In the wake of record high gasoline prices, cheesy websites and poorly researched news reports are promoting new products that promise drivers they can improve gas mileage by “up to 50%!”
Products like Water4Gas, the Hydro Assist Fuel Cell and other “HHO generators” claim that drivers can drastically boost horsepower, performance and gas millage by utilizing hydrogen in a new, breakthrough system.
Of course, we’ve all heard that hydrogen is being considered by auto manufacturers as a solution for next-generation automobiles and busses, but the public wants an answer now. So why should we have to wait for those fat-cat auto executives to get off their butts to do something about this looming crisis?
If this inexpensive “solution” is available today, why not take action? Besides, we can get hydrogen from good old, everyday tap water. Plus, if I can stick it to the large oil companies and OPEC, I’ll finally be able to teach them a lesson!
Sounds great, right?
WRONG!
So WHY is this wrong?
First, these products don’t live up to their claims.
Professor Bob Paasch at Oregon State University says these products simply don’t work. While these products have the ability to manufacture hydrogen from a car’s alternator, the process cannot and does not produce more energy. Doing so would violate the second law of thermodynamics. He logically concludes that “If it were true, every power company and auto company in the world would be using it.”
While I agree with Professor Paasch, personally, I don’t care if people want to tinker with their cars and give these products a try. But a problem arises when manufactures of these products try to pawn these devices off as hydrogen fuel cells. They are not. In fact, they’re not even close.
If you are already a Fuel Cell Insider reader, chances are you already know that a hydrogen fuel cell converts hydrogen and oxygen in an electrochemical process to produce electricity. The electricity produced by a fuel cell can be used to power anything from a cell phone and laptop to a vehicle or building.
As I mentioned earlier, sloppy reporting and fly-by-night websites promote products like the Hydro Assist Fuel Cell, leading people to think they’re purchasing fuel cells, when in fact they’re not.
The problem has gotten so bad that some fairly smart people have fallen victim to this technology mis-representation. For example, Tom and Ray from NPR’s Car Talk talked to a caller who wanted to convert his vehicle to a “hydrogen fuel cell vehicle”. After it was clear that the caller was describing a hydrogen generator, the duo failed to correct his mistake. (This is after two hosted PBS’s Car of the Future program, which, among other things explored fuel cell vehicles). The crew at MythBusters also made the same mistake when they tested one of these “hydrogen fuel cells” during a recent program.
In an instant, millions of people across the nation now had reason to suspicious about anything labeled a fuel cell. Fuel cell skeptics may find this particularly humorous, but the fact remains, these products have nothing in common with actual fuel cells.
In my opinion, if manufactures of HHO generators stand behind their products, they should be working to ensure that their products are properly labeled.
Legitimate fuel cell companies working to commercialize their products are proud of what they produce. They feel that their applications are efficient, can lower green house gas emissions, and will provide users with quality products designed to meet an energy need.
Failing to properly label these products does a disservice to the hard work that fuel cell companies have done, and to the progress the industry has made.
~ Bud DeFlaviis~
Director of Government Affairs,US Fuel Cell Council
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August 8, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
Peter V Finamore says...
Thank you Bud, for the education. I too fell pray to purchasing designs for hydrogen generator fuel cell. I studied the plans and as I read further into thaem , they became more and more vague on proceedure and instructions. I realized I was taken for $50, when I reached the section on how to build a control coil. It made no sense and sounded beyond my capability.
Thus here, am I, trying to learn the real deal on fuel cell tech.
thanks again, a novice with high hopes.
August 9, 2008 @ 6:19 am
raghunandan says...
very nice
August 12, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
HHO generation/injection redux: It’s not a fuel cell, fails in testing! | Green News | Eco News says...
[...] Fuel Cell Insider, Popular [...]
August 27, 2008 @ 4:47 am
cheryl says...
Hi,
I think you have to be realistic about these things - most only claim to increase your mpg and as you said, it’s fun messing about with them. They could help create an interest in the real fuel cells, as that’s how I started thinking about them, when I just met a guy at a party who told me about them, & not many females are interested in these kind of topics, which is a pity.
August 30, 2008 @ 12:13 am
Russ says...
Hello,
I think the title Hydrogen Generator to make your vehicle a hybrid would be more descriptive of the HHO representation. It does work, it creates hydrogen, however the jury is still out on how much increase in MPG one gets by using the add on.
Some have been using the process for 40 years. Creating Hydrogen on they fly while you drive by tapping into your alternator is a newly discovered possiblity.
I’m not closing my mind to the possible hybrid concept until the tinkerers are done finding all the nit noid road blocks.
Thanks, Russ
September 1, 2008 @ 6:48 pm
sm0kin says...
I have to agree with some points in your article I believe some to be very biased. Yes Hydrogen fuel cells and hho electrolysis are different and the name surely needs to be straightened out.. The reason people are feeding HHO into their intakes is to help combustion of gas/diesel and in doing so we are able to lean our engines out more then would normal. With leaning out our engines we are able to cut back on a small amount of gasoline produced. Nasa did a report about 30years ago on this. Here is a link to the paper.
http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19770016170_1977016170.pdf
September 7, 2008 @ 5:06 pm
Michael says...
I can appreciate your rancor toward the “‘Hydrogen Assist’ hucksters but, I think, giving dispassionate analysis of the differences between Hydrogen fuel cells and HHO would be more helpful. Any practical applications HHO should be explored; and either credited or discredited, based on their efficacy in a definitive practical application. Although my personal opinion is that its potential uses needs to be explored.
