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Critical Thinking Last night I found myself in a room, a strange place where I had never been. I was seated at a desk and in front of me was a volume of books with all the answers to questions I have asked my whole life. Some of these hard bound book covers had been carefully mended, and I could see there had been a lot of effort made to preserve them. I sat there and looked at the volumes and I asked myself "who wrote these books, and why should I put any faith into what they say?" Shortly after that; there were gun shots, I heard and even felt the vibrations of the bullets striking the heavy metal shutters covering the window, then there was gun fire on the other side of the building and the thought passed thru my mind that someone was after this set of books! I got out of the chair and moved a little closer to the floor, things got foggy, I tired to remain conscious, but I slipped away and soon found myself in bed with a clear vision of what had just happened. The titles of the books were so clear! the table top, the Microscope, the lab equipment! And now even the titles of these books have slipped from my mind. After giving this dream some thought, I think it may have been born out of an email conversation I had with Steven yesterday. It started out this way... Hi George: Do you have any knowledge regarding usage of fractional hydrogen injection of Lister Diesels to improve power but more importantly fuel economy. Perhaps with hydrogen injection the EPA would allow these engines to be imported again. This all sounds real space age but its not - its a very old idea.
Steven I'll admit, every time I see the mention of Hydrogen, I go just a little bit nuts! The question that many a DIYer ask is "Where you going to get the hydrogen? My analogy to the production of hydrogen is this: Either you own your own nuke plant OR it is a vastly losing proposition! The return on investment is something like buying a complete lumber package to build a single family dwelling, and then burning it in your shop wood stove for heat!. There are always smarter things to do with the energy OR energy + materials consumed in the process of making the hydrogen. I am confident that I can guarantee you a vastly better return on your investment, you send me one dollar, and I will send you 50cents back. This is a far better return on investment as compared to making Hydrogen. Lee Walker sent me this email: I did see a TV program not too far back on the hydrogen cars out there. They had an enormous solar array ( around $100,000 ) that was capable of producing ONE vehicle tank full of hydrogen per week. Not a real economical way to make it.... I think I'll stick with my biodiesel and VO Lee Back to Steven.... George: Fractional hydrogen injection at very small or even miniscule quantities increases the flame propagation speed in an internal combustion engine considerably. It acts as a catalyst for the fuel including very low grade fuels. The jet propulsion laboratory Steven Ok, we got this little piece of information. Catalyst? My friend Quinn helps me.. A Catalyst is not consumed or changed when there's a reaction, and here the Hydrogen burns, Hmmmm, guess it's not really a catalyst after all, would people at JPL make the mistake of calling it a catalyst? Maybe Al Gore, but not JPL!. We move on.. George: Fractional hydrogen injection at very small or even miniscule quantities increases the flame propagation speed in an internal combustion engine considerably. In non technical terms is acts as a catalyst for the fuel including very low grade fuels. There have been studies completed over the years from respectable labs (California Environmental Engineering, American Hydrogen Association etc.) addressing the benefits of hydrogen injection which include increased power, better fuel economy and improved exhaust emissions. The Jet Propulsion laboratory, California Institute of Technology has tested and demonstrated Hydrogen Injection and produced a report prepared for the Society of Automotive engineers as far back as 1974. On demand hydrogen injection systems can be easily fabricated using standard hardware store materials. The hydrogen injection system can be scaled to engine size. There are several firms manufacturing these systems now. Costs seem to range in the 300 to 1000 dollar range depending on size and quality grade of materials used. Typical automotive systems draw about 15 amps DC. I didn't know if this has ever been adapted to stationary Lister Diesel applications operating under a somewhat constant load which could be optimal for this application. Steven There's not much in proven benefits here, we might assume that 15 amps DC is at about 13.5 volts and therefore about 200 watts of energy we are spending on the adjunct system, now we might assume that this energy is acting on a hydrocarbon of some type to create this Hydrogen.. so now we have even more energy invested, and we know that we'll need some VERY REAL and measurable increase in performance to offset this considerable investment. We move forward.... George: Try visiting hydrogen-boost(dot)calm they have considerable information on the topic. Please note, you'll need to adjust the above URL as I don't want to link to them You are right these HFI systems do draw considerable amperage on a basic 12 volt system. There is some information out on the web that makes reference to pulsed current and subsequent lower amperage draw but I'm not familiar enough with these systems to comment. If current draw is too high for the single cylinder than perhaps the twin may be better. From a current draw point of view I would think that HFI may have greater potential for larger engine systems like you may find in an automotive application where DC current draw to run the vehicle's electric system is not typically a major issue.
Steven OK, here's what I think, there's a little bit of truth here, and it's likely been stretched out past what Barnum and Bailey would have done with it! But, maybe you're ready to send in your money for a Gizmo? Hydrogen spiking is for real, but it's pay off is what? you be the judge, there's a bunch on this topic. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I'm still thinking about last night's dream, why didn't I open a book and start reading?? It's 11:34PM, Thanksgiving dinner is finally settling, and I have a few minutes to look over New Magazine, 8 LUG Diesel Truck (premier issue) loaned to me by Bill Cole, Cummins Diesel Head Good and fun reading, but then I got to Page 104, Article "California's flex fuel farce" I started reading this article and my brain locked up on the following page 2nd column,
Read that second column, This 2005 GMC Pickup gets 21 MPG on pump gas, and then gets 22 MPG on E85 which is 85% Ethanol? We are going from Gasoline with around 115,000 BTUs per gallon to a fuel that might have 80,000 BTUs or less, and we get better gas mileage?? Sounds like pure magic to me.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Always count the BTUs, and do your own thinking... I think it's critical that you do so BEFORE you spend your hard earned money... All the best! George
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