Gas prices are higher and higher every day it seems, and people are desperate to save gas, and thus, save money.
Some people have come up with what they think is a brilliant plan.
The Great (or not so great…) Idea:
We know that we can extract Hydrogen from Water through electrolysis, which can then be combined with Oxygen again to use as fuel for anything from computers to tanks to cars. This usually involves a somewhat delicate apparatus, and is pretty complex to get working right.
A simpler alternative is what people are calling “Brown’s Gas” or “HHO”. Like the first idea, it involves a form of electrolysis. You basically stick 2 pieces of metal in a container full of water, and then put an opposite charge on each piece of metal (one positive (+) and one negative (-)). You then wait a moment, and if all goes well, a gas known as “HHO” or “Brown’s Gas” will start to seemingly boil out of the water.
This gas is HIGHLY FLAMMABLE and burns hotter than gasoline vapors (supposedly), making it a great fuel for an internal combustion engine, right? Well… yes and no.
Yes, the fuel WOULD be a good idea, as it is highly combustible and thus releases a large amount of energy (in the form of expanding gas and heat) when it is ignited.
HOWEVER, the slightest spark near a leak (keep in mind, you are dealing with gas under pressure now, not liquid at 1 atmosphere) in your fuel supply system could would result in the detonation of all of it, almost instantaneously, causing massive damage to the vehicle, it’s occupants, and most likely any bystanders within about 20 feet. In addition, the fuel explodes much more easily than gasoline, and burns much hotter, and thus puts MUCH MORE STRESS on your engine’s cylinders. The piston rods would likely snap from the added stress, and the cylinder heads would likely get bent up and deformed, breaking the seal with the cylinder wall and resulting in A BROKEN, USELESS ENGINE.
For the sake of argument, let’s disregard all the stuff about the explosions and the engine breaking. Let’s approach it from the basic idea:
You have an engine in a car, it is powered by burning gasoline. In order to save fuel (gasoline) you supplement HHO gas but feeding it in through the air-intake manifold to the engine. The gas enters the cylinders, explodes, and gives you power. Sounds good right?
Well let me ask you this: Where on earth do you get this gas? In the opinion of these people, that’s simple. You make it while you’re driving from water! What a brilliant idea! Make a large portion of your fuel from water, WHILE YOU DRIVE! Isn’t that convenient?
Well, it WOULD be nice, if that didn’t violate basic physics principles.
This is what the advocates of this so called “Brown’s Gas” have in mind:
The device that separates the 2 Hydrogen from the Oxygen in the water is powered by electrical energy. Where do you get that while you’re driving? From the alternator of course! (For those of you who don’t know, that’s the thing that makes it possible to run your stereo and what not while driving, in addition to supplying electricity to the ECU and spark plugs, etc.)
So this device has water in it that you refill occasionally, and uses electricity from your alternator, to then create HHO gas, which is then fed into the air-intake manifold of the engine.
This sounds great right? You’re making part of your fuel from this cheap as all crap substance, water, WHILE YOU DRIVE. Sounds too good to be true, right?
It is. It’s WAY too good to be true. Cause it’s bullsh*t. Here’s why:
Water is, by nature, inert. That means it has no significant charge, no reactive capability with most substances, DOES NOT BURN, and is even an insulator in its pure form. It is even used to insulate, shield, and cool nuclear reactor cores.
So how do you use it as a fuel? Well you put energy into it first, and then take it back out.
So, from what everyone’s saying they want to do this:
1) Take energy from the alternator (Engine, essentially, which burns more gas the more energy you take from it, that’s how it works. Equivalent exchange of energy).
2) Use energy from engine to power device to produce HHO from water.
3) Put HHO gas back into engine, which burns, and then turns the engine, just like gasoline. So you’re using less gasoline now to turn the engine.
4) The engine turns the alternator, making more electricity for this device which makes MORE HHO and puts it into the engine.
See the circular logic?
The annoying excuses from the Brown’s Gas or HHO advocates:
“But that’s the point! It powers itself!”
No, it burns more gasoline. Here’s why:
Any time you change the medium or carrier of your energy, you lose some of it due to heat from friction, etc. EVERY TIME. There are no ifs, ands, or buts.
All that this “HHO Generator” does is change the form of some of the energy produced by the gasoline powered engine. It changes it into another combustible gas, ready to be used as a fuel. And what do we know about changing form of energy? That’s right. You LOOSE some of it. So you have just decreased your energy from the engine that can be used. You have burned MORE gas to supply this power-hungry device with electricity, which then HEATS UP (Energy loss anyone?) and basically makes what might as well be, for all intents and purposes, another form of steam power, which you’re funneling into your engine.
“But it runs on VOLTAGE not CURRENT! Your car only uses the current generated by the alternator, so you can use the voltage that’s left over!”
Uh… Okay, go back to modern high school science class. Voltage and Current are not 2 different things in electricity. They are MEASUREMENTS of 2 different things ABOUT electricity. Simply put:
Current – How much power you’re shoving through the hose (wire).
Voltage – How much pressure (so how fast) you’re shoving it through the hose (wire).
If you want to talk in retard terms further, devices use BOTH. Not one or the other. In fact, the gauges and other stuff in a car are actually quite low as far as the current they consume. Your radio, gauges, cell phone chargers, etc. consume VERY LITTLE energy, and thus draw very little current. They’re still “using” this voltage you’re talking about. Nice one, now you can go sit back down.
Here’s a convenient diagram of what this device does:
Summary:
So, basically, we can conclude, that “Brown’s Gas” or “HHO” modifications to your vehicle are NOT worth your time, money, and effort. It’s the retardation of the laws of physics and thermodynamics to the highest level. Don’t waste your money and time.
They WILL NOT increase your fuel economy, they WILL decrease the life of your engine, and they WILL waste your money. This device is the product of a very good imagination, one with a terrible understanding and complete disregard for the laws of physics.
They work on circular logic. It is the belief, once again, that you can take energy out of a box, do something to it, and then put it back into the box, and somehow have more energy in the box.
Sounds like bullsh*t, right? It is. You cannot do that without what I like to call a “Creation Engine”. This is what it sounds like, an engine or device that literally defies all logic and physics and CREATES mass and energy. I don’t know about you, but I have a firm belief that you’re not going to defy modern science in your garage.
Wow… these devices do the exact opposite of the claims… I wonder if I can sue someone for false advertising and get some money to invest in a REAL solution to a gas shortage… like… I don’t know… SOLAR POWER or ORGANIC GASOLINE. (Yes, it DOES exist, organic gasoline. Made from PLANTS, well, rather, it’s a byproduct of a specific type of plant and a chemical process, but it’s some damn good stuff apparently).