September 11, 2008 @ 1:27 am
Philip A. Block says...
When I was a teacher, one of the most difficult tasks I had was getting students to do their homework. Why? Because people are lazy. They would prefer to listen to the non scientist/engineer, like Al Gore, then get on the internet and learn something about scientific principals and what Fuel Cells are really all about. Con artists sound good, so it must be true. The politicians and know-it-all talk show hosts are all experts on nuclear power. But not one of them has an engineering or science degree. And not one of them has answered one of my many emails on the subject. Wasting time on junk science is just that, wasting time. Do the homework and spend the time on sound ideas. Time is valuable. Thomas Edison
researched every project throughly before undertaking the project.
Someone once asked Lord Kelvin why other people did not do the things that T.E did. He said that he did not know except maybe because they were not Thomas Edisons (quote not exact wording). Ask yourself one question. Would you go to a doctor or lawyer that does not have a medical degree or law degree and a reasonable amount of experience?
September 15, 2008 @ 6:08 pm
Max O. says...
I got a kick out of some of the comments, people are so directed by what they here or read without first doing the scientific research themselves. After much research and investigation on car manufactures and why they do not use HHO for fuel it make all the more sense as to why they don’t use it. They loose billions of dollars and after traveling (full time RVer) in my RV, I have seen many modifications and working models of cars running on just HHO.
I have purchase my own HAFC kit and I do concur that it is a HHO production cell it does work and it increased my Hyundai, Elantras fuel to 60.8 MPG that is from 32 MPG or less. I must admit that I was not confident after the hot air of some articles that I read, but the equipment did work and I am very happy with the results. It now cost me only less to drive and with that I must say, action speaks louder than WORDS. By the way I originally heard about the HAFC on the news..
Ill tell you where I got my kit if interested. See ya! on the ROAD. Well check out for yourselves. http://preignitioncc.com/idealmileage
September 16, 2008 @ 11:49 pm
Philip A. Block says...
I’m not quite sure what Max O. is saying in his commentary, but If I am interpeting him correctly, he claims that he is getting rwo pounds of flour out of a one pound sack. I cannot dispute his claim of increased mileage– but his claim that it costs less to drive? First place, the average ICE is only about 15% efficient. So, 85% of the additional energy, H2, goes off as heat (85 cents of every dollars worth of H2). The best over the counter electrolyzer, (converter of H2O to H2 and O2) is very questionable as to its efficiency. If you are using tap water, the gallon of gasoline will be way cheaper. I won’t go into why, but leave it for your homework. And, unless you have found a way to break the laws of physics, it takes more energy to separate the water into its constituent gases than you can get out of the resulting H2. This is one of the problems that researchers all over the world are working on, finding a way to manufacture H2 that has a reasonable cost.
September 21, 2008 @ 9:01 pm
car fuel saving devices says...
car fuel saving devices…
It is great to see a great post that is truly useful and informative. Keep them coming….
October 4, 2008 @ 11:27 pm
eric krieg says...
I have a site examining the claims of HAFC atwww.phact.org/hafc.htmThe people promoting it have evaded my open call for independent validation for about a year now. The ex convict promoting it, Dennis Lee has been selling questionable super high mileage solutions for 6 years now and promising free electricity machines for 30 years. Buy HAFC AFTER getting credible independent validation from trusted sources. Till then, be on the look out for many different high mileage MLM scams.eric krieg
October 11, 2008 @ 7:10 pm
Jack says...
inexpensive fuel…
Do you learn this stuff in some sort of fancy school or something?…
December 19, 2008 @ 2:37 pm
Jay Vreeland says...
Lord protect us from people qwho know just a little thermodynamics. thermo is the study of heat and work. HHO is not about creating new energy..its about changing the fraction of total energy that goes into work vs heat. If you burn a gallon of gasoline in an open field viirtually all the 1180000 BTUs goes into heat..If you set it off under a rock or in a high compression engine some appreciable fraction ends up as usable work. Hydrogen when introduced with gasoline into an internal combustion engine has been shown to affect kinetics of burning, engine timiong, spark advance, and thermal efficiency. by a few percentage points. In the NASA study and others effects are seen at 2-6% by weight additions (H2 to gasoline). The effects are particularly noticeable in the lean burning region and generally related to improvements in misfiring.. Unfortunately at normal highway gasoline consumption rates of 2-3 gallons/hr, the amount of hydrogen generated at 100 liters/hr (8 grams)only amounts to perhaps0.1% by weight. The actual studies by the Rumanian investigators (Chiriac et al) showed a measurable beneficial effect only at very low loads where the actual gasoline consumption was of the order of 0.5 gal/hr and hence the ratio of H2 to gasoline approached 0.6 to 0.8%. which is virtually just above idle loads. It would thus appear some small % improvement in horsepower is available and if this improvement is above the parasitic loss required to run the genertor load for the HHO cell, there cpcould be small gains…but nothing of the order claimed by some. Hydrogen does have some unusual chacteristics but in the quantities released in HHO aare not all that impactful… .based on its known thermodynamic properties. The resort to the rather fanciful structure for “Brown” gas are necessary to put some sort of mystique into the claims, but the expected lifetime of the such free radical states is normally estimated at at most a few hundred molecular collisions or microseconds.
December 19, 2008 @ 2:42 pm
Jay Vreeland says...
to make it more difficult the amount of leanness permitted by the small amount of hydrogen is insufficient to avoid increases in NOX levels