Build.a.high.quality.Browns.Gas.HHO.Hydrogen.Generateing.electrolyzer

Brown's Gas.

(~.__B_O_O_KT_W_O -")

Build a high qualityBrown's Gas electrolyzer that

will exceed the performance ofANY known commercial

machine to date

---------J, George Wiseman L....--- _

'I, • ./

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION 1

DESIGNING A BG ELECTROLYZER 2AI"'S ifi'• pp IcatlOn >pecl IcatlOns 2

• Series-cell 2• Transformer-less design 3• Simple power supply 3• Power supply options 4• Electrolyte 4• Sealing between cells 5• Plate masking 5• Plate degreasing 5• Plate texturing 5• Plate material 5• Plate thickness 5• Plate spacing 5• Number ofcells 6• Pure water 6• Fail-safe features 6• Bubbler tank 7• Liquid-vapor separator 7

SIZING A BG ELECTROLYZER 7• Gas volume needed 7• Available power 8• Electrolyzer diameter 9• Plate spacing 9• Kind ofelectrolyte 9• Electrolyte concentration 9• Power supply option 10

BUILDING A BG ELECTROLYZER 10• Safety tips 10• Electrolyzer list ofmaterials 10• Cut rings from tube 11• Size rings 11• Mark out plates 11• Cut plates 12• Straighten plates 12• Degrease Plates 12• Holes in plates 13• End plates 13• Liquid level tube 16• End gaskets 16• End plate assembling... 16• Plastic cap on SS bolt 16• Initial cut long shell 16• Assemble rings & plates into tube 17• Final long shell cut 17• Put end caps on 17

• Through bolts 17• Drill and tap shell 17• Mixing electrolyte 18• Fill electrolyzer with electrolyte 18

DESIGNING ELECTROLYZER POWER SUPPLY 19• Power supply considerations ..........................•....... 19• J0ltage measurements 19• Number ofcells in series 19• Frequency across the electrolyzer 19• Voltage threshold 20• Pressure switch 20• DC power circuit 20

1. Capacitor amperage limiting 202. Voltage doubler 213. J0ltage doubler with capacitive limiting 22

• Main power circuit 22

LIQUID LEVEL & TEMPERATURE CONTROLS 231. The 12 VDC power supply 232. Second circuit group; liquid level and

temperature processing 243. The signaled mosfets, relay and buzzer 26

• Assembly hints 26• Circuit adjustments (tuning) 28• 'Balance' the op-amps , 28• Set the circuit temperature 28• Circuit tests 28• Circuit component list 30

BUILDING A CONTROL BOX 30• List ofcomponents and materials 30• Pressure relief valve 31• Pressure switch 31• Automatic electronic liquid level and

temperature controls 31• Install gauges 32• On/offswitch 32• Indicator lights 32• Full-wave bridge rectifier 32• Main relay 32• Terminal strips 33• Duplex receptacle 33• Hook main power inlet cord to enclosure box 33• Enclosure box 33• Install capacitors 33• JVzre control box 34• JVzres from enclosure to electrolyzer 34• Gas pressure hose from liquid-vapor separator 34

DESIGNING AND BUILDING A BUBBLER 34

continued...

Brown's Gas, Book 2 / www.eagle-research.com

Table of Contents (con't)

OPERATING A BG ELECTROLYZER 36• Confirm ready to start 36• Initial start 36• Check for leaks 36• Set pressure switch 36• Set & test the liquid level and temperature circuits 36• Lighting the torch 36• Extinguish torch 37• Shut offelectrolyzer 37• How to avoid backfire 37• What to do when you get a backfire 38• Re-filling electrolyzer with water 38• Adding fresh water to the bubbler 38• Draining the electrolyzer 39• Preventing foaming 39• Over-heating 39

BG ELECTROLYZER EFFICIENCYMEASUREMENTS AND CALCULATIONS 40

• Electrolyzer theoretical gas production 40• Actual gas production 40• Figuring BG proportion ofgas: Gas Efficiency 40• Wattage Efficiency per liter ofBG 41

OUR EXPERIMENTAL USE OF BROWN'S GAS 42• Modifier tank 42• Welding glass 43• Welding iron 43• Cutting cast iron 43• Welding cast iron 43• Cutting iron , 43• Welding copper 44• Welding aluminum 44• Brazing 44• Cost to operate compared to oxy.lacet 44

COMMENTS ON USING BG WITH IC ENGINES 44• Jimmy Reed's experiments 44• Calculations to run an engine on BG 46• Hyper-gas 47• Conclusion 47

OVER-UNITY HEAT 48

BROWN'S GAS CAPABILITIES 48• Actual BG characteristics 48• Misconceptions ofBrown's Gas 49• Heating applications 49• Cooling applications 50• Clean water 50• Energy storage system 51

www.eagle-research.com/Brown.s Gas, Book 2

• Atmospheric "over-unity" engine 51• Powerpotential ofBG 52• Compare BN 1000performance 52• Further notes on testing the BN 1000E 52• The 5 various sensors on the BN1000E are: 54• Operation notes 54• Testing data 55• Testing the BN 200 56• Testing Conclusion 57• Conclusion 57

BIBLIOGRAPHY 57

RESOURCES 58

ADDITIONAL SIMPLE CIRCIUT 59

Since writing Brown's Gas. Book 2. George Wisemandiscovered an additional circuit which he considers tobe an even simpler method than those offered in thebook.

The circuit has been added at the back of the book andappears on pg. 59.

INTRODUCTION

I wish to thank Ross Stanfield, JimFluri, Kiel Schweizer and Jimmy Reedfor their great efforts helping developthe information contained within thisbook. It would have taken muchlonger to write this book without theirhelp (years perhaps).

I am working with people around theworld to duplicate the Brown's Gastechnology. I co-ordinate researchfrom all sources, giving credit wheredue, plus input my own innovations.We have made tremendous progress.

I have written this book to further addto the published general knowledge ofBrown's Gas. I have found that thereis a lot of misinformation floatingaround about Brown's Gas. I wish totry to present accurate information thatwill lead to safe and effective use ofthis technology. Until Yull Brownwrites a comprehensive documentary, Ifeel experimenters are at risk. I wishto reduce the risk, in my life and in thelife of any person experimenting withhydrogen and oxygen.

Note that in this book, I often refer toBrown's Gas as 'BG'. This Book isthe second of a series that will allowanyone to experiment with Brown'sGas. I feel it is important to duplicateYull Brown's work because I feel theworld needs this technology.Duplication of his work will verify thetechnology while making public theknowledge that will make thetechnology safe to use.

Note that I do not refer to anelectrolyzer as a 'generator'. It istechnically correct to use the term'generator' but I find it confusing with'electrical generator' (machine thatproduces electricity). Thus I alwaysuse only 'e1ectrolyzer' to describe thesegas producing machines.

I describe (some of) my mistakes aswell as my successes and the thoughtsthat led to both. As an inventor, Iknow that failure is just as important assuccess. Both are learning experiencesand vital to the eventual understanding

of the process or device. You boughtthis book so you wouldn't have torepeat my mistakes.I've had many people build variousprojects from my plans in the past;many thinking that they could 'do-itbetter' and changing parameters whenthey build the project. Most of thetime, they are making changes that I'vealready determined to be less efficient.I can't write down ALL my mistakesand research, so these people don'tknow that I've already been there anddone that (got the T-shirt).

If you are considering making versionsof a project that deviate from myspecifications, it is wise to check withme first; it may be dangerous to makethat particular modification AND I maybe able to save you much time andmoney. Besides, this research is ongoing, we are always coming up withimprovements.

A large portion of the history anddevelopment of Brown's Gas researchis detailed in my Brown's Gas. Book 1.Brown's Gas. Book 1 also gives mostof the mathematics needed tounderstand Brown's Gas and the theorybehind Brown's Gas, as far as modemPhysics and Chemistry allow. In thelatter part of this Book, I point outsome misconceptions about Brown'sGas that I've been able to prove withactual experimentation

This Book details experimentation inprogress. I include details on whatwe've actually done and what we aretrying to do. At this time I've donevery little experimentation with the gascapabilities, I've been concentrating oncreating the most practical andefficient design of electrolyzer Icould.

Keep in mind as you read this book,that I base these plans on the KISSprinciple (Keep It Seriously Simple).The most practical and efficient designin the simplest package. There are anynumber of modifications that can bemade to this basic design. Be sure tocheck with me before implementingimprovements of your own.

The result of this experimentationdetailed in this Book is a design for ahome-build able Brown's Gas welder(electrolyzer). The Brown's Gas booksare based on experimentation that I'veactually done myself and the data canbe assumed to be reasonably accurate.I do advise you not to fall into the trapmost readers fall into, assuming justbecause it is WRITTEN that it is true.Keep an open mind, so you can spotmistakes or anomalies in my work andin the 'text-books.' I appreciate beinginformed of errors or anomalies.

As I write this book I am amazed bytwo things: How much I've learnedsince Brown's Gas. Book 1; and howlittle I know. Still, I find myself takingsome things as 'common knowledge'in my mind, that I've found mostpeople who want to learn about thistechnology DON'T know. It isdefinitely time to write this book tobring the general knowledge of thistechnology up-to-date.

WARNING BYYULL BROWNAttempts at applications made byunqualified people who do not knowall of properties of the gas could bevery dangerous and create extremelyhazardous conditions leading to thepossibility of an explosion. Brown'sGas ElectrolyzerlWelder (as sold byYull Brown) is completely safe whenused as a source of heat for welding.Experimentation is not to be attemptedwith the gas separate from theelectrolyzer.

Additional note by Author: YullBrown is very concerned thatexperimentation with hydrogen andoxygen will cause explosions that willreflect badly on himself and/or the'Brown's Gas'. He doesn't want a'Hindenberg Syndrome' attached tohim or his technology. In addition, hewould like to receive a monetarybenefit for his technology, in which hehas invested a large portion of his life.It has come to this author's attentionthat Yull Brown is writing a book onhydrogen. This author would like tosupport that undertaking, becauseknowledge written down will outlivethe author while making future use of

Brown's Gas, Book 2 I www.eagle-research.com 1

the technology safer. This authoracknowledges Yull Brown as the bestexpert on Brown's Gas.

DESIGNING A BG ELECTROLVZER

To date, commercially availableBrown's Gas electrolyzers have beenhard to acquire; very expensive; ofdubious quality; have limited gascapacity and the technical operationhas not been well supported.

information to properly interface twofuel systems on the same engine. Thatinformation is available in theCarburetor Enhancer Manual,Electronic Carburetor Enhancer Notes,HyCO 2A Manual, the HyCO 2AManual Update and the EFIE Manual.

Further details on mobile electrolyzerdesigns and applications are availablein Hyzor Technology.

series-cell

in Brown's Gas. Book 1) in series, sothat the electricity must flow througheach cell in tum, the combined'voltage drops' (about 2 volts pei cell)added up to a total voltage drop ofabout the number of cells times two.

Thus 120 cells in-series requires about240 volts to push electricity throughthem all. This concept eliminated theneed for the transformer and all it'swaste.

Brown's Gas. Book 2 presents a simpleelectrolyzer design that can be builtquickly, with inexpensive, readilyavailable materials, using standardworkshop tools and abilities. Further,it can be built to huge sizes.

Sketches shown (Fig. 2 & 3) are forour simplest electrolyzer. This is anexperimental prototype that will putout commercial quantities of BG.Eagle-Research has been operating thisdesign for several months.

But 120 individual cells (depicted inBrown's Gas. Book 1) in series is abulky mess. Further experimentationdiscovered how to build the 'seriescell.' This allows many cells to be putinto a compact, simple arrangement(Fig. 1).

Fig. 1

Components not shownrelative to size, onlyto existence andplacement

Liquid-vaporseparator

/

In the series-cell design, (electricityflowing negative to positive) each plate

Bubblertank

/'

to torch

Pressure Gauge

Pressure switch !r;::==v=a=l=ve~2~::::;-;::::::::;l Pee",," eeli~ !

)"

......... .. .. .. . . .. . . .. . . .

We discovered that if you put severalsingle-cell electrolysis cells (depicted

Valve 1Water fill

Sensor shroud ---!+--!t:>-,

liquid level sensors--~~

Water level tube~

Diffuser plate~ ~.~ ..~;.>~. "~;'>~'.~

Application specifications

The particular BGelectrolyzer designoutlined in this Book isdesigned to be appliedusing ordinary oxy.fact.welding tips and/or cuttingtorch.

In addition, EagleResearch is happy to offertechnical advise to peoplebuilding electrolyzers ofany design. We welcomesuggestions forimprovements of ourdesign.

This Do-It-Yourself version is not onlymore efficient than the commercialunits, but will teach you all you needto know about yourelectrolyzer: its design;assembly and operatingparameters. So, you'll beable to fix it yourself ifanything goes wrong.

This design may also beapplied as a combustionenhancement device forstationary power plants,reducing the petrochemicalfuel needed to operate.This Book does notinclude the specialized

Valve 3 ~::::=±=:=:::;-;:=

Liquid level tube---~c:r

Valve 4~*:±:*-:=:;

BG electrolyzer

2 www.eagle-research.com/Brown.s Gas, Book 2

This efficient, simple power supplydesign allows our watt-hours per literof gas produced to be less than

Brown's Gas, Book 2/ www.eagle-research.com 3

actually produces both hydrogen andoxygen (on opposite sides of the sameplate) because each of the inner platesshares its sides with two cells.

Starting on the negative side of theseries-cell: in the first cell, the firstplate (fastened to the e1ectrolyzer endplate) just makes hydrogen. Thesecond plate gives off oxygen on theside facing the negative, and hydrogenon the side facing the positive end ofthe electrolyzer.

Thus oxygen and hydrogen aregenerated from every plate in theseries-cell. Oxygen produced on oneside and hydrogen on the other. The'electrons'travel through each plateelectrolyte-plate-e1ectrolyte-etc. fromone end to the other.

The advantages of a series-cellelectrolyzer design are immense andwell worth doing the little extra to getit right. Series-cell makes anextremely compact, efficient, low cost,quiet operating, light weight, andsimple Brown's Gas electrolyzer.

At two square inch per amp (actualsubmerged plate surface area), our1,200 watt series-cell electrolyzer isabout 6" in diameter. This design willmake a 500 Liters/hour BG machine.

View of end SS plate

Liquid level sight tube holethrough SS end-plate only.

Fig. 3

Make it 8" in diameter for a 1,000Liter electrolyzer.

Transformer-less design

The first and most important differencein the BG series-cell electrolyzerdesigns (and most commerciallyavailable electrolyzers) is that thisdesign lacks a transformer of any kind.

This modification is brought about bythe theoretical and experimentalunderstanding of the electrical needs ofa BG electrolyzer (about 2 VDC percell) and the electrical potentialsreadily available to the general public(120 VAC or 240 VAC).

Area cut off top of plates allowsfree gas mixing and water refilloperation.

Schedule 80 CPVC pipe

Degrease Plates

Hole in end plate forstainless steel bolt.

Min. 3/4" thick CPVCend plate

Stainless steel plates

Fig. 2

View of inner SS plate andplastic ring

All inner platesno holes and degreased

All inner spacer ringsPVC schedule 40

Holes for through-boltsin end plates

Traditional electrolyzers use a 'singlecell'design with lots of plate area tohandle the hundreds of amps flowingthrough the cell. Because hundreds ofamps (at about two volts) are neededfor this traditional design, a hugetransformer is used to convert readilyavailable 240 VAC at 5 amps to about3.2 volts at 375 amps (1200 wattsdrawn from the wall).

Transformers: are quite noisy; emit alot of heat; weigh hundreds ofpounds; are expensive (cost hundredsor thousands of dollars); and are big,needing room for their enclosure, aswell.

The series-cell design allowselimination of the transformer, with itsassociated noise, heat, weight, size andadditional expense (including theelimination of the fan, to cool thetransformer, and the energy it took torun). The heat and noise of thetransformer are symptoms of lostelectricity (inefficient electricalcoupling and induction). Thatelectricity can now be used to directlyproduce Brown's Gas.

The series-cell design turns nearly allthe electricity taken from the wall intogas production, silently and with verylittle heat wasted. Series-cell designallows simple, inexpensive, compactsize that is light-weight.

Simple power supply

commercial e1ectrolyzers that use atransformer, and safer actually.

No complicated (or expensive) powersupply is needed for the series-celldesign. In fact, the power is fed inthrough high voltage wires that aremuch less expensive (smaller diameter)and simpler to wire than the hugecables needed for the traditionaltransformer design.

If electronic controls are desired (suchas electronic relay instead ofmechanical relay), high voltageelectronics are less expensive andeasier to install than high amperageelectronics.

The diodes of a full-wave bridgerectifier are MUCH less expensivewhen you only need a low amperagerating.

Oversize the diodes by at least twice,because the amperage surges aregreater than the average amperage.For a 5 amp e1ectrolyzer, you need tenamp diodes. For a traditional 400 ampelectrolyzer you need 800 amp diodes(VERY EXPENSIVE).

Also, the diodes of any full-wavebridge rectifier are much more efficientswitching higher voltages at loweramperages. Rectifiers (diodes) eachhave a 'voltage drop'across them ofabout 0.6 Volt (a little more than 112volt). When you multiply this voltageby the amperage going through thediode, you get the wattage wasted inthe diode. This wasted wattage showsup as heat. I explain below:

With a 1200 watt electrolyzer at 2 voltsacross the electrolyzer, we would have1.2 volts (the voltage required for theelectricity to go through two diodes)times 375 amps equals 450 watts(heat) in the rectifiers. More than 113of the electricity going through theconventional electrolyzer is wasted aswattage (heat) in the rectifiers.

Further, this heat must be removedfrom the diodes (rectifiers) or they willfry. A huge heat sink (large, heavy andexpensive) and a fan are usually

needed for electrolyzers using thismuch amperage. This is in addition tothe fan required by the transformer.

However, a 1200 watt series-cellelectrolyzer at 240 volts only needs todraw 5 amps. 1.2 volts times 5 ampsequals 6 watts heating the diodes.Only a small heat sink is needed tocool these diodes - no fan!

It should be remembered thatAMPERAGE makes Brown's Gas, notvoltage. And we've eliminated thetransformer which allowed us to have375 amps to make BG.

Again, the series-cell proves superior.It turns out that the amount of gasmade by the electrolyzer is the productof the number of cells multiplied bythe amperage flowing through all thecells in series. So 120 cells times 5amps gives us 600 amps worth of gas!We have nearly twice the gas with theseries-cell than when we'd used thetransformer with the traditional shortcell.

Power supply options

We strongly recommend that youactually take advantage of the 240VAC that is available in most anyhome or shop.

Examples of appliances already using240 VAC include: electric range; waterheater; clothes dryer; and electricbaseboard heaters. In the shop a lot ofelectric motors are 240, arc welders are240, etc.

With an eight inch electrolyzer at tenamps @ 240 volts you can actuallymake 1,000 liters per hour. This is therated output of Yull Brown's BN 1000,now (Jan., 1997) advertised retail at$10,000.

The choice you make affects otherdesign parameters such as how manycells you need and the final efficiencyyou want out of the electrolyzer.

These are the three options that meetthe basic requirements to make

Brown's Gas, (all three use a full wavebridge rectifier):1. Capacitive Limiting2. Voltage Doubler3. Voltage Doubler with capacitive

limiting

Explore your power supply options inthe Power Supply Designs chapter.Then apply your option of choice tothe chapter on Sizing Your BGElectrolyzer.

Remember: to make a quantity of gas,you will need a large quantity ofelectricity. Lucky for you, you'll needless electricity with this design than ifyou'd bought a commercial unit.

Electrolyte

Electrolyte is absolutely required toproduce Brown's Gas in this

.. electrolyzer design. The electrolyte isa chemical that acts as a catalyst,which means it assists the watersplitting apart (by vastly speeding upthe process) without being 'consumed'or changed in the process.

Having the electrolyte in theelectrolyzer allows the electricity toefficiently split the water using only afraction of the power that would beneeded if the electrolyte wasn't there.

The electrolyte (catalyst) does NOT getconsumed as the e1ectrolyzer makesgas (see Brown's Gas. Book 1 fordetails). As the water is split intohydrogen and oxygen, the electrolytestays behind. The electrolyte is put inwith the first fill of water and no moreshould ever be needed for the life ofthe electrolyzer. As the solution levelgets low, just add water!

There are many electrolyte solutions.Some are better than others for reasonsof compatibility with various materials,caustic properties, purchase price,availability, etc.

