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Thread: NOOB NEEDS HELP! Bought A New Jetstream 65amp But It Won't Draw More Than 40 amps?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    4

    Unhappy NOOB NEEDS HELP! Bought A New Jetstream 65amp But It Won't Draw More Than 40 amps?

    Hello all. This will be long but I can REALLY use some help.

    I'm somewhat of a noob to HHO but have invested around $400-$500 these past few months buying HHO supplies. And I'm running into a problem I can't figure out.

    First, let me explain my system.

    I bought a 21 plate dry cell + electrolyte + bubbler & wiring kit off ebay. It was around $160. I put A LOT of time researching, and this guy had videos SHOWING that the unit could generate 4-5 LPM with a simple 12V, 30A supply. I was very impressed, he had great reviews so I bought it. Then I went to Lowes & built a nice torch out of brass fittings copying a video off youtube (has a .025 mig head).

    I experimented with many different power sources. A 14V -19A dc converter from Radioshack (for $70 which I returned), 2 lawn mower batteries from Lowes (which I also returned lol), battery chargers wired in series, etc etc. But I was not happy with any of them. The batteries in series put out the most gas but only lasted about 1-2 minutes and I quickly got tired of recharging them.

    So I found an excellent deal on ebay (now sold out) for a JetStream, 75amp surge, 65amp continous power suppy. It was $238 which was $20-$40 cheaper than I could find anywhere else on the net. The unit is brand new.

    Here is my problem.

    I connected 2, 6 gauge wires to the JetStreams 2 gold terminals. Then I connected it to my cell and turned it on. Afterwards I slowly turned up the volume. But I noticed that the amp meter on the unit will not pass 40 amps. It says right on the Jetstream manual "65 amp continuous".

    I also noticed, I'm only getting around 2.4 LPM.

    When my seller was getting more than 4 LPM with a 12V - 30 amp battery + alternator.

    So I read the manual which is very vague. And it has 3 other outputs. It has 2 speaker type outputs on the right (4 connections) and says on the manual "10 amp max".

    Which made me think, do I need to wire all the outputs together to get the full 65 amps?

    If each of those speaker outputs puts out 10 amps, that's 20 amps which would account for why my unit is only drawing out 40 amps.

    At the same time I do NOT want to break a brand new $238 unit.

    So what am I missing here?

    I was honestly expecting around 8 LPM since it's a 65amp unit which is more than twice what my seller was using.

    But I'm getting 1/4 that amount.

    When I turn the volume knob up you see the volts go up, then the amps, and when the knob gets about halfway turned it stops at 40 amps, then when I turn it to full output it stays at 40 amps.

    Does anyone know why this is happening?

    & BTW my electrolyte concentration is 4 tablespoons of 100% pure NAOH with 1 gallon distilled water

    Thank you very much!

    -Rob

    ps. This is the model and what it said on the ebay listing -

    Jetstream's JTPS75 high-quality power supply now offers the added benefit of automatic battery back up! Hook up your own 12 volt battery to the rear terminals and the JTPS75BCMMKII keeps it charged. In the event of a power failure, the battery is switched in automatically keeping your radio running without interruption!

    Features:
    75 amp surge, 65 amp continuous
    10.25 lbs
    9 7/8”w x 6”h x 9 1/2”d
    Over current protection
    Over voltage protection
    Quiet internal cooling fan
    Switchable input voltage 110VAC or 220VAC. Factory set to 110VAC
    Output voltage: 4-16VDC
    Ripple: less than 12mVp-p at rated load
    Battery charge amps: Max 20 amps/20 seconds, 5 amp rate
    Battery discharge amps: 60 amps max

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    4
    WOW!!!!

    I JUST FIGURED IT OUT!

    I told myself "this can't be that complicated" so I watched the unit very closely when it was hitting 40 amps. And I noticed that the entire right tube was EMPTYING the electrolyte.

    As in, the output tube, as soon as the meter hit 40 amps it would DRY OUT.

    It seems it was producing so much gas inside the unit... that the gas was not getting out fast enough. And I thought "if there is that much gas in the unit, that must mean the conductivity is dropping".

    So I put 2 books under the right side of the cell. I basically tilted it upwards 2 inches.

    Then I turned the power supply back on.

    I get to 40 amps and notice the tube is now NOT emptying all the water out. There's A LOT OF GAS coming out but there was also water. So I turned it up to 65 amps and **SURE ENOUGH** the meter held at 65 amps.

    I still can't believe that just tilting the unit increased my HHO output by this much. I was getting about a 7 inch flame before. And the tip looked like a sharp laser. Now I'm getting a MASSIVE 12 inch flame that is feathering at the tip. Which tells me I need to move up to a .035 tip. I also tested it on a bolt I was playing with before, and this new flame throws a lot more sparks, you can keep the tip farther away, I'm getting awesome production now.

    I'm going to run another LPM test and something tells me I'm getting around 4 LPM now. For all I know it might be more. Cause I can just tell my the sound the tip is making (it's practically whistling now) that there is some serious pressure coming out.

    Needless to say, I won't be needing any help. But maybe this thread can help out some other noobs.

    EDIT: Just an update. I finally got around to doing the test and it took >>>16 seconds to produce 1 liter. So I'm producing a little under 1 gallon / minute now.

    I also need to clarify something. I said before that tilting the cell "increased" HHO production. That's not true. Tilting the cell allowed me to deliver the proper 65 amps and those additional 25 amps are what increased production. I also think I can add a bit more electrolyte. For all I know that may get me up to 5 LPM. But I doubt I will break 5 LPM unless I get a larger cell.

    Either way I'm very pumped. I started off this hobby using crappy homemade wet cells, weak dc converters and baking soda. I couldn't even sustain a flame running the gas through the tip of an insulin syringe. With the volume I'm throwing out now, I was able to cut the tip right off a 1/4 steel bolt. Down the road when I get a bigger cell, I may get up to 2 gallons / minute and be able to cut right through thick steel. Only thing I need to do now is get some proper welding glasses. :-)

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2014
    Posts
    4
    I'm not sure if anyone is reading this but let me give you guys a warning...

    DO NOT BUY JETSTREAM BRAND PRODUCTS FOR HHO!


    I bought a Jetstream off ebay like I said earlier, and the thing broke after like 10 uses!

    I started doing some further inspection / reading reviews and noticed these items are made from DIRT CHEAP TAIWAN PRODUCTS. DO NOT BUY.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    11
    ROTFLMAO
    It is so nice to be immediately vindicated

  5. #5
    Bojangles69 sorry to here about your power problems find charged batteries somewhere 'inline' is best.

    I have (2) 21plate dry cells (3negs / 2 pos each with 4 neutrals in between ie: "- nnnn + nnnn - nnnn + nnnn -") and SERIES CONNECTING both together get a perfect 2v per plate by supplying 24v dc. Have an OUTBACK VFX series (off-grid) 3.6kw solar inverter that is driven by 2 parallel banks of 4 (8 total) 12v deep cycle marine batts series connected for a total of 48v dc at rest. The inverter also has a 60v+ CHARGER rated @ 20amps max 120v AC.

    Well worth the investment! The Flexmax 60 MPP charge controller can also handle 120v dc solar power up to 60amps as well.

    Did you have any dry cell foaming issues? I notice amps drop off as foam, due power, increases.

    Plan on using system to supplement a 8kw CNG powered whole home generator unit (carb only)

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