Hydrogen Gas Savers - How Much Can You Save?
Truth in advertising can be hard to find; marketers are often inclined to give an
inflated sense of the benefits of their product even at the risk of appearing to make claims so outrageous as to be unbelievable. In the case of the gas saver, there has been many a long argument on these here interwebs punctuated by impressive figures regarding the gas (and money!) savings which can be attained with the use of one of these devices. In this space we will attempt to give as reasonable discussion on the topic as we can hope to achieve.
The Cost of Installing a Gas Saver
Unfortunately, there is no firm answer to the question of what the typical cost of installing a gas saver is. When you google the term "cost of hydrogen gas saver," google's shopping results bring up sources (mostly from ebay) with prices ranging from about $30 to over $200! Now, there is one thing to keep in mind here: the principle that "you get what you pay for" is definitely at work in the area of gas savers. The higher quality systems, if you may expect to pay more for them in general, may deliver superior gas savings compared to a bargain model.
If you choose to make your own gas saver, then the issue of cost becomes even more uncertain. The principle of return on investment should be considered here, too, as it will take more study and work on your part to construct a homemade gas saver which truly delivers good performance.
Fuel Efficiency Gains with a Hydrogen Gas Saver
We will only briefly discuss the relevant science, to avoid confusing you with the intricacies of engine performance. There are two competing forces at play in a gas saver- enhanced engine: the energy cost associated with powering the separator ("gas generator" or "electrolysis unit") using power siphoned from your car's alternator, and the efficiency gains of the engine proper. Gains in the thermal efficiency of the internal combustion engine are the result of making the fuel-to-air ratio leaner; a 1977 study by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory states that "Lean-mixture-ratio combustion in internal-combustion engines has the potential of producing low emissions and higher thermal efficiency for several reasons.
First, excess oxygen in the charge further oxidizes unburned hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide. Second, excess oxygen lowers the peak combustion temperatures, which inhibits the formation of oxides of nitrogen. Third, the lower combustion temperatures increase the mixture specific heat ratio by decreasing the net dissociation losses. Fourth, as the specific heat ratio increases, the cycle thermal efficiency also increases, which gives the potential for better fuel economy."
The study finds that the addition of small amounts of hydrogen did yield improvements in combustion speed, engine efficiency, and emissions, though the study is flawed in that it is an old study which used an engine not up to modern specs, and did not use the type of device used in this application to produce their hydrogen - in particular, a device electrically powered from the engine's alternator. More recent studies have found that the addition of hydrogen to the gasoline-air mixture does improve the speed of combustion and that the use of very lean fuel-to-air ratios (approaching 30:1) can indeed improve the efficiency of the internal combustion engine and reduce emissions of hydrocarbons and nitrous oxides (NOx).
A relevant fact in the above studies is that a relatively small amount of hydrogen is needed, since it incurs a very high energy cost to separate large quantities of water (and this would require large volumes of water storage in the car).
The practical savings to be gained depend on how much hydrogen is produced by the separator and how effectively your engine uses it. It is possible that an increase in engine efficiency could counterbalance the cost of powering the gas saver unit, though claims of huge efficiency increases should be taken with a grain of salt (or you might factor in a "placebo effect," as simply changing your driving habits can improve fuel mileage).
Other Considerations
One possibility which may be glossed over if not neglected by gas saver enthusiasts is the possibility of damage to the engine caused by the addition of additional hydrogen to the mixture (additional because gasoline does already contain hydrogen). As was done in World War II, the simple addition of vaporized water at the right time increases the effectiveness of the engine to some degree (which could happen with a gas saver since there is the possibility of un-split water entering the fuel-air mix) by reducing the temperature of combustion.
Conclusions
If you do indeed see fuel economy savings with the use of a gas saver, they will likely be less than advertised by enthusiasts. As with a solar roof, you may consider this an investment and think in terms of the time needed to repay the initial cost of the device; increases in fuel efficiency would result in varying money savings depending on how great the increase is and what the cost of gasoline in your area is. Even with the use of a gas saver, the greatest limit on the efficiency of any heat engine (which the internal combustion engine is an example of) is the loss of heat, through the engine block via the radiator and out with the exhaust gases in the case of your car's engine.
Hydrogen Gas Savers - How Much Can You Save?
By: Cecilia Montrose
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