We have been experimenting almostexclusively with Sodium Hydroxide(lye or caustic soda) because of it'sefficiency, low cost and availability. A


mixture of four parts water to onepart Lye (by weight) works well.

WARNING: The electrolyte Oye)mixture is extremely caustic. Animalfibers (wool, silk...) are readilydissolved. Vegetable fibers (cotton,hemp..) are not attacked.

Hydroxides are formed when metallicoxides are combined with water(Example: calcium hydroxide=CaO+H20=Ca(HO)2)' We will be

experimenting with AluminumHydroxide, Barium Hydroxide,Calcium Hydroxide, LithiumHydroxide (tested), and PotassiumHydroxide (caustic potash) (tested).

Eagle-Research electrolyzers operatewith sodium hydroxide and are notdesigned to be compatible with anyother electrolyte solutions.

Compatibility with other electrolyteswould involve careful selection andTESTING of different electrolyzermaterials than we are currentlyrecommending.

Sealing between cells

Extremely important note: Theelectrolyte in each cell must beelectrically isolated from theelectrolyte in every other cell. This'forces'the amperage (electrons) totravel 'in-series'through each plate andelectrolyte in tum, from negative topositive. If the electrolyte is common,the electricity will by-pass all the cellsexcept the two end plates and the'series-cell'will only be a common 2volt cell.

A good example of this effect is anordinary vehicle battery. Theelectrolyte, in each 2 volt cell, isisolated from the other 5 cells. Inseries, the six 2-volt cells make 12volts. If the electrolyte in an ordinaryautomotive battery was common to allthe celis, you'd simply have a 2 voltbattery.

Our experiments show that a slightelectrolyte leakage between cells isacceptable. The cell spacers don ~

have to be glued to seal well enough.A simple press-fit, as described, worksgreat. Some people may want to put atiny (1116") hole in each plate toguarantee even liquid levels in allcells. This is not recommended. Ourexperiments show that plateeffectiveness is reduced when a smallhole is added.

It is possible to make an automaticfilling arrangement. But in ourprototypes, we try to experiment withas few variables as possible. At thistime, we do not have automaticfilling. Further, you'd fill theelectrolyzer perhaps once a day if youused it continuously at high volumes.We fill ours about once a week. It isgood to get down and look over themachine once in awhile to see it'sgeneral condition and verify that youhave no leaks. Thus we recommendagainst any kind of automatic fillingarrangement.

Plate masking

We have tested 'masking'the top ofeach plate. It seems NOT to beneeded. Testing many differentmasking techniques produced nomeasurable advantage over notmasking the plates.

Originally, we figured that masking thetops ofthe plates was needed to avoidthe bare surface of the plates touchingthe gas. We suspected that voltage andelectron potential on the plates wouldcause the gas to go di-atomic. Thisseems NOT to be the case.

Plate degreasing

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT: if youdo not remove the oil (degrease) fromthe plates before installing them in theelectrolyzer, you will lose a hugeamount of efficiency. The oilseriously inhibits the electrolysisprocess that makes Brown's Gas. (seeDegrease Plates)

Plate tex1uring

Texturing the plates is no longer aserious consideration. It seems that the

texturing process we were using wassimply an inefficient means ofdegreasing the plates. The texturingseems to make no difference, butremoving the grease/oil sure does.

Onginally, we thought that makinglittle 'peaks'on the plates suifacewould cause an efficiency increase.Plate texturing does not seem to yieldefficiency gains.

Plate material

There seems to be no advantage togoing to exotic materials. We've testedthings like iridium and platinum.Simple 316 stainless steel (S8) seemsto be fine. Just remember to degreasethe plates.

Plate thickness

Plate thickness need only be enough tosupport it's weight without bending,while holding the plate by it's edge in ahorizontal position. In most cases youdon't need thicker than 0.015 inches.For smaller diameters 0.010 inches isenough. Be very careful the keep theplate flat. It is very easy to bend thisthin sheeting.

Plate spacing

Plate spacing is an extremely vitalparameter. Generally, WIDER platespacing is better than narrow. Believeme, this surprised us too. In fact, if theplates are spaced closer together, thevoltage between the plates goes down.We thought the voltage efficiencywould be increased. It was but thetotal electrolyzer efficiencyDECREASED.By 'electrolyzer efficiency', we meanthe Watt/hr's per liter of gas produced.With 3/32" (± 2 mm) plate spacing, weused over 5 watt/hr's per liter of gasand got NO BG (± 77% efficiency).

With 3/8" plate spacing, we used lessthan 3 watt/hr's per liter (± 162%efficiency). Actually, we noticed adecrease in efficiency at plate spacingswider than 3/8".


I currently theorize that the wider platespacing (318") allows atomic gasses toescape from the fluid as the ions travelthrough the fluid, BEFORE the ionsreach the plates. Maybe the pulses ofelectricity help 'shock'the fluid(between the plates) enough to allowthe oxygen & hydrogen atoms to breakoff, before the atoms reach the plates.

The flame (we've produced so far)tends to be a bit oxidizing. Perhapsthe atomic oxygen separates before (oreasier than) the atomic hydrogen does.

Wider plate spacing also helps bystoring more water in the electrolyzer,making it longer periods betweenrefills. Note: you only refill withWATER. The electrolyte stays in thecontainer as the water is split intooxygen and hydrogen and leaves.

Number of cells

The number of cells depends on theexact voltage that is available to you;,the electrolyte you choose; theconcentration of electrolyte; the cellspacing and the power supply designyou choose.

As you read more about the aboveparameters, you'll get a better idea ofhow many cells you want in yourelectrolyzer.

Generally speaking, try to reduce youroptions to 'givens'. Then you canfigure how many cells you need.

Example 'Givens':e 240 VAC available from wall.e: plate spacing 3/8 inch.e: Sodium Hydroxide electrolyte.e 4:1 (four parts water to one part

NaOH by weight).e Voltage Doubler power supply.

These 'Givens'allow you to figurecells at 1.75 volts per cell (see VoltageDoubler, in Designing Power Supply).240 VAC RMS / 1.75 gives 138 cells.

It does not matter how big a diameterthe electrolyzer is for this calculation.The diameter is more a factor ofhowmuch gas you need. Therefore, how

much amperage you will be puttingthrough the electrolyzer.

Pure water

It is vital to add only pure water toyour electrolyzer. If there are anyimpurities in the water, they will 'plateout'on the stainless steel plates, orcreate sludge or foam in the cells.Some impurities will cause poisonousgasses to form.

If you use pure water for operationrefilling, it may be years beforecleaning is needed.

We recommend that you use at least50,000 ohm 'deionized'water,available from your local 'waterdealer'. If you don't have access todeionized water, use distilled water.

When buying 'store-bought'water, besure that nothing has been added.('impurities'are often added to'improve the taste'of the water.)

Fail-safe features

The electrolyzer design described inthis book is fairly safe. The pressureswitch allows easy, automaticoperation. The Bubbler reliably arrestsbackfires. (see 'Designing & Buildinga Bubbler' to find a proper design)

The electronic liquid and temperaturecontrols help prevent accidents (butshould only be used as assist, not toreplace personal monitoring of theelectrolyzer). (see 'Liquid Level andTemperature Controls 'for our design)

The pressure relief valve (vented tooutside your building, covered andplaced high, to prevent garbage, insects& water from getting in) prevents theelectrolyzer bursting in case thepressure switch fails.

DO NOT operate any electrolyzerwithout AT LEAST a PROPERpressure switch, pressure gauge and abubbler. This can't be stressed often orhard enough. This is the MINIMUMoperating equipment. Further, it PAYSto buy or build high quality equipment.

DON'T use cheap or substandard orincompatible materials for these items.Your LIFE depends on it.

It so happens that I KNOW some ofyou will use substandard parts. I knowthis because I've been selling plans forvarious projects for years and I've seenthe cost cutting and 'modifications'that some people apply.

For those ofyou who are tempted tocut comers in cost or quality ofconstruction, I hope you find the nextlife interesting. It is only a matter oftime before you won't have to worryabout this one.

Worse yet, you might not be killed. Youmay be in extreme pain as the causticsolution eats your body andyou 'lilivea long life scarred, blinded andcrippled.

There'll be no sense in suing EagleResearch for your mistake. NeitherEagle nor I have any assets to sue for.All the equipment and assets that weuse for research are owned by othersand the use is just donated to theproject.

Personal use ofthis home-builtexperimental electrolyzer requiresproper respect. Check the fluid levelsoften enough (particularly bubbler) toprevent a dangerous situation.

Keeping an eye on the pressure gaugeand listening to the electrolyzer'cycling'on and off works OK to

prevent bursting due to over-pressure,if the pressure switch fails. You shouldnotice if the 'cycling'stops. (I did. Iwas using a pressure switch that hadan aluminum piston and cylinder. Thehydroxide caused corrosion whichprevented the piston from moving.) Anelectrolyzerproducing high efficiencygas on an intermittent basis does notover-heat.

FEAR is a good thing here. You areworking with a gas and equipment thatcould KILL you ifyou are not careful.Like driving a car, learn proper habitsand adhere to them, EVERY TIME even ifyou are in a hurry. This gas

6 www.eagle-research.com/Brown·s Gas, Book 2

demands respect. Ifyou are not afraidofthe consequences that could happenwith this gas, you should stayfar awayfrom it. It will KILL you (or worse).

This is EXACTLY the fear that YullBrown lives with everyday (me too),that one ofyou will kill (or maim)yourself. Yull Brown discouragesexperimentation. Eagle-Research triesto make it safe. Only time will tellwhich ofour philosophies is best formankind.

Remember, you are building YOUROWN electrolyzer. You are used toBUYING equipment that meetsgovernment safety and designstandards. All the government safetyconsiderations imposed onmanufacturers are now YOURresponsibility. It is up to YOU to builda safe electrolyzer. Do it right andyou'll enjoy a wonderful electrolyzer.Do it wrong, and it won't be pretty.

Ifyou don't have time to do it rightnow, when will you have time to do itover?

Bubbler tank

The bubbler tank prevents a backfiregoing to the electrolyzer, by separatingthe gas flow into very small bubblesthat are each completely surrounded bywater. The gas may explode (andimplode) but the explosion WILL NOTtravel through the water. The bubblertank, as designed here, will contain theexplosion.

The Bubbler is needed. It is the onlything we've discovered, so far, that willoperate on a continuous basis,absolutely trouble free, AND reliablystop a backfire (explosion).

Design it properly and maintain acertain water level in it (about sixinches above the diffuser). If youdon't design it properly, it will explode(killing you or worse). If you don'tmaintain a proper bubbler liquid level,your e1ectrolyzer will explode (killingyou and blowing your shop into thesurrounding area).

The Bubbler is made of thick StainlessSteel that can contain a backfire. YouWILL get many backfires, so designa tank to be very strong. Extra moneyspent here is CRITICAL.

The bubbler in this book is alreadydesigned to be twice as strong as theone we use. Our original was alreadysafe. My point is: you do not need tomake the bubbler of thicker steel thanspecified.

Use a reliable welding shop to weldyour bubbler tank together. DO NOTaccept shoddy work. Your life dependson it.

Uquid-vapor separator

To prevent liquid from being drawnfrom the electrolyzer, take the gas fromthe highest point possible. Thisrequires a hole in the shell, not the endplate.

In some cases, a liquid-vapor separator(I-v s) arrangement is still needed. (Iuse one as a matter of course), becauseliquid can be carried by the gas comingfrom the e1ectrolyzer.

The I-v s is simply a wide spot in thehose going from the electrolyzer to thebubbler. We make it out of ordinaryschedule 40 clear PVC pipe and caps,2" diameter X a foot high.

Locate the I-v s above the electrolyzerso that any liquid it contains can drainback to the electrolyzer.Use at least a 1/2 inch inside diameterhose from the electrolyzer to the I-v s ,to allow for easy draining. Don't allowany dips in this hose, or the 'liquidpuddle' that forms in the dip willprevent the liquid-vapor separator fromdraining.

The hose from the top of the liquidvapor separator to the Bubbler can be3/8". Check-valve and valve #2 can be3/8". We like to use gate valves. Ballvalves are unreliable for this service.Get a high quality check-valve. (seeResources)

Note: you must keep your check-valveclear or it will get debris stuck in theseal and will leak. If your check-valveleaks, it'll drain your bubbler into yourelectrolyzer. This will over-fill yourelectrolyzer and cause dangerously lowwater levels in your bubbler.

The valve # 2 is in-line coming out ofthe liquid-vapor separator (Fig. 1).This deliberate arrangement tends tokeep contamination from the bubblertank, getting stuck in the check-valve.Contamination tends to drop straightdown onto the gate valve. If any getsover to the check-valve, the gas flowtends to blow it back over to settle onthe gate valve. When you open thegate valve to put water into theelectrolyzer, the contamination (bits ofdirt and metal from the bubbler tank)gets drained to the electrolyzer, whereit might contaminate the electrolyzerbut won't likely hurt anything.

SIZING A BG ELECTROLYZER

Gas volume needed

You need to decide how much gasvolume you need for your applications.

For jewelers '-work and electronics,you only need a very small flame.This is the size of torch that the BN200 was designed to operate. We thinkthe BN 200 was a bit small. Anelectrolyzer with less than a 500 literper hour capability is notrecommended.

We size our electrolyzers as ER XXXX(Eagle-Research). So,an (EagleResearch) electrolyzers ratedfor 1,000Liters per hour would be an ER1000.

The series-cell design will operateefficiently at any volume up to its totalcapacity. If you need only 400 litersper hour (LIh), you could use a 2400Lih electrolyzer, but you'll be payingmore money than you have to, to buildthe electrolyzer. In addition, you'dneed a 60 amp breaker.

The operating expense would be thesame if you take 400 Lih from a


500 Lih electrolyzer or a 2400 Lihelectrolyzer. The 2400 Lih electrolyzerwould cost more to build and require agreater amount of amperage from yourpower supply during the shorter timesit is operating (it would switch on foronly very brief moments).

Note: it is NOT efficient to operate anyelectrolyzer at low amperage.Operating below a certain amperagecauses LESS mon-atomic gas to beformed. It is best to have theelectrolyzer operate at it's ratedamperage, then shut off when it'spressure is reached. Tum it back onagain when the pressure drops a bit.

Note: For those people who think ofjust using a pressure-relief valve tocontrol the pressure in the electrolyzer(instead of a pressure switch andrelay), consider these points:1. Your pressure relief valve is likely tofail because of hydroxide film buildup,which prevents the seal from sealing.2. You spent money in electricity tomake the gas that you are throwingaway.3. Electrolyzers that operate full-on, allthe time, quickly overheat and meltdown.4. It is not hard to wire in a switch andrelay. Further, the switch-relaycombination allows many moreautomatic controls to be added easily.5. The pressure relief is strictly a finalsafety precaution to prevent bursting,due to over-pressure. (Actually, itshould never open.)

The slight amount of moisture thataccompanies the gas presents sometrouble for small torch tips « #000).The moisture tends to condense in thetorch hose, puddle and flow along tothe torch tip. The 'slugs'of liquid pluga small orifice, for an instant, as theygo through it. This effect causes yourflame to go out. It could also cause abackfire.

If your application involves very smallflames, use a bubbler that is extra high(± three feet) with multiple layers ofcoarse SS screen in the top 16", to helpcondense the water moisture. Don'tmake the screen holes too fine (not less

than 1/4" gaps between wires) or thecondensed liquid won't drain backagainst the gas flow. Don't use toofine a material for the screen (Jess than1/16" SS wire) or the backfires willbum it up.

We've done some testing on torch tipgas volume requirements. For mostapplications (including cutting 1 " thicksteel) a #0 torch tip or a #0-3 cuttingtip is adequate. A 1,000Vhelectrolyzer will support theseapplications. 1,000Vh requires16 amps @ 240 VAC.

A 2400 Lih electrolyzer will support upto a #6 torch tip. This requires48 amps at 240 VAC or 11.5 Kwh ofpower. You can do some seriousmelting of various materials with thissize of tip, but you are virtuallyassured of a backfire when you shut itoff. It is very hard to shut off theflame quickly enough.

Note: to idle a small four cylinderengine (140 cubic inch), you need inexcess of 3000 LIh)

The following chart shows minimumacceptable flame volumes in LIh, andmaximum possible volume (the volumeat which the flame goes out due toexcessive gas velocity). The 'Amps'part of the chart shows the DCamperage requirements of a 126 cellelectrolyzer, at 240 VAC, to get theMINIMUM gas volume (LIh) requiredfor the 'Torch Tip'. You can figure theMax. amperage (requires moreamperage) in direct ratio to the litersMax. Lih produced.

Tip: Min.: Max.: MinimumLih Lih Amps:

000 250 300 4.5500 500 1100 9.01o 550 1200 10.001 600 2000 10.702 650 2400 11.80

Remember that as you clean a torch tip(with little roundfiles) the orifice sizegradually increases. This makes it intoa larger torch tip and it will requiregreater gas flow to prevent baclfire.

Available power

You need to decide how much andwhat kinds of power you haveavailable to operate an electrolyzer,before you decide how many cells youwill put into your electrolyzer.

As you can see from the previous data,a 1,000 Lih electrolyzer will require 16amps at 240 VAC. Our actualefficiency is better than 4 watt-hoursper liter BUT for figuring out yourneeded power it is better to deliberatelyfigure on the less efficient side.

A 20 amp 240 breaker would just holdthis application. Just make sure yourbreaker is rated for about 30% moreamperage than you will be running.

It is unreasonable to expect a breakerto continuously hold an amperage nearit's rated capacity. Every time abreaker is tripped, it doesn't hold aswell the next time. This is how they'wear out'.

To figure your needed powerrequirements for any givenelectrolyzer, figure it's MAXIMUMamperage capability. That's what itwill do whenever it is on. This isanother reason not to over-size yourelectrolyzer. You may not be able topower it. If you do have an over-sizedelectrolyzer, there are some tricks tomake it use less power (of course itwill make less gas too).(see Designing Electrolyzer PowerSupply (Capacitive limiting)

If you are using only 200 Lih from a1000 Lih electrolyzer, then you willuse (at 240 VAC) 16 amps for oneminute in every five minutes.The electrolyzer power requirementmath goes like this: Multiply the litersper hour times 4 watt-hours (thisequals the total watt-hours required)and then divide the total watt-hours bythe voltage to be applied to theelectrolyzer; you now have the ampsrequired.

Eg: 1000 Lih * 4 WhIL = 4000 Wh4000 Wh / 240 VAC = 16.6 amps.


Electrolyzer diameter

Eg: 1000 L/h * 4 WhlL = 4000 Wh4000 Wh /120 VAC =33.3 amps.

Note: it is more efficient to run higheramperages (within the ratings) forshorter times.

Extra plate diameter allows higheramperage efficiently. Gas flowsassume 240 VAC wall voltage, 126cells, 3/8 inch plate spacing, 4:1 NaOHand voltage doubler power supply.

Electrolyte concentration

Unless otherwise specified, use a 4:1mixture (by weight) of sodiumhydroxide. This is four parts water toone part hydroxide, or a 20% solution.This is not something to take forgranted, but it isn't really causticeither. If spills are cleaned upimmediately very little bum will result.

It is a great advantage to be able to useleaner mixtures, because of reducedinitial electrolyte cost, and reducedchance of harm during filling, draining,leaks and (God forbid) explosions.Leaner mixtures (as lean as 72:1) workfine in the electrolyzer, but leanmixtures reduce your natural amperageflow. To get your amperage flow back,just add a lot more capacitance on thevoltage doubler (this makes theenclosure larger and more expensive).

We have done extensive testing withvarious solutions and discovered thebest results with the stronger solutions.Mostly, the strong solutions helpreduce the foaming problem and allowa lower voltage resistance per cell.

Kind of electrolyte

Further, and actually most importantly,both e1ectrolyzer efficiency and thewattage efficiency go down with theplate spacing too close. Too close iscloser than 1/4".

Unless specified otherwise, this bookdeals with sodium hydroxide. We'vealready tested a variety of electrolytesand found nothing better than sodiumhydroxide.

There is no reason to go wider than1/2" between the plates. In fact, 3/8"shows up as more efficient than 1/2".

extra low liquid levels in thee1ectrolyzer.

If the plates are too close together, it ismore difficult to properly fill theelectrolyzer. Air tends to get trappedbetween the plates.

