Wednesday, December 31, 2008

HHO - Where Do We Go From Here?

Every Saturday, I load the car up with my HHO dry cell set-up and head to a local LA park where a group of HHO enthusiasts congregate. We pop our hoods and trunks, set-up tables and even tents to showcase our HHO gizmos and gadgets.

Some days will offer a tremendous turn-out of the curious public, engineers and mechanics who often ask, "how do I get involved?" Other days, it's just us HHO junkies out there, sharing stories and ideas and wondering, "where do we go from here?"

For as many answers as we have regarding HHO technology, we have even more questions regarding its future as a clean fuel resource. We've all learned how to make generators that create large amounts of HHO, but few have figured out a viable and consistent method of applying it to an engine.

While the world is full of skeptics, the few true-believers hold on to the notion that HHO's time will come. But, for now I'm afraid we've hit a stagnant point where HHO will go no further than a garage hobby for tinkerers. We're hearing too often from those who say HHO "does not work," either because of what they know about science or they have tried it with no success. We're accused of being a bunch of snake oil salesmen who are only in it for the money.

These comments are painfully frustrating for us HHO enthusiasts to hear. We know how much time, effort, research and experimentation has goes into this fledging technology. We know there are those who are successfully running their vehicles on HHO. We know, with maybe one or two exceptions, that no one involved has made a dime. Those who are trying to sell products have a lot more money invested than what they've made from sales.

Nearly every HHO enthusiast I've met has the same story; they believe that this technology can assist in cleaning up our environment and alleviate America's dependence on oil. While some may be hoping to one day make a decent living with HHO, no one is seeing this as "get rich quick" scheme. A common dilemma I hear from those who have installed HHO systems is that initially they're getting great results, only to have their mileage return to normal after a couple of weeks. Understandably this is a huge discouragement and either they give up, or become bitter and attack HHO technology as in-plausible.

In almost every case this has been caused by the OBD2 computer on their cars. The OBD2 computers will eventually adjust for the HHO wiping out any previous mileage gains. Until we figure out how to consistently make permanent adjustments to the OBD2 computer, newer cars will never be able to accept or run on HHO.

So, how do we get involved? Where do we go from here? A good place to start is getting these HHO generators in the hands of mechanics, tuners, chip makers, dealerships - anyone with testing equipment that can do proper installations and adjustments with details and documentation to back up the results. The days of setting up an EFIE and reporting mileage based on an onboard computer are over. In order for the public to accept and endorse this technology we must configure a permanent, easy to maintain (if not completely hands-off) solution.

I propose that anyone out there selling HHO systems lend one for testing purposes to interested mechanics or tuners in your area. Let them tinker with it, test it, install it and make yourself available to answer questions and be of assistance. Try to document their tests on video and get printouts from dyno runs, smog tests, etc.

Engines CAN be tuned to run with HHO, but it needs to be done right. Rob, D3, and Scarecrow have been doing a great job of figuring this stuff out, but we need to get a lot more people involved. If we can convice more serious tuners or chip makers to give it a shot, I'm confident they'll see the potential of HHO and enthusiastically spread the word.

For now, I'll be heading out to "HHO day" this Saturday and many more to come, hoping to meet that one enthusiast who makes the difference. Hope to see YOU there.

Monday, December 29, 2008

The basics of HHO

HHO, Water4Gas, Run your Car on Water! It's all over the Internet, but what's it all about?

HHO Gas, otherwise known as Brown's Gas, is a combination of hydrogen and oxygen that is produced by the process of electrolysis. In its simplest form, electrolysis consists of two pieces of conductive material, in this case, stainless steel submerged in water. An electrical current is added to the conductors, positive on one and negative on the other. This causes the hydrogen and oxygen atoms that make up the water molecules to split. The separated hydrogen and oxygen atoms float to the top in the form of bubbles. There are two hydrogen atoms to one oxygen atom, hence the name HHO.

This HHO gas is very combustible and makes an excellent fuel. When HHO is burned the only by-product is water. For cars and other internal combustion engines, HHO fuel is added to the air that is already being fed into the engine and acts as a fuel supplement.

The average internal combustion engine burns about 30% of its fuel at best. The rest is wasted and is left behind in the form of carbon deposits in the engine or it goes out of the exhaust and into our air as carbon emissions. The HHO gas helps to burn the gasoline more efficiently, resulting in almost 100% of the fuel actually being burned. That means better power and much cleaner emissions. And, since the gasoline is being burned more efficiently, less gas is needed, resulting in better mileage.

Another advantage of HHO helping to burn more of the gas, is that less carbon will form on your engine which means longer engine life and fewer oil changes.

One of the fears that people have when they hear the word "hydrogen" is that they don't want to be driving around with a so-called hydrogen bomb in their car. HHO gas is generated on-demand, which means the HHO gas is only being produced when the engine is running. The gas is never stored and there is no danger of an explosion.

HHO gas is an exciting fuel and people are just starting to realize its potential. It can be used right now as a clean fuel supplement to reduce our dependence on oil and to help clean up our air.

Only time will tell what other applications we can find for this amazing, abundant fuel. Do the world a favor and help spread the word about HHO.