Has anyone considered using an HHO Generator for better MPG?

My local mechanic shop performed real world tests of several hho systems. In theory it should increase mileage. He tested on a v8, v6, and a 4. These were multiple canister setups and several designs. He found no mileage gain on modern vehicles. He thinks there is some merit in it, but on the modern o2 style engine the tuning required would not be cost effective. in his opinion, the best gains on this setup are from carborated engines.

It was fun to watch him try and gather results. At first, we really thought he had something. The hho canisters were made of many different types of materials and all showed degradation of internal parts after a few months. Some to the point of not functioning efficiently.

 

They are lying.


But the mantra of the 21st century is "Be open minded to anything but science."

 

You are right they are totally different industries but they are ALL connected wether you want to believe it or not.

 

Where's the tinfoil hat smiley?


So you're saying that in a highly competitive market where auto manufacturers are on the verge of going out of business and ANY sales advantage that they can get over their competition is used....

Available, practical, functional technology that will provide for a 33% improvement in fuel economy is being ignored?

Sorry. It doesn't work, and anyone who honestly believes it does and spends a dime on buying the equipment is a fool.

 

They are and they have a name. Congress.

 

X2!

 

Connected yes. The oil industry is connected to all kinds of businesses. That doesn't mean the one controls what the other does. We're surrounded by products that use oil. Connected does not mean they're colluding. If they were, what's the benefit to the auto industry? What do they get out of the collusion? If the auto industry could create a car that used 50% less gas than the average car they put out with no loss in functionality, they'd sell as many as they could make. Ford F150 that got 40mpg? They'd sell tons of them. How does the oil industry control what comes from car manufacturers WORLD WIDE?

Oil is also tied into the tire industry. So why doesn't the oil industry make the tire industry only provide tires that last 10,000 miles? Tires are a direct byproduct of oil. About 22 percent of the tire is made from oil. It would boost tire sales and it would use up even more oil resulting in more profits for the oil companies.

It's because tire manufacturers don't care if the oil company makes huge profits or not (which they don't when compared with other industries on a return on investment basis). They compete with other manufacturers to provide long lasting tires, sporty tires, off-road tires, etc.

 

Didn't YOU say this would be a fun little project? If you can show us that a mason jar of water can get us 30 mpg, this forum will be all over it.

What Rich is saying is that you can't use your fuel to power a device to create fuel to power your device, and expect to have a gain in power. It's like using your electricity at home to charge batts to run your house, in the hopes of saving on the electric bill. All you've done is move energy from one place to another and lost some in the process. Your best bet would be to source some energy outside the car's system; re: solar. Put solar cells on the roof that power your hydrogen generator. Then any gains from the hydrogen are not tapping your gas powered air pump.

 

who killed the electric car?

 

Economies of scale, poor range and lackluster sales. Here's a 4-part article from an engineer that worked on the Saturn EV-1 project from it's inception.

http://green.autoblog.com/2008/08/15/at-witz-end-gms-ev1-the-true-story-part-i/

http://green.autoblog.com/2008/08/21/at-witz-end-ev1-the-real-story-part-ii/

http://green.autoblog.com/2008/09/05/at-witz-end-gm-ev1-the-real-story-part-iii/

http://green.autoblog.com/2008/09/15/at-witz-end-gm-ev1-the-real-story-part-iv/

 

The comments had some insight.

This is pretty cool, and totally derailing the OP's thread
http://www.evalbum.com/

Electric Powered Landcruiser:
http://www.evalbum.com/4034

 

Brammo Motorcycles has some decent offerings coming out (though they've been coming out for almost 2 years). Of note are the Empulse 10 which can go up to 100 mph and has a range of about 100 miles (drops to about 65 with heavy freeway use). (about $14K)

I also like the Engage SMS (super moto sport). No details on it for range. It includes a 6 speed transmission which makes it more motorcyclish. I'm not sure how that will affect efficiency. I've read that transmissions don't do much for electric vehicles as their torque is fairly constant through a large RPM range. (about $11K)

http://www.complex.com/rides/2011/11/brammo-electric-motorcycles

They look expensive but with subsidies the cost can drop significantly.

 

Now that is the way to save gas^ but you still have to charge it and that requires external power.

 

True, but it's much cheaper than gas. If their figures hold up, it makes it the equivalent of having a vehicle that gets 429 mpg.

Plus there's the added advantage that you can ride in the carpool lanes since it's a motorcycle. For me it's just starting to get practical. I have a 30 mile commute that is mostly freeway (which will eat into the range quite a bit). I would need something that can get there and back without having to recharge.