HHO Cell – how it works?
It is based on simple electrolysis which splits water into molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. It produces free floating molecules of hydrogen and oxygen that both come out as gas.
HHO Fuel Cell is very similar to a conventional battery; it has an anode and a cathode separated by a membrane. Hydrogen flows over the cells anode which converts hydrogen into charged electrons and ions. The negatively charged electrons which flow out of the cell can then be used as electric energy. The positively charged hydrogen ions pass through the membrane to the cathode and combine with oxygen to produce water.
HHO Fuel Cell differs from a conventional battery in that they need a type of fuel from an external source that constantly needs to be replenished. This is known as a Thermodynamically Open System. Conventional batteries store electrical energy through chemical reactions and represent a Thermodynamically Closed system.
History of HHO Cell
Hard to believe, HHO cell was invented in the 19th century! In 1766. a British scientist Henry Cavendish discovered hydrogen or what he called “inflammable air”. Same year, a Dutch scientist Martinus van Marum was conducting various experiments with electricity and created oxygen and hydrogen gas using electrolysis. He also discovered that the mixture could be ignited by an electric spark.
In 1789 Paets van Troostwijk and Joan Rudolph Deiman discovered that water’s elements are exactly 1 part oxygen and 2 parts hydrogen. They used electricity to split water and used a spark to combine the elements again in water.
Fifty years later Thomas Drummond discovered that illumination is created when an oxyhydrogen flame is directed at a cylinder of calcium oxide.
In 1860. Mr. Jean Joseph Etienne Lenoir built the first car that used electrolysis to produce hydrogen fuel. He was inventor from Ohio working with HHO from the 70’s. Meyer created a very efficient, high-output electrolyzer cell for creating large amounts of HHO on demand. He applied that on Volkswagen-powered dune buggy vehicle and ran the engine on nothing but HHO
Then in 1918. Mr. Charles H. Frazer filed a patent for the first “Hydrogen Booster” system for internal combustion engines. He stated that his invention increases the efficiency, complete combustion of hydrocarbons, engine will stay cleaner and lower grade of fuel can be used with equal performance. Then, in 1935. Inventor Henry Garrett patented a electrolytic carburetor and set it to run just on tap water.
During the late years of Second World War because of conventional fuel shortage the British army used oxyhydrogen gas generators to get better mileage and prevent engine overheating for vehicles used in Africa. Right after the war ended the government ordered to remove and destroy all generators from the vehicles.
Many years later. in1962. William A. Rhodes was the first inventor known to patent an electrolyser that produced the simple “single-ducted” gas we now call Brown’s Gas. In the mid 1970’s a German company produced oxyhydrogen generators. Ten years after William Rhodes patents, Yull Brown filed a patent on his design of a Brown’s Gas electrolyzer.
In 1977. NASA Research Centre conducted a series of tests. They were interested in what effects hydrogen had on the operation of the engine. The results were stunning. They also proposed an alternate method to produce the gas, which is more efficient than the usual electrolysis.
Today people often think that there are several different designs of HHO cells
Although there are some variations of the original design, all of them still operate on the same basic principle. Today, HHO cell consists of a water reservoir, electrolysis parts, tubing and wiring. Besides that, there is not much more when it comes to building your own HHO cell. You can also set it to run anytime the engine is running, but you can also wire it up with an on/off switch