Constant Amperage?

[elligw]

Hello all i am Gary, A newbie to posting but following the boards for 6 months.
I built the drycell 19 plate DIY kit from Greenfuelh20 configured +nnnnn-nnnnn+nnnnn-.
The system will go on a 2006 Toyota Tundra 4.7L. Right now I am just testing on the bench until I get it working the way I want. I ran it this weekend on jumper cables to the battery (truck running) with the following results.
2.0 volts across each 4X6 plate.
Amperage was between 26 and 28 amps.
3 qt reservoir temperature 85-90 degrees.
Cell temp 105 to 110 F.
Producing 1 ltr of HHO every 38 secs.
electrolyte mix was 4 tbls KOH to 1.5 qts of water.
Outdoor temperature here in north FL was in the high 60's.
Plates were media blasted, passivated in citric acid bath and run through Hyrogen Peroxide.
The bubbler is based on Ben's air stone build - 18 inches long, clear pvc with a 2in air stone.

From what I could tell this was the most consistent run I have had thus far. Now the question**
The amperage was never constant, it would start at 26 and run up to 28 amps and back down to 26 every 7 seconds. Are these normal readings? Gas production stayed constant at 1 ltr every 38 secs.

Thanks,
Gary

[myoldyourgold]

From what I could tell this was the most consistent run I have had thus far. Now the question**
The amperage was never constant, it would start at 26 and run up to 28 amps and back down to 26 every 7 seconds. Are these normal readings? Gas production stayed constant at 1 ltr every 38 secs.

What I think is happening in your reactor is the level of the electrolyte is changing. By that I mean in one or more stacks or even one or more cells the level drops and then fills back up. This causes a change in amperage that you described. There are many causes for this but most have to do with flow in the reactor and to the reactro but also could have to do with the back pressure in the system. Is the gas coming out in a steady stream or chugging? How are the ports configured? Have you tried changing the height of the reservoir? All in all it seams to be a pretty good running reactor running about 4.5 MMW where 100% would be 5.3 MMW approximately. How thick of gasket are you using? Make sure all the connections are perfect. This also could cause this problem. Check the connection temperatures. There are other reasons like do you have electrolyte coming in from both ends and gas out from both ends etc, but still related to flow and electrolyte level.

[BioFarmer93]

Gary,
I'm in Jax also, I'd be glad to take a look at it and see if we can figure it out... -Gus

[elligw]

Carter, I suspect the level of electrolyte is changing within the reactor as well. I will try moving the reservoir a little higher than the reactor. The gas was coming out in a steady stream, no chugging during the hour and the gaskets are 1/16th. I do the remember the reservoir connection temperatures being around 100 deg.
As far as electrolyte from both ends, I saw more electrolyte entering the bottom and gas leaving the top of the reactor.
I was watching Mike at HHOConnections video and noticed his PWM doing the same thing but it was fluctuating by 1 amp. Let me try moving the reservoir first. Thanks

Gus,
I will likely take you up on that as long as you don't laugh at my 19 plate reactor up next to the bio beast! LOL I am on the North side of town by the airport. Thanks


Gary

[BioFarmer93]

Nah, I won't laugh, I promise- see, yours is the normal one, mine is the freak of nature! What you described could be exactly as Carter says
But I've noticed on my truck that the amp gauge needle bounces between 5-20 amps in a rhythmic manner just as a matter of course. This is usually blamed on Chinese built voltage regulators...

[elligw]

Moving the reservoir higher than the reactor seemed to fix the problem. My amps didn't even jump around, they stayed constant. Thanks Carter.

[myoldyourgold]

Your welcome. The height of the reservoir can effect the amount and the quality of the gas being made so is an important part of the system.

[hhofox]

myoldyourgold Your welcome. The height of the reservoir can effect the amount and the quality of the gas being made so is an important part of the system.

Really? I mean, even the quality can be affected as well?
I currently have my rez positioned so that its base (output to reactor) is a little below where the output nozzle on the reactor is located.
The thought was that I could have the internal water level of the reactor stay at that point, below the output nozzle, keeping the water between each cell separate and below the top of the plates and the gas vent holes in them.
I had even looked at the level of the liquid in the reactor through the cutting boards to see where it would be in relation to the height of the rez.

If I raise my rez even higher, won't it flood the cell and cause other issues to arise?
Does the back-pressure automatically even things out when the rez is higher than the cell?
I purposely made my water-leveling holes in the plates only 3mm wide and staggered in order to ensure that the water stays in the cells like a bath, but now I am wondering if that was okay or not. Hmmm

I have always wondered about these things, so please, don't hold back with the explanations everyone.

[myoldyourgold]

The ideal height is something you have to experiment with. The spot you are looking for is a spot that the level of the electrolyte in the reactor when it is running fills all the cells to just below the bottom edge of the exit port. Remember this is when running. When the reactor stops and all the pressure is released it will flood. The electrolyte will balance with the level in the reservoir even if it has to fill up into the exit tube. When you start up again it will pump the electrolyte out and then level itself. As the water gets used up (turned into HHO) the level in the reactor goes down as the level in the reservoir goes down. This is the main advantage for the an auto fill system. The amount of water used to make 1 liter a minute is not very much so it is not like you have to keep refilling every minute to keep the electrolyte in the sweet spot. In really big systems auto refill is necessary to keep things in balances. The alternative to this is to always run in a flooded state with the use of a pump which is not as efficient and place the reservoir where it is convient. This is sometimes the only solution because of space and where the reservoir has to be placed.

[hhofox]

That's a good, clear, explanation.Thank you.
I must see what the water level is when it is running then.
I did notice that it pushes the electrolyte down the tube and back into the reactor. Actually, I only get a bit of foam coming up into the output tube, but if any reaches the rez it gets recycled (the connection is above the water level in the rez.) Much foam doesn't make it back to the rez now, since I am only running the rector at 8.5amps (cold.) It makes .5L in 45 secs.
The height of my rez is adjustable, so I'll have to play with it and see what I get.
Funny thing: I get better mileage without HHO at times -still trying to pin down the production that's best for my engine. Gonna try the .5LPM which was suggested in another post. I HATE having to weaken my electrolyte solution! Playing with NaOH is NOT fun for me.