To view my instructional blog check out hydrogenbyjared.com
The previous owner of the Jeep, Joan Garuti (my mom), claimed to get 21mpg driving 50mph with the top up. With the top down she claimed to get 24mpg at best. According to fueleconomy.gov this 1998 4-cylinder manual tranny Jeep Wrangler should be getting 16 city and 18 hwy miles per gallon. I guess the question is... who can drive 55? I could at the beginning of my trip, but after a few days I realized that I needed to be back to Oregon much faster.
My findings...
At best, the mileage I got was 26.78 MPG traveling at 55mph. A Jeep Wrangler getting almost 27 MPG... amazing! On average, at speeds between 55 and 75mph, I got about 25 MPG. Speed makes a huge difference in how much gas you use. I also noticed that as the wires corroded my MPGs went down. A good generator will have easily replaceable wires. I'm hoping after a few upgrades and skillful driving that I'll be able to make 28 MPG.
I installed the hydrogen generator in New Hampshire with help from my brother Joshua. His garage is full of project left overs and tools that I'd never seen before! What a great spot to get creative...
The cage that supports the jars is made from some french drain pipe left overs, cable ties (fluorescent colored of course), automotive brake lines and an old cd rack. It's easy to remove the jars for maintenance. The rack will detach easily as well. Fortunately the jeep has a nice spot to slip this hydrogen generator into, some other vehicles may not be so lucky. If you're hurting for space... take out your air conditioning system! Come now, do you really need it?
This is what it looks like installed. Later I added an off switch in the dash and an air pump. The problem with hooking up the power to your generator from an accessory power line is that it turns on when you park up at the look out and switch on the radio for some mood music. Draining your battery and filling your air intake with hydrogen es no bueno! A simple 20 amp switch did the trick. The air pump helps keep a steady flow of hydrogen into the intake. There wasn't enough of a vacuum for the engine to pull in the hydrogen on it's own.
The Bubbles! The bubbles are mine!
Gross! Look at all that corrosion and mineral depositization! This picture was taken in Illinois and the unit was still working great. It just looked like a dirty fish tank so I cleaned it out and added new water. John Colwell, who was a chemist back in the day, suggested I try distilled water with a small amount of salt instead of tap water. Once I build my new generator I'll switch over and hopefully the electrolysis process will be a little cleaner and more sustainable.
Thoughts for the future:
- I'm going to start a second blog for this hydrogen project. It'll be an instructional blog that follows my progress building a new setup. I've got some great ideas for a few upgrades! Hopefully it will help anyone feel confident enough to build their own. It's cool to have better fuel economy!
Comment Responses:
- It's not a bomb Jay! :-P
