to PWM or not to PWM

[PAPAFIXIT]

I am seeing some controversy on PWM's. Are they worth buying or not? I can buy 'ALMOST' a full tank of juice for the price of this thing.

Mr Syd

[dennis13030]

What happens to a light bulb when you feed it a little too much power? Well depending on how much more power, the light bulb will either last for a shorter time(due to overheating) or burnout immediately(due to overheating). This situation is normally called "over-driving".

This can happen with an electrolyzer too. When it is over-driven, you start getting excessive heat. Sometimes this can lead to damage to the electrlyzer(including wires, battery, etc.) Over-driving an electrolyzer does produce more HHO gas.

So the choices are 1) don't over-drive the electrolyzer and heat will not be as big of a problem(with less HHO production) or 2) over-drive the electrolyzer and add a PWM module that reduces the overall power and temperature.

I think #2 is a waste of time because using a PWM reduces the power and therefore the HHO production. It's equivalent to just using less current(power).

[Ronjinsan]

I must agree, we have built and tested our own and never realised a significant difference. Gary of Metelech wrote a very good essay on them and also came to the same conclusion!

[volomike]

I must agree, we have built and tested our own and never realised a significant difference. Gary of Metelech wrote a very good essay on them and also came to the same conclusion!

So you're saying no PWM is necessary if certain precautions are taken (such as wire gauge, length of wire, relay, fuse, etc.)?

[PAPAFIXIT]

I wonder if an AC light dimmer would be adequite to stabilize the voltage?
They sure are a lot less expensive. Has anyone tried this yet?

Syd

[computerclinic]

I wonder if an AC light dimmer...

Syd

Thats a good question, I have a ton of them in my garage. I think it will be on the list of things to test tonight.

[computerclinic]

Well the results are in...I tested the AC switch and it did control the ammount of voltage going to the plates, but I still got a bunch of heat on the top end..I believe it was because the power was not being sent to the plates in a pulse which is the primary function of a PWM. The ammount of current going to the plates definately has alot to do with the temp. but apparently, the pulse has even more of an effect.

Thank you for the suggestion, it was a good experiment!

[ELECTR0N3RD]

i wonder if a few capacitors before it would work?

[geobushono]

I have been reading about hho for 4 days, and I think I read the concentration of electrolyte is a regulator of current.