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HHO Boost for Your Car - Scam or Not?
By crooky | March 31, 2008
There is a small community of car owners in North America (and elsewhere) that have latched onto the idea that a small fuel cell under the hood can produce enough Brown’s Gas (HHO) to achieve a 40% increase in fuel economy on most modern cars. You’re probably scratching your head at this stage and wondering “Why the hell haven’t I heard of this before?” It’s because like platinum injectors a few years ago, theres always some doubt that this technology is as good as it claims to be. I suspect that there is a bit of “fleecing” that goes on around these technologies when gas prices spike to take advantage of unwary consumers and those who are not science literate.
Here’s one article showing how the system purportedly works:
Essentially, you’re using your alternator to power a fuel cell which produces HHO. The HHO gets added to the air mix right before it enters your engine and helps the gas burn more efficiently.
There’s a great article on eBay (of all places) that discusses this technology in greater detail. I suggest that you check it out here.
The main message behind the eBay article on HHO Boosters for cars is that most of the systems on the market do not make sufficient gas to actually boost your fuel mileage and a good many of these systems can burn out your electrical system by trying to draw too many amps.
The nay-sayers aren’t saying that Brown’s Gas can’t boost your fuel economy significantly. They’re just saying that the systems like the one shown in the video above can’t possibly make a significant impact on your fuel economy. That’s had me mulling all weekend…
Could someone design an aftermarket system that would produce 1L+ of Brown’s Gas per minute from tap water and not burn out the electrical system? It’s a challenge, for sure.
*********************
Aaron “Crooky” Cruikshank is the Principal and Founder of Friuch Consulting. He has written professionally about science and technology
Topics: Cars, Technology |
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April 1st, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I call BS. The system uses your car’s electrical system to electrolyse the water (converts H2O into H2 and O) and then burns the gas in the combustion chamber (converting the H2 and O back to H2O). This process does not add any energy to the overall system. In fact, a net energy loss will result due to the fact that electrolysing the water will not be 100% efficient.
April 1st, 2008 at 3:55 pm
I figured as much. Two questions:
1. If you made your own H2 in your garage and just had a bottle that fed it into the fuel mix, would it work?
2. What do you think of these systems that add a little PNG to the mix? I know there is a company in town that has been quite successfully making these for heavy diesel engines…
April 1st, 2008 at 7:32 pm
1. I wouldn’t do it. The combustion characteristics of hydrogen are very different from gasoline. Gasoline engines are designed to have the fuel slowly “burn” in the combustion chamber and have their timing set accordingly (spark occurs before the piston reaches its apex but, due to the slow burn, the force isn’t exerted on the piston until after it has passed the apex). I don’t think hydrogen can be made to “burn” slowly like that (it oxidizes too readily) and is more likely to explode, exerting its force on the piston before the apex is reached (potentially causing damage).
2. Both CNG and diesel engines are designed to have the mixture autoignite (and are timed to have the explosion occur after the piston has passed its apex). Given their similar combustion characteristics, CNG and diesel are compatible with each other to some degree. CNG would not work in a gasoline engine for the same reason hydrogen would not.
May 14th, 2008 at 1:12 am
There is great chance that the HHO gas is expanded mode when it enter the combustion chamber which will be well before TDS
, when the Hydrogen and enriched o2 explodes before
top dead center the pressure become a vacuum lifting the piston up just prior to the burning of the primary fuel, octane delayed burn of Gasoline which by this time is now expanding pushing the piston down. As you recall, one of the major inefficiencies of a piston engine is the energy consumed compressing the gas’s…HHO would fire before gasoline in a time period and it would implode, as it converts to water, ironically cooling the fire chamber..just before the primary fulez exploded. I am going to try this HHO on a variety of engines especially two stokers, which are timed at 17 Degrees before TDC>
May 29th, 2008 at 12:07 am
I’m sorry but this is just a giant scam.
I’ve done the math and you’d need well over 1,250 amps to create enough hydrogen to give you a 40% fuel savings — and that’s before you even factor in the inefficiencies of the electrolysis cell and the internal combustion engine it’s feeding.
The details are on my website, the math is on the page at: http://www.aardvark.co.nz/hho_scam.shtml
Don’t get caught out people!
