Alternating polarity to dislodge gas

[Painless]

On my way to work this afternoon, I was thinking about the situation of the hydrogen and oxygen bubbles being attracted to the electrodes and the subsequent issues with getting the newly created O and H molecules to let go of the electrodes and head off to where we need it. The main attracting factor (please correct me if needed, this is just an idea) seems to be the polarity, i.e. we know that the O is attracted to the positive electrode and the H to the negative.

What if a system was built that alternated the polarity of the electrodes, i.e. continually swapping which electrodes got the positive feed and which got the negative. My thought here is that when the polarity changed, the H and O molecules would then be attracted to the opposite electrode. If the switch was only for a few microseconds, this might effectively dislodge the molecules and start them on their way to the intake manifold.

I was thinking that it could be as simple as alternating the polarity for just a microsecond every second. A circuit of some description may be required, I even thought about a simpler solution using a rotor and brushes.

Has anyone else thought about this or tried it? Does anyone have any input or thoughts to share?

Russ.

[oicu812]

I posted the same question about a week ago here.I know what you mean and i'm positive it would clear the plates and allow more surface area for electrolysis. i've searched for a solid state device that could glitch a reverse polarity for a split second but have come up empty.I supose you could use relays wired up reverse polarity . getting one to close and the other to open for a split second and than switch back .

[Painless]

I considered the relay idea, but then also thought that the rate of switching would probably mean a very short life. I also thought about a rotor and brushes idea, where a spinning rotor with contact on the ends of a 'propeller' would brush against contacts. Only drawback to this idea I can think of is that it would be introducing a 'sparky' environment, probably close to our hydrogen.

[Atechguy]

Why not just use small inverter and leave it on all the time higher voltage lower amps. I thought i read some one tried it and it produces lots of Hydrogen .Just a thought.

[mikestrikes]

When I first tested HHO I used ALUM plates, one stay'd clean while the other got corroded and just gunky................. I swap'd leads to clean it off and it worked for that and seemed to knock off the bubbles.

So if we could have a set of relays and once a second swap polarity yes I see this working.....

Make the swap fast but keep it at that for a full second then swap back I think would do the best. But I'm wrong alot...

[Painless]

It's funny that you should mention aluminum plates, I went to Home Depot this morning on my way to work, only had about 10 minutes to spare and wanted to pick up some plates. I got to work and took a closer look and realized that I'd just wasted $11.35 on 10 ALUMINUM plates, not stainless steel. Annoying as I'm on a really tight budget here.

From what I've read about another HHO discovery, some guy worked out that aluminum will react with water to generate HHO without an electrical current, this is probably why you're getting the gunking.

Article is here: http://www.physorg.com/news98556080.html

I'm still thinking pretty hard about how to facilitate the polarity switching.

[kirbysiville]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I was reading about your ideas concerning breaking free the bubbles from the plates. This reminded me of something I watched on UTube last night. The video is titled "Hydrogen HHO Four Series Clamshell Design (Ultrasonic Test)"
I think this guy has the solution to your question.

[countryboy18]

if you watch more videos on utube u will find one that say that the vibrations dont realy increse the out put of the cell.

[dennis13030]

I believe countryboy18 is correct.

HHO that is trapped inside bubbles before they burst on the surface of the electrolyte only slow down the initial production.

Lets walk through an electrolyzer startup.

The initial conditions are;
1. No Current flow
2. No bubbles trapped or otherwise

Next, current is applied and bubbles start to form on the plates. When these bubbles become large enough, they break free of the electrodes and rise to the surface. Some of the bubbles burst right away while other bubbles on the surface gather together and take some time to burst. As long as the current is constant, the bubbles will continue forming on the electrodes at the same rate(excluding temperature changes). Shaking the electrodes will not change the rate of gas production. Shaking may reduce the initial delay between the start of gas production and release of the gas(bubble burst).