In a practical sense, this means that theAMPERAGE will increase given acertain number of cells, a set wallvoltage and making the plates closertogether.

All calculations in this book are basedon 3/8" recommended plate spacing.We've done a huge amount of testingon various plate spacing. 3/8" is thebest we've found!

Plate spacing

Of course, the opposite is true too.Given a fixed number of cells andfixed voltage input; AMPERAGE willdecrease by making the plates fartherapart.

The plate spacing affects the number ofcells, and thus the length of themachine.

Pressure is a consideration here.Larger diameter pipes generallyoperate with less pressure. Our twelveinch schedule 80 CPVC is still wellwithin acceptable pressure limits, aslong as no backfire EVER goesthrough the Bubbler and reaches theelectrolyzer. I assure you (BECAUSEWE'VE HAD IT HAPPEN) that theelectrolyzer will pop (burst) like aballoon if it's pressure rating isexceeded, spreading plastic andelectrolyte everywhere in your shop.It's not nice.

As a rule of thumb, don't go closerthan 1/4" plate spacing per cell for anyreason. Closer than this causes asevere problem with the foam crawlingup the plates, making a need to keep

'Volts'are not mentioned as aconsideration for electrolyzer diameter.That is because the only factor thatmatters here is AMPERAGE per inchof plate surface. Rule of thumb: ± 0.5amps per square inch of plate surface.

inside-outside diameters, 'out of roundtolerance'and the wall thickness (withmin.-max. tolerances) specificationsfrom the manufacturer who sells youthe pipe.

Max. DCMin. DC

Note that the amperages below are forDC voltage across the electrolyzer; youWILL be drawing more AC amperagefrom the wall than you note as DCacross the e1ectrolyzer. Example: our30 DC amp ten inch electrolyzer draws48 AC amps from the wall. This is aneffect of the voltage doubler.

amps amps6" 4 amps 7 amps

(355 LIh) (673 LIh)8" 9 amps 16 amps

(799 LIh) (1539 LIh)10" 18 amps 30 amps

(1598 LIh) (2886 LIh)12" 25 amps 42 amps

(2220 LIh) (4040 LIh)The diameters mentioned are 'nominal'sizes of CPVC schedule 80, which Irecommend as the electrolyzer 'shell'.The actual inner and outer diameters ofthe CPVC pipe are different than the'nominal'size. You can get the actual

In North America, some places use 110to 220 VAC power, others use 115 to230 VAC and otherplaces use 120 to240 VAC power. This small voltagedifference makes little difference tomost equipment. It WILL make adifference in designing yourelectrolyzer and power supply.Measure your wall voltage beforedesigning your electrolyzer.

There is a great advantage to going tothe higher voltage. Higher amperageparts are very expensive. Highervoltage parts are smaller and lessexpensive. 240 VAC is available mosteverywhere.


Power supply option

The power supply is VITAL to makingBrown's Gas. Straight DC voltage willnot produce Brown's Gas. Theelectricity MUST be pulsed. We haveworked with the natural pulsesavailable to us from the wall.Remember this is a KISS book (KeepIt Seriously Simple).(see Power Supply Designs)

BUILDING A BG ELECTROLYZER

Safety tips

Protective clothing should be worn atall times. Coveralls should bevegetable fiber, such as cotton.

Ordinary shop work can be done withleather gloves. Use disposable latexgloves to handle sodium hydroxide.

It helps to have a full rubber apronwhile handling sodium hydroxide asany caustic solution. Boots should becompatible with sodium hydroxide(lye) solution.

Eye protection should be worn at alltimes in any shop environment. Keepa spray bottle of vinegar on hand tospray on any lye spill, particularlyspills on human skin (lemon juiceworks well too). This helps neutralizethe caustic action 'til you can wash itwith ordinary water.

An eye flush station should be installedin your shop, along with stored freshwater, because in the case of a majoraccident your electric power ought tobe shut off. Hence, you'll have norunning water. (safety supplies - seeResources)

Electrolyzer list of materials

This list of materials is for assemblinga general electrolyzer; no sizes orquantities are given, except where allthe electrolyzers are the same. This listis for the e1ectrolyzer ITSELF. It doesnot include the Control box, Bubbler orany connecting hoses or wires. Forspecific specifications and sizes ofthe

electrolyzerparts. see the appropriatesections in this book.

WARNING; DO NOT USEALUMINUM ANYWHERE IN THISELECTROLYZER DESIGN!Aluminum reacts violently withSodium Hydroxide in the presence ofwater. Aluminum hides in strangeplaces, like wetted parts of mostpressure switches and pressure gauges.When purchasing parts, verifycompatibility in writing, so you cansend the parts back if incompatible. Ifpurchasing 'surplus'you can get greatprices, but 'Buyer Beware'. You getNO guarantees.

• One shell, schedule 80 plastic pipe.

• Two plastic end-plates, 3/4" thick(height and width depend on shelldiameter). Best to use CPVC plasticfor shell and end-plates (CPVC cantake up to 160°F before it hasproblems with these pressures, PVCcan only take 120°F).

• Steel end-plates, (all otherspecifications dependent on shelldiameter, found elsewhere).

• Spacer rings, 3/8" wide, cut fromschedule 40 PVC (all otherspecifications dependent on shelldiameter, found elsewhere).

• Through-bolts, nuts, flat washers, (allother specifications dependent onshell diameter, found elsewhere).

• End-gaskets, two sheets of 118 inchthick EPDM rubber, about 60 to 90hardness (all other specificationsdependent on shell diameter, foundelsewhere).

• Stainless steel power-bolts, washers,nuts, (all other specificationsdependent on shell diameter, foundelsewhere) .

• 118" EPDM a-rings for sealingpower-bolts (all other specificationsdependent on power-bolt diameter,found elsewhere).

• Plastic spacers for around powerbolts and liquid level tubes, cut out oftriangle left by cutting comer off theplastic end-plates.

• Sodium hydroxide, amountdetermined elsewhere.

Note: Copperpipe fittings are OK withsodium hydroxide. Brass is slightlyincompatible (surface turns black),which means you can use it in noncritical areas (everywhere exceptinside the pressure switch and gauge).

• 3/8" MNPT to 112" barbed fitting for'gas out'hose, with one #6 hoseclamp.

• 2 of 118" pipe nipples for liquid levelsight tube.

• 2 of 118" Tee, with male on run; forTee off liquid level sight tube andvalve 3 and 4 on run.

• 2 of 118" Brass needle valves (or gatevalves preferred) for valves 3 and 4.Be sure to install so the 'valve stempacking'is on the outside, not incontact with the pressurizedelectrolyte.

• 2 of 118" MNPT to 114" barbed, forthe sight tube.

• One length of 114" ID clear, braidedPVC hose, with 2 of #4 hose clamps.

• One small HDPE plastic ball, to floatinside the sight tube.

Note: There will also be additionalholes in the electrolyzer (shell or endplates) for various temperature andpressure sensors, depending on thetype of gauges and controls youchoose.(see Building A Control Box)

The following list of components andfittings is for the special 8" e1ectrolyzerwe are building to demonstrate at the1997 Tesla Symposium.

These lists (based on our ERXXXX)are included to assist you in making achecklist for your own electrolyzer.


Cut rings from tube

The list for the power supply andbubblers are in the appropriate sectionsof this book.

Note: No spacers, to separate the platesin the e1ectrolyzer design, are depicted(Fig. 1). They are there, just notshown. We used PVC plastic 'ring'

• 2 1/2'x 8" clear PVC Shell 2x• 2 1/2'x 7/16" Bolts 20x• Box of 7/16" Nuts Ix• Box of 7/16" Lock-washers Ix• Box of 7/16" Flat-washers Ix·10" x 10" CPVC Endplate 4x• 10" x 10"1/4" Iron plate 4x• 1/8" thick Rubber Gasket 4x·5/16" SS Bolt, washers, nuts 2x• 5/16" Plastic Bushings 2x• 7.8" S.S. Plates (disks) 132x• 8" PVC Rings 130x• 2 ft. 1/4" PVC Tubing Ix• 8'of 1/2" Tubing Ix• 8'of 1/4" Tubing Ix• 2'of 3/8" Tubing Ix

After you've cut the rings from thepipe, you need to cut a small sectionout of the ring to allow the ringto(squeeze together enough to fit insidethe shell.

Determine the amount to cut out bytest cutting one 'til it fits. Insert therings in a clamp-jig and cut several at atime with a saber-saw. It doesn'tmatter if there is a slight gap (£ 1/8")when the ring is inserted into the shell.

Size rings

It is possible to have the plates'stamped out'too, but you'll have topay an 'up-front'fee (at least $1,500)for the stamp made to yourspecifications, and then about $1.31 inquantities of 1,000.

Contact a laser-cutting or abrasivewater cutting service, to have yourplates made for you. Most cuttingcompanies will do small runs at veryreasonable prices.

Mark out plates

Ordinary pipe-style wood clamps willwork to hold the rings in place whileyou make the two cuts that remove thesection out of all the clamped rings.

Another method to cut rings would beto use a large band saw of the typeused to cut steel pipe. Local metalwholesalers would have such saws.

Note: The cut must be done fairlyquickly to preventplastic from'cooking'right onto the saw blade.The special saw blade is designed tominimize this problem but it stillhappens over a period of time. When aresidue ofplastic accumulates on theblade, just sand off the plasticaccumulation with sandpaper and/or adisc sander.

Abrasive 'cut-off'saws work quitewell. The problem would be findingone large enough. This method workedextremely well for our tiny 2" seriescell test electrolyzers.

spacers, shaped to hold the metal platesapart all around the outer edges. PVCfor the rings because it is lessexpensive than CPVC and doesn't haveto hold pressure.We like using schedule 40 PVC pipe asring-spacers, getting the same nominalsize as the schedule 80 CPVC chosenfor the outer shell. The schedule 40has a thinner wall. This worksperfectly as spacers. So schedule 80for the shell, and schedule 40 for therings.

The thickness of the spacer should beenough to cover (by at least 1/8") theedge of the plate and any gap. That'swhy we use schedule 40 pipe. Therings are cut from pipe that is the samenominal size as the shell. This makesit slightly too large to fit inside thee1ectrolyzer. Then a small section iscut from the ring so that the ring willnow squeeze to a smaller diameter,fitting inside the shell with a 'springloaded tension'.

The procedure is to lower the table sawblade, slide the pipe sideways to thestop (saw fence set, for example 318"ring, after saw kerf) and then raise thetable saw blade with the saw running.The saw would cut upwards into thepipe. When the saw has cut fully intothe pipe, you rotate the pipe to finishcutting off the n'ng ofplastic. (note;rotating the pipe one way may bebetter than the other, try both ways).Then lower the saw blade again so thatthe pipe can be advanced (slidesideways) to cut off the next ring.

Mr. Wootan used a special plastic tablesaw cutting blade (available from USPlastic Corp.) to assure a smooth cuton the plastic.

Assembly tip: Norman Wootandeveloped a simple jig to cut narrowrings from large diameter plastic pipe(6" to 12"). He set up rollers so thatthe pipe could be rolled while over atable saw. He set up another roller toact as a stop. We modified this to be apiece ofplastic, screwed to the tablesaw fence.

Quantity

Quantity

Fittings

• 1/4" Panel Mount Valve 2x• 3/8" Check Valve 2x• 1/2" Barb-3/8" MPT 6x• Tee, 3/8" FPT all ends 2x• 1/4" Barb-3/8" MPT 5x• 3/8" Street Tee,MPT on run Ix• 3/8" Street Elbow Ix• Tee, 1/4" FPT all ends 5x• 1/4" Close Nipple 4x• 1/4" Barb-1/4" MPT 16x• 1/4" Barb-1/8" MPT Ix• 1/2" Close Nipple 2x• 1/2" Cap 2x• 1/4" Barb-1/4" FPT Ix• 3/8"-1/4" Bushing Ix• 1/4" Bulkhead Ix• 1/8"x1-1/2" Long Nipple 4x• 1/8" Barb-1/8" MPT 6x• 1/8" Street Elbow 4x• 1/4" Barb-1/4" F. Flare Swivel 4x• 1/8" MPT-Flare Needle Valve 4x• 1/4" Hex Cored Plug Ix• 1/4" x1-1/2 Long Nipple Ix• 1/4" Street Elbow Ix• 1/4" FPT-MPT Needle Valve Ix• 1/4" MPT- Acet. Ix

Component

Brown's Gas, Book 2/ www.eagle-research.com11

An alternative is to find someone whocan stamp plates in round circles andthen you just cut off the flat edge. Onesuch company (for six inch disks) isBokers, Inc. (see Resources). Theyhave a 'standard'stamp that will cut0.015" thick of 316 stainless steel at5.603 inches in diameter +/- 0.010".They will charge about $2.40 per platefor quantities as low as 250.

One of my readers stumbled onto a realfind. He found a range manufacturerthat is using stainless steel for theirrange lids. They were throwing thecircles they cut out (for the elements)away. Perhaps with a bit of lookingyou can find a manufacturer thatstamps circles out of their product andget a deal too. Then you just choosethe pipe diameter that fits your plates.

But, assuming you want to do ityourself, like we did, here's how wedid it.

First you make a 'Master Plate' (out ofsteel); which is a plate that is exactlythe way you want every other plate tobe. You will measure your pipe andmake the plates so they fit insideeasily.

Plate height (from flat top to bottom ofplate) is important, we want as high aspossible without impeding gas flow.And we want to be low enough foreasy liquid filling.

Rule of thumb would be:Six inch electrolyzer, 5.6" diametercircle, cut off at 4.85"Eight inch electrolyzer, 7.5" diametercircle, cut off at 6.5"Ten inch electrolyzer, 9.4" diametercircle, cut off at 8.15"Twelve inch electrolyzer, 11.2"diameter circle, cut off at 9.7"

For example: the six inch diameterschedule 80 CPVC pipe has an innerdiameter of about 5.657 and so wemake the plates 5.6 inches in diameter,with the flat side 4.85 inches. Note theshape of the plates in figures two andthree in the first chapter of this book.

Note: the pipe (shell) WILL NOT beperfectly round, careful measuring(with calipers) will show you an ovalshape. I think this is from storagestacking or some such reason. In anycase, your plates will have to fit on theinside of the thinnest diameter.

Also note: that the pipe has a'tolerance'of a few fractions of aninch, so it may be wider or narrowerthan the nominal specifications.Further note: different manufacturersof the same pipe WILL have slightlydifferent diameters. So it is best to getyour pipe before cutting your masterplate.

You lay your stainless steel sheet outon a large table, then (using a carbidetipped scribe and a long straight edge)you scribe a line across the steel sheet.This line is the height of the plates. Inthis case we scribe a line 4.85 inches(which is the height of the plates) fromthe sheet edge.

Once we've scribed the line, we takeour 'master' plate (make one perfectplate first) set it against the line andscribe out the plate outline for all theplates on that strip, defined by theoriginal scribe line and the edge of thesheet. If you have extra room, leave asmuch space between the plates aspossible, to help with the rough cut.

Cut plates

We cut off the original scribed stripfrom the sheet with the electric sheers.Cutting one way will leave the metalstraighter than cutting the other. Tryboth for yourself and use the best.Don't use hand sheers, they make amess of the steel and it is hard work.

Once the strip is cut off, rough cut allthe plates out of the strip (makesquares). Then cut them out exactly.This is the method that we've found tohome-make the flattest plates.

Straighten plates

An advantage of having the platesprofessionally cut is that you won'thave any wrinkled plates.

But if you cut your own, you may haveto flatten bends or wrinkles in yourplates. Try to do so without hittingthem with a hammer (straighten byhand). A hammer blow causes themetal to stretch at the point of impact,causing a tendency to bulge that is veryhard to remove from the steel.

Lightly hammering on some edgewrinkles should be OK.When finished, every plate should beflat enough that the entire platedisappears behind its edge whenviewed edge-on.

If a plate is too badly bent, working onit more will not straighten it past acertain point. You will have to decideif that point is straight enough or youdiscard the plate. Remember that theplate is held in place around its entireedge (except top) and this holding willhold a slightly bent plate straight.

Degrease plates

There are several good degreasingsolutions. All of them are dangerous.Take extreme care handling thesesolutions. Containers containingsolutions and plates are VERY heavy.Keep solutions in warm but wellventilated area, the gasses that comeoff these mixtures are toxic (smell badtoo).

At this time we just use sulfuric acid of1.26 specific gravity (buy in localautomotive supply store, for use infilling lead acid batteries). We soakedthe freshly cut out plates overnight inthe sulfuric acid, periodicallyseparating the plates with a plasticcomb to assure acid wash everywhere.

When the reaction stopped (makesbubbles and the solution turns dark)we'd take the plates out of the acid(wearing disposable latex gloves) andwash them in fresh water, using abrush to wipe off the oily residue.

It is important to handle the plates onlyby their edges or you'll push the oilright back into the surface of the plate;also brush the oil off the plate surfaceusing a sideways motion, again to


Nominal CPVC Pipe Estimated Estimated Number CenterPipe Outside Through-bolt Through-bolt of to center

Diameter Diameter Circumference Radius Bolts of bolts6" 6.625" 22.100 3.518" 8 2.782"8 8.625 28.574 4.550 10 2.85710 10.750 35.639 5.675 14 2.54512 12.750 42.115 6.706 16 2.632

prevent pushing the oil back into theplate. Brushing the plates while underrunning water is a good idea.

Note: we are still experimenting withvarious degreasing techniques.

Recommended de-grease proceduresby Master-Bond:

1. Sand blast or sand with machinesander to remove surface deposits andto break surface tension. Thenpreliminary degrease withtrichorethylene, then immerse for tenminutes at 70-85°C (160-185°F) in asolution of;

Sodium metasilicate 2 kg (2 Ib)Tetrasodium pyrophosphate............................................. 1 kg (lIb)Sodium hydroxide 1 kg (lIb)Nansa S 40/S powder............. 300 grams (5 oz)Water 100 liters (10 gal.)

Wash with clean cold water, followedby clean hot water, dry with hot air.

2. Sand blast or sand with machinesander to remove surface deposits andto break surface tension. Thenpreliminary degrease withtrichorethylene, then immerse for tenminutes at 85-90°C (185-195°F) in asolution of;Oxalic acid 9.25 kg (18.5 Ib)Sulfuric acid (S.G. 1.82)....................................... 5 liters (l gal.)Water 75 liters (15 gal.)Wash with clean cold water, brush offblack deposit, followed by clean hotwater, dry with hot air.

3. Sand blast or sand with machinesander to remove surface deposits andto break surface tension. Thenpreliminary degrease withtrichorethylene, then immerse forfifteen minutes at 50°C (120°F) in asolution of;Sodium bichromate (sat. sol.)............................. 0.35 liters (0.35 gal.)Sulfuric acid (S.G. 1.82)................................... 10 liters (10 gal.)Wash with clean cold running water,brush off black deposit, dry with hotair.

Note: Preparation of saturatedsolution of Sodium bichromate: Heatthe appropriate quantity of distilledwater to 50°C (l20°F). Add, withstirring, powdered sodium bichromateuntil it ceases to dissolve. Allow tocool to room temperature and thenstand for one hour before pouring offsaturated solution.

Mixing procedure: Add the sulfuricacid to the saturated sodiumbichromate solution in a slow steadystream while continuously stirring.The precipitate formed will mostlydissolve as the acid is added.

Holes in plates

Fluid equalization holes in the platesare not recommended. Ourexperimentation has shown severalproblems that make this a bad idea.We achieve fluid equalization bytipping the electrolyzer.

We would put fluid equalization holesin the plates of very large electrolyzersthat will also have automaticpressurized water filling.

But in small portable electrolyzers, it isNOT a good idea. Some of the manyreasons include and are not limited to;1) the loss in efficiency as electrolyte'shorts'through the plate, 2) the loss ofefficiency as a significant area aroundthe hole doesn't produce gas, 3) thepossibility of one end of theelectrolyzer becoming flooded if theelectrolyzer is not perfectly level, 4)and the other end of the electrolyzerhaving too little solution for the samereason.

End Plates

The pressure inside an electrolyzerpushes outward by the force in pounds

per square inch times the square inchesof end plate exposed to the gas.

All plastic end plates are 3/4 inchCPVC plastic.

Below is a chart of the total force ofthe end plates pushing against thethrough-bolts at an operating pressureof 70 psi:

Electrolyzer Force on through-bolts

6" 3,690 pounds force8" 6,390 pounds force

10" 9,890 pounds force12" 14,225 pounds force

This is why we use iron re-enforcingplates over the plastic end plates. Theflat plastic could not hold thesepressures by itself. And the steelallows a safety range.

