PDA

View Full Version : Heat and Poor Production With My Cell, Any Ideas?



bwhite757
08-07-2008, 10:13 PM
I've got an 8 plate cell in this formation: +NN--NN+

Using lye, and running at full temp around 25 amps (1/4 Teaspoon Lye to 1 Gallon Water) I'm getting less than 1 liter per minute, and my cell is getting HOT!!! Any ideas how I can get a little more output while cooling this thing down somehow???

http://bcwhite.net/hho/images/plates.jpg

Painless
08-07-2008, 10:21 PM
I think the first thing would be to add more plate pairs, ideally neutral plates. You are currently using 8 plates to make 4 pairs, on a 12v hookup you will be running 3v through each pair, you only need half of this voltage, the other 1.5v is generating excess heat.

It looks, from the photos, that you are trying to make a kind of miniaturized smack type design. 16 plates in total would give you better voltage spread and less heat, also, more separation between your plate pairs would be good too.

It would also be prudent to ensure you have no shorts, these are great for keeping your legs cool in the summer, but nasty for heat in your HHO cell!

Meat
08-07-2008, 10:32 PM
Good pic there. Your generator looks a lot like mine. From the pic, it looks like you have 6 volts between your producing plates. I'll bet that's the culprit here, as you only need 2V. If you have a voltmeter, I'd give that a check. Any extra voltage will push the current around the plates and waste your energy on heat. On my generator, I also have 4 pairs of plates, but the current goes in one side, travels sequentially between the pairs, and leaves out the other side, which gives me 3-3.5 volts between plate pairs. (I adapted it from the plumabob style, and kinda smashed the whole thing together to fit into about a 4" clear plastic home water filter casing) My casing is only rated up to 100 degrees F, and I've had it up to at least 150F. I had to re-tighten the fittings in the lid where the water would have gone in and out, but no warping problems. Yet.

Meat
08-07-2008, 10:38 PM
One more thing: you may want to insulate your straps above your plates from each other, because these will have 13-14 volts from each other when it's installed on your vehicle, and the current will definitely want to take that short little jaunt instead of going through all your plates and nuts and bolts. I used electrical tape, but I fully expect it to break down and fall off in short order. Haven't run it to full temp yet with my improvements.

bwhite757
08-08-2008, 01:49 AM
Thanks for the advice, yes it's a miniature smack design that was tried to fit into a water filter housing.

Meat, do you happen to have a pic of your design??

Meat
08-08-2008, 02:30 AM
Yeah, but they're on my cellphone, and I need my buddy's usb adapter to post anything. Soon I'll have a few up, along with a video of my setup installed on my 75 Dodge pickup. (Yes I took a test run - 32 amps at peak temp, 17 mpg. I got like 19 mpg before I retarded the timing 2 degrees. Or maybe it was 5 degrees, I gotta quit eyeballing things.):o