Hydrogen Generators
Improving Diesel Fuel Economy - Updated November 15, 2018

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According to an article entitled "History of Hydrogen Motor Fuel" appearing on the web site fuel-efficient-vehicles.org, Francois Isaac de Rivaz is credited with inventing and constructing the first internal combustion engine in the year 1806. That engine was powered by a mixture of hydrogen and water. Gasoline wasn't used as a power source for internal combustion till 1870. More recently, hydrogen gas has been used to augment diesel fuel for many years, proving it can both extend the driving range between fillups and increase average fuel economy. Here's a hydrogen gas generator specifically developed to provide fuel for use as a motor fuel supplement.

Dennis Olson (pictured above) from Diamond Eye Performance was on hand at a recent dyno event to discuss the new Hydrogen Generator - a self-contained system that continually produces HHO hydrogen gas, which when used as a fuel supplement can increase overall fuel economy.

Obviously, HHO gas is a fuel, but the introduction of HHO also improves the efficiency of the diesel fuel combustion process, allowing for a more complete burn and a corresponding reduction of emissions. While it takes electrical energy to produce the reaction required to produce HHO gas, the increases in engine efficiency offset the energy required to generate the hydrogen. This results in improved fuel economy for the system as a whole. The MPE kit shown here is advertised to produce a 5-40% improvement in fuel economy. How much of an improvement can vary from vehicle to vehicle and how the vehicle is being driven. The best fuel economy increase should come during light-duty and low power demand driving.

The generator cell is constructed using cylinders made from 304 stainless-steel, custom molded plastic endcaps and machined manifolds. HHO gas is generated when electrical current is passed through an electrolyte solution made from KOH (potassium hydroxide) and distilled water. KOH can be purchased from the vendors listed below, and distilled water is available at nearly every grocery store, where it's sold for use in steam irons and humidifiers.

Diamond Eye Performance is a retailer for the MPE HHO Generator (see vendor contact list below), but MPE site includes an in-depth video showing how the system is installed and then used. We're told that the MPE generator will require about 30-50 amps of electrical power. If you're running the original equipment single alternator in your truck, you may need to upgrade to a high-output single, or better yet, dual alternators.

The self contained MPE kit shown above mounts in the bed of your truck, and includes everything necessary to make it functional. HHO gas is generated on demand, meaning no gas is generated when the ignition key is off. There's no stored gas in the system, so there shouldn't be a concern about safety. Kit prices hadn't been finalized by the time these photos were taken, but Diamond Eye should be able to provide that information at this point in time. Kit price, electrolyte cost and any alternator upgrades will factor into the overall cost of the system. I suspect it would take a good while to save enough in diesel fuel expense to pay for the upgrades, but this should be thought of as a more long-term investment.

If you spend any time on the net, you'll likely run across information related to home/garage HHO compressed-gas generation systems that are powered by the electrical grid or by solar/wind power. The "Hydrogenics HomeFueler Energy Station" represents one of many home HHO generating systems that are beginning to appear on the market. General Motors announced in 2006 that they too were developing a home hydrogen fueling station as part of a plan to begin mass-marketing hydrogen cars by 2011. Perhaps a little optimistic on the time-line, but this shows that they are at least thinking about it.

Keeping America rolling in the decades ahead will require a move toward an carbon-neutral, affordable and sustainable transportation fuel source. Unless you live in an urban setting in a warm climate, battery powered cars just won't get the job done. Long distance driving and driving in cold climates requires fuel. Compressed HHO is the only fuel source that I'm aware of that meets these requirements. Perhaps best of all, a home owner could install a compressed HHO generator in his solar panel roofed garage, and generate most of the car/pickup fuel he'll need on a daily basis. The refrigerator sized "Hydrogenics Home Fueler" is one of several prototype systems in operation that combine a small-scale hydrogen generator and compressor with a hydrogen storage and dispensing system. This home system is said to provide the HHO fuel required to fuel 1 or possibly 2 hydrogen powered cars.

At the present time, uncompressed HHO can be used as a supplement to the diesel fuel your truck burns, but compressed hydrogen could also be used in a fuel-cell car or an electric/hydrogen hybrid with an engine converted to run on HHO. Once the equipment is paid for, you roll for free - or nearly so. Contact the vendors listed below if you'd like to learn more about HHO generation and would like to increase your truck's diesel fuel economy. Be sure to contact me if you have any hard data that supports or challenges an increase in fuel economy when using an HHO system.

MPE Performance
www.mpeperformance.com

Hydrogenics Home Fueler
Hydrogenics Home Fueler