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View Full Version : Freezing Temps.



gasmakr
04-30-2008, 07:55 PM
Once you have a system installed in you car. What happens when the air temp goes below freezing? Is there an additive that you can add to the mixture to stop it from freezing?:confused:

jared
05-16-2008, 11:14 PM
i saw some guys saying that windshield washer fluid could be used as a solution alternatively we used to use calcium hydroxide -dow flake to keep our water from freezing when i was a bricklayer, dont know wqhat that might do to your production

jared
05-16-2008, 11:16 PM
calcium chloride, sorry

Getreal17
05-20-2008, 10:47 PM
One thing I've thought about using is a bottle heater that is used to heat Nitrous Oxide bottles for dragcars. You could then interlock the bottle heater to a thermocouple in your container and have a simple controller which would kick the heater on at "x" degrees and cutoff a "y" degrees. To use this, you could hook it to your battery or simply have a 120V plug and hook it up to your house in the cold months.

Just a thought, maybe someone else could expand on this or have a better idea, but maybe this gets a ball rolling...

gasmakr
05-21-2008, 06:01 PM
calcium chloride, sorry

would this effect the burn rate in the engine or build up on the intake tract??:confused:

gasmakr
05-21-2008, 06:07 PM
One thing I've thought about using is a bottle heater that is used to heat Nitrous Oxide bottles for dragcars. maybe this gets a ball rolling...


that's a very good idea I had that same thought a couple of weeks ago. I have friends who dragrace. my current snag is that this is my commuter car for work and I work 3rd Shift the car will sit outside in a parking lot for 10-12 hours at a time away from any power outlet how do i keep it from freezing and not kill my battery?:rolleyes:

Getreal17
05-21-2008, 10:49 PM
that's a very good idea I had that same thought a couple of weeks ago. I have friends who dragrace. my current snag is that this is my commuter car for work and I work 3rd Shift the car will sit outside in a parking lot for 10-12 hours at a time away from any power outlet how do i keep it from freezing and not kill my battery?:rolleyes:

I've thought about this, I've just never ran any calculations. But here are few more thoughts.

When you arrive to your destination (work in your case), your cell will have hot water that will take hours (probably half your shift depending upon temp of course) to cool down. Additionally, if you were to let the heater kick on at say 40 degrees F and run until it was 50 degrees F, I would imagine it would only have to do this a few times a night.

Again, we will need to specify the heater chosen (with known current loads), your cell container material, your cell container dimensions and thicknesses, your volume of water, outside air temps etc. to pull this off.

It also may be just as easy to lug around an extra battery in the trunk or in the toolbox in the bed of your pickup truck to just run the heater and charge it occasionally.

Let's keep bouncin' around ideas...

h-power
05-24-2008, 06:11 AM
You would need to calculate heat loss at various temps of your unit. To help supply the lost current in your car battery you could add a small solar panel to help recharge. My friend uses a solar panel for his airplane in winter to keep his engine warm while it sits on the tarmac.

Why wouldn't plain isopropyl alcohol do the job instead? I wouldn't use calcium chloride because this will produce chlorine gas in the electrolyzer.

gasmakr
05-24-2008, 07:42 PM
Why wouldn't plain isopropyl alcohol do the job instead? I wouldn't use calcium chloride because this will produce chlorine gas in the electrolyzer.


I was just having that thought..... calcium i think would build up in the intake runners. most people are using washer fluid. From which the main components are water and alcohol so why not just use the alcohol instead.
the panel is also a good idea.:)

gasmakr
05-26-2008, 04:43 PM
how sad do you half to be to spam on a hho forum???:confused::confused:

what a spead:p

Ronjinsan
05-28-2008, 02:46 AM
I think a simple start would be some errrr lagging or thermal insulation material. This may at least help to stop the freezing. I live in a warm climate so I dont really know what temperatures we are talking about here but when I lived in England the truck drivers used lagging over the engines at night! Just a thought....

gasmakr
05-30-2008, 04:50 PM
were not talking antarctic temps. here but in the middle of winter around -10 or so....cold enough to freeze a quart of water in a jar without any protection. i'm leaning twards some sort of heat wrap on a temp sensor to keep it just above freezing along with alcohol in the electrolyte mix:)

Ronjinsan
05-31-2008, 01:25 PM
Take the jar out at night! LOL Best idea yet hey?

gasmakr
06-01-2008, 06:11 PM
Take the jar out at night! LOL Best idea yet hey?

At home it dosen't matter I have a 3 car garage so the cell won't get below freezing....but at work I won't have tha option I have no place to store it at work.:)

Ronjinsan
06-02-2008, 02:33 AM
Put it in the car! I mean inside the car.Wrapped in a blanket. Mine is detachable, can be taken off in a flash. Is yours too fixed to do that? If so, try just wrapping it in an old blanket under the bonnet! ;) All the best......isnt it summer for you at the moment?

gasmakr
06-03-2008, 12:51 PM
Put it in the car! I mean inside the car.Wrapped in a blanket. Mine is detachable, can be taken off in a flash. Is yours too fixed to do that? If so, try just wrapping it in an old blanket under the bonnet! ;) All the best......isnt it summer for you at the moment?

That may work to keep the heat for a little wile any way. yes I can detatch mine it's not a perm. istallation. Yes it is summer but i like thinking ahead so I have time to work on the answers for the problem!:)

Ronjinsan
06-03-2008, 01:28 PM
Love a person who thinks ahead or as the US coast guard would say 'Semper Paratus'
Hey Gas by the way go and check out that link i put in new forum topics, I think you will like it!

gasmakr
06-03-2008, 10:22 PM
Will Do......:D

snaganalf
08-13-2008, 06:15 PM
20 percent denatured alcohol by volume is what I've read as the recommended method of freeze prevention on several other sites.

HYDROTEKPRO
08-13-2008, 07:05 PM
20 percent denatured alcohol by volume is what I've read as the recommended method of freeze prevention on several other sites.

Guess it's time for some of us to actually test it. Both freezing point and gas production are going to be interesting.

Eddie_in_Maine
08-13-2008, 10:20 PM
This is a concern that I have as well and I will likely be going with the bottle heater route, but I plan to only run the heater when the vehicle is running. The difficult part is getting the O2's to read stock levels until the fuel reservoir thaws out.

ruger71
08-16-2008, 01:10 AM
I watched on you tube even wrote down his rcipefor winter hho 2 shots vinegar, 3tbs baking soda mix add 3 cups water stir till dissolved, 1cap alcohol and 2caps hdrogen peroxide check it out youtube videos,