Major Gas Saver - Could This Be "It"?

[Lord Cadillac]

Device promises to save 60% at the pump

Originally Posted by NewsChannel 5

First, we needed to know how many miles to the gallon we were getting in our vehicle. So we put it on something called a dynamometer, think of it as a giant treadmill where we ran the truck for twenty minutes at 55-miles an hour on a full tank of gas.

Once done, we found that even with an oil change, clean air filter and proper tire pressure, we were averaging roughly 9.4 miles to the gallon.

We then ran our truck on the street for close to a month with the Hydro-4000 running. The owners said this would give the device time to clean out the engine. We then put our vehicle back on the dynamometer, and did the same test all over again.

And guess what? With the device on, we were now averaging 23.2 miles to the gallon. That's 61% better than the gas mileage we were previously getting.

We also road tested the device. There we averaged 16-point-one miles to the gallon, which is 58% better than before.

Read the full story
See the product

Reply with thoughts and opinions...

[AMGoff]

I have to admit... I'm slightly confused by this device. So they're basically using electrolysis to create hydrogen and then pumping that hydrogen into the air/fuel mixture?

I dunno...

They also seem to be using a play on words, well... lying actually by saying their device is also known as a "fuel cell," but in reality it's not... one could also view it as a "reverse" fuel cell... but even then, that's misleading because it's not a fuel cell at all. A true fuel cell takes hydrogen, combines it with oxygen to make water, and the byproduct of that reaction is excess energy. So a true "fuel cell" vehicle is an entirely electric vehicle by which its only physical byproduct is water... and the biggest reason there aren't such vehicles is because we yet to have the infrastructure, nor the proper storage means for hydrogen... which is what an actual fuel cell runs on... not water.

So again... I dunno... I mean, hydrogen is a volatile substance which I suppose could theoretically add some more "bang" to the fuel/air mixture... but again.. I dunno...

[hueterm]

It looks like they got good results, but I'd be worried about any impact it could have on the engine....

I'd have to see the automakers adopt it into new models before I'd be willing to try.

[Lord Cadillac]

What do you guys think about the statement by Channel 5 News? Are they lying? Or did they really get nearly 60% more mileage from their fuel?

[dkozloski]

This is pure BS. The energy to separate the hydrogen comes from the alternator which is driven by the motor. Electrolysis is inefficient. More electricity would be required for the separation than would ever be returned by injecting the hydrogen back into the motor. This is either a bald face lie or a scam. The only reason anything like this gets any play at all in the news is that the U.S. public is ignorant in all matters involving science. The reason the seller says that it takes a while to "clean out the engine" is to give him time to blow town before the pigeons come looking for him with the tar and feathers. This is the oldest line in the "gas saver" book. The saddest part is that there are people who actually fall for this rediculous shit.

[illumina]

Well, I read somewhere some time ago that water caused metal to rust. Engines are metal

I also heard somewhere that the news will try any story for ratings. You know what I seen on the news tonight? Did you know that gas prices are high! Imagine that

Yeah, I would have to see some serious reviews before I put this on my car!

[Lord Cadillac]

Originally Posted by dkozloski

This is pure BS. The energy to separate the hydrogen comes from the alternator which is driven by the motor. Electrolysis is inefficient. More electricity would be required for the separation than would ever be returned by injecting the hydrogen back into the motor. This is either a bald face lie or a scam. The only reason anything like this gets any play at all in the news is that the U.S. public is ignorant in all matters involving science. The reason the seller says that it takes a while to "clean out the engine" is to give him time to blow town before the pigeons come looking for him with the tar and feathers. This is the oldest line in the "gas saver" book. The saddest part is that there are people who actually fall for this rediculous shit.

It just seems that with so much attention on gas prices, that Channel 5 News show is really putting their reputation on the line if this doesn't work. I mean, they actually say it works.

[AAIIIC]

Originally Posted by Lord Cadillac

It just seems that with so much attention on gas prices, that Channel 5 News show is really putting their reputation on the line if this doesn't work. I mean, they actually say it works.

Yes, they're actually saying it works because...

Originally Posted by dkozloski

This is pure BS. The energy to separate the hydrogen comes from the alternator which is driven by the motor. Electrolysis is inefficient. More electricity would be required for the separation than would ever be returned by injecting the hydrogen back into the motor. This is either a bald face lie or a scam. The only reason anything like this gets any play at all in the news is that the U.S. public is ignorant in all matters involving science.

It's not like the local news team is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to matters of science. Hell, just their "test" is so full of holes that the results are absolutely meaningless. What truck are they driving that got 9.4mpg driving 55mph on the "giant treadmill" we call a "dynamometer"? That single piece of data immediately raises the bullshit flag - a vehicle rolling on a dyno at 55mph, with no wind resistance to overcome, little rolling resistance, no incline, no nothing, should be barely sipping from the fuel tank. The fact they got 9.4mpg is recockulous.

The difference in mileage could easily have been generated by changing the loading on the dyno. I can run a vehicle on the dyno at 55mph with nearly 0 load (23.2mpg), or I can crank up the load so the driver has to maintain 50% throttle just to maintain the speed (9.4mpg). Wow! Magic!!

And just to cap off the ultra-scientific test, they compare their actual on-the-road test to the dyno test. They got 16.1mpg on the road, and point out that that's 58% better than before. Ummmm, isn't that also 30% worse than your dynamometer test showed? So which number is right? What was the mileage when you did the on-the-road testing prior to installing the Hydro-4000? Ohhhhh, you didn't do that?

As for the science of it, dkozloski's explanation is exactly right. You will use more energy to power the electrolysis process than you get back by burning the hydrogen produced. A quick google will find explanations all over the 'net like the one here - http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...4111822AAiYMJ0 - that debunk this shit.

Edit: I couldn't help it, I had to go watch the video. When I read the article and it said their "truck" got 9.4mpg I was thinking maybe they had tested the thing on a big news truck - you know, the ones with the satellite dish on top. Instead, it's a freaking Dodge Durango. 9.4mpg from a ****ing Durango? And they report that like it's perfectly normal! What a bunch of idiots.

[Highline Cady]

I have a bridge for sale. Any takers?

[Red_October_7000]

This thing unfortunately isn't "it". You can't win by cracking water for hydrogen and then burning that hydrogen in the same engine that's producing the electricity that cracks the water for the hydrogen in the first place. You actually lose a little by doing that because the system is imperfect. It's a shame these don't work, but they don't. If there was a $1200 device you could put in your car and increase its fuel mileage by 60%, the automakers would equip them standard because CAFE ratings are choking them to death. The easy steps you can take aren't done for other reasons -lower restriction exhaust makes the cars noisy, high effieciency air cleaners need to be loaded with messy oil every year and add $30-100 cost for a fractional MPG return (seeing "big" numbers like 1 or 2 usually comes when you toss a nasty old paper air cleaner for a brand new oil loaded one). Other than those two things, and the exhaust isn't "easy", there is little you can do to increase MPG by a lot.

There IS, however, a $4,000 device you can equip on your truck right from the factory that increases its mileage by %60... it's called a Diesel!