The Black Box Experiment

[Stevo]

Thanks! I purchased the neoprene sheet from http://www.mcmaster.com. I am also very curious to see if the overall cell efficiency changes as I approach the 1 lpm mark. I will be doing a test today trying for 1 lpm to see what the results are. Oh yeh and JB Weld is not actual "welding" per say but more of a higher heat epoxy (400-500*F) that even has insulating properties besides holding very steady. It's a two-part, even mix epoxy that dries gray and can be found almost anywhere. http://jbweld.net/

Stephen

[Stevo]

More test results:

375ml - 1:17 5.7a @ 12.48v = 4.11mmw (2.08v/cell) Hooked to battery charger
375ml - 0:37 6.34a @ 13.9v = 6.90mmw (2.31v/cell) Hooked to car battery with car running.

Seems like the "sweet spot" for this cell is 2.3v/cell and higher. I also think my battery charger is about to kick the bucket.

[Stevo]

Adding a pic of the PWM inside the box I will use. Box will be sprayed black except for LED area and will remain open in the back to ensure airflow and ease of usability. Front will be sealed with another piece of poly. Image attached.

I am also incorporating this ammeter guage:

30 amp ammeter

Overall, the PWM works great from my initial tests and now I am that much further to installation. My cell efficiency is stuck right at around 7 mmw as of now.

[Stevo]

I changed a few things out. First, I made the connections more solid by removing the JB Weld and solid copper wire. Then I made new gaskets and removed 2 neutral plates. Its a 4n2 config now.

10.38 V (Yes, less than 12)
7.2 amps
300 ml
30 seconds

= 8.70 mmw

That's the best I could do with my little battery charger, which is not bad at all. Then I did a test with the unit hooked up to my car:

12.7 V
15 amps
375 ml
20 seconds

= 5.91 mmw

[H2OPWR]

how well does that marine goop work? i use ultra black permatex silicone and its good but ive noticed a small leak at the bottom. i too have a polycarb box with silicone sealant across the bottom to assure no leaks. but since i have a small one, i want to get rid of it before it gets worse

Marine Goop is the bomb. Everything else is in a contest for second place. The only draw back is curing time. At least 24 hours.

[Painless]

Stevo,

How is your dry cell doing? Did you ever push it over 1 LPM?

[Stevo]

Painless,

Yeh I got it to 1.12 lpm yesterday (5.9 mmw), but ended up finding a gas leak in the new reservoir that I purchased. The reservoir is great as a whole but will be getting a new 1/8 neoprene shore 50 OO gasket to replace the much firmer and cheaper neoprene gasket which wasn't sealing so well. I bet that after that I will be seeing around 1.3-1.5 lpm, which is just what I have been shooting for with my little 1.8L engine. I am also going to be replacing the polycarbonate end plates with 1/2" thick UHMW in black. Right now the setup is (11) 2.75" x 4.5" plate.

I sent my blueprints off to scm today to get a quote for (26) 4x4 custom plates for my next generator, which should easily push 3+ LPM. I'm trying to keep it as small and cube like as possible.

[Painless]

Looking good Stevo,

I'd love to be able to build a dry cell out of some proper stainless steel sheets. Your MMW's are awesome. You should check out the dry cell work by jdcmusicman and david7900 on youtube. These guys are both doing great work. Jdc has created a holeless dry cell!

My 25 plate cell is at 2.33 LPM at the moment, around 5.4 MMW. I'm working on a small 7 plate version right now.

I picked up one of the reservoir tanks you recomended yesterday. I had one of these before but the seal went on the bottom. I just need to find a way of sealing the cap too. I was thinking of trimming off the lip and using a PVC pipe pressure test seal cap from Lowes. Have you seen those? They are a piece of expanding rubber between two pieces of plastic. You tighten the wing nut on top and the rubber is forced out, completing the seal. Might work pretty good.

Russ.

[Farmercal]

Stevo, how did you mount the barbed hose end to that first plate? It seems like there isn't much clearance between the plates to put anything to hold it on. Did you just goop it?

[BoyntonStu]

Looking good Stevo,

I'd love to be able to build a dry cell out of some proper stainless steel sheets. Your MMW's are awesome. You should check out the dry cell work by jdcmusicman and david7900 on youtube. These guys are both doing great work. Jdc has created a holeless dry cell!

My 25 plate cell is at 2.33 LPM at the moment, around 5.4 MMW. I'm working on a small 7 plate version right now.

I picked up one of the reservoir tanks you recomended yesterday. I had one of these before but the seal went on the bottom. I just need to find a way of sealing the cap too. I was thinking of trimming off the lip and using a PVC pipe pressure test seal cap from Lowes. Have you seen those? They are a piece of expanding rubber between two pieces of plastic. You tighten the wing nut on top and the rubber is forced out, completing the seal. Might work pretty good.

Russ.

Russ et al,

I have been thinking about reservoirs and their bottom connections.

Why not make all tubing connections out the top and siphon?

BoyntonStu