May 29th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Bruce, that’s a fascinating post on your website.
The size of that fuel cell the guy was using to barely power a lawnmower was huge!
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:49 am
yea, i agree. 40 % fuel savings with a little supplement of HHO (water) pumped into engine ? yea, right…..when gold / $$$ starts growin on trees. hho/ water will do a “lovely” job rusting out internal engine parts, and exhaust system. that toyota, chevy, ford, etc is designed for gasoline, and gasoline only, not hho/ water….
June 5th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Ignoring energy input for the process of creating “HHO”, consider the following.
The combustion of the o2 and h2 reactants creates the same amount of h2o used to create the reactants (assume 100% ideal conditions).
Since nothing is consumed, where does the energy come from?
Then consider what could be done if this technology was real. One could build a powerplant that would consume nothing and generate power. Wow. Free power. No pollutants. The human race is saved.
June 5th, 2008 at 11:16 am
I have a HHO gen on my 1988 Volvo 240. Don’t ask me how BUT the engine runs smoother and I went from 19mpg to 26 mph, no BS. Asthe thing heats up it produces a far amount of vapor and steam that goes in the air intake. I was really suprised it worked, but for $100 I had to try it.
June 5th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
How did you get the HHO stream into the engine? Is this a 230F?
June 5th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
The effect you got on the Volvo is from steam injection, not hydrogen injection.
June 15th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Yes it does take energy to create HHO the put through the engine to burn. The mpg savings come in because the alternator used to create the HHO uses magnets.
If you look up a magnetic generator they produce 5 times the amount of energy that it takes to run them.
Magnets = free energy. (almost free) Essentially you are taking energy right out of space
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvB3PiPBozU
June 16th, 2008 at 8:17 am
keep in mind his wording of the process…
a) extra tire pressure (yeah that will increase fuel efficiency by reducing traction/friction and safety)
b) follow his “advice on driving techniques” (ie: put your car in neutral when going down hills,neutral 400 meters before a stop sign, accelerate like a grandma) … using technique alone i can get my dodge caliber awd (non-modified) to go from the rated 8.4L/100km down to 5.2L/100km by changing driving patterns and giving 10% over pressure on tires. I didn;t need any gadget in the engine to get the 40% difference.
note: don’t over pressure your tires if you carry any weight, extra passengers or whatever in the car. don;t over pressure tires if you want to live forever ;-)
June 16th, 2008 at 8:52 am
I’ve been trying some of those Hypermiling techniches with my new car lately and I found it helps. I’m not sure about the extra tire pressure thing though. That sounds like a recipe for disaster.
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:14 am
So Bruce, using your crude comparison, what you’re saying to me is it takes more energy/gas to charge batteries than you can possibly get back out of them to cruise at 60mph. In other words it inefficient because the charging wastes energy you can’t recover. In other words you’re much better off to just burn the gas instead of charging the batteries. It’s the same thing except a different set of circumstances. Batteries/hydrogen, it’s all similiar. You’re missing the point.
Actually the REASON it’s more efficient to use the batteries instead of the gas is the efficiency of the burning is so bad. Stick a spark plug in the exhaust of any car (without a catalytic converter) if you fail to believe that. It’ll light off like a flamethrower. Injecting the HHO back in increases the burn of the gas drastically. There are less emissions from these setups to prove it. You have to lie to the O2 sensor just to get it to stop dumping gas to compensate for the extra fuel that is burning cleanly in fact.
Your math is flawed. It’s BADLY flawed. I think you need to think harder on this more outside of the traditional box.
We can’t solve our problems using the same thinking we used to created them - Albert Einstein
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:22 am
Hahahahaha.
PWNED!
June 22nd, 2008 at 8:24 am
Also…
NERD FIGHT!
I love this stuff.
June 25th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
This is a scam, pure and simple! A few years ago, a friend tried to convince me to invest in a similar scheme… I declined the offer and suggested that he walk away as well. He is now trying to sue to retrieve his investment, without any success so far.
June 26th, 2008 at 4:47 am
I thought this was a scam for sure. But I know 2 different co-workers who have equipped their cars with HHO generators. One of my friends is getting 35 MPG in a TransAm. The other is getting upwards of 60 MPG in a Honda. I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t know someone who’s making it work.
