tests
see our newsletter pages at http://www.hydrogen-boost.com/september%202005.html
and http://www.hydrogen-boost.com/october%202005.html.
7.
Why not have
a sight gauge on the
side of the hydrogen generator so I can tell when it needs water?
A. For two reasons. First you’d likely never see it. Have you seen where you are going to
install the hydrogen generator?
In most engine compartment there are very few places to squeeze
in the hydrogen generator, and when you get it down into the spot where
you can fit it, there is little chance you’ll be able to read a sight
gauge on the side of it.
Secondly, a sight gauge is just another thing that will break
while you’re cramming the hydrogen generator down into that tight spot,
and it is just a place that will leak out your electrolyte. You already know when you need water,
whenever you are under the hood checking your oil,
you need to top off your water level.
This only needs to be done every two tanks full of fuel but its
better to just do it every time you fill your tank.
8. Do I need to use special water?
A. You need
to refrain from using water with minerals in it. Distilled water is best and it’s all
around us. You don’t need to go
to the store and buy it by the gallon, you can
get it for free. It falls out of
the sky, you can catch it off your roof, it drips off your air
conditioner, it drips of a dehumidifier. In my town we have de-mineralized
water in our pipes from the town.
That’s what I use. Just
don’t use water with minerals in it because the minerals will stay in
the hydrogen generator and become mud or mineral deposits. Then you would have to clean out the
hydrogen generator more often than the once a year I recommend.
Recently we have been testing the use of household
strength Ammonia. This ammonia
is a solution made with demineralized or
distilled water and ammonia, both of which electrolyze to produce
hydrogen. Ammonia actually takes
less electrical power. Initial
tests have been encouraging and I see no reason yet to use household
strength ammonia, which is quite inexpensive.
9. Where do I put my Hydrogen
Generator if there is no space in the engine compartment?
A. The typical alternative is under the front fender,
in front of the mud-guard. See a
picture of an installation under the fender of the Saturn SL1 here and see a video of the filling procedure here.
10. Are there any issues with hydrogen embrittlement?
A. The short answer is NO. The long
answer requires understanding of hydrogen embrittlement. Hydrogen embrittlement
occurs when hydrogen is produce in an ionic or atomic state and penetrates
the metal before it is joined with another atom of hydrogen to form a
diatomic molecule of hydrogen, which takes up more space than the
individual hydrogen atoms or ions.
This forming of the hydrogen molecule causes stress on the
lattice of the metal because it is trying to crowd out the metal
atoms. When enough hydrogen
molecules (two atoms each) have formed within the lattice structure of
the metal they cause the metal’s lattice structure to over-stress and
rupture. Hydrogen produced in
electrolysis is already mostly diatomic molecules of stable hydrogen
(two atoms together) so there is no stress on the metal that it is
exposed to thereafter. Brown’s
gas (common ducted electrolyzer gases) may contain some small portion
of monatomic hydrogen (ionic or atomic) but before it has a chance to
embed itself in any metal lattice structure, it is combusted in the
combustion chamber of the internal combustion engine to which the
Hydrogen Boost system is installed.
Normally hydrogen embrittlement is
experience in highly charged plasma generation of hydrogen associated
with underwater arc welding. Our
electrolysis does not have a plasma environment and therefore is not
even a threat to our metal container, much less an automobile engine.
11.
How easy is installation?
Do I need a Mechanic?
A. Ease of
installation depends on access to the following: heater hose, fuel line coming to the
injector rail, MAF and MAP sensors, fuel pump relay, and oxygen
sensors. Even an experienced
installer will spend more time finding these items than is typically
taken for installation of the equipment. Once a particular model has had a
system installed, it is a breeze to do the same model again. That does not mean that an
experienced mechanic not familiar with the system will take less time
than an experienced installer or even a person who typically doesn’t
work on his vehicle. I would say
that anyone who can read, look at pictures in a repair manual, and has
had experience with simple tasks like changing the spark plugs, and
maybe an alternator of starter, can easily install the hydrogen boost
system. If you do hire a
professional mechanic, don’t hire him by the hour, hire him by the
job. Working by the hour always
seems to take more time.
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