My First Build

[danser75]

This is a great idea. If I build this design again I might do that. The advantage to doing it all on cnc this time was the cnc machine was inside in a basement at a buddy of mines vs. the drill press is in a non heated shed. I chose warmth. lol. But I have gotten all the reactors built and am working on the plumbing side now. I have 90% of the parts for it.

I have also chosen at least for testing to use an old radiator overflow tank from a pressurized system. I am currently soaking it with soapy water then plan to rinse really well then soak with baking soda and water for a few days, then rinse and soak with water for a day and then assemble and use.

I am going to use a manifold system the guys at my local hardware came up with to allow connections to be made and not drill the tank. In the future I will probably make a tank or get one from the suppliers I see on here but the budget is getting rather depleted so I had to find a cheap way out for the time being.

All in all I'm nowhere near done but I am making headway. I have a flashback arrester for it but I still need to buy and build the bubblers and then need to build the electronics and relays for the system. II am going to use a relay off the ignition to turn on and off the system with a manual override and make it so it can also turn off my efie when I get it.

[danser75]

Well I got the unit ready to install in the car. Before I did I wanted to check for leaks. I got a leak at every hole I had threaded. I used thread tape but the cutting boards I got were too thin and had warped and I didn't see it until a closer exam. I thought I would be ok with 3/8" but when I took out the hose barbs i found that the threads were very out of shape. So now I have to order 1/2" boards and start over. Just a word of warning do those who might see those $2.00 cutting boards at Walmart. They are not worth it in my experience. I have also gone back and made a new tank and manifold cause the setup I had first was too tall to go in the car.


Well I will keep updating as things change.

[danser75]

Well guys I have finished the puzzle that has become my dry cells. I have attached a couple pics. I also have the tank finished and the bubblers done but I am not so proud of them so I will see how I feel when I get it all mounted and running but I may just replace them. they are too short I think, about 11 inches top to bottom. I just used what I had laying around in the pvc dept.

But the groups will be assembled 3 in series. then 2 of those setups in parallel. But each group you see has 3 plates in it. This gives me a total of 6 plate gaps and the middle plate in each group has no holes in it. So there is going to be NO CURRENT LEAK! Each group has 2 ins and 2 out. Each cell will have its own hose connection to the tank.

I am fairly proud of this unit and would like to see what you guys think of it so far.

[danser75]

Well I have the groups wired and mounted, the tank built and mounted, and the hoses cut and run. I also got it all in the trunk and placed where I want it. All that's really left is to get the hose clamps on when they arrive and to get the port on the tank to fill the system finished up.

Then I will focus on mounting the electronics to control the system and the bubblers and run the power wire and hose line to the front along with the drain lines to outside the car.

I have posted a couple pics so you can get an idea as to how it looks in the car.

The tank is a little odd because I just adapted the old tank I built to accommodate the change in plans in the middle of the build.

[madman]

danser,

Do you have some type of safety devise like a flash back arester inbetween the bubbler and input to engine????

[danser75]

Well guys I got it mounted in the car for the last time and have most the wiring done. I now have a series of relays to control the unit as I want to try out a few ways of control it. I want to try putting a relay on the brake light that will power down the unit at a stop light thus I don't need to burn those amps during that time either. I also want to try having a switch on the gear shift for when I am parked for the same reason. I knwo there is a bit of a lag from the time that you turn power on till it starts really producing but I want to play with it and see how efficient I can make this whole outfit. I have a ton of relays around and just generally like to tinker.

I am also looking into a new tank as mine is just big bulky and in the way. Currently I have a tank too big to use a hose barb to collect the hho. A tiny oversight on my part. so its either build a new tank or modify the car to allow more clearance.

As for budget, now that I am close, original budget was about $350.00 ago. but I got to a point I just have to see it done and its still cheaper than the bars and its still too cold to kayak.

[BioFarmer93]

It costs a lot to build unipolar, doesn't it?

[danser75]

Yeah Gus, Its just a guesstimate that it cost that much over budget. But Also lets remember I started on a budget too low to build a bipolar, and have had to go back and rebuild main components several times due to poor planning of this and that. So I think I have done well.

But on amazon I found packs of 10 hose clamps stainless for 8 bucks with free shipping. I ordered 8 of them. That did save a bit. And I ordered my EFIE and Flashback arrestors on ebay. Along with the amp meter that will be mounted on the dash. Its a 50 amp digital meter and includes the shunt.

[danser75]

Well I worked around the problems on the tank and got the rest mounted in the car last night. I have employed a friend to work on this with me as it has become an insane amount of labor we kinda work from both ends of the car and see how much we can finish. but now the only thing left to do it to install the flash arresters and amp meter when they arrive and fill with water and NaOH. But all hosing and wires are run and in place for allt the connections to be made the only thing I will have to do it cut the hoses and place the arresters and plug in the wires to the meter. I hope to have a video by the end of the week to show it all working. Thanks guys for all your help and advice.

[BioFarmer93]

Well I worked around the problems on the tank and got the rest mounted in the car last night. I have employed a friend to work on this with me as it has become an insane amount of labor we kinda work from both ends of the car and see how much we can finish. but now the only thing left to do it to install the flash arresters and amp meter when they arrive and fill with water and NaOH. But all hosing and wires are run and in place for allt the connections to be made the only thing I will have to do it cut the hoses and place the arresters and plug in the wires to the meter. I hope to have a video by the end of the week to show it all working. Thanks guys for all your help and advice.

Danser,
I know it's a good feeling to be getting SOOO close to the finish line (believe me ) but while you're waiting on those last two things to arrive, fill your system with distilled water and leak test everything. A bicycle pump will provide MORE than enough presure to show drips and air leaks (soapy water on the outside = bubbles) and will prevent one of those "OH SH!T!!" moments down the road... Please don't ask how I know this thing.