June 27th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I am going to try this.
If I try this and it works great, if if dont then I can say it doesnt work.
How can these guys say it dosent work, when they have not tried it?
Lets keep paying out the tail pipe to the gas companies, and the government with taxes too.
If I get 1 more MPG that is giving it to the gas companies, I hope to add 5 to 10 MPG to my Chevy
June 27th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
About the argument relating to creating free energy. (Above) The HHO gas will actually improve the effientcy of the gas combustion. Normal engines are using 20-50% of the potential energy in the fuel. The HHO acts as a catalyst to increase the ability to use more of the energy stored in the fuel. Better than the excess unused fuel going into the exhuast system or air we breath. So bruce your calc’s are right, no energy created, you just forgot about the gas in the equation.
July 11th, 2008 at 3:54 am
I am going to try the water4gas system hope it works even if i get 1 mpg increase i will still make back the total of 80 dollars i have invested in it in one months time . The best part is that if it works its like robbing money for the gas company. And if it requires me to load the box of my truck full of electrolisers in order for it to work i will.
July 15th, 2008 at 7:21 am
I have done some research on this for the past month and have found some very interesting results. There is a gentleman by the name of Zero Fossil Fuel on Youtube that has come up with a hho generator that can put out 2 to 3 liters of hho on only 20 to 30 amps. i highly suggest checking it out if you are a skeptic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y21NzSZQeWE. i also highly suggest viewing all of his videos starting from the begging he is a very good teacher http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpQj8h0KnJI.
July 17th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
I feel like I’m at the carnival listening to all the hucksters trying to push their miracle cures and all the purchasers trying to convince themselves that they actually feel something.
July 18th, 2008 at 9:46 am
In the postings so far, I believe only 2 people have stated they tried it. I notice they did not state what system they tried.
July 21st, 2008 at 10:01 am
I bought one of the units from http://www.hho-hybrid.com and you can see my related videos on youtube “amazinghybrid”. I was skeptical too but
they do work and I think as others have mentioned they only way they can work is by more efficient burnig of the gasoline that normally gets wasted.
I read a report by the Jet Propulsion Labs engineers who did tests on this technology for NASA in the 1970’s with positive results!!
I have about a 20% increase in fuel efficiency so far…
July 21st, 2008 at 5:58 pm
If you do have a copy of the JPL report, post it up. I’ve been wanting to get a peek at that for some time.
July 24th, 2008 at 3:09 am
I do’t know about the rest, and I am not peddling my wares.. but after hearing from a lot of ppl I made an hho unit and fitted it to my 1996 honda 1.6L before I was averaging about 40-44KM/gal now I get an average of 63KM/gal. its been 6 months now since I fitted the unit, no matter what ppl say, for me it works. there is no performance degredation infact there was a power boost of about 5HP in the car. three weeks ago I made another unit and fitted it into my father-in-law’s car and he is chuffed with the perfomance and the economy. whatever works to save gas!
July 24th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Shahid,
Can you describe the unit that you built? How big is it? Did you buy a kit or make it from scratch?
July 24th, 2008 at 11:09 am
63km/gal = either 6L/100km or 7.2L/100km (depending on whether Shahid meant US or UK gallons). Neither would be unusual for a stock ‘96 Civic in good running order.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
Hi, I think it’s very easy to debunk something we don’t understand.
I’d like to ask all the nay-sayers on the board if they’ve actually tried the technology. Installed correctly and their mileage measured PROPERLY.
For those who haven’t, please try to resist the impulse of summarily dismissing it as a scam.
I have tried it and so have many other individuals/businesses with OBVIOUS gains reported.
It’s getting a bit ridiculous reading the news/forum posts etc debunking this as a scam or something that won’t/doesn’t work whilst completely ignoring the mountain of evidence to the contrary.
So please people, do us all a favor. If you don’t understand the technology or have any experience with it yourself, please don’t try to ruin it for those who might otherwise try it and benefit from it.
And please also remember that the government/oil companies DON’T WANT you to save a red cent on gas. They want you to keep paying through the nose as long as they can.
