In a way , HHO organization catch their start in 1875 , all because of author Jules Verne . In " The Mysterious Island , " Verne write :
Fast onward about a century , and accede Australian Yull Brown , an esurient inventor and Verne enthusiast . He claimed to have invented a mode of break the H and oxygen particle in urine using electricity , thereby allowing him to use the two elements for things like welding or automobile fuel . The fuel produce was bring up to as HHO gas , Brown ’s Gas , hydroxy , or oxyhydrogen . HHO is simply stenography for H2O , which contains two hydrogen molecules and one oxygen speck .
And so , from Verne and Brown issue forth the legend of the water - fuel railroad car , and added to this is more than three decades of supposition , argument and refutal . Despite Brown ’s claims , the water - powered railway car is still the mechanical equivalent of the Sasquatch – maybe it survive , maybe it does n’t , and much of its existence is based on religion .
The idea behind an HHO system of rules is a comparatively simple affair . The system uses electricity from your car ’s alternator to run an electric electric current through water that ’s been infused with an electrolyte , usually a form ofsalt . The electrical energy break-dance the bond between the H atom and the O molecules , and the hydrogen and oxygen are released as natural gas . These gases are collected and used by the railway locomotive as fuel .
The collect gas then is piped to the vehicle ’s engine and absorb in by the intake manifold . report from manufacturers claim hydrogen is thousands of time more energy dense than fuel , and only a little is demand to fuel the vehicle . Once combusted , the hydrogen and oxygen recombine into – you guessed it – water .
While the water - as - fuel claim is no longer rolling , HHO believers claim the arrangement can be used to advance fuel consumption rate anywhere from 50 percent to more than 200 percentage , as well as to reduce emissions .
There are cereal of truth in HHO systems – but does it really forge ?
HHO Systems in Theory (and Myth)
In 2007 , the U.S. Department of Transportation come forth a final report card outline the usage ofhydrogen fuelin commercial-grade vehicles . The composition stated the use of hydrogen injectant system , fundamentally an HHO arrangement , could be used to increase gasoline mileage and reduce emission in commercialdiesel vehicles .
The report was embraced by bang vigor theorists as justification of year of hard work . It was also embrace by the sportsmanlike andrenewable energycrowd as a field win in the war to used hydrogen – one of the most plentiful elements in the cosmos – as a feasible future fuel reservoir .
So , Brown and Verne were right – to a spot .
Using electrolysis to create Brown ’s Gas does work on . Most systems use a stack of steel plates that act as positive and negative pole for electricity from the car ’s alternator . The current , with the help of asalt(potassium hydroxide ) , rip aside the molecular hamper that hold a water molecule together . The gas is pulled into the intake manifold paper by the engine vacuum . The gaseous state is either used to increase the quality of the fuel suntan , increase mileage and reduce emissions , or interchange a portion of the fuel .
Physicists , and physical law , place out it takes more get-up-and-go to create the petrol . In other words , the system ’s yield is less than its stimulant . critic also urge concerned political party to look at how much petrol it takes to power a car , as opposed to how much oxyhydrogen is necessary to replace an equivalent amount of fuel . More importantly , a railroad car ’s alternator ca n’t bring out the current to generate that much HHO .
Despite the controversy , HHO systems are gripping – they stand for a potential , and they ’re a neat source of divine guidance for tinkerers , escapist and citizenry who like to build offbeat and off - beat technology .
Do they work on ? Probably not , but then again – maybe you ’ll see a Bigfoot driving a H2O - powered Pinto someday .