Thursday, August 13, 2009

More on the 3 Plate, Plain Water Electrolyzer

See update: Results at the bottom of this article.

Having had some enquiries on how to build one of these units, thought I would show how to do one from scratch, gathered all the parts first then drilled the plates and assembled it. Took less than 3 hours to do it. Full instructions are on Eddie's site ( http://eddie-batista.dyndns.org/ ) and E-Book...... You have to read it first to understand the concept behind it all.



Caution!
If you decide to construct this electrolyzer, it is entirely at your own risk and peril. This device is not a play thing or toy. It is your responsibility to make sure that all safety precautions are followed . Neither the designer of this electrolyzer or author of this document will be liable should you suffer any loss or damage by your own actions.
Play Safe Always!


Items needed are shown above...

3 - 404 SS 16 gauge plates, 18 gauge would be OK as well ($8.48 Metal Supermarkets)
13 - 1/4-20 SS hex nuts ($6.22)
2 - 1/4-20 X 3 inch SS screws ($ 3.00)
2 - 1/4-20 X 2 inch Nylon screws with Nylon nuts to match ( $2.75)
1 - Straight barbed coupling or elbow to fit 3/8 inch plastic tubing ($0.79)
4 - 1/4 inch ID Rubber Grommets ($2.99 for pkg of assorted)
1 - 3/8 inch ID Rubber Grommet
8 - 1/4-20 1/16 thick Nylon Washers ( $ 0.56 for pkg of 25)
1 - 7/8 inch Rubber Stopper ($0.77)

Total above parts cost $25.82

Pictured above are the 3 404 SS plates which are 3.5 inches wide and 7.5 inches tall. First the 3 plates were drilled on one upper corner with a 1/4 inch drill, all 3 plates being drilled at the same time held together with a pair of visegrips. Next, the positive plates were aligned with a 1/4-20 screw inserted through the drilled hole, the negative plate was placed between the positive plates and offset by 3/4 inch. Again vicegrips were used to clamp all three together. A vise would have been better to hold all in place, but I do not have a vise, since moving into an apartment.

This is a side view of the plates assembled.


Another view showing the 3/4 inch offset.

View of plate assembly.



This is the 10 liter (2.64 US gallon) container that I got for 99 cents from a Bulk Food Store
complete with rubber O-Ring that makes it air tight.


This shows the plate assembly mounted in the container. The rubber grommets are placed
on the inside and outside of the container with GE Silicone Seal applied to the screws and the
grommets on both sides. The outside nut is tightened until the grommets are compressed to the sides of the container. .. another nut is then jammed against the first one by using 2 7/16 wrenches. The last 2 nuts are screwed on the terminal created thus to hook up the 12 volt power from the battery or whatever. The positive terminal (2 plates) is on the right and the negative terminal is on the left. Mark them as + (for positive) and - (for negative) on the outside of the container.
The container is filled with plain tap water so that the water reaches to a point 1 1/2 inches below the top of the plates.



This is the installation in the back of my van, container with lid on showing the 3/8 vinyl tubing
leaving the nylon elbow and the 7/8 rubber stopper in the inspection hole.
The negative battery lead is visible, going to the - terminal.

Results ! September 1, 2009

My average for city driving is 17.97 MPG without running a cell. Since my last fillup, I had put on 188 city miles and it took 7.55 gallons to fill the tank to nearly overflowing, so that gave me 24.90 MPG for city driving , a 38.56% gain.

The main thing that I am happy with is that I am getting a consistent 36.6 plus MPG now instead of the unpredictable ups and downs in the past 3 years with the different cells I have tried. Also this is without tinkering with any sensor enhancements.
I have removed all with the exception of the EFIE which is turned off for the time being. I have attained 30 MPG plus a bit more on long higway trips without a booster, but for the driving I do it is a 27.27 MPG average normall so the 36.6 MPG is a 34.21% increase.