What normally happens in situations like this where large vested interests are concerned, a huge F.U.D. campaign is launched. That’s Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt for the uninitiated.
BS campaigns from the the major media giants flood the airways, tv, and internet attempting to disseminate false information to the public.
So if you’re comfortable with bending over for the oil companies/government as long as they keep giving it to us, don’t do anything and keep paying them to screw you.
If you’re genuinely concerned with the state of our planet and the quality of life for just about everyone, find out about this new technology. Sort out the fact from the fiction. Try it yourself and spread the word.
It works!
July 28th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Hi ,Everyone
I’m new here but I am also a succesful HHO user.
Before I go any farther, I must say good post “boogeyman” and well said.
I have a 94 Honda Accord Lx 2dr that previously got bad gas mileage due to regular old car problems like the cat converter being shot, valve cover gaskets problems and some racing modifications. Anyways the car went from doing 32.99 mpg higway to 44 mpg higway on a test drive 111 miles were it only used 2.7 gallons of gas. 35-40% increase mpg (but so far only highway mpg has been confirmed for me.)
I am currently testing my eighth HHO design using regular electrolysis with 4 plates(use more plates if you have more cylinders)on a 20 amp fuse.
I use 20 amps because in a 4 hour drive the HHO generator’s heat can exceed the boiling point of water. this was poven to me and confirmed in a test done by “smackboosters”
to get the full 100% HHO benefit, I would recommend building or purchasing and installing a Map sensor enhancer. this will allow you to manually control and log in a costom gas usage allowing the HHO to substitute for the gas lacked by doing this .
I wish I had more time to share my experiments, but it seems I have to go.
JUDOMAN 5000,
July 28th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
The burden of proof does not lie with the skeptics but with the vendors. If a product can’t stand a little public scrutiny then it obviously isn’t worth the money.
Anyone wishing their HHO product to be taken seriously would need obtain and make public the hard data necessary to support their claims. To be clear, this would constitute testing conducted by a recognized independent third party to verify whether the product brings about a significant reduction in fuel consumption under controlled conditions. Anecdotal BS won’t cut it. If the product passed the test, the vendor would win over new customers and quiet most of the skeptics.
July 28th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I agree Trevor. The burden of proof always lies with those making the claim. I’ve yet to see any independent scientific studies showing how these HHO systems work, hence my skepticism.
If anyone has a study, please e-mail a link to me and I’ll write it up.
Take Boogeyman. If you click on the link in his profile name, it takes you to a site that sells HHO kits. It’s plausible that Boogeyman is over-stating the effectiveness of these systems in a crazy scheme to… I don’t know… make money.
JUDOMAN 5000 is also linking to a site that sells kits. Do you guys see why people might doubt your claims? It’s like the cigarette companies trotting out their in-house scientists to claim that smoking is safe.
July 29th, 2008 at 6:37 am
Understandable
although the site does sell kits, that wasn’t the intent cause I am well on my way to making a commercial model to sell myself after finish up all my testing.
The intent of that site is the info it gives on how to make a fuel cell for yourself with out buying the e-book. thought it would save you guys some in trying it out for yourselves.
but it appears there will always be skeptics.
for example :
yesterday one of the 12 astronauts that walked on the moon went public with info about aliens being in contact with us for 60 years now. what is sad about the whole thing is that he walked on the moon for 9 hours and lived his whole career in nasa but skeptics will still dismiss it eventhough he has first hand experience in additon with all the other proof thats out there.
the point is: get out there and see it for yourself….. make a simple hho gen first…see it for your self how much gas is generated in seconds….. and then blow it up and ckeck how powerful it is…….. then keep going.
But always practice safety first
July 29th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
Anyone else notice those quick subliminal flashes?
I saw the first one is SOTS the second I can’t get.
Weird.
July 30th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Thanks very much Judoman. I had no intention of advertising or promoting this in any way with my post btw. I didn’t even know that it linked that way. I simply wanted to make clear that this technology works. Those who doubt it without appropriate testing apparently lack the education. Although I have started a new venture selling these kits, I do it with the intention of helping people escape the clutches of the big oil companies et al. The last time I checked, we live in a free country where free enterprise is legal and encouraged.