Here's how to build a sexy looking water-fuel generator that will convert your tap water into an extremely powerful, clean burning gas!
An oxyhydrogen generator, like this one, uses electricity from your car battery to split water into hydrogen and oxygen gasses. Together, these make a fuel that is much more powerful than gasoline, and the only emission released is—water!
For this project, you're going to need some stainless steel and some ABS pipe fittings. I visited a local fabrication company, and not only did they have plenty of scrap metal to choose from, they were even willing to help me cut it to custom sizes. A job that would have taken me hours with a pair of tin snips and a hacksaw took only a matter of minutes with their equipment.
I used 20 gauge stainless steel, and with the help of their hydraulic punch, cut precise holes in the tops and bottoms of the plates. When finished, I had 12 plates measuring 3" x 6", 4 plates at 1-1/2" x 6", and three 1" connector bands that were 6", 4-1/2", and 3 1/4". A belt sander was used for smoothing down the jagged edges around the hole.
Next I used 100 grit sandpaper to sand each of the plates diagonally. You can see the "X" pattern I sanded into both sides of the plates. This increases the surface area of the plate, and will assist in producing more gas.
The plates are joined in this configuration, using plastic rods, plastic washers, and stainless steel nuts to make the proper electrical connections. Then a 4" ABS clean out plug was attached at the top with some stainless steel bolts.
I attached a swivel elbow to the top of the cap, and the main generator is finished. Now to make the body.
The body is made from two 4" ABS clean out adapters, with a 4" plug inverted and cemented into the bottom. A 4" tube of acrylic or ABS makes the body, and the generator plates and cap screw down into the top. A water bubbler is made in a similar fashion, but needs to clip onto the side.
Clips are made from scrap acrylic or ABS tubing, and glued to the side of the body.
Some poly tube, and a one-way check valve is added to the top elbow, making sure the valve will let gas out, but nothing back in.
The electrolyte is distilled water and about 2-4 teaspoons of KOH (potassium hydroxide). Salt or baking soda could also be used, but may dirty the plates over time.
Water is added to the bubbler, then the cap is put back on, and the poly tubes are hooked up. Time to test it out with a 12 volt car battery and some jumper cables. The gas is forming and I've collected it in a small water bottle for testing.
The gas burns so fast it's almost explosive, and the bottle shoots down the street. The fuel turns back into water, and that's good for the environment.
The water already in this system should be able to produce multiple thousands of liters of fuel. To refill it, just add more water!
Haven't see the video yet? You can still see it here!
If you like this project perhaps you'll like some of my others. Check them out at www.thekingofrandom.com
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37 Comments
Wow. This is truly incredible. If something like this was commercialized, it would seem you could create a hot-water heater that could run perpetually on its own water... You might even be able to use some pressure from the gas to power an alternator to recharge the 12-volt battery. Another great video, King of Random!
Thanks Bryan. Great ideas, and using the gas for heating of hot water is an angle I hadn't considered. Nice out of the box suggestion!
In this house we obey the laws of Thermodynamics!
The Second Law of Thermodynamics weeps at your comment.
This is awesome. I hear oxyhydrogen is pretty explosive. How dangerous is this to work with?
Thanks Justin! Like gun powder, any spark, electrostatic shock, or open flame will ignite it instantly. I built a remote detonator for testing it at a distance. It is powerful stuff, and I don't usually play with more than half a liter at a time. I have once ignited a 5 gallon bottle .. from 50 feet away. ..good thing too.
that's mean its not safe enough to apply on any vehicle some one who made this device should b research more on its safety side
Very true. On the safety side, this generator only produces gas "on demand" unlike having a gas tank full of combustable material. So it's pretty safe in that regard. Just don't try storing it unless you are experienced with combustable/explosive material.
can it run a motor car? and what amount of electricity is required to make this gas?
I haven't tried it on a car. The gas is powerful, so I imagine it should be able to fun a small engine, depending on how much gas you can produce. It does require a lot of electricity. I hook it to my car battery for 12 volts and it pulls about 20 amps. When I use 2 car batteries in series for 24 volts, it pulls about 40-50 amps and produces 5 times as much gas.
Wood gasifiers have been used for ages, especially during times of war. This is not a new concept by any means, just the first time most of you have thought outside the box...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but you are collecting both Hydrogen and Oxygen with this device, correct? Is there a good way to separate the two?
You are right, so no correction required! The gas is much more powerful with the Oxygen and Hydrogen together, however if you want to separate the gas you just need to re-engineer the plates so each one is isolated. Hydrogen gas will form off the negative plate and Oxygen will form off the positive plate. Thanks for asking!
I posted this on the new topic but there are some risks...
You should watch the movie Erin Brockavich. Its about her fight as an environmental activist against hexavalent chromium being dumped ie not treated as a hazardous material. Lots of problems can come from it that stay around. Attached is OSHA's take on it as well as some other link of people testing there waste water from their gen.
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/hexavalentchromium/index.html
http://hydroxygasadventure.blogspot.com/2008/07/reducing-hexavalent-chromium-in-waste.html
Dear Sir,
Is there a rise in temperature during the complete process?
if yes then by how much amount and is it hazardous for the transparent tube?
how to control the rise in temperature?
