The cap on the booster melted on the negative side and I dont understand why. The plastic melted so much that the cable loosened up and the wire must have wiggled and spark and the booster just lit up. Why would the plastic melt on the ground side? I am using smacks booster design.
Be sure that you have no shorts in your system. And make sure the ratio of positives to negatives is equal. Although you can only make as much hydrogen as is proportionate to equal production of oxygen, if you have a smaller amount of negatives or positives, they will have to work harder and get hotter to even out the ratio.Originally Posted by pj91gsx
I drove with it for 2 times and 2 hrs or more each time, then it popped. I dont under stand why the pvc cap has a melted hole in it on the negative terminal. would it just be the pvc?
Well, I'd also make sure the connections are solid and dense. If you use smaller wire or if the current has to run through a lose connection, it can cause heat to rise.
It could be the PVC but I wouldn't know that for sure. I've chosen to stay away from PVC due to the fact that it loses its rigidity due to heat after a while. Lexan Polycarbonate has become my material of choice. If you keep having issues, I'd switch materials.
pj91gsx, that's precisely the problem with most electrolyzers, and which most people don't address. It's very nice to see an electrolyzer generate 2, 2.5 or more LPM. However, most won't stand long periods of operation without overheating and melting the components.
The fact your negative terminal was the one that melted is absolutely normal. The negative electrode will always (in my experience) get hotter than the positive (assuming the same number of plates of each).
I suggest you run your electrolyzer on a bench with the exact wattage (volts & amperage) as when it's in your car, for a couple of hours and monitor the electrolyte's temperature continuosly to see if it has a runaway heat/current problem.
Senior Member
Use more n plates and a PWM to control current and the problem will go away. Also many people use too small guage wire that causes excessive heating. Another possible cause would be poor quality stainless bolts. Stainless is not a very good conductor and poor quality is even worse.
Ive built a couple generators out of ABS and have never had a failure due to heat even with my first one, that would heat up enough to boil the water. Then I went with the +nnnnn- setup and haven't had a problem with heat since.
I've already warned everybody about the Smack type boosters. They do put out a lot of HHO but they get hot. PVC is not made for that type of heat. PERIOD. You should stop wasting your time and money with PVC or any other weak plastic.
Here's a rule of thumb... Don't use any material that is not rated for at least 200F. Even if the water does not get hot, if you have a short the metal, bolts and wires can heat up rather quickly.
I also use a heavy gauge negative wire (8) and a light gauge positive wire (14). If I get a short it will be on the positive fused side of my cell. I'm also using a 40 amp fuse. It is there only to protect my car's wiring harness. I keep a good eye on the amp draw using my in-dash ammeter. Consistent 15 amps right now...
My mistake I had to go back and switch the gauge wires that I reported above...
Member
I thought the lower the number the thicker the wire.
The failures are in the ground wire, which I will put a bigger wire, the blots ont he top for the connection were not stainless, neither were the nuts connecting the plates, I am installing stainless nuts and hard wear for the connection, added a better ground wire and am going to try to get a glass mason jar and see how it will do. I drive for about 6 minutes a day so the pvc might not have time to overheat will it?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote