Problems revealed - License Plate Gen

I think I have it figured out. First the cell gets warm and softens the PVC. Next the gasket has nothing to push it against the plate in the area of the channel. So hydroxy gas is made under the gasket which tends to force it up. Add to that the venturi effect which sucks it up and it’s only a matter of time before the passages are closed.

The other problem is that I have put the fluid return and the gas outlet on the same side. All the gas made by the plates distal to this side, must fill and exit through the preceding channel. It puts a lot more flow in the front of the cell than the rear. In fact last chamber of the cell is being starved for fluid and drops a higher voltage. It’s all good at first, but when things begin to shut down the back chamber fries the small amount electrolyte; forming a crusty sponge of KOH from the dehydrated foam.

Running the fluids from front to back could rectify this. By placing the in and out on opposite sides would solve the problem but the overall dimension becomes thicker and the plumbing becomes more obvious, negating the idea to hide this unit behind the license plate. I may have to go to an epoxy encasement in order to create a passage from the last gap and return it back to a fitting on the front. This way all of the plumbing would continue to be straight through the bumper.

A second option would be to make the passages larger to allow the fluids to pass more easily. This seems like the easier method and I will try it first. After all, this works well for the EBN cell because the passage is large enough to allow all the fluids to flow and equalize easily. My passages are currently .04” x .25”. Perhaps I should widen the passage to .5”.

I also need to figure out a way to keep the shield gasket from blocking the holes. The suggestion to glue it down with gasket glue might work. I’ve also considered using Marine Goop which I’ve heard will adhere under these conditions. A small spot of the Marine Goop directly across from the hole could prevent current leakage while avoiding the use of a two layer gasket. I have not been able to find the Marine Goop locally so it will take some time to have it shipped to me.

Of course I could just compromise and go with an ordinary gasket and ordinary efficiency, but after coming this far I’m not willing to do that yet.

Thanks to those who have helped me get this far. It’s so close to becoming a reality. It just needs a little more engineering.

Bob Campbell

New idea for no leak gasket

The blue shows the center layer of this three-layer gasket. A gasket would be glued to a larger rectangular gasket (yellow).

The Plates are purple.

The holes in the bottom and top gaskets would line up with holes in a non conductive spacer the same thickness as the plates.

The square spacers would also be glued to the larger outside rectangular gasket, and another large gasket would be glued over the top to create one three-layer gasket.

The top layer is not depicted in this drawing for a better view. If 40 mil PVC were used it would make a 120 mil gasket. It would be nice to find a thinner material.

Bob Campbell

I love the smell of HHO in the morning!

License Plate Electrolyzer

This is a sketch of my latest idea for an electrolyzer. The advantage would be that it hides comfortably behind the license plate. This would allow easy access as well as an advantageous position whereby the electrolyzer would be placed at a low level on the car. By keeping the electrolyzer low, the bubbler/reservoir would be easy to place at a higher location within the engine compartment.

By using 10 mil gaskets and 20 gauge 316 stainless steel the total thickness of the electrolyzer would be less than 2 inches thick. The plate where the plumbing is connected may have to be in the range of 03 gauge to accept the threads. The terminal plates could be made with tabs that are bent toward each other and overlapped to create a terminal bar. A terminal bolt would be inserted through the overlapping terminal bars.

Note:
In the drawing on the left, the positive and negative poles would need to be reversed so that the plate nearest the car is negative. This is shown correctly in the drawing on the right.

I’m afraid I’ve got a lot of construction work to on my schedule right now and may not be able to build this little gem for a couple of months. As always I want to put this idea out into the HHO community as open source and hope someone will go ahead and proceed with this plan. In my not so humble opinion I think this is a great design.

I'd like to hear your ideas and comments.

I love the smell of HHO in the morning.
Bob Campbell

HHO Cell Design

Tight plate spacing reduces the amount of electrolyte required. I've been using 40 mills but I'd like to experiment with 10 mills. I have not found 40 mil to be too restrictive and found no advantage to 80 mil gaskets.

Plate thickness is probably a mute point, but thin gauge can bend and cause a short with very thin gaskets. Even so, I prefer the thinnest gauge in order to save space, weight, and cost. The electrical resistance of the plates may be something to consider. Stainless Steel has more resistance than ordinary steel. In the future I may make a test generator with connections at both ends of the plate to see if this would have any affect. My guess is that it would not.

I can't say first hand but many people seem to think 316 SS is a better choice than 304 SS. I have not seen any tests to prove this and I have been using 304 because it's softer and easier to machine.

I like dry cells as opposed to wet cell generators because there is no side current leakage and I believe it is easier to build without wasting space. There is also very little excess HHO in the electrolyzer at any time, which lowers the danger of the electrolyzer exploding from a spark. On that note - When building a wet cell be sure to make all electrical connections very tight, as a spark inside would be very dangerous.

Bob Campbell
http://www.youtube.com/user/HHO4gas
I love the smell of HHO in the morning.