Yes thanks for asking. The electrolyte does get very hot over time and if a lot of electricity is used. I've melted previous generators by running them too long. A solution could be to place the generator in a bucket of ice water, or you could also extract the electrolyte and cool it through something like a radiator if you want to run it for long periods of time.
HEY PLZ REPLY I HAVE MADE THIS FOR MY SCIENCE EXPO BUT THE GAS IS NOT GOING INTO THE BUBLER BUT MY PLATES ARE MAKING BUBLLES AND BCZ OF SOME SIZING LIMITATIONS I HAVE ONLY USED 11 BIG PLATES INSTEAD OF 12 DOES IT MAKES ANY DIFFERENCS AND I AM USING KOH with one CAR BATTERY OF 50 AMPS..
AND YES WHAT IF WE USE ALL SS WASHERS INSTEAD OF NYLON WASHERS AND NO ACRYLIC WASHERS?
PLZ HELP I HAVE ONLY ONE DAY LEFT TO SUBMIT IT
SIR, CAN WE REPLACE ACRYLIC TUBE WITH SOME OTHER MATERIAL,WHICH DOESN'T MELT?
sir can i run my 24 horse power diesel engine by HHO gas thanks......
pretty cool idea do not know if I well try to make this but always love to see the new power ideas!
please make a martial list
Hello! I plan on doing this for my science fair project (: I find it really fascinating! I had a few questions.
Dear Sir,
Kindly suggest which types metrical you have mix into the water.
Same process according to you, I have follow but in distal water I mixed the salt but no HHO have generated.
So please give me the proper suggestion then I could generate the HHO gas for testing purpose.
Thanks
thanks for your Cooperation about this method to generate hho gas
Dear sir,
I watched this video but in this video you have mention wet cell HHO kit.
It would be more appreciate if you provide the process to create HHO dry cell kit.
Thanks and Regards
Rakesh Kumar
does it need to be stainless? (the steel) or could you use normal steel
This is a grate idea but I am a bit confused in the arrangement of plates .. Can You please explain it ..
I am planning to this as a project.so pls tell me..How much Does This Cost ? Which battery is to be used in this one ?
The gas produced by the generator can be used in a water heater?
Hi...have u ever tried ur electrolysis with AC source? because a scientist said that when the current travel with a particular low frequency
(may be using function generator) it will get tune to the waters resonance frequency (is a phenomena) and break the bond between O and H2 in a efficient way 80% to 90%... ofcos that will be against thermodynamic law 2 and 3 but science always changes so we cant just stick to a 18 century law as excuse for oil...we have to change and start the search for alternatives. solar, hydrogens, biomass, fuel cells, windgens, tidegens and so on...
is the potassium hydroxide necessary? If yes, where is the best place to buy it? - and is there a chemical that is called one thing, but is really potassium hydroxide? - like stump remover is potassium nitrate.
Yes, with out it, the whole process would not work half as well, as it is the charged particles in the salt (K+ and OH-) which allows the electricity to flow between the two electrodes. This is also why pure water is not a very good conductor.
As for the rest of the question, I'm not sure where to get it but I know you could use any metal hydroxide as long as the metal is above hydrogen on the reactivity series (google it..). This is because if you use anything below hydrogen in the reactivity series will pick up an electron from the cathode and this make the elemental form of the metal, so basically it will coat the electrodes with metal with will be annoying...
Hope that helps...
Thank you for sharing this! :)
I have thought for making hydroxy welding machine work in solar powe and have battery backup, i have some doubts
1) when making hydroxy gas welding machine , can i weld all mettels while weld using oxy-acetilin gas welding?
2) therir is any heat energ libarated during electrolysis process in hho generetor?
3) maximum temprecher of the welding flame?
4) KOH is used as a catalist?
This article failed to mention that this is a common commercial process that has been known since 1800. It is known as water electrolysis. There are many commercial water electolyzers marketed. The fuel energy produced is not derived from the water but from the electricity fed into the device. That energy can come from the fossil fuel burned in an internal combustion engine to charge up the battery. Some energy is lost as heat during each step of feeding it to the electrolyzing cell.
Such articles are intended to feed people's cravings for hope in a world that is rapidly heading into a 6th mass extinction event. The authors assume that most readers will not do critical research into the background of the technology they present and most never do.
For those who want to learn more the following Wikipedia article link can be helpful.
Electrolysis of water
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrolysis_of_water
hi
Hydrogen production is the best alternative energy source of pure water
I have a query regarding the construction of a hydrogen cell
Shall we make the surface of the slab rough by using sand paper 120 or 100 x in a non-skewed way?
What is the benefit of that
What is the appropriate distance between the steel surfaces and the thickness of the metal
What is the appropriate circuit to control the production of hydrogen
How to calculate the appropriate amount of hydrogen for the engine
regard shadi
You might want to add a !!!!!!!!!!!!!WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!! To inform people about chromium and the dangers it has to the environment and also to their health in general if not disposed of and handled properly! Or explain to them that when you use stainless steel as electrodes during Electrolysis the steel is dissolved slowly and the chromium is left behind! So either DO NOT USE STAINLESS STEEL!!! (Research and choose another type of sheet metal) or learn how to handle and dispose or the hazardous waste properly!
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