some results

[danntanna]

Some body stop me I'm obsessed with this technology.I think its because for years Ive been wanting it.Recap.I built a mason jar cell took me about 1 day to get over that.So I was at the steele yard and found some 304 mirror stainless not ideal I know but the right size and price already cut.3.50 a pound.Bought enough for fairly good size cell 27 plates.got home got to work still had to cut corners off drill holes etc.1 week later done.Anyway fired the cell up got 1/2 liter amin. but kept draining the bat. I was useing.Plenty o brown sludge.startedasking questions.The problem was stareing me right in the face.First set up+nnnnnnn-+nnnnnnn-+nnnnnn-whats wrong with this picture?Second setup +nnnnn-nnnnn+nnnnn-nnnn+ I'm one plate short?don't know what will happen.So when I dis asembled my cell to rebuild it I found that the opposing +- the only plate sthat were doing any thing were perfectly conditioned.No oxidation at all.All the others had some.Iwiped them clean we'll see what happens.I 'm in a cold climate but have access to a shop to install on my 55 willys pu.A little apprehensive.Don't want my now master piece to freeze and crack is alchohol a sure anti freeze and what effect?This is so greta I can't stand it.Cheers

[danntanna]

Success this cell functions perfectly no brown sludge.Gonna condition it for a few hours then see what it'll do as far as LPM.Thanks to all you guys for the help.can't wait to get it installed.

[H2OPWR]

Beleive me when I say this. I am not trying to be critical. I am trying to help. You can't set your device up that way. You MUST have equal numbers of neutrals in each stack. You are way better off leaving that last stack with only 4 neutrals off completely. What happens is that the voltage will devide equally between the gaps of each stack. If you have 12 volts in your 6 stack parts you will run 2 volts per gap. With the stack that has only 4 neutral plates you will have 2.4 volts per stack. I know it appears that it is working well but it is not. Effeciency tests would prove that. The stack with 2.4 volts per gap is using all the amperage it can gobble up while the other 2 sections are using very little. They are acting like nothing more than a resistor.

As far as alcohol. I am from Alaska so I have lots of experience here. If you run a strong (28%) solution of KOH to water your cell will never freeze. You only need to worry about the bubbler. A solution of 75% distilled water and 25% alcohol will stop the bubbler from freezing. Your issue will be alcohol evaporation. Alcohol evaporates much faster and at much lower temps than water. It will eventually evaporate enough that it freezes up. Then pressure backs up and your cell leaks. As long as you monitor it closely alcohol in the bubbler will work.

Your next problem will be water vapor freezing in the delivery tube. If the tube is not warmed up enough to thae any condensation every time you drive then the tube will freeze shut and block the entire delivery system. Thought I would share some of the issues I had in Alaska to save you some time and trouble.

Larry

[danntanna]

Thanks Larry I was hoping someone would answer my question about number of plates.Well ok I didn't really ask a question.Would it be better to add one or subtract three?And thanks again for all the other info.

[danntanna]

After some thought I'm going to take your suggestion and remove the small stack.I keep thinking more would be better but I know thats not the case.Efficiency is what I'm going for.Thanks

[H2OPWR]

Yes, either remove the small stack or add one plate to it. Don't make all the stacks with 4 neutral plates.

Larry

[danntanna]

So i figure this is as good a place as any to post progress.After a small amount of bench testing and experimentation I reduced the size of my generator.It is now 6 nuetrals 7 cells.It seems to be working well.Not a ton of production but thats ok for now.I'm already working on the next one.It will be 2 stacks of 5.-nnnnn+nnnnn-.I have the plates almost ready.Anyway initially my truck ran like crap.I got a bit discouraged.After a bit of tinkering its running much better.Back to where I started.Now I will track my milage and see if there are any gains.I'm hopfully optimistic.I'll let you all know what I find.One thing for sure it seems much easier than if it had alot of electronics.A few turns of the screw driver.Maybe pop the top on the carburator ajust the metering rod.Anyway its running great now.