The round shell has no trouble at thesepressures; but you can see that asudden pressure increase would burstan electrolyzer of this design. We havedesigned the electrolyzer so that therewill be no sudden increases in pressurein the electrolyzer, even under backfireIF your Bubbler tank is designedproperly and used properly.

These pressures are also why we useprogressively larger through-bolts tohold the end plates onto theelectrolyzer. Check out under'Through-bolts' .

The thickness of the iron end platesvaries with the diameter of theelectrolyzer:Diameter Thickness of plateSix inch 1/8 inchEight inch 1/4 inchTen inch '" 3/8 inchTwelve inch 1/2 inch


To discover the measurements neededfor your endplate dimensions and forhole placement, see below:

You will measure the outer diameter ofyour plastic shell, add the diameter ofONE of your through-bolts, add a1116" (for 1132" clearance betweenshell and bolts, mostly to allow for theoval shape of the pipe) and this will bethe centerline diameter of yourthrough-bolt holes (check with size ofthrough-bolts later in this chapter).Then you add 2.5 inches (for flangewidth) to get the square outsidedimensions of the end plates(remember you need two iron and twoplastic of this size).

After you've cut out the four squares(two iron and two plastic), take one ofthe iron plates, scribe and center-punchthe appropriate spots to drill yourholes. It helps to use machinists bluingor masking tape where you aremarking.

You find the center of a square byscribing from comer to opposite comer(450 angle), center-punch this spot tohold one end of your compass. Setyour compass with the radius (112 thecenterline diameter) of your throughbolts (it helps to make a bit of a linefirst and measure it with a ruler tomake sure your compass is set right).

You want a through-bolt to go throughabout every 2.5 inches on yourthrough-bolt circumference. We putseveral bolts around the circumferenceto have an even pressure on the gasket(helps to seal) and to spread the endplate pressure to several points (helpsprevent warping).

The 'cage'of bolts also breaks up theplastic pieces if you happen to burstyour electrolyzer, thus only smallerpieces of plastic fly. They still hurtwhen they hit you.

You do NOT want a through-bolt to gothrough dead center of the top (12:o'clock position) because this is whereyour gas-out tube will go (in about themiddle of the shell, not the end plate).

So space your bolts so that you have aspace at the 12 o'clock position.

Below find a typical chart of CPVCpipe specifications:Select the number of bolts you want touse and divide your through-boltcircumference (found by multiplyingthe through-bolt diameter times 3.14)by that number of bolts (as per theabove chart). Set your compass forthat exact measurement (Center tocenter of bolts). The above chart is anestimate only, your pipe may beslightly larger or smaller than thediameter indicated. So be sure to doyour own measuring and figuring asper these instructions.

Proceed to mark intervals around yourthrough-bolt circumference with yourcompass, where you want yourthrough-bolts to be. Remember NOTto put a bolt through at the top, spaceyour bolts so 12: o'clock position is inthe middle of a space. Center punchthe intervals.

Assembly Tip: It helps to clamp bothyour steel end plates and your plasticend plates in a sandwich (two plasticplates between the iron ones) beforeyou start to drill the holes; then youonly have to mark one plate and drillonly one set of holes (and all the holeswill line up perfectly).

I advise to use a drill-press wheneverpossible. Remember to wear glovesand goggles. Always clamp your workto the press before drilling. Make surethe drill bit won't drill into your presstable. Set the press to the appropriatespeed for the bit you are using.

Assembly Tip: Pre-drill all your holeswith a smaller drill bit that is about thesize of the web on the tip of yourlarger drill bits. Holes up to 114 inchdon't require pre-drilling.

Drill the center hole for your powerbolt size. Drill the through-bolt holes.

Note: I recommend two 3/8" powerbolts through each endplate for anyamperage greater than 30 amps. Or thebolt will get too hot and melt your

plastic. Be sure to silver-solder bothpower-bolts to the SS endplate. In anycase it is a good idea to use more thanone bolt whenever you expect to havehigher amperage.

Remember that the power-bolts don'thave to be in the center; you can havethem anywhere it is convenient foryou.

Pre-drill the holes for the sight tube;don't go all the way through the firstplastic (don't drill into the secondplastic plate with these holes) unlessyou want to have sight tubes on bothends of the electrolyzer. Note that thesight tube holes are off-set so that youhave room for a curve in the hose, or(in the larger endplates) so the clearsight tube will miss the center bolt.

Center power-bolts for six inch are 1/4inch in diameter, eight inchelectrolyzers are 5/16 inch in diameter.Ten inch electrolyzers should have 3/8"power-bolts. Twelve inch electrolyzersshould have two 3/8" power-bolts (ormore of smaller bolts).

I repeat Note: I recommend two 3/8"power-bolts through the endplate forany amperage greater than 30 amps.Or the bolt will get too hot and meltyour plastic. Be sure to silver-solderboth power-bolts to the SS endplate.

The a-rings around the center boltscan be compressed to 113 of theirdiameter. Use about 50 hardnessEPDM material for the a-ring. Drillthe appropriate sized counter-sink inboth sides of the plastic endplates. Thea-ring will make an oval, about 113wider than it's original diameter; soyou need to make the counter-sink a bitdeeper than that; NO MORE!!!!!. Thewasher on one side and the plasticspacer on the other will hold the 0rings in place.

To give an example of the countersinkhole size: Assuming a 5/16 SS bolt thatwe are sealing with 118" O-rings. TheO-ring is normally a fraction less than5/16" ID (0.309"). 118" (0.130) less30% equals 0.09. 0.309 + 0.09 + 0.09= 0.48 inches. Find a drill bit


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Bolt BoltElectrolyzer size length

6" 1/4" 2-1/8"8" 5/16" 2-1/4"

10" 3/8" 2-3/8"12" 2 x 3/8" 2-1/2"

©

Now drill the appropriate holes in theappropriate iron and plastic end platesfor the sight tube assembly. Youpreviously pre-drilled these holes.

The plastic end plate (for the liquidlevel tubes) will be threaded to 1/8"NPT; so use an 'R'drilI.

The iron end plate will be drilled (orcut) out to allow at least 1/4 inch spacearound the 1/8" pipe stem (about 1inch total); to allow an insulatingspacer to be inserted (the fittings willbe in contact with electrolyte and willcarry a charge).

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Six inch electrolyzers can use a 1/4"bolt, 2-1/8" long.Eight inch electrolyzer should have5/16" bolt, 2-1/4" long.Ten inch electrolyzers use 3/8" bolts,2-3/8" long.Twelve inch electrolyzers use two 3/8"bolts, 2-1/2" long.

Different sized electrolyzers shouldhave different sized power-bolts.Power-bolts are stainless steel (SS) andyou'll use SS washers and nuts too.The size of the power bolts has to dowith the amount of power required toflow through the bolts without heatingthem up.

center-bolt). Example:6" electrolyzer has 1/4" power-boltwhich requires a 3/4" hole in the IRONend plate for the insulating spacer.

Fig. 4

Liquid leveltubes, 1/8NPT, copper. ---- ::::;::;:~

Cut tip angles: These are the flatspots that assure you've tipped over to45° for electrolyzer filling. You willcut one bottom comer of the iron platesoff. Which bottom comer is important;you may have some preference as towhich way your electrolyzer will tip inyour shop.Cut the comers off the steel plates witha cutting torch. I cut so that thedistance from the shell to the floorwould be the same when theelectrolyzer was rolled 45°. Withheavier electrolyzers (10 and 12 inch)it helps to SLIGHTLY round theresulting comer to assist the rolling.

Assembly Tip: Take extracare to mark all your platesfor their direction andorientation before un-clamping them after drilling. There areseveral very important reasons for this.Your holes will not be exact and thiswill assure that they always line up.Also it is VITAL to make sure theendplate 'tip'angles are cut correctly.

Assembly tip: Use a drillpress when drilling a shallowhole in plastic so you cancontrol the exact depth of thehole (set the depth stop).Fasten the plastic securely tothe press table so that thedrill won't suck it up.

extremely close to 0.48inches. Drill to a depth of0.18 inches (0.13 + 0.04 +0.01).

1/8" EPDM O-rings around SS bolt

<E-- SS electrolyzer plate

Fig. 5


1/2" Ironend-plate

3/4" CPVC plastic end-plate

l!i!]~!OO~~!f"f;""~"~"f;""~"~"<E-- 9/16" iron through-boltII- <E-- CPVC schedule 80 pipe

<E-- 1/8" EPDM gasket

1/8" x 1" SS washer underSS electrolyzer plate

3/8" Stainless~mm~~~1~ Thick plastic cover over SS boltSteel bolt Silver- solder bolt to plate

Plastic electrical /insulating ringNow, you'll drill out the IRON (not

plastic) end plates to allow room forthe insulating spacer around thepower-input bolts (Drill so that youhave about 1/4 clearance around the

As you cut the steel, think how mucheasier it'll be with the Brown's Gas. Ido not use oxy.lacet. to cut with anymore. BG cuts iron so fast and clean.

Take Care to get the angles cut intothe appropriate comers of the steel(and plastic). If you accidentally flipthe plates, your through-bolt holeswon't line up anymore.

Uquid level tube

Notice that the liquid level tube is 'offset', meaning that the two holes goinginto the electrolyzer end-plate are noton the center line. This is toaccommodate the length of the copperfittings and still allow the liquid levelto be visible.

We fasten Tees (liS" FNPT to FNPT toMNPT on run) on the copper tubes(liS" NPT) coming through theelectrolyzer end-plate. Then we putbarbed fittings (liS" MNPT to 114"barbed) on the Tee's to install the leveltube. We put liS" valves stickingstraight out on the 'run'of the Tee.These valves assist filling and drainingof the electrolyzer.

This arrangement allows us to positionthe clear hose in a 'C'(or reverse C)around the center bolt. Allowing us aclear reading of the electrolyte level inthe smaller electrolyzers. Otherwisethe barbed hose fitting would becovering the spot where the liquid levelshould be.

Note that I use clear braided PVC hosefor the sight tube. I choose thisbecause it is compatible with thesodium hydroxide and has a reasonablepressure rating. The hose does need tobe replaced every so often, you'llknow when.

We have found it extremely helpful toput a small dark plastic floating ballinside the PVC sight tubes(electrolyzer and bubbler). We makeour own ball by heating a bit of darkHDPE (hot air gun) and rolling it into aball. The ball must be big enough tonot go through the copper fittings butsmall enough to travel easily throughthe hose.

In the larger electrolyzers (ten andtwelve), you can just run the sight tubestraight down. This is helpful to thefloating ball, because there won't be abend (kink or flattened spot) that tendsto catch the ball.

End gaskets

Note: if you are not clean aboutbuilding and filling the electrolyzerand/or if you use components orsealing materials that are notcompatible with the sodium hydroxide,then you'll get FOAMING. The foamis un-desirable because it 'shorts out'the plates as the electricity travels onthe foam instead of through the platepack (causing wasted electricity). Andthe gas flow carries the foam up intothe Bubbler, through the bubbler andout to the torch, where it contaminatesthe flame (causes it to tum yellow).

We cut a round circle of lISth inchthick Neoprene or EPDM 'rubber'.The circle to fit past the edges of theshell. We cut the holes for the centerwasher, fittings and (if we make it thatwide) through-bolts with regular gaskethole punches.

End Plate Assembling

Note that in this sketch I've shownhow to get the power into and out ofthe series cell. I put the electrical inputunder the electrolyte. You can put thebolt anywhere under the electrolyte; Ijust find it convenient to put it in thecenter of the electrolyzer.

The two end plates have a hole in themto accept a stainless steel bolt. Wethen silver solder the SS bolt to the SSplate to assure a long term surecontact.

The stainless steel bolt extends throughthe electrolyzer end plates and theelectrical wires are attached to them.

Stack SS washer/s between the SSplate and the plastic end-plate; the SSwashers to be the same thickness as theliS" thick end-gasket. This willprevent the SS plate from becomingwarped as it is bolted.

The two electrolyzer end-plates aretotally assembled before they arebolted onto the CPVC pipe.

You can use a sight tube to monitor theliquid level in the electrolyzer. A

commercial BG electrolyzer wouldhave automatic liquid level monitorand shut down. It can be built onexactly the same circuit design as theautomatic liquid level control for thebubbler, shown elsewhere.

The SS plate on the 'sight tube' endplate assembly needs an additional holedrilled in the stainless steel plate.

Plastic cap on SS bolt

The stainless steel bolt head is coveredby a piece of plastic to prevent the boltfrom participating in the electrolysis.The piece of plastic covering the bolt isjust thick enough to just reach the nextplate, which holds the plastic cover inplace (the plastic cover is there toprevent the bolt from participating inthe electrolysis process). Make theplastic bolt covers from CPVC scrap.

Initial cut long shell

For the electrolyzer shell; I've usedPVC pipe and been happy with it, it'sless expensive, more readily available,comes in all the same sizes as CPVC;BUT it can only go to 120°F before itis too hot to handle the pressure in theelectrolyzer. CPVC can go to 160°Fbefore it is too hot.

I choose schedule SO CPVC pipe forthe outer wall of the electrolyzerbecause I want the strength and theability to handle a higher temperaturethan regular PVC pipe.

Cut the pipe on the same jig you builtto cut the rings. When cutting theelectrolyzer pipe to length, cut it a littlelong at first; because your rings andplates may not measure EXACTLY asyou figure and even a small error addsup when multiplied over a hundredtimes.

Later you'll finish trim the shell afterthe plates and rings are inserted intothe shell.

Note: Instead of cutting the shell, youcan just add or subtract a ring/platecombination or two, it will make littledifference to the actual result. Don't


put in a thinner ring to make the shellthe right length. I do not recommendhaving a thin cell because it will use upit's liquid quicker than the others,causing problems. It's OK to have aTHICKER ring for one or two cells,just so the end cell is the proper 3/8inch wide, so that the liquid levelindicator (sight tube for sure, andelectronic sensors if used) will bemeasuring a representative liquid level.

Assemble rings & plates into tube

I've found that the plates and spacersdo not need to be glued in place.Friction holds them in place quite well.Just be sure they are each tight as yougo, because it is hard to tighten themlater.

In long electrolyzers, I insert the platesand spacer rings into the tube from thecenter out, this means I only have toreach in from both sides only half waydown the tube. Be sure to make a jigto fill the bottom half of the tube whileyou fill the top half (round woodenplate mounted on a 2x4) so that yourplates and spacers remain square to thetube. Make your jig so that you cansee past it on the top, so that you canshine a light in the bottom of the tubeso that you can see to line up the platesexactly (all flat tops exactly lined up).

In longer electrolyzers I've had tomake a 'plunger' jig to push thespacers down (plastic or wood disk ona rod). And wrap the end of anotherrod with sticky tape (regular tapeturned backwards) so that I could insertit to move the plates around.

Final long shell cut

For the finish trim, cut the shell so thatyou actually have the end most ringsticking out of the electrolyzer 1/8 to1/4 inch. The through-bolts willcompress the rings into the shell andtighten everything up.

Assembly tip: You will want to removea few of the rings and plates when youmake the final cut to length, so that thesaw doesn't cut any of the rings orplates.

Assembly tip: Insert a round piece ofcardboard into the shell after removingsome of the plates/rings and before youcut the pipe, to keep the plastic dustfrom getting into your electrolyzer.

Remember to figure so that the endcells will be just as wide as all thecenter cells; this will allow accurategauging of the center cells fluid levelby monitoring the end cell with thesight tube. It's OK to have a couple ofthe center cells a bit wider, if needed tomake the shell the right length withouthaving to cut it.

Put end caps on

By this time you've made andassembled the end caps. Putting themon will seem pretty easy after all that.It takes time to manufacture somethingcorrectly, but once done you'll be ableto assemble and dis-assemble theelectrolyzer quickly.

To assemble, put some of the lowerthrough-bolts in place, running throughthe end plates. Assembling around theelectrolyzer or setting the electrolyzerin the 'basket'formed by the bolts.

Tighten the through-bolts evenly,taking care to see that the SS endplates actually go inside the shell. Youcan loosen and tighten the bolts asoften as you wish.

Through-bolts

I bought my iron rods at a local ironsupply dealer. The rods are bought intwenty foot lengths. They rough cutthem so that they fit in my car. I stillneeded to do the final trim after I knewthe exact length of my electrolyzer.

The diameter of the through-bolts isimportant because of the amount ofpressure these bolts are required tohandle.

They don't have to be huge, becausewe use several of them around thecircumference of the shell.

The following is a guide to theappropriate through-bolt diameters:

Pipe diameter Bolt diametersix inch 5/16 incheight inch 3/8 inchten inch 1/2 inchtwelve inch 9/16 inch

Once you know the length of your totalassembly (shell and endplates), youcan cut your through-bolt rods tolength. Give yourself at least an inchon both ends past the total length of theelectrolyzer. This will allow easyassembly and allow the addition of'carrying'brackets if you want them.

Tighten the through-bolts fairly lightlyand evenly. You don't want to cut yourgasket material or crush theelectrolyzer shell. The recommendedthrough-bolt torque specifications(based on electrolyzer design aspreviously discussed) are:six inch about 6 ftllbseight inch about 8 ftilbsten inch about 10 ftllbstwelve" about 12 ftllbs

The through-bolts can exerttremendous pressure on the plate-packand electrolyzer shell. If your platepack sticks out of the shell a bit, thethrough-bolts will compress them intothe shell.

If you eventually notice a leak, in theend plate shell gasket, just tighten thebolts a bit more. You may find thatthey were loose, which can happen ifyou over-heat your electrolyzer; the hotshell is soft and will compress. I'veonly had them leak for that reason, noother time; and I SERIOUSLY overheated the electrolyzer just to see whatwould happen. The automatictemperature controls will prevent thatfrom happening.

Drill and tap shell

You'll drill and tap all the holes intothe shell after you assemble the ringsand plates into it and you have the endplates clamped on. You will get someplastic in the electrolyzer, but it isharmless if you have a liquid/vaporseparator.

Brown's Gas, Book 2 I www.eagle-research.com17

The key thing I want to mention here isthat you don't want to tap the threadstoo deep. Go about 2/3 the depth ofthe tap and then tap a little at a time 'tilyour fitting screws in hand tight toabout 2/3 it's threads (without sealingtape).

Seal your fitting threads with 'tapetype' Teflon thread sealant. I havefound NO paste sealants that arecompatible with hydroxide in anelectrolysis situation.

If you want to use another kind ofsealant; DON'T just assumecompatibility. TEST by putting thesealant on plates of an open (operate inwell ventilated area) 'short-cell' andactually running an electrolysis test, ifANY foam occurs it is incompatible.The tiniest contamination can cause theWHOLE electrolyzer to foam becauseall the cells will become contaminated.

Do not tighten fittings more than 1/2 totwo turns past hand tight in plastic. Ifyou tighten them too much you'llbreak the plastic, or cause a stress thatwill break the plastic later.

Mixing electrolyte

The initial filling of the electrolyzerinvolves mixing the electrolyte withwater and then pouring the mixtureinto the electrolyzer.

Mixing electrolyte correctly isEXTREMELY important.

Safety is absolutely critical. It isabsolutely critical to pour theelectrolyte into the water, slowly whilestirring the water.

Mixing electrolyte and water causesheat and if mixed too fast, theelectrolyte will explode.

This explosion is EXACTLY what willhappen if you pour water onto anelectrolyte (always pour electrolyteslowly into water). An explosion willsplatter caustic solution everywhere. Iassure you that this will cause you a'bit of inconvenience', like bum yourface right off your skull.

Electrolyte is mixed in 'ratios'byWEIGHT. So if you see a mixturesuch as '4:1'; this means four parts ofwater to one part electrolyte, byweight. For example; four poundswater to one pound electrolyte. Orfour Kilograms water to one kilogramwater.

A 4:1 mixture is a 20% solution;because in five total parts, we have onepart electrolyte. This is 20%electrolyte; actually quite lean aselectrolyte mixtures go. But you canmake the mixture quite a bit leaner andit will still work, you just have tospend more money on capacitors foryour voltage doubler.

Mix your electrolyte in containers thatwill allow you to easily stir the mixtureand then to pour into the electrolyzer.Pour electrolyte outside or in extremelywell ventilated area. Use safetyequipment previously described.

Do I need to say that the containersneed to be compatible with yourelectrolyte?

