I put this in another thread - then realized it should be here
Borax as a catalyst
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I put this in another thread - then realized it should be here
Borax as a catalyst
Alternatives to Baking Soda as a Catalyst
1. Sodium Citrate which is basically citric acid - a SAFE food ingredient used in ice cream, cheese and wine. Find it on eBay Store "The Chemical Connection" ($3.99) or locally - try the local winery or ice cream factory. Might be called Citrosodine, Tri-Sodium Citrate, Citric Acid (PURE citric acid, no sugar please!), or Tri-Sodium Salt.
2. Washing Soda is a laundry detergent that might be found under the names Soda Ash, Laundry Soda, Sal Soda, or Sodium Carbonate. Used as a non-toxic all-purpose cleaner - look in the laundry section of your grocery store.
3. Borax is also used for laundry and might be known as Sodium Borate, Sodium Tetraborate, or Disodium Tetraborate.
Although non-dangerous in general, Washing Soda and Borax might be toxic if swallowed. Keep away from children!
So I am reading this but I don't think the citric acid would work because I may be 100% wrong but don't we need a high alkaline solution? Citric acid would make it acidic correct? :confused:
Dancer, electrolyte can be either alkaline or acidic. I still think that you can not beat NaOH (lye). There is more to electrolyte than just its ions.
That's why I thought I would be wrong. Just trying to learn cause the main systems I have seen use alkaline electrolyte.
Also MyoldYourgold whats your name? Also thanks for chasing me around this forum to correct my misinterpreted statements. I really am trying to learn this and have been trying to do more research before typing. LOL.
I prefer to use Borax since it doesn't exhibit too much heat because of its very high resistance to electron flow between plates. There is no more need for a pwm to counter overheating in the system. It is quite slow in bubble production but it sound quite different from the bubbles produced in KOH electrolyte solution. Bubble a size of a pea explodes like a fulminate. It sounds like a .22 magnum fired and I have to stop testing because it does not only harm my ear but the tranquility of my neighbors. Sodium Borohydride has a valence of 10H2 making the compound much like a hydrocarbon. If liberated to form HHO with Oxygen it can give much better explosive power to the combustion engine than the HHO produced by KOH.
Some dude would think Borax as a catalyst. No. It is fuel in powder form with chemical formula of Na2B4O7*10H2O. It is Sodium Borohydride in natural occurring compound. If you look closely at the formula it has a valence of 10 atoms H multiplied by 2 = 20. Mixed with distilled water it displays maximum resistance of electron flow in between plates of dry or wet cells. In short it is simply of fuel of vast amount of Hydrogen atoms stored in a single compound. You cannot liberate this 20 atoms of H easily in electrolysis to produce a super Hydrogen gas. It has got to have a catalyst or an initiator in the electrolyte in order for it to be liberated into your car engine's intake. In my experience, the only chemical that can do it without altering the compound is Potassium Hydroxide. Control the amount of KOH to produce a maximum of 5 amps only and you will have a good production of HHO unlike those that you see being popped in you-tube. Oh by the way, please use an ear cover when you are about to test fire the bubbles that you produce in following this experiment. May God bless you and you can now run your car by 60%.:D
Hmm... it seems like you have done a bit of testing there Forest. Thanks for the valuable info!
Please give some more insight into the set-up required to get the most out of this.
How much Borax do you use, in proportion to the KOH?
You said that only KOH works, so that rules out my NaOH does it not -or can it still work with the Borax?
How do you feed it to your car -and with what results?
What is your best MPG reading?
Please let us know, since this can go a long way if things really are how you say they are.