6mm or smaller spacing and configuration?

I have a modified teracell design made of 8 pieces of 10? gauge ss sandwiched between plastic to create 7 cells (just over 2 volts per cell when charging). There are rubber gaskets to seal it and give the plates a 6mm gap. The plates have an exposed surface area of 11" x 5". There are 3/8 inch holes drilled through each plate to let the HHO escape each cell and a thin slot cut into the top and then bottom of alternating cells to cause the electrolyte to flow through each cell do to the venturi effect of the HHO rising up the output tube.

With the 7 cells production was very limited so I jumpered an end plate to the one next to it to make a 6 cell generator. The ouput over doubled as I was getting over a liter per minute at 15 amps.

I was wondering if I changed my config from +nnnnn-- to +nn--nn+ (under standing that I am still losing a plate in either config) but let the spacing stay at 6mm would I see good or bad changes? Also could you run +nn-nnn+ or do the sides need to be balanced?

What kind of production should I expect by dropping the gap to between 1 and 2 mm and at what cost (heat, thermal runaway, amps)?


Thanks,
Kevin

No suggestions yet so I proceeded on my own.

+nn--nn+ made one bubble and blew the 25 amp fuse. :rolleyes:

I put a 30 amp fuse in and it made two bubbles and..........blew the fuse. :rolleyes:

I skipped that idea for now and ran the unit with the 6 cells for a while before I tested the output. The unit ran for 3 hours and was not heating up any more. I was drawing between 20-25 amps (fuse tested) with 40 tsp of NaOH in 1 gal of distilled water. The temp was steady at 122-125. I got exactly 1.5 LPM. Not too bad for my first attempt........although I was really hoping for 2 LPM.


I'm thinking of using the same configuration with thinner gaskets and doubling my plates to +nnnnn-nnnnn+. I would be using the same space with the gaps closed up as suggested in another thread and really increasing my generating surface.

What kind of problems do you think I'll run into? Will it be possible to increase my output to 2.5-3 LPM that way or will I run into thermal problems?

If you don't run into thermal problems, you'll surely run into current draw problems. Plus, neutrals supposedly cut voltage across the plates by like 2v per neutral (or maybe it was half) if I remember correctly. Either way, it looks like too many neutrals.

But if it's +nnnnn-nnnnn+ wouldn't it be like having two 6 cell generators running in parallel?

Then couldn't I lower the conductivity and control the amp draw?

Kevin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BIGGUN

What kind of problems do you think I'll run into? Will it be possible to increase my output to 2.5-3 LPM that way or will I run into thermal problems?

But if it's +nnnnn-nnnnn+ wouldn't it be like having two 6 cell generators running in parallel?

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If you "tune" the electrolyte to get the same 20-25A current flow, I think you'll end up producing about the same amount of HHO regardless of whether its a +NNNNN- cell or a +NNNNN-NNNNN+ cell. You're right that the 13-plate design is like having two 6-space cells in parallel, but you'll be splitting the currrent flow between them. Each series will only see 10-12A and therefore each will likely produce about half what your earlier design did. At least that's my theory.

I also don't think you'll run any hotter with 13 plates than you did with 7, for the same reason. If so it'll be due to the reduced volume of electrolyte.

Info on the tero cell is located at

http://www.waterfuelcell.org/WFCproj..._cell_v1.2.pdf

and he used 3mm spacers cut out of soft PVC sheet.

He used eight plates, which gave him seven cells. If you drive this off the alternator, then you have 13.3 volts divided by 7, or about 1.88 volts per cell.

Another interesting thing about this configuration, if you didn't already know, is that each of the plate faces will have an opposite polarity from the plate face opposite it. So, if you start from the positive end say, the next plate in line takes on a negative polarity facing the positive charge and the opposite side of the same plate takes on a positive charge. The system alternates through the plates like this until you get to the negative polarity at the other end. This is one of the reasons why it is a good idea in this configuration to have the edges of the plates insulated from each other.

At 7 cells I had only .5 LPM and very little current.

When I dropped to 6 cells my current is up to 22-25 amps and my output is 1.5 LPM.

When I had them closer I ran into the same problem but didn't know to drop the last cell out and thought I had a problem with using KOH drain cleaner because of it being in a diluted form. My electrolyte also turned brown that time so I switched to NaOH. My thinner gaskets leaked due to the type of material so when I replaced them I used what I had which was 1/4" rubber. So I never got to try NaOH with thinner gaskets and 6 cells.

I am going to replace the 1/4" soon and when I do I'll set it up as 2 6 cell generators running in series that way I can experiment more. I can run just one or both and see what the differences are.

Thanks for the input,
Kevin