Fill electrolyzer with electrolyte

Once I've mixed the electrolyte; Iusually fill the electrolyzer through the1/2 inch 'gas out'hose, by siphongravity feed. This is for the initial fillup only, because I don't want anyelectrolyte in the bubbler tank (youdon't either). It helps to have theelectrolyzer on the floor and yourelectrolyte jug on a chair. Having theelectrolyte jug too high (like on atable) will fill the electrolyzer too fast.

Take care with spilled electrolyte; forexample don't use a chair that thecaustic solution will dissolve and cleanup any mess by first soaking it up on acotton cloth (which you can wash inthe clothes washer) and thenneutralizing the rest of the spill withvinegar, then finish wiping it up.

The electrolyzer should be tipped at it's45° filling position to fill all the cellswith electrolyte.

It helps to occasionally tip it furtherthan 45° during initial fill-up to assurethat all the cells get equal electrolyte.

You must leave valve 3 open for the airto exit the electrolyzer as theelectrolyte enters. I usually put a slightvacuum on the electrolyzer on thevalve 3, this starts the gravity feedsolution delivery.

Remember to fill slowly or you'll getliquid coming out the valve 3.

DO NOT suck on the hose with your(or anyone else's) mouth. If you getelectrolyte in your lungs or stomach, itwill eat you from the inside out,causing severe pain until you die.

I use a hand held vacuum pump, anelectric vacuum pump, the input for anair compressor, or (my favorite) theinlet for a 'shop'vacuum cleaner.

Tip the electrolyzer back to theoperating position every so often asyou fill it, to determine the liquid level.Each electrolyzer will take differentamounts of electrolyte solutiondepending on the internal volume ofthe shell.

Assuming that you have a shell with138 plates spaced at 3/8"; you'll find ageneral idea of the electrolyte volume(in US gallons) below:6" , 3.5 gallons8" 6.5 gallons

10" 11 gallons12" 16 gallons

An example of the general calculationto get the volume of electrolyte: Figureeach ring width, 3/8" (0.375") times138 rings equals 51.75 inches (forgetthe width of the plates in thiscalculation). In a twelve inchelectrolyzer, we have an inner diameterof the rings of about 10.25 inches. Sowe have an inner area of (((l0.25/2)squared) times 3.14) 82 square inches.We subtract the area that we do notwant filled (about 11 square inches) toget 71 square inches. We multiply 71square inches by 51.75 length to get


3674 cubic inches. A US gallon is 231cubic inches. So 3674/231= 15.9gallons.

Note that this calculation is even easierusing the metric system, but I'mwriting this book mostly for averageUnited States of America readers. Iapologize to the rest of the world forthe archaic measurements. I expectthat the USA will step into the modemworld someday. In the meantimeyou'll find this book a mish-mash ofboth systems.

Remember that as you operate theelectrolyzer, you want your liquid levelto be well below the top of the platefor two reasons:

First, there will be some risein the liquid level as the bubbles ofhydrogen and oxygen take up someroom; increasing volume and reducingdensity of the solution between theplates.

Second, there will always besome foam and you don't want thefoam to rise above the top of the platesor the foam will allow a portion of theelectricity to by-pass the plates.

It is better to have the electrolyzer fluidlevel a bit low than too high. Thedistance below the top of the plate Iusually recommend for each diameterof electrolyzer:

6" 1/2"8" 3/4"

10" 1"12" 1 1/4"

This is why I curve the liquid levelsight tube mounted on the end plate ofthe smaller electrolyzers. The liquidlevel would otherwise be covered bythe hose fittings.

DESIGNING ElECTROlYZERPOWER SUPPLIES

Power supply considerations

If we apply straight DC current to theelectrolyzer, we find the oxygen andhydrogen devolving to their di-atomicstate. We get NO Brown's Gas.

The electricity MUST be pulsed to anelectrolyzer to produce Brown's Gas;120 cps is sufficient to produceBrown's Gas, even 100 cps will work;so regular wall cycles will work.

The oxygen and hydrogen 'want'to bedi-atomic even though they have to'give up' energy (which shows up asheat) to reach that state.

Unfortunately it is fairly simple totrigger the di-atomic action and thereare many factors that can cause thetrigger to di-atomic. So our challengeis to prevent the oxygen and hydrogenfrom devolving from their high energymon-atomic state to their lower energydi-atomic state.

We are working on various ways toprevent di-atomic formation.

At this time we just use wall voltageand signals for our electrolyzers. Thepower supply designs just discussedare still in our future, but mentionedhere for those of you that areexperimenting.

The power supplies outlined in thisbook are simple and effective (theywill make commercial quality Brown'sGas).

Voltage measurements

You will need to understand themeaning of RMS voltage (no need tolearn the mathematics). RMS standsfor Root Mean Squared. RMS voltageis the 'calculated effective voltage'ofthe sine wave of your 60 cycle wallvoltage. Most AC voltmeters areautomatically tuned to give you aRMSvoltage reading.

You measure RMS voltage by puttingan RMS voltmeter across your twopower leads. This is the voltage thatyou use to figure the number of cells.

You also need to understand Peakvoltage. You can measure Peakvoltage by putting a full wave bridgerectifier across the AC wall power,putting a capacitor across the positiveand negative of the full wave bridge

rectifier and reading the DC voltageacross the positive and negative of thefull wave bridge rectifier (be sure toinstall the capacitor).

Peak voltage is used to size yourvarious electrical and electroniccomponents. For example, the diodesand capacitors in the power supplies.

Peak voltage also gives you anindication of the MAXIMUM numberof cells you can add in series in theseries-cell electrolyzer design. There isno advantage to going to an extremenumber of cells, because you'll end upwith almost no amperage.

Number of cells in series

Different plate spacing will affect thenumber of cells in your electrolyzer.This is important because the numberof cells is also affected by your powersupply option.

For more on actual calculations ofnumber ofplates, see appropriatepower supply option. 1) CapacitorAmperage Limiting; 2) VoltageDoubler and 3) Voltage Doubler withCapacitive limiting.

Frequency across the electrolyzer

The AC voltage is rising and falling atsixty times a second.

Rectification with a 'full wave'bridgerectifier (four diodes set in a square)will produce about twice the gas ofsingle diode rectification because weget 120 pulses per second from 60cycle sine wave.

Full wave rectification (120 pulses) canbe used with the Capacitive AmperageLimiting.

The Voltage Doubler power supplyoption allows 240 or more pulses persecond, because the bridge rectifierdoubles the original 60 cycle (to 120)and the capacitor 'legs'double the 120to 240 pulses per second (when thecapacitance of the voltage doubler iscorrect). This is my power supplyoption of choice at this time.

Brown's Gas, Book 2 / www.eagle-research.com19

Capacitive Limiting circuit for "short" series-cell BG electrolyzer.

Capacitive Limiting is also used if yousimply want to reduce the amperagethrough any electrolyzer at any time(even if you have a voltage doubler).For example, if you have a heatingproblem (and/or amperage runaway),you can limit the amperage throughyour electrolyzer.

You use capacitive amperage limitingif you have too few cells to use VoltageDoubler.

1. Capacitor amperage limiting

When an electrolyzer gets too warm,the warm electrolyte allows moreamperage flow and may cause toomuch amperage to flow. Too muchamperage could over-heat yourelectrolyzer and/or toss electrolyteright out of your e1ectrolyzer and/or'pop' your fuse or breaker.

Note that this is the 'basic'powersupply circuit for the e1ectrolyzer only,without all the controls that tum themain relay on and off. This is thecircuit starting from the output side ofthe main relay.

NOTE: these 'rules of thumb' aregenerated from extensive testing ofactual electrolyzers using differentnumbers of cells, types of electrolyte,electrolyte concentrations, powersupplies, etc. These 'rules of thumb'will get you into the 'ball park'andgive you an operational electrolyzer. Ican't guarantee any particularperformance. You will notice slightdifferences.

To find the number of cells for anelectrolyzer on DC, I use the rule ofthumb of:Volts per cell Plate Spacinl:

2.0 112 inch1.9 3/8 inch1.75 1/4 inch

If you are pulsating from a batterypack you would need to make a veryshort pulse width (for the spike)because of the square wave nature ofsuch pulses.

Positive output

Diodes rated at 2 times VRMS andat least 1.5 times ARMS.

Gas loss out the valve is bad becauseof inefficiency (you paid for theelectricity to make the gas and you arethrowing the gas away) but alsobecause it could cause wild pressurefluctuations in the pressure of the gasin the bubbler tank, which is likely tocause backfire from your torch.

DC power supply

Assuming that your electrolyzer canmake more gas than your torch needs(which MUST be the case), thispressure set-point switch prevents gasloss out the pressure relief valve.

If we apply straight DC current to thee1ectrolyzer, we find the oxygen andhydrogen always devolving to their diatomic state. And your electrolyzerwill heat up.

A pressure set-point switch(mechanical or electronic) on theelectrolyzer will operate a relay-switch(mechanical or electronic) to tum onand off the power to the electrolyzerwhen needed.

high to most efficiently make Brown'sGas. Then use a voltage doubler tobring the voltage (and thus theamperage) up to whatever I require.

It is possible to make Brown's Gasfrom a DC voltage source, such as abattery, but you must pulse the currentfrom the battery.

Pressure switch

Power from mainrelay. Example 240VACRMS.

Note, I've reached as high as 500 hertz(pulses per second) using this method.The capacitance is raised or lowered'til there is a 'resonance'effect.

Voltage threshold

Most of the time the AC voltage isbelow the 120 volts needed to push anycurrent across the 60 series-cell. Thebrief moments that the sine wave goesabove 120 volts, reaching about 170peak volts, is the only time amperageactually goes through the 60 seriescell.

The voltage 'threshold'can be raisedby adding more cells in series, whichwould further limit amperage throughthe electrolyzer. Or the 'voltagethreshold'can be lowered by usingfewer cells in series, which wouldcause more amperage to flowAmperage is then limited by thecapacitive limiting type powersupplies.

The amperage that can travel in a 60series-cell is limited by the 'voltagethreshold'potential of the cell. Afterthat threshold is reached, the amperagemore or less just shorts across theelectrolyzer.

Generally speaking I recommendkeeping the 'voltage threshold'fairly

~ " Nega'we output

Put extra capacitance in parallel with first capacitor; which isin series with the load on the AC POWER line. Fig. 6

With sodium hydroxide, at 1.8 voltsper cell, the amperage can barely flow;at 2.4 volts per cell, a lot of amperagecan flow.


Voltage Doubler circuit with Capacitive Limiting

Voltage Doubler circuit for extended series-cell BG electrolyzer.

Positive output

Capacitor Voltage rating =2 times VRMS (ex. 480V)

Capacitors will allow about1 amp flow for each 7.5 uFon each leg

Positive output

Capacitor Voltage rating =

2 times VRMS (ex. 480V)

With the 138 series-cell e1ectrolyzer onstraight line power, you'll note only alimited amperage 'til you start adding


Negative output

voltage'. For any given wall ACvoltage, you'll find that the actual'peak'voltage is about 40% higherthan the 'RMS'voltage that most ACvoltmeters read.

And the higher voltage (required by theelectrolyzer) cannot be reached untilthe voltage doubler kicks the voltageup (twice each half cycle or 240 Hz).

Also you'll find that you can limitamperage WITHOUT capacitiveamperage limiting. The high numberof series-cells automatically limits youramperage, because as your electrolyzerrequires more voltage to operate, NOamperage will flow 'til the highervoltage is reached.

Thus you can operate your 120 VACelectrolyzer at 220 VDC or your 220VAC electrolyzer at 290 VDC.



Power from mainrelay. Example240VAC RMS.


Fig. 7

When I am going to use a voltagedoubler as my electrolyzer powersupply, I usually figure the number ofcells at the rule of 1.75 volts per cell,figured on RMS voltage. Forexample; operating on 240 VAC, Iwould have 138 cells.

In this way you can actually take moreadvantage of something called 'Peak

O'----~r_____4IF-----..

Again, because this is important, youwill notice that a slight additionalvoltage rise across each cell allows amuch greater amperage current to flow.This is why the voltage doubler circuitincreases amperage.

The voltage doubler does an additionalthing, it increases the FREQUENCY ofpulses. With the voltage doubler youwill usually get at least 240 pulses persecond. In certain cases (combinationsof capacitors on the legs of the voltagedoubler) it is possible to get up to 500pulses per second using this circuitplugged into normal 60 cycle AC.

2. Voltage doubler

The voltage doubler circuit has severaladvantages that the over Capacitivelimiting.1. It uses very little additional

components.2. It increases the frequency of pulses.3. It allows you to add extra cells that

limit amperage, yet allows additionalamperage capacity to be added atwill.

4. It allows additional gas productionby increased number of cells at thesame DC amperage (AC amperageis increased, TANSTAAFL).

5. It allows an electrolyzer designed tooperate on a higher voltage tooperate on a lower voltage; forexample a 220 volt electrolyzer tooperate on 110 VAC source.

You use a voltage doubling circuit ifyou have too many cells for StraightCapacitive limiting.

Voltage Doubler doesn't actuallydouble the voltage; (it would if therewas no load), the voltage only rises alittle across each cell (to the thresholdvoltage) and the amperage can beraised quite a bit.

Note that this is the 'basic'powersupply circuit for the electrolyzer only,without all the controls that tum themain relay on and off. This is thecircuit starting from the output side ofthe main relay.

You can use Capacitive Limiting fromone cell to as many cells as you wantup to about line power VRMS. Theamperage will be limited to whateverwill 'pass' though the capacitor at thevoltage applied. For example; at 120VAC, 25 uF (microfarad) will passabout one amp; at 240 VAC, about 7uF will pass one amp.

You can use Capacitive Limiting withVoltage Doubler. But usually theCapacitive Limiting is simply added toa series-cell that has too few cells toqualify for any other power supplyoption.

Fig. 8

Brown's Gas, Book 2 / www.eagle-research.com 21

Negativeoutput

V DC Voltmeter

...- ....------4l,..- Positiveoutput

L..---------.--(A'm

Cf ~

~4t t Pressure shut-off

Electronic shut-offMain shut-off

Fig. 9

Main Power circuit

N--------- ..P-----------+< ~

,...--,1

DC Ampmeter

side of your transformer that providesthe low voltage for the electronics,gauges, buzzer and relays.

You'll note that the DC voltmeter ismounted between the lines going intothe electrolyzer, you have to get thepolarity correct. Although I depict acapacitive limited, voltage doublerpower supply here, the voltmeter isinstalled in the same place on all thepower supplies.

You'll note that the DC ammeter is onthe line going into the electrolyzer; itdoesn't matter which one, just so youget the polarity correct. Although Idepict a capacitive limited, voltagedoubler power supply here, theammeter is installed in the same placeon all the power supplies.

o7812

Low voltagePower Supply

Fig. 10

There are any number of 'extras'thatcan be applied to this circuit, likeindicator lights and receptacles (120volt and 240 volt); but I left them outof this schematic because I'm trying tokeep it seriously simple. What you seewill work just great! The electronicshas status indicator lights and you cansee when the power is on (to the

We have the main power coming in onan ordinary 240 Volt cord, usingproperly rated receptacles, wire sizesand plugs. The 'P'is power or hot; the'N'is neutral, where you wire to whenyou want 120 VAC.

The points marked 'a'and 'b' are ~where you connect the primary

Note the three shut-off switches wiredin series, in series with the main relaycoil. This is so that if anyone of theswitches is open (off) then the mainrelay has no power and is off! ThePressure switch is normally closed,open on pressure rise (could be arelay). The Electronic switch is arelay that is normally open, heldclosed by the electronic circuit.The Main switch is normallyopen, closed only when you wantthe electrolyzer operational (thiscould be a relay too), I usuallyjust use an ordinary light switch.

Note that our electrolyzer draws about50 amps, so I use a main relay rated at90 amps. The relay is normally open,three pole, single throw. The relay hasa 120 volt coil to activate it.

Same as Voltage Doubler, only youhave capacitive limiting in series onthe input common with the center ofthe voltage doubler capacitors.

without all the controls that tum themain relay on and off. This is thecircuit starting from the output side ofthe main relay.

Main Power Circuit

3. Voltage Doubler with capacitivelimiting

Further Note: When a breaker 'trips', itwill not again hold as much amperageas before. After each 'trip'the actualamperage that the breaker will hold is abit less.

And the amperage will rise at one ampper 11 uF per leg with 240 VAC RMS.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 'There ain'tno such thing as a free lunch'. Whenyou increase the voltage using avoltage doubler, the 'extra power'comes from AMPERAGE from yourRMS source.

Note that this is the 'basic'powersupply circuit for the electrolyzer only,

When using a voltage doubler circuit,the amperage being drawn from thewall is about TWICE the amperageyou see across your electrolyzer. Youmust be sure your wall fuse or breakercan handle the amperage you will beadding. Remember that theMAXIMUM continuous operatingamperage of your breaker or fuse willbe only 80% of the 'rated'amperage.For example; a 20 amp breaker shouldhold 16 amps.

You'll note that the amperage will riseat the rate of one amp per 50 uF perleg with 120 VAC RMS.

capacitance to the 'legs'of yourvoltage doubler. As you addcapacitance on each leg of the voltagedoubler (equal on each leg):


electrolyzer) by looking at the volt andamp gauges.

UQUID LEVEL AND TEMPERATURECONTROLS

I designed electronic circuits to act assentinels, monitoring criticalparameters of the electrolyzer 'sperformance. The electrolyzer canwork quite adequately without thesecircuits but I don't recommend thatyou do so. I have these controls on my

Bubbler liquidlevel control

circuit

own electrolyzers, because I oftendon't pay enough attention to theoperation of the electrolyzer; myattention gets concentrated on the jobat hand.

The two most critical things to monitorare liquid level in the bubbler tank(backfire arrester) and the temperatureof the electrolyzer itself. You will havesight tube and a temperature gauge butthat is not enough, you must rememberto look at them. The electronics are afail safe for those people, includingme, who fail to ALWAYS check thebubbler liquid level and watch thee1ectrolyzer temperature.

The electronics are designed to be twostep. First, you'll get a warningbuzzer, then if the problem gets worse,the electronics will actually shut off theelectrolyzer and will not allow a restart

'til the electrolyzer either has wateradded or cools down.

I have designed a simple circuit thateven a novice can build. Novices havealready built my circuits using myinstructions. Don't be concerned ifyou don't know how to do it now; youCAN learn how. You can buy all ofthe electronics at your local RadioShack and the peripherals at localhardware and automotive stores.

J

LL~• D J

Fig. 11

I sincerely recommend that you buyGetting Started in Electronics byForrest M. Mims, III. I and manyothers have self-taught ourselveselectronics from this simple book.What the book will tell you is how toget 'in the ballpark'on simpleelectronic circuit design and tounderstand the electronic language.You will learn how to put electroniccomponents together to make circuitsdo what you want them to do.

Next, I recommend that you get the'data sheets'on any electroniccomponent (particularly the chips) thatyou buy, so you will understand theirworking parameters. Since (in thiscircuit) I use all electronics from RadioShack, they'll be able to make youcopies from their SemiconductorReference Guide. During this chapter,I will be assuming that you have thisinformation.

The electronics are arranged in threegroups to make it easier to understand.Power supply, electronic processing,and signaled mosfets.

1. The 12 VDC power supply

The low voltage, 12 VDC powersupply is for the electronics, the buzzerand the relay. It could also be for 12volt electric or electronic gauges if youuse them. The low voltage could alsobe used across a pressure switch to

power a relay instead ofthe pressure switch havingto take the full amperage(the amperage would thengo across the relay).

a) We have a transformerto step the voltage downfrom 120 VAC to 12.6VAC. The transformermust be rated about 50%above the actual amperageyou'll be using. You canget a good idea of theamperage by hooking upyour circuits to a 12 Voltbattery and measuring(with an ammeter) youramperage flow witheverything turned on.

b) Then we add a full wave bridgerectifier, which is just four diodesarranged in a square (note that the bandon the diode is the negative end, diodesare polarity sensitive). The full wavebridge rectifier turns the AC(alternating current) into DC (directcurrent) needed by the electronics.

c) Then we add an electrolyticcapacitor, rated at least 35 VDC (50VDC is better) and 1000 uF (uF ismicro-Farad) for each amp that willflow through the transformer; in thiscase about 1,000 uFo The capacitorallows voltage to be 'stored'in thecircuit, which smoothes out the pulsesthat would otherwise occur direct froma full wave bridge rectifier.

d) Then we add a 7812 (in a TO-220case) voltage regulator, for those partsof the circuit that the voltage must stayvery stable. You will want to put a


I made the sensors by drilling out a1/8" brass pipe nipple (the kind withhex flats that you can hold with a 7/16"open end wrench) and inserting a #4stainless steel bolt through it. The #4bolt being held in the center of thenipple by special epoxy 'JB Weld'or'Lock-tite Weld.' The #4 bolt stickingout both ends by about 3/8." On oneend I tapered the epoxy to a point overthe #4 bolt and on the other end I keptthe threads clear of epoxy so that Icould thread on nuts to hold theelectrical terminals. I made spacers tohold the #4 bolt in place 'til the epoxydried and then I filed the epoxy off theend that I had covered as I tapered theepoxy onto it. Finally, after tighteningthe sensor in place (using a bit ofTeflon tape to seal it), I put a couple ofplastic washers on the #4 bolt toprevent my terminal end from shortingbetween the #4 bolt and the brassnipple.

When the water covers the sensor tip,the positive voltage is 'grounded'(which means no voltage) and this tellsthe electronics that you have enoughwater. When the water DOES NOTcover the sensor tips, the positivevoltage rises in the wire to the sensorand the electronics 'knows'that youdon't have enough water.

c) The temperature sensor is a'thermistor'; which is a fancy name fora sensor that changes it's electricalresistance as it's temperature changes.

The bubbler tank ground wire can beclamped onto the outside of the sensor.I fasten mine onto the bottom supportbolt.

We use two sensors in the bubbler tankso that we can sense the liquid level attwo points (Which requires two opamps). The highest point being awarning buzzer and the lowest pointbeing where the electronics actuallyshuts off the power to the electrolyzer.

the electronics and positive voltage(from the electronics) going to thesensors.

Fig. 12

The op-amps circuits also have'testing'switches and circuitmonitoring LED's (Light EmittingDiodes) that should be mounted onyour main control panel. This willallow you to test the circuitry forfunction at any time; also the LED'sgive a constant status report andindicate what the problem is, should analarm go off or the electrolyzer shutdown.

The op-amps each have a special'balancing'circuit between theinverting and non-inverting inputs (andpositive) that allows maximumreliability and sensitivity, but do makethe circuit look more complicated thanit really is.

The op-amps each have two inputs;called an inverting and a non-invertinginput. When used as a voltagecomparitor, if the non-inverting input(indicated by a '+') is of greatervoltage than the inverting input(indicated as a'- ') then the output of the op-amp ishigh (on to nearly full chip voltage). Ifthe inverting input is of higher voltagethan the non-inverting, then the opamp output is low (off to ground stateor negative). So we only need toprovide a reference voltage to theappropriate input and make sensorsthat vary the voltage to the other inputand 'Poof'; we have an electronicmonitor that can 'make decisions.'

•

•

b) Two of the inputs for the liquid levelpart of the circuit are sensors locatedon the bubbler tank. The bubbler tankitself being grounded to the negative of


Or you could use one 324 chip, (hasfour op-amps on one chip). Using onechip saves board space and slightlysimplifies the circuit. I show the two1458 chips in my schematic herebecause that's the way I actually builtmy first circuit, so I know it will workfor you. My next circuit will use a 324chip.

We use the op-amp 'voltagecomparitors'to provide a 'snap action'tum on or tum off signal to ourmosfets (which are electronicswitches). The op-amps allow us tomonitor a voltage, compare it to a setvoltage and when the monitoredvoltage reaches a certain level (veryprecise) to send a full voltageswitching signal to the appropriatemosfet. The op-amps, as I have themwired here, can monitor a voltage witha very tiny amount of electric currentand can sense a difference of 2millivolts.

a) We use op-amps (operationalamplifiers) wired as voltagecomparitors. In this case, we use two1458 op-amp chips (two op-amps onone chip).

heat sink (special piece of aluminummade to radiate away excess heat) onthis regulator, to keep it's temperaturestable or the circuit will go out ofcalibrated adjustment. Also rememberto calibrate it after it has warmed up,minimum of 1/2 hour.

2) Second circuit group; liquid leveland temperature processing

{ Electrolyzer

S Temperature

{.

. controlcircuit

f-------'" ',.I:~~'"~~-_-411....:........-41....:.~-11i ~ !: ~-'=:I·:~~~_-_-'~-:-'-""""'" !.,.. g,een~ r 4YeIlO~~t '~---:'-bl

IL-...---t-----~!....-.------~~-...--,.

you don't want huge amp flowing).What matters is the ratio of theresistors.

The sensor I got was a 'TS1Tat mylocal automotive supply store, CarQuest. It had 289 ohms at 61°F (store

Have the (normally open, close ontemperature rise, snap action, with lessthan 5°F temp difference off to on,

NOTE: you can use adjustabletemperature switches to signal thebuzzer and e1ectrolyzer shut-down.There are a lot of suppliers of suchswitches, just look in the ThomasRegister of Manufacturers located inmost city libraries.

It is possible to buy thermistors with1/8" NPT threads, 10,000 ohm at 75°F,and long wire leads, check out theThomas Register of Manufacturers.You can even make a thermistor usinga pipe plug and the Radio Shack 10 K@ 70°F thermistor.

Note that there is a slight thermal lag,the temperature inside the thermistor isnot the same as the temperature outsideif the outside temperature changessuddenly.

The reason we want to know theresistance of the thermistor as thetemperature changes is so that we canfigure the resistance value of thevoltage divider potentiometers. In thiscase we use 0-500 ohms. A voltagedivider potentiometer allows us toquickly and accurately set anyreference voltage we wish whencalibrating our circuit (more aboutcalibration later).

As I said before, the circuit actuallyworks better if your thermistor is10,000 ohms at room temperature, inthat case you'd use a 10,000 ohm(lOK) potentiometer. The reason thecircuit works better is because thethermistor resistance changes a lotmore ohms per degree F; making iteasier to be very exact with the circuittemperature calibration settings.

I turned off the electricity and allowedthe water to cool, getting thesereadings:

Temp. OF ohms AM time121 85 9:30114 99 9:38

91.5 156 10:2580 200 11:32

oM2

GD

<1

Fig. 13

Temp. of ohms AM time62.1 289 8:4279.0 205 8:4784.5 18990.0 168 8:5195.0 158 8.54100 134 8:58105 125 9:00110 109 9:05115 100 9:09120 90 9:16127 78 9:26

temperature). I tested the resistance byputting a thermometer in water withthe thermistor and an ohm-meter acrossthe thermistor. I heated the water withan electric heater (I used a solderingiron) and got the following readings:

The 'comparing'voltages of thevoltage dividers that the op-amps useare set and do not change. But thethermistor does change it's resistanceand thus the voltage between the tworesistors (a fixed one and thethermistor) does change and the opamp gets signaled.

The op-amps are signaled by very littleamperage, so you can use 10Kresistors and the op-amp will not 'load'the circuit.

oM1

GD

30

87

10,000 ohms, because it is easier tomake accurate temperature sensing; buteven 300 ohms will work with thiscircuit design.

The op-amps use the thermistor in a'voltage divider' arrangement, which isa very common electronic circuit.When you have a certain voltage, say12 volts and you want less voltage at acertain point, say 2 volts, then if youarrange two resistors in series betweenpositive and ground (negative), the first(closest to positive) being 10 K ohm,and the second (closer to the negative)being 2 K ohm. The voltage measuredbetween the middle of the two resistorsand ground will be 2 volts. It doesn'tmatter how large the value of theresisters are (that just matters because

shut-offrelay

You want a sensor that is a thermistorand not a switch; so take along yourohm-meter and measure the electricalresistance of the various samples thatthe parts person brings out to you. If itmeasures open (infinite ohms) orclosed (near zero ohms), then it is aswitch. If it measures over 300 ohmsresistance then it is a thermistor. It isbest to get a thermistor that is 1,000 or

A quick and easy way to get athermistor is to go to your localautomotive supply store and get a'temperature sensor.' You will have toconvince the parts person that you areNOT buying it for use in anautomobile, so you don't have a partnumber; and to please just bring out aselection, or allow you to look in thecatalog to choose some to test.


adjustable range from lOO°F to 160°F)temperature switches (one for warningand one for shut-off) allow positivevoltage to go directly from the fullwave bridge rectifier to the appropriatemosfets, through these switches.Testing buttons are redundant butyou'd still want the indicating LED's.

These temperature switches are moreexpensive but a bit simpler tounderstand for some people. If youuse temperature switches, you can usejust the 1458 (dual) op-amp that goesto the liquid level sensors, eliminatingthe 1458 op-amp and the circuitry thatwould have gone to the temperaturesensing part of the electronics.

3) The signaled mosfets, relay andbuzzer

a) the signaled switches are mosfets,short for Metal Oxide SemiconductorField Effect Transistor. Now that I'vescared you; please believe me thatthese little babies are really easy towork with, and super efficient. Youjust have to know a few things notusually told to novices on the street.

First, the mosfet is a diode andtherefore polarity sensitive, it will onlyallow electricity to flow through it onedirection without destroying it. So payattention to how I have the circuitwired. Think of it as a 'switch able'diode. It won't conduct any electricitywhen off, and will conduct only oneway when on.

The mosfet is signaled by voltage, notamperage. So a sourceOike an opamp) that can't put out muchamperage, but can put out a voltagesignal, can tum on a mosfet to it's fullpotential and allow several amps toflow through the mosfet. The mosfetneeds at least 10 volts to the gate tofully tum on, and more than 20 volts tothe gate will puncture the super thinoxide layer.

Warning: This means that the mosfetis extremely sensitive to staticelectricity, 'til it is soldered into acircuit. All the leads (gate, drain,source) of a mosfet should remain

shorted (with conductive foam) 'til justbefore the mosfet is inserted in thecircuit. Then, before taking the mosfetout of the conductive foam, ground thecircuit, the soldering iron, yourself andthe mosfet to ground (by touching aground). Then solder the mosfet inplace. Mosfets should be among thelast things soldered onto a board andit's still a good idea to ground thewires leading to a mosfet (with testclips) 'til the board is operational.

Mosfets come in N channel and Pchannel.N channel is the type we use, in a TO220 case. N channel mosfets musthave nothing between them and ground(negative). The source or'S' pin mustgo directly to ground. Thus we switchon the negative or 'low side'of theload; the positive voltage going first tothe load, then to the rnosfet and then toground.

We put a resistor on the wire leadingfrom the gate, to drain the gate whenthe voltage stops. In this case, we usea resistor of the value that would allowa proper amperage flow in theindicating LED.

When turned on, the Ml mosfet allowsthe electrical flow to the relay (whichis normally off, but the electronicsturns it on and holds it on 'til there's aproblem). I call this the 'electronic'shut-off relay; this relay allows theelectrical flow to the 120 VAC coil ofthe electrolyzer main relay.

When turned on, the M2 mosfet allowselectrical flow to activate the buzzer.

Both the liquid level circuits and thetemperature circuits can activate theMl and M2 mosfets.

b) The relay is a 30 amp 'auto'relaybought in Radio Shack, made by Boschand one of the best on the market.Radio Shack sells them at $5, which is$2 cheaper than I can get themwholesale.

c) The buzzer is sold by Radio Shack,nearly any buzzer will work but I

choose a loud Pizo because it doesn'tuse much power.

Assembly Hints

1. I use chip sockets when I build acircuit like this, then I can insert thechips after the entire circuit is solderedonto the board. Also, if a chip goesbad, I can replace it quickly and easily.I've found I can do this for mosfetstoo.

2. All chips have numbered pins, thepin numbers go down one side and upthe other (as you can see in myschematic). The top of the chip isindicated by a little indention, and/orpin #1 is indicated by a small dot nextto it.

The chip socket will also have anindication on them (usually a notch onthe top edge) as to which way is up ortop, so you can wire it correctly andplace your chip in it correctly.Sometimes the only indication is a small dotby pin #1.

3. Remember that the chip pin numbersare reversed on the back side of theboard. This is a common cause offailure to get a circuit working; it waswired wrong.

4. I show the TO-220 case 7812voltage regulator and mosfets as frontview in my schematic, so you can putthe right wires to the right pins.

5. Soldering can be a bit of an art.use a 30 watt soldering iron with a finetip for circuit board work (bought atRadio Shack). You need to clean thetip (use a fine metal file) and to 'tin'the tip with a bit of solder before usingit to solder; do this as often as needed.Use thin, rosin core solder.

6. Be sure to heat both areas to besoldered and have just enough solderflow onto each of them to make a goodjoin. If you get too much solder, it canflow over to areas where you don'twant it, making connections with thewrong parts of the circuit. If thishappens, just re-melt the solder andtake it off with the soldering iron,


o

Liquid level and over-temperature circuitusing two 1458 "dual" op-amp chips.

Bubbler liquid

Circuit

R1<j ?~( I + l 1 8I I 2ffi7, R

Ri R3 r ~ ::! ~ tl

~IIs: ?~/"""""1-5 R2

1 gr~:n~ yel~~~ S1 1~ I • " j

~====~ I,----'

)f

1ground to

circuit

-!-ground to

circuit

Thermistermounted onElectrolyzer

Fig. 14

M2D

D3~green

o

1'~--;-------:--I 2V~--:----'-I 3

R3 -fL...:.4_...::;.I

ElectrolyzerTemperature

control circuit


shaking the soldering iron clean eachtime after sucking up some solder.

7. A 'cold'solder join is also acommon cause of circuit failure. Acold join is where the solder flowedaround a pin or onto a place, but didn'tactually join with that place (it looksgood but there is no connection).Solder flows too hot, so you shouldheat the area that you want to solderand then have the solder flow onto it.

8. You have to balance too cold withtoo hot. If you heat a place too hot, thesolder won't want to flow there. Alsotoo much heat will bum outcomponents. After soldering, I usuallyblow on a join to cool it quickly.You'll quickly learn the correcttechnique.

Circuit adjustments (tuning)

IMPORTANT: PS and P6 are thepotentiometers that you will use to setthe temperatures you want the warningbuzzer and the shut-off to occur.

During initial wiring of potentiometersPS and P6, you want to make sure thatyou wire the 'end'pins in the correctorder so that the final adjustmentrotation will match my instructions.The center or 'sweep'pin goes to thechip.

PS is the shut-off adjustment; you wantto wire this pot. so that when it turnedall the way to the left (counterclockwise) the pin that showsmaximum ohms goes to ground.

P6 is the buzzer adjustment; you wantto wire this pot. so that when it turnedall the way to the left (counterclockwise) the pin that showsmaximum ohms goes to ground.

The thermistor lowers it's resistance asit gets hotter, thus effectively loweringthe voltage being sensed by the opamps. So higher temperature is LESSresistance.

Wiring PS and P6 as above will causethe 'reference'voltage (and ohms) tolower as you tum the pot. right (clock-

wise). Lowering the reference voltageraises the temperature at which the opamp will signal the mosfet to tum on(or off).

'Balance' the op-amps

The potentiometers PI, P2, P3, and P4are 'balancing'potentiometers; theymake the op-amps very sensitive andprecise. It doesn't matter which of theend pins go to the chip inputs. Alwayswarm up the circuit for at least an hourbefore making sensitive adjustments.

To adjust PI; you ground the lowerliquid level sensor probe (if fullyinstalled, just add water to the bubblertank) and then adjust PI to the rightand/or left 'til the shut-off relay turnsoff; then carefully tum PI 'til the shutoff relay just turns ON. You want thiscircuit to be normally on whenenergized; lowering water level willtum it off.

To adjust P2; you ground the upperliquid level sensor probe (if fullyinstalled, just add water to the bubblertank) and then adjust P2 to the rightand/or left 'til the buzzer turns on; thencarefully tum P2 'til the buzzer justturns OFF. You want this circuit to benormally off when energized; loweringwater level will tum it on.

To adjust P3; you ground the wiregoing to the thermistor from R6 andadjust PS all the way to the right(clOCk-wise); this will bring the PSsweep pin to reference near zero ohmsto ground. Then adjust P3 to the rightand/or left 'til the shut-off relay turnsoff; then carefully tum P3 'til the shutoff relay just turns ON. You want thiscircuit to be normally on whenenergized; rising temperature will tumit off.

To adjust P4; ground the wire going tothe thermistor from R6 and adjust P6all the way to the right (clock-wise).This will bring the P6 sweep pin toreference near zero ohms to ground.Then adjust P4 to the right and/or left'til the buzzer turns on; then carefullytum P4 'til the buzzer just turns OFF.You want this circuit to be normally off

when energized. Rising temperaturewill tum it on.

Remove the ground from R6 (andliquid level probe grounds if you usedthem). Adjust PS and P6 all the wayleft (counter-clockwise).

Set the circuit temperature

As pointed out before, the circuit canbe adjusted to signal at any e1ectrolyzertemperature you desire.

To set the Buzzer or warning circuit;have the P6 adjusted all the way leftand operate the electrolyzer 'til itreaches the warning temperature (max.110°F), then tum the P6 right 'til thealarm comes on.

To operate the e1ectrolyzercontinuously, I put my torch outside (orrun a hose from the torch tip tooutside); then tum on the torch valveso that I'm demanding more gas thanthe electrolyzer can produce, then thepressure switch never shuts off theelectrolyzer. I don't bother to ignitethe gas.

To set the shut-off circuit; have the PSadjusted all the way left and operatethe electrolyzer 'til it reaches the shutoff temperature (max. 120°F), then tumthe PS right 'til the electrolyzer shutsoff. Note that the warning buzzer willbe buzzing all this time, wear ear plugsif it bothers you (it's supposed tobother you). It is important that thebuzzer be buzzing when the shut-offcircuit is set because of the way thetwo set-points share the samethermistor.

Circuit tests

You will see I've included green diodes(DI and D3) to indicate when thewater level and temperature levels areacceptable; these diodes are mountednext to 'momentary on' switches on thecontrol panel (Sl and S3). When youpush these test switches, theelectrolyzer should shut off, and theappropriate green diode should go out.If the electrolyzer shuts down whenyou are using the torch, and you don't


a7812 Liquid level and over-temperature

circuit using a 14 pin 324 "Quad"op-amp chip. Note that the chip is

depicted "split" to show the similarity tousing two 1458 chips.

-l-ground to

circuit

Thermistermounted onElectrolyzer

R6

R1

R4

81

14131-.,:----:..--:-..."........121--1;"---+-"'~

02~'"yellow otT

,..--";-.;--f1'v"'-~-+--;--12

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03 ~green ot

Bubbler liquidlevel control

circuit

ElectrolyzerTemperature

4 control circuit

R3 .9-~~/'-.~~ 5 -511 I· R3i --.. I .- R3 v ---T ~ ~ 1~1-"----~-'--:"""""""'R3

04 ~ ~!4yellow'tl' 83

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R1

R2

R5

aM1

R5

a

M2

Fig. 15

ground tocircuit


notice the lack of gas volume, youWILL get a backfire when the torchdrops to a low enough pressure.Backfires are nasty.

You will see I've included yellowdiodes (D2 and D4) to indicate whenthe water level and temperature levelsare getting close to shut-off; thesediodes are mounted next to'momentary on'switches on thecontrol panel (S2 and S4). When youpush these test switches, thee1ectrolyzer should buzz, and theappropriate yeIlow diode should lightup. This warning allows you to shutoff the torch in a controlled manner,preventing a backfire.

Circuit component list

Note that I include notes for thosechanges to use a 324 chip. If you haveany questions about substitutecomponent values, get in touch withmyself or any other competentelectronics engineer. A resistancevariance of up to ten percent is allowedin these circuits, but whatever valueyou use, you should have all thatcategory of resistors match fairlyclosely.

Resistors:Rl= 33 K 2 XR2 = 100 K 2 XR3 = 220 K 12 XR4 = 10 K 2 XR5 = 470 ohm 2 XR6 = 13 K 1 X

Circuit-board-mountedpotentiometers 6 X

Be sure to mount so that you can adjustthe pots when the circuit is in operationbut once set, you don't want people tobe able to re-adjust them.PI, P2, P3, and P4 are 47 K, RadioShack # 271-283.P5 and P6 are fifteen turn, 10K, RadioShack # 271-343.

The value of P5, P6, R4 and R6 are alldependent on the value of thethermistor. The values given here arefor a thermistor that is 10 K (10,000ohms) at 70°F. P5 and P6 should about

equal or slightly exceed the value ofthe thermistor at 70°F; R4 should limitthe amp flow but not be so large as tomake it hard for the op-amp by leavinga tiny voltage drop across P5 and P6.R6 should be at least 1.3 times R4, 1.5times is OK.

My example using the 200 ohm(automotive) thermistor would use P5and P6 of about 200 ohm, R4 of about2.2 K and R6 of about 3 K.

2 of Yellow LED's, T-l 3/4 size, RadioShack # 276-021.

2 of Green LED's, T-l 3/4 size, RadioShack # 276-041.

1 of Pizo Buzzer, operating voltage 12VDC, internal frequency; Radio Shack# 273-60.

4 of Mini SPST 'momentary'pushbutton switches, Radio Shack # 2751547.

1 of thermistor, acquire as explainedbefore. Actually it is possible to makeone from a Radio Shack # 271-110;just mount it in a blank 1/8" NPT plug;make sure the thermistor is contactingthe actual metal and then fill in thehole with a non-conductive metalepoxy like JB weld or Lock-tite Weld.

2 of mosfets, TO-220 case style, IRF510, Radio Shack # 276-2072.

2 of 1458 dual op-amps, 8 pin dips,Radio Shack # 276-038. (Or a single324 Quad op-amp, Radio Shack # 2761711.)

2 of 8 pin chip bases (IC sockets),Radio Shack # 276-1995. (Or one 14pin socket for 324 chip, Radio Shack #276-1999).

2 of sensor probes for liquid level. Wehaven't found a part that will work yet;build your own as per the instructionsearlier in this chapter.

1 of 7812 voltage regulator, RadioShack # 276-1771.1 of TO-220 heat sink, Radio Shack #276-1363.

1 of 120 VAC to 12 VAC @ 1.2 ampstransformer, Radio Shack # 273-1505.

1 of 4 amp full wave bridge rectifier,400 PIV, Radio Shack # 276-1173.

1 of electrolytic capacitor, 1000 uF,working voltage at least 35 VDC,Radio Shack # 272-1032.

1 of 30 amp 'auto'relay, Radio Shack# 275-226.

Breadboard, Radio Shack # 276-168.If you're very good at circuit design,you can use a smaller board.

PCB stand-offs, Radio Shack # 276195.

Three colored rolls of stranded 22gauge wire, to use as connection wireand as wire to parts of the main circuitthat don't require much amperage flow.Radio Shack # 278-1307.

BUILDING A CONTROL BOX

The control box is more than just thebox (which I call the enclosure). Thecontrol box houses and includes all thegauges and controls (electrical andmechanical) for the electrolyzer. Theonly parts of the controls outside thebox will be some valves and sensors,which I will detail here too.

Ust of Components and Materials

Be particularly careful about choosingyour pressure gauge and pressureswitch (and pressure relief valve). Thematerials inside the gauge and switchmay not be compatible with yourelectrolyte. Check with yourmanufacturer. In general, it is best toget stainless steel. If there are rubberseals, get ones that are more to thenatural rubber.

Of particular importance is thataluminum is not compatible with anyof the electrolyte solutions that I've


Pressure Relief Valve

researched, including sodiumhydroxide. (see Resources)

The pressure relief valve needs to becompatible with sodium hydroxide; canbe stainless steel, copper or brass.

Below find a component list for thepower supply of a 1000 L/h, 8 inchelectrolyzer that has a CapacitiveLimited power supply. Theelectrolyzer is split into two 65 seriescells that are operated in parallel froma 50 amp, 240 volt wall receptacle.

Low voltage power supply; 120 to 12volt transformer/full wave bridgerectifier/capacitor (all set up as lowvoltage power supply). Needed if yourun any low voltage devices, like theAutomatic Electronic controls, variousrelays and/or 12 VDC temperature andpressure switches.

Electronic switching using transducersis an option I don't cover here.Personally I'm not yet satisfied thatthere is a transducer that will work inlong term with sodium hydroxide. Ifound that the sodium hydroxide packsinto the tiny orifice and the transducerstarts giving a false reading.

I show you how to build the sensorsyou'll need to signal the liquid levelcircuit. And I tell you how to selectand test a thermistor to signal thetemperature controls. See previouschapter.

Note: It is a good idea to have theelectronic circuit indicator lights (andtest switches) mounted so that they arevisible on the control panel, alongwith the appropriate test switches.You'll note that I show how to wire itthis way in the schematics.

Automatic Electronic Uquid Leveland Temperature Controls

Build according to the instructions inthis book. It is also possible topurchase such controls but you'll likelypay a lot for them.

Test all your low voltage devices on a12 VDC battery (measure the

. amperage with them all on at the sametime) and build your low voltagepower supply from Radio Shack parts.Get a transformer rated just above youramperage requirements; size the fullwave bridge rectifier to handle at leasttwice the amperage of your transformerand size the capacitor (can beelectrolytic) for 1,000 micro-farads peramp, working voltage rated to at least35 Volts.

Further Note: a simple electronicswitching circuit can make your mainpressure switch contacts last for manydecades. Simply use the switchcontacts to signal a mosfet that wouldallow current to flow to the relay coil,which would tum on the power to themain power relay coil. In this caseyour switch contacts only have tohandle a couple milli-amps at very lowvoltage.

Note: You could use the main pressureswitch to signal a 12 volt relay (30amp lighting relay bought in RadioShack) the relay then being the switchthat actually cuts off the power to themain relay coil. This arrangementwould allow your pressure switchcontacts to last a very long time,because they'd only have to handle theamperage of the relay coil. And whenthe relay wears out, it's easy andinexpensive to replace (much easierthan replacing the main pressureswitch, and less expensive too).

You want the switch to be able tohandle at least five amps (inductive) at120 VAC. It helps if the switch israted to handle explosions (I've foundsome that are) but this shouldn't be toomuch of a problem as you take yourpressure reading on the electrolyzerside of the bubbler.

Pressure Switch

You want the switch to be normallyclosed (on) and to tum off (open) asthe pressure rises.

The pressure switch should switch onand off with a maximum of 5 psipressure difference (a switch set to tumoff at 70 psig will tum on again at 65psig).

Seals can be natural rubber or Teflon.The seals must positively seal against200 psig (don't buy components thatwill be used at their maximum ratings).Set valve to relieve at 90 psig. Put inhoses that route any released pressureout of your shop. Hydrogen dissipatesin air very quickly.

QuantityComponent

We've found this type of electrolyzerdesign to be the most consistentlyefficient (for several reasons) and it isinherently prevented from run-away bythe capacitors. We will bedemonstrating this electrolyzer designat the 1997 Tesla Symposium.

• Diodes, 80 amp/ 500 VDC 4x• Heat Sinks 4x• Pressure Switch Ix• Pressure Gauge Ix·110 VAC on/off switch Ix• Indicator Lights 2x• 90 amp Main Relay Ix·50 mf/330 VAC Capacitors 20x• 50 amp Range Cord Ix• Short Terminal Strip 2x• Long Terminal Strip Ix• Box of Spades Ix• Spool of 14 gauge wire Ix• Box of 10/32 -1/2" bolts Ix• Box 1/4" ring terminals Ix• 50 ft. 8 Gauge wire Ix• Box of 1/4" bolts Ix• Plywood for Power Box Ix• Volt Gauge Ix• Amp Gauge Ix• Casters 4x

You can also pick up componentssurplus at the surplus suppliers listed inBrown's Gas. Book 1. Just rememberwhen buying surplus, it's buyerbeware. However, by buyingcomponents in this way, I andassociates of mine have built theseelectrolyzers at less than $500 USD.This doesn't include the torch itself.


Install gouges

The Pressure Gauge should readabout 100 psig, not too much lessbecause you don't want it to burst ifyou get a slight over-pressure; not toomuch more because you want to beable to read it easily.

Pressure gauge must be compatiblewith sodium hydroxide, hydrogen andoxygen. Several good ones can befound in the Cole-Parmer catalog.

You'll note that I mounted the pressureswitch and gauge hose connectionsabove the liquid-vapor separator. Thisis to help prevent liquid from reachingthe actual working components of thepressure switch and gauge. It is also agood idea to mount these componentsso that if any liquid does get in them,that it will drain out. The problem isthat all liquid in this system becomescontaminated with sodium hydroxideand eventually the sodium hydroxidecan form deposits that may interferewith the switch operation.

There are pressure' isolator' systemsthat you can install, to prevent switchesfrom becoming contaminated but Idon't think this is really needed inmost applications the components (ifcompatible and installed correctly) willgive decades of trouble free service.

Be sure to mount the pressure gauge insuch a way that the fittings are easilyreached for assembly, dis-assembly andtesting.

Temperature gauge: optional butrecommended. Should read from OaFto 212°F; although a range from 70°Fto 140°F is all that is needed for mostuse. A good electronic one can befound in the JC Whitney catalog.see Resources Also there are variouselectrical and mechanical temperaturegauges that you can use. Whateverstyle you choose, make sure thesending unit is compatible with sodiumhydroxide and can be effectively sealedagainst the pressure in the electrolyzer.

DC Amp meter: recommended butoptional and handy to see exactly how

much amperage is actually goingacross your electrolyzer.

If you're going to put one in, get agood one, either electronic (expensive)or analog (not too bad). If analog, getone that reads a wide sweep (so youcan see detail), full sweep just overyour maximum amperage. I have oneon my electrolyzer.

AC Amp meter: optional, to see howmuch amperage you are actuallydrawing from the wall. I don't use oneon my electrolyzer.

DC Voltmeter: optional and handy tosee how much voltage you are usingacross your electrolyzer. Givesdiagnostic capabilities, high voltagewould indicate plates that are coatedwith gunk or perhaps low electrolytelevel or cold electrolyzer, etc. Again,digital is nice (and expensive) butanalog works great. I have one on myelectrolyzer.

AC Voltmeter; optional, to see howmuch volts you are actually drawingfrom the wall. I don't use one on myelectrolyzer. For power tests I have aspecial watt-meter into which I plugmy electrolyzers. I just use portable(clip or clamp on) amp and voltmeters. Mostly, for actual operation,I'm concerned with the amperage andvoltage across the electrolyzer itself.

On/off switch

I just use a standard 120 volt lightswitch. You also need to get theelectrical box that it goes into.Another option is to use a low voltageswitch that signals a relay; this optionallows you to have your entire controlpanel wired all low voltage, all theswitches would look similar.

Indicator lights

Two Indicator lights; 120 volt, can bedifferent colors. Allows operatingstatus confirmation of main switch onand main relay on, at a glance.Optional but recommended. Also, Irecommend that you have indicatorlights for status of the electronic liquid

level and temperature controls mountedright on the control panel where theyare easy to see (It's a good idea toplace the 'test'buttons there too, besidethe appropriate lights). Another optionis to use diodes for the indicator lights,simply add another high PIV diode andthe appropriate resister in series.

Full-wave bridge rectifier

Four heavy duty diodes; (rectifiers)rated at twice the voltage and abouttwice the amperage that yourelectrolyzer requires. Get heat sinksappropriate to the size of your diodesand the wattage they will have todissipate.

For example 30 amps at 0.5 voltagedrop is 15 watts, your diode only hasto dissipate about the same heat as a 15watt light bulb. Rectifiers and heatsinks are an area where you can savemoney buying from surplus sources.The surplus sources list all theparameters you need to know and youdon't have to worry about things likecompatibility with sodium hydroxide.

You'll be wiring these four diodes intoa 'full-wave bridge rectifier' as per theschematics shown elsewhere.

Arrange the heat sinks so that coolingair can flow freely through them.

Main relay

Get a mechanical one rated for a higheramperage than you'll be using. This'llhelp make it last longer. It is nice toget a three pole single throw (but a twopole single throw will work). Coiloperated by 120 VAC (even thoughthere is 240 VAC going through themain contacts to the high voltageelectrolyzer power supply). I like touse mechanical rather than electronicbecause I LIKE to hear when theelectrolyzer is operating (you'll hearthe contacts tum on and off and you'llhear the slight buzz of the main relaycoil when it is activated). Also,mechanical relays are rugged,dependable and it's less likely that oneof you will mess it up. My experiencewith electronic relays shows they can


be sensitive under certain conditions.

Note: some mechanical relay coils areexcessively loud, mostly because theyare loose and vibrate at the 60 cyclefrequency. I just used a 'hot glue'gunand glued my coil down; it workedgreat!

Terminal strips

I just made my own, using strips ofcopper 1/16 inch thick and 3/4 inchwide. I screwed the copper onto a stripof Teflon plastic (could use PVC orHDPE as well) 3/4 inch wide and 1/2inch deep. Then I drilled and tapped(10/24 thread) holes every 1/2 inch. Iuse these terminal strips to attach allthe capacitors to the main power cables(they work great). Make them longenough to handle all the capacitorsthat'll fit in your enclosure.

You can buy terminal strips in RadioShack, item # 274-670. For connectingall the capacitors to a #8 wire, you'llalso need a 'jumper terminal strip',Radio Shack # 274-650. The jumperterminal strip makes all the terminalson one side of the terminal stripcommon (connected together) with apiece of metal thick enough to handlethe high amperage. If you were to justrun a 14 gauge jumper wire from oneterminal to the next, the first 14 gaugejumper would have to handle all theamperage less the first capacitor and itwould bum up.

Again I note; it's wise to useconnectors or terminal strips foreverything, so that every componentcan be removed independently formaintenance, testing or service.

Duplex receptacle

I don't show a duplex receptacle in themain wiring schematic. It is optionalbut recommended. I can't tell you howmany times it's come in handy with myelectrolyzer. It's handy to have 120VAC right there. It's not a bad idea towire in a 240 volt outlet as well.

Hook main power inlet cord toenclosure box

Power Cord and plug: you'll get aproper sized cord and plug for theamperage you will be drawing. Don'tget one too small or you'll bum it up.Cords and plugs are amperage rated, soa hardware person will be able to helpyou get the right ones. On my ten inchelectrolyzer (30 amps DC, 48 ampsAC) I use a 50 amp power cord meantfor electric ranges. You may alreadyhave a heavy duty outlet rated for theamperage you will have and you'll justget a cord and plug for it. Rememberto rate your breaker about 30% higherthan your AC amps.

Power Receptacle: while this isn't acomponent for inside your enclosure,you'll need to plug in yourelectrolyzer, if you don't already havea receptacle, wiring one in is straightforward electrical work.

Just wire the receptacle to code in yourarea. Make sure your wires from yourbreaker box can handle the current youexpect to draw.

If you use an extension cord, makesure it is rated for the amperage andhas the proper ends. I recommendTeck (armor-covered) cable.

Enclosure box

The enclosure box will look differentfor every home built application,because most people will usecomponents that aren't the same.

To design your own enclosure, youfirst need to acquire all the componentsfor your control box and then 'lay themout'.

By measuring the components andfiguring out where you want them inrelationship to each other, you willdetermine the size and shape of yourenclosure box.

Certain things are obvious, like youwant your pressure gauge where youcan glance at it from anywhere you areusing the torch. It is no problem to add

more than one pressure gauge if youwant to see the pressure from differentangles.

As I mentioned before, it's helpful tohave the indicator lights (LED's) andtest switches for the automaticelectronic liquid level and temperatureswitches mounted on the control panelas well.

And you want your main onloff switchwhere it can be reached very easily.

I advise you to build your unit so thatyou have easy access to all of yourinterior components, and particularlythe components that need adjusting,like the pressure switch and theautomatic temperature controls.

I advise you to build, and particularlyto wire your control box so that youcan remove any component easily. Useof terminal blocks and ferrules isadvised, so each component can beremoved separately.

It really pays to take a little extra timeto plan how you'd remove eachcomponent. From the top, front, backor sides and have the appropriate doorsor fasteners so that you can remove thecovers easily. It may take a littlelonger to build it right, but you'll beproud of the result and appreciate theeffort you put in if you ever have totake it apart. In particular, you'llnotice if you didn't design it properly.

Install capacitors

Several power capacitors are neededfor capacitive limiting or voltagedoubler. You must rate the capacitorsat above the peak voltage you'll bedrawing from the wall. You are bestoff with oil filled capacitors. Note, thisis again a good item to look for in thesurplus area. Capacitors mostly eitherwork or they don't. Oil filledcapacitors tend to be 'self healing'.Just find enough capacitance to do thejob for you as per the informationgiven previously.

Note: At 4:1 electrolyte concentrationyou'll need a lot less capacitance than


DESIGNING AND BUILDING ABUBBLER

Note: the bubbler tank in the drawingis NOT to scale, pay attention to thesizes given on the drawing.

S.S. Tank as depicted 2x1 ft. 1/4" PVC Tubing 2xLittle Plastic Ball 2xOxy.lAct. Hoses IxTorch with tips Ix

This bubbler is designed for up to a1,500 liter per hour e1ectrolyzer. A4,000 liter per hour bubbler would beidentical height, and it would be 5.5"ID diameter, 3/16" walls, 3/8" downtube and 1/2" end plates.

Quantity

The bubbler tank must have a sighttube to allow visual monitoring ofliquid levels. The sight tube is meantto go between the 1/8" FPT hole 1 inchabove the diffuser plate and the 1/8"FPT hole 1 inch below the top of thebubbler.

Component

The bubbler tank has two liquid levelsensors in it. The highest to warn oflow liquid level by turning on a buzzer,and the lowest to actually shut off theelectrolyzer. The lowest is mounted 6"above the diffuser plate and in ourshop this is known as the 'Line OfDeath.' The upper sensor can beanywhere from 1/4" to I" above thelower sensor.

Note the sensor shroud. This can beany shape of stainless steel, welded tothe side of the bubbler, just so itencloses the liquid level sensors (mustbe at least 3/8" away from the tip ofthe sensors as they stick out into thebubbler). The sensor shroud doesn'thave to be sealed, in fact needs about(no more than) an 1/8" hole in thebottom and needs at least an 1/8" hole

This list is for an ER 1000 electrolyzer(which we will demonstrate at the 1997Tesla Symposium), having a bubblertank and a modifier tank. The valvesand fittings are listed in the'electrolyzer fitting'component list.

Gas pressure hose from liquid-vaporseparator

Use proper wire ties and strain reliefdevices. Route your wires so that theyare unlikely to be caught or snagged onanything (out of the way and neat).

Route the hose so that if any liquidgets into the line, the liquid will drainback to the liquid-vapor separator.Route the hose neatly but withoutsharp bends and without loops thatcollect liquid.

This hose will go to the pressure reliefvalve, pressure switch and the pressuregauge. Use the appropriate fittings,remembering that you may want toremove anyone of these devices forservice at some time.

You have to plan on how your wireswill be fastened onto your electrolyzersensors and how they will be routedinto your control box.

Some sensors already have a groundwire, some were meant to be groundedthrough their case to the metal inwhich they're screwed. But since thisdesign has a plastic shell, it does notallow grounding; for the ground onthese sensors, I just clamp the groundwire onto the sensor with a screwclamp.

When cutting length of wires, don't cuttoo short or too long, route the wiresneatly and together. Remember thatyou want to be able to get atcomponents to remove them. Usecable holders and wire ties to make theinstallation neat and to keep the wiresfrom rubbing against anything that willcut them.

Wires From Enclosure to Electrolyzer

all your control box componentstogether, even mounted them in theenclosure.

Generally speaking for AC, Black ispower, White is neutral, Red is usuallypower and Green is usually neutral.

For DC, Black is negative and Red ispositive, white, green, yellow etc. areused as 'in between' wires, color codedto make tracing circuits easy.

All wires should be color coded andthe color codes noted in your Brown'sGas book, for reference later. I do notrecommend that you use only one colorfor everything; you'll regret it if youdo. You can buy a nice wireassortment from JC Whitney.

All wire should be STRANDED,because this is a mobile application.Generally speaking you'll be buyingthree sizes.1. A heavy gauge for your main highvoltage/amperage circuit (exactly howheavy gauge depends on the amperageyou'll be drawing). I'm drawing up to50 amps AC for my ten inche1ectrolyzer. I'm using six gauge wire;I can get away with it because mywires are short but I really should beusing four gauge (the smaller thenumber, the thicker the wire).2. About 14 gauge for the main relaycontrol circuit, this will handle from 4to 6 amps.3. And 22 gauge for the electronics;these wires need only handle fractionsof an amp.

You'll determine the length of all thewires (and hoses) after you've brought

Use proper terminal ends for everywire, and where using ferrules, solderthe ends of the wires (individually)before twisting them together. Irecommend soldering the terminal endsonto the wires.

Wire control box

72:1. For example, at 4:1 my 126 cell,10 inch electrolyzer needs only 20 uFon each leg to get 28 DC amps from240 VAC; but using 72:1 I need 250 uFon each leg to get my 28 DC amps.Obviously the DC voltage is muchhigher across the electrolyzer with thethin (72:1) electrolyte.


in the top (the top can be completelyopen) . The reason for the shroud is toprovide a calm level of water aroundthe sensors. The main bubbler area isway too agitated for the sensors tooperate properly.

Note that I have a 3/8" bolt weldedonto the bottom of the bubbler. This is

to solidly mount the bubbler on aframe that will not tip over, EVER.

I mount my oxygen bottle right on myframe for my bubbler, because it needsto be right there and I don't want ittipping over either.

You can make up a second bubbler tomount on a cart with an oxygen bottle

if you want to move around your shop.This would keep the backfire distanceshort. You would need only one hosecoming from your main bubbler to theportable bubbler.

It is my sincerest recommendation thatunless you really know what you aredoing, to commission a professionalwelding shop to make your bubbler.

Threaded 1/4 MPT --.

Bubbler Tank for ER 1000www.eagle-research.com

Instead of drilling the diffuserplate by hand, it should bepossible to buy predrilled plate.

Fig. 16

1/S FPT

1/S FPT jJ6" abovediffuserplate

1/4" FPT

ea-- Sensorshroud

1/S" hole

Diffuser plate;16 gauge SS plate,with 3/32 holesabout every 1/4";fastened 1" above

bottom. +

3/S" SS Bolt incenter of plate

3/S" SS Plate

1/2" FPT

t---~'+Q1/S FPT --J

1" below topplate. Take carenot to tapthreads toodeep, tap so thatfitting goes infinger tight with1/2 it's threads.

1/S" SS Pipe4" diameter20" high

<I- 1/4" (nominal)SS Tubing20.5" long,extending0.25" belowdiffuser plate.

1/8 FPT1" abovediffuser

Brown's Gas, Book 2 1www.eagle-research.com 35

Don't mess around with this item, it isyour sole defense against anuncontrolled explosion.

The bubbler tank must be designed tobe strong enough to withstand anexplosion. The problem withdesigning a strong container is that if itis not strong enough, then the force ofexplosion when the container bursts ismuch greater than it would have beenif the container had burst easily; somake it extra strong, your life dependson it!

Note: the containers I've designed foryou here are already extra strong,stronger than the one I use in my ownshop. Making it even stronger is, inmy opinion, a waste of money; andyou'll quickly see how much moneythat is.

Generally speaking, gas enters thebubbler tank through the 3/8" tube(recommended) or the 114" hole in thebottom (not recommended, becausecontamination can drop down the 114"hole). The gas then rises through thediffuser plate and goes out of thebubbler through the 114" FPT hole inthe top. The 1/2 FPT hole is for fillingthe bubbler; this is where you mountvalve 1, which I recommend be a brassgate valve (I recommend all the valvesto be gate valves, they seal best).

I've also designed this bubbler tank todouble as a modifier tank. You candrain the modifier fluid through the114" FPT hole in the bottom. In thiscase you'll just plug the liquid levelsensor holes and depend on the sighttube. Most modifier fluids won'tconduct electricity, so the sensorwouldn't work.

OPERATING A BG ELECTROLYZER

Confirm ready to start

D All hoses & wires properlyconnected.

D Proper concentration and level ofelectrolyte in electrolyzer.

D Water in bubbler to start.

D Preliminary pressure switch setting,near zero.

D Adequate size of breaker on circuitwall receptacle.

D Torch hose connected to bubblertank, torch turned off.

D All valves turned off.D Have soapy solution ready to test

fittings. (Dish soap mixed in water,to make floating soap bubbles.)

D Plug in main power cord to wallreceptacle.

Initial start

D Tum on main breaker.D Tum on electrolyzer main power

switch.D Watch for gas or liquid leaks as gas

pressure builds to the low pressureyou've first set the pressure switchat.

Check for leaks

Check for and fix leaks beforeproceeding. Test for leaks with soapysolution, use paint brush. The soapmakes a film over anything you paint iton; thus gas leaks will make soapbubbles. If you see ANY bubbles,even very small ones, you have a gasleak. Note: the act of brushing thesoap on, will make some bubbles.Wait to see that new ones are beingmade by gas before assuming that youhave a leak. Do I have to tell youNOT to test for leaks with an openflame?

TIP: Unless you have a very bad leak,check all your fittings at the same timewhile under pressure. Then you cande-pressurize to fix all the leaks atonce.

You must de-pressurize before fixingleaks, be sure to vent the gas outdoors(using your torch).

Be sure to re-check ALL your fittingsafter fixing any leaks. And check themat full operating pressure for a coupleof days after final assembly.

Periodically check your fittings as youoperate the electrolyzer. A visualinspection of the pressure gauge after a

prolonged shut-off is usually enough tofind out if you have very small leaks(your pressure will drop).

set pressure swi1ch

Using a pressure switch allows you toset any pressure you desire and keepsthe electrolyzer fairly inexpensive,easily built, simple, safe and compact.

Adjust the pressure switch up a few psiat a time, 'til you reach your operatingpressure. I recommend 65-70 psi. Youwant a high enough pressure to helpprevent backfire, yet low enough to notstress the electrolyzer.

set and test the liquid level andtemperature circuits

Even though I list these circuits asoptional, I seriously recommend them.It is possible to operate the electrolyzersafely without these circuits, but theyoffer that slight degree of extra safetythat may save your hide. If it meansanything, I have these circuits mountedon my electrolyzer.

Ughting the torch

In the past it has been recommendedthat Brown's Gas electrolyzers bepurged of the contaminated gasses inthe electrolyzer. It was thought thatthe contaminated BG would beexplosive, and it is.

Actually, I've found a purge to be unneeded. I just tum the electrolyzer onand allow it to come up to pressure andthen light the torch normally. I'vefound that the gas bums fine regardlessif it is mon-atomic or di-atomic.

Besides, unless the gas is totally monatomic, it is EXPLOSIVE. As I'veexplained before, any di-atomic gaswill EXPLODE before it implodes.

Light the torch only with theelectrolyzer pressurized. I operatebetween 65-70 psi. This higherpressure allows me to operate withlarger torch tips. If you don't haveenough pressure, the gas will backfireto the bubbler with a loud BANG.


Light the torch as you would any othertorch. Tum on the BG a bit, not toolittle or you'll backfire (because thegas velocity out of the torch tip will beless than the velocity of the flame andthe flame will travel back into yourtorch. Don't open the valve too muchor the torch won't light because the gasvelocity is too high (it blows the flameout).

Note: the actual operating gas pressureat the torch tip is determined by yourvalve setting. It doesn't matter thatyou are feeding the torch with 70 psi, ifthe torch valve is mostly closed, theactual gas pressure at the torch tip ismuch less and you can vary the tippressure at will by adjusting the valve.

Turning the torch valve on enough sothat you can clearly hear the gas gentlyhissing is usually about right. You'llknow if it is too little because you'llhave a backfire. You'll know if it istoo much, because the torch will behard to light.

Light the torch with any ordinarymethod, match, lighter, striker, etc.You have to hold the striker quite closeto the torch tip or the torch won't light.

Note: It will be hard to light the torchwith a match, because the gas velocitywill tend to extinguish the mach beforethe torch lights. DO NOT tum downthe gas velocity too far or you'llbackfire.

You will quickly learn the things thatcause a backfire and learn to avoidthem. The backfire is loud and canmake you jumpy; and you'll have thechore of emptying the water out of thehose after every backfire.

Extinguish torch

The usual and quickest method is tosuddenly shut off the gas adjustmentvalve. If you shut it off too slow, youWILL get a backfire.

Another way to extinguish torches is toquickly open the torch adjustment untilthe flame is extinguished by the gasvelocity. Then shut off the gas flow.

All electrolyzers have some gasstorage, so are able to momentarilymaintain a higher gas volume; but thismust be done quickly or your pressurewill drop too far and you'll backfire.Note: this works only if yourelectrolyzer has enough pressure tocreate a gas velocity far exceeding theflame velocity.

You'll want to extinguish the flamewhenever you're not actually using it(it re-lights easily and cleanly). Notonly is this safer, but you use lesselectricity and water to get your jobdone. Further, the electrolyzers dotend to heat up as they are used; byextinguishing the flame, you give theelectrolyzer a chance to cool.

Shut off electrolyzer

It is my sincere recommendation thatyou shut otT your electrolyzerwhenever you are not using it. Bythis I mean shut off the main powerswitch. This will give you twoadvantages:

First, you'll be able to tell if you havea gas leak because the pressure in theelectrolyzer will drop overnight.

Second, you'll still have a shop in themorning. Imagine this; your pressureswitch fails and your electrolyzerbuilds pressure (doesn't shut off) 'tilthe electrolyzer tank bursts (say around300 psi), releasing a huge amount offlammable gas into your shop, somearc or flame in your shop ignites themixture and the resulting explosionlevels your shop and any nearbybuildings.

Even with a pressure relief valve youare not completely safe, running theelectrolyzer for extended periodscauses it to overheat, if yourtemperature controls fail (or you don'thave any); then your plasticelectrolyzer shell gets soft, causesleaks, puts flammable gas in your shopand it blows up.

Shut off your electrolyzer when not inuse. If it has no major leaks it'll holdit's pressure for days.

How to avoid backfire

Keep gas pressure up, too low ofelectrolyzer pressure can't maintain gasvelocity at speeds faster than thecombustion of the fuel.

Larger torch orifices require higherpressure to maintain the gas velocity athigher speeds than the combustionvelocity.

Do NOT allow the e1ectrolyzer to runout of water. If the e1ectrolyzer runsout of water, you'll lose gas pressureand you'll backfire.

Again: the electrolyzer systemMUST be high enough pressure tokeep the gas velocity at the nozzleabove the combustion velocity of theflame, or the system will backfire,causing implosion or explosion,depending on the characteristics of thegas at the time (usually explosion).Larger nozzles require higher pressuresto prevent backfire.

This is a very good point to bring up atthis time: If you had pure Brown'sGas (200% gas) then you'd only havean implosion. If you have anythingclose to di-atomic gas, then you'll havea BIG explosion. then an implosion.The END result of burning mon or diatomic hydrogen and oxygen is alwaysa vacuum, because the gas turns to aliquid (water). You'll always get avacuum in your bubbler tank,regardless if you had mon-atomic ordi-atomic gas.This is because the di-atomic gas mustfirst split into mon-atomic gas (whichis Brown's Gas) and this splitting(breaking of atomic bonds) causes anexplosion; then the newly split atomsrecombine directly into water, goingfrom a gas to a liquid just as Brown'sGas does (because at that point it ISBrown's Gas).Gas with mostly di-atomic explodesviolently (sounds like a 'bang'). Gaswith a lot of mon-atomic explodes toobut not as hard, because you're gettingan explosion and implosion at the sametime (sounds like a 'poo!').And Gas with mostly mon-atomicmostly just implodes, (making a


'ping'). So the QUALITY of the gas isvital; at least as far as avoidingexplosions.

What to do when you get a backfire

Before you change your underwear(due to spotting fore and aft), youSHUT OFFYOUR TORCH. Thenyou check to see if any damageoccurred to any part of the electrolyzer.

The shock wave will usually knockanything flying that is just laying onthe bubbler. My funnel gets knockedoff.

The electrolyzer should immediatelystart re-filling the bubbler containerwith gas stored in the electrolyzer, andthen building the pressure up fromthere.

Don't use your torch again 'til you'veverified no leaks and proper operationof the electrolyzer. Usually a quickvisual check while it rebuilds pressureand shuts itself off.

When you open the torch gasadjustment valve, you'll find copiousamounts of water in your torch hose.This is normal, due to the oxygen andhydrogen having converted to water inyour hose. And perhaps some waterthat got sucked up from your bubbler.

You must carefully drain the waterfrom your hose. Turning on the gasflow and slowly raising the hose alongit's length will get most of it. After themain draining, small drops will stilloccasionally come out your tip as youoperate the torch but they usuallywon't cause a problem.

Re-filling electrolyzer with water

Note that I have arranged this systemso that I can 'back-fill'the electrolyzerwith water from the bubbler tank. Thisis because the water in the bubbler tankeventualIy becomes contaminated withsodium hydroxide carried over fromthe electrolyzer with the gas. 'BackfilIing'alIows me to put most of thesodium hydroxide back into theelectrolyzer.

The procedure to put water into theelectrolyzer involves:

1. Pressurizing the entire system withgas (doesn't have to be high pressure),shut off the main power switch.2. Rotate the electrolyzer 45° (to alIowfree electrolyte flow between all thecells (through the gas space at the topof the plates).3. Open valve 3 a crack to reduce thepressure in the electrolyzer (alIow onlygas to escape, no liquid). You don'tneed to have total pressure loss; abouta 10 psi pressure difference betweenthe bubbler tank and the electrolyzer isplenty. I just vent this little bit of gasinto my shop, but if you want to betruly safe, you should vent this gasoutdoors.4. Open valve 2 to allow water to flowinto the electrolyzer from the bubblertank. The higher pressure in thebubbler tank (10 psi difference) willquickly fill the electrolyzer.5. When you think the electrolyzer hasenough water; close valve 2 and rotatethe electrolyzer back to it's operatingposition. Check the liquid level in theelectrolyzer to make sure you've addedenough and not too much.

If you've added too much (electrolyteis higher than recommended inprevious text) then you tum theelectrolyzer 45° again and drainelectrolyte out valve 4 (electrolyzermust be tipped or you'll only drain theend cell). Then the next time you needwater, you put this electrolyte back in;BUT you don't put it through thebubbler, you have to open the 'gas out'hose at the liquid-vapor separator andpour the water containing electrolyteDIRECTLY into the electrolyzer. It isnever a good idea to put electrolyte inyour bubbler, this will causecontaminated flame and foamingproblems.

Note: During assembly, be sure tomount the valve 3 so that theelectrolyzer gas output will be abovethe liquid level both during normaloperation and during refill. If yourliquid level output isn't high enough,then mount valve 3 elsewhere. Mine isactually mounted on the shell, but

we've put it in various places on theelectrolyzers we've built. Valve 3MUST be in a different spot than thegas outlet/water inlet.

Adding fresh water to the bubbler

A person could fill the Bubbler tankwith a pressurized water supply orpump (must also have a shut-off valveand/or check valve). This would be anautomatic water filling arrangementand could easily be done. I do NOTdo this on my own electrolyzer and donot recommend automatic filling of thebubbler (or the electrolyzer) on thesesmall electrolyzers. I WANT operatorsto occasionally look their electrolyzersover and water filling time is good forthat.

I am now designing electrolyzers thatwill put out an excess of 100,000 litersper hour (2,400,000 Liters/day). Thesewill have automatic water feedsystems. I've designed some nicesimple and effective ones. I can easilydesign electrolyzers for a million litersper hour. If you need such gasproduction, then contact me.

Personally I've found no problemshutting down to add water; I onlyhave to add water once every few days.Obviously, whenever you move somewater from the bubbler to theelectrolyzer, you need to refill thebubbler back to it's operating level.

Step 1 is back filling the electrolyzeras mentioned in previous text. Tipelectrolyzer 45°, reduce pressure inelectrolyzer by opening valve 3, openvalve 2 to move water from thebubbler to the electrolyzer, close valve3, tip electrolyzer back up-right, checkwater level.Step 2 is bleeding off the entire gaspressure in the bubbler and theelectrolyzer (vent torch to outside withelectrolyzer main switch shut off).Step 3 is filling the bubbler with afunnel (fill through valve 1). Don'tfill too much (you'll get water in yourtorch hose) or too little (a backfire maygo back through it).Step 4 is close valve 1 and tum on theelectrolyzer again. Allow the


electrolyzer to re-pressurize and you'reon!

NEVER operate the electrolyzer withless than six inches of water above thediffuser plate. Less than this and yourisk a backfire going back to yourelectrolyzer, blowing it up anddestroying your shop. We developedelectronics that help prevent you frommaking that mistake.

Visually check your liquid level often;DON'T depend on the electronics tosave your ass. If your check valveleaks (perhaps because of a bit offoreign matter stuck in the seal) thenyour bubbler fluid could drain intoyour electrolyzer. Then when youwent to start up again you'd beoperating an un-safe unit.

Draining the electrolyzer

You shouldn't have to totally drainyour electrolyzer very often, perhapsnever. Mostly if you've got dirtyplates from bad water, or you didn'tde-grease your plates well enough andyou're not getting the performancefrom your electrolyzer that you should.

Before totally draining the electrolyzer,reverse the polarity of the electricitygoing into the electrolyzer for aboutten minutes. This will knock theimpurities off the plates and into theelectrolyte solution, so they will drainout with the solution. If you reversethe current for too long, the impuritieswill travel over and stick to theopposite plate.

To drain the electrolyzer, I pressurize itwith compressed air through valve 4when the electrolyzer is turnedcompletely upside down, so that theelectrolyte can drain out the gas-outhose. I direct the gas-out hose intobuckets to gather the electrolyte.DON'T put too much air pressure intothe electrolyzer 2 to 5 psi is plenty.Have someone hold the hoses, becausethe pressurized electrolyte will comeout FAST. Take care not to have itsplash on you; use appropriate eye andskin protection, have vinegar or lemonjuice ready to neutralize spills.

Note: I put the electrolyzer on blockswhen I tum it over, so that the gas outfitting doesn't get knocked off and toallow the solution to flow without thehose being kinked.

Once the electrolyzer is drained, youcan completely dis-assemble it if youwish, just undo the end plates and itcomes right apart (again, use safetyequipment) examine the componentsand clean them further if needed.

Re-fill the electrolyzer with fresh (deionized or distilled) water andelectrolyte solution. Dispose of thecontaminated solution in anenvironmentally friendly manner. Thesodium hydroxide can be recovered.

Preventing foaming

If you've got a foaming problem, youlikely have incompatible materials inyour electrolyzer that are reacting withthe electrolyte. We had such problemsfor MONTHS.

We have found very few fitting threadsealants that are compatible withsodium hydroxide. I've found it NOThelpful to phone the manufacturer. Inmy experience, they'll feed youmisinformation. ('OH we're SUREthat it's compatible'. Yeah, right )

Take my recommendation and use onlyTeflon TAPE. If you feel you want touse liquid or paste sealant, you justhave to TEST IT in a small test cellbuilt in a mason jar. If you see anyfoam ATALL, it is incompatible andwill give you troubles. I've foundeven the oils in my skin to beincompatible; so I use rubber glovesafter I've degreased the plates.

EPDM end gaskets and o-rings aregood to seal the end plates and powerbolts. Teflon TAPE is good for fittings(TAPE, not paste).

Over-heating

All electrolyzers heat up because of thedi-atomic gas formation (seeBrown's Gas. Book 1). Brown's Gaselectrolyzers heat up less than 'normal'

electrolyzers but if they are not making200% gas (pure Brown's Gas) thenthey will have some heat to get rid of.

There are several ways of dealing withthe heating problem:

The first is to design the electrolyzer toproduce as much BG as possible, thusnot making the heat in the first place.We're trying this method as much aspossible.

The second way is to passively get ridof the heat, designing the electrolyzerso that it absorbs the heat from theelectrolyte and radiates the heat away.Also, a goodly amount of the heatleaves the electrolyzer as water vapor(steam) along with the BG.

The third way is to design an activecooling system, likely using a watercooling coil or a standard refrigerationsystem. I've designed such systemsfor the huge commercial applications,if you need a lot of gas on a continuousbasis, get in touch with me.

For this electrolyzer design, designedfor home shop experimental use; I'vemade the BG production reasonablyefficient, so not much heat is produced.Then I depend on a slight amount ofradiation (plastic is a pretty goodinsulator) and steam (going out withthe gas) to get rid of heat.

If you operate the electrolyzer forhours at it's full possible capacity, itWILL heat up enough to cause aproblem with the plastic. As theplastic gets warmer it loses it's abilityto hold pressure. With PVC the limitis 120°F. With CPVC the limit is160°F. This is why I recommendCPVC even though it is twice asexpensive and harder to get than PVC.

Still, my personal electrolyzer is PVCand I've only had a temperatureproblem when lover-drove it for hoursjust to see what would happen. I'vealso designed, installed and testedtemperature controls that buzz if theelectrolyzer is getting warm, and shutoff the power if the temperaturereaches 110°F.


Note: when you shut down theelectrolyzer, you'