Myth Busters disproved these devices last season I believe.

Breaking water down into its basic atoms, hydrogen and oxygen is about 50-60% efficient. Meaning it requires nearly 1.7 btu of electrical energy to create 1 btu of hydrogen gas.

Now comes the kicker... Your engine is approximately 20% efficient at making electricity, which means it would need to burn 8.5 btu of gasoline to make 1.7 btu of electricity to make 1 btu of hydrogen.
Having gone to all that trouble you now have to burn the hydrogen in the engine to make the car go... Because the engine is just as inefficient burning hydrogen as it is at burning gasoline, your 1 btu of hydrogen is only going to produce .20 btu of power to the wheels.

You would've been better off applying the original 8.5 btu of gasoline to driving the wheels rather than producing hydrogen. The 8.5 btu of gasoline would have generated approx 1.7 btu of power at the wheels. :thumbsup:

FYI.. 1 gallon of gasoline = approx 120,000 btu

On that episode of Myth Busters they were trying to run that car purely on hydrogen. The devices talked about here are just adding oxygen and hydrogen to supplement some of the fuel being injected to the engine.

Episode 53.. scroll town to "Hydrogen fuel cell generator"


..:cool:

Just as I said they were trying to run the car purely on hydrogen, I saw that episode. It even says it in the episode notes you were referring to I have no doubt these devices can't produce enough hydrogen to run a vehicle. It just an aid to enhance combustion.

Just a reminder that hydrogen is explosive and systems that use it should have appropriate safety devices.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igGCH8G3Mzk

Actually the episode was about gadgets to improve MPG..
It was only after they determined the Hydrogen fuel cell generator didn't produce enough hydrogen to run the engine, they then cranked up the experiment with a cylinder of Hydrogen to see if a car could even run on hydrogen.


..

OK, who is going to test this for me so I can decide if I want to buy one? :)

If it gets 30% increase in MPG i figure that would be about $20 savings per fill of the tank and that it would pay for itself after about 10 tanks or 3000 miles.

http://www.fuelconcepts.com/

The following is my email to them with a couple of questions.

Hi,

I have a 1999 F150 with a 5.4L engine.



I read about the FS 7000 vaporizer unit on your website. I think that the fuel pump on my vehicle energizes when I turn the key to the "ON" position before I turn it to the Start position which would mean that fuel pressure would be present to the FS 7000 unit even when the engine is not running.



If I understand the operation of the FS 7000 unit then it seems to me that fuel would eventually run out the oxygen intake port on the secondary chamber eventually.



Is this what would happen?

It is possible but not probable. After a few moments the pressure shuts off due to engine inactivity.



I did not see any air filter illustrated for the secondary chamber oxygen port.



Does the FS 7000 take unfiltered air into this port?

Yes, the hole is less than 3/32‘s of an inch. If this is a concern simply cover the hole and this should eliminate any concerns without affecting performance.



Thank you in advance for answers to my 2 questions shown above.

I'd be surprised if it didn't make your mileage worse.

I don't think I'd want it parked in my garage with the raw gasoline being dumped into engine every time it was turned off.

I would also think the ounce or two of gasoline that bleeds off at shut down would effect mileage.

I like the part about the EPA tamper cap.. I'll bet the EPA would rather know why the pos 7000 is releasing all the fuel vapors.

And finally.. they seem to indorse all the other bogus BS..
Based on poor english I'd say its out of China or a state penitentiary.:bandito:

Hydrogen generator
 

Firstly, I have frequented these forums for a few years but have never had an account. I am delighted to find a place where knowledgeable people are willing to share vehicle specific information.

Thank you all.

I have recently installed a Smacks Booster that I made for my truck. I drive a 1997 F-150 standard cab, 8ft bed, 4x4 4.2L with a manual transmission. The lifetime mpg on my truck has hovered between 17.5-18.5 mpg. I have a very light foot and have not been able to break the 20 mpg mark.

After installing the booster, my mileage increased to 22.5. I am considering the install of a second booster, in which case I would like to flash my ecu and/or do some adjustments with my O2 sensors.

The data on this is quite recent, so I am curious to see how this experiment fairs for the long term. I am also wondering about how to winterize the unit for use in the colder months.

My brother also installed one on his 4.6L and moved from 18 to 22 mpg.

I am pretty skeptical of some of the devices and ideas floating around, however after my brother installed it and raved about its success I had to try it also.

The next step is to put together a portable booster and attempt some tests with my LNG powered furnace.

Good evening.

You'd get better mpg sticking the hose up your crap hole than with that pos.

Go away spammer.

I like the Mythbusters show, but many times they are simply out of their league and educational background.
Jus t don't take the too seriously.:beers:

You're right about being out of their league.. They'd have to drop down to the aptitude of a 4th grader. Fifth graders are taught in science class the basic laws of energy / thermodynamics.

1. The First Law of Thermodynamics says that energy under normal conditions cannot be created or destroyed, simply transformed from one type of energy to another.
Second law, any time you do work, including any time you make an energy transformation, some of the starting energy is going to be lost as heat.

As applied to hho gen.
1. First Law, where's the energy coming from to power the hho generator? It can't be created out of thin air.
These hho generators supposedly supplement your gasoline with hydrogen gas. So what powers the hydrogen generator? I'll answer that, the cars electrical system which is powered by the engine which gets fuel from the gas tank.

2. Second Law, there's always a transformation loss when converting energy.
What are the losses in converting gasoline into hydrogen gas using the hho generator? Assuming a 20% efficiency for the engine and 60% for the hho generator. it would require 8.5 btu of gasoline to produce 1 btu of hydrogen. Wow that's real efficient.

BTW..these gadgets, hho gens, magnets, water injectors and others have been around since the first oil shortages back in the 70's. They were sold in the classifieds of Popular Mechanics , Popular Science, Road and Track, Motor Trend and others . I'm real surprised they never became very popular... could it have been because they didn't work? :banana:

Holy Cow! Apparently your previous quote "I'm a firm believer in the Golden Rule, "treat others as you'd like to be treated" doesn't apply here.

As this experiment plays out, I will laugh at your post everytime I am at the pump filling and calculating my mileage.

If however the longevity of this unit proves to be fruitless, I'll be the first to acquiesce to your opinion of this device.

You have a good day bro.

Oh I'm sorry, didn't I offer you a chance to buy this gadget I've been testing that finds water and gold mines?
Hey at least I've got a conscience. Apparently you don't find anything wrong with encouraging the fraud.

I don't laugh, I thank God I can buy a real car that gets 45 mpg.
Either you're real stupid, stubborn or profit from the scam. They've been around for 40 years and the results haven't changed, they don't work.

Ok now you're starting to sound like a car salesman. What kind of double talk is this? Longevity? fruitless? How long you can profit from the scam? or How long the generator's electrodes will last before replacements are needed ($400)?

It's not my opinion, its fact. Something you and your friends have managed to ignore or dodge for 40 years. :coffee:

Some body here has anger issues. Is all that bashing really necessary, does it help you sleep at night. Every one has an opinion on things and should be able to voice it with out getting kicked in the balls. Go back to the rule: If you don't have any thing good to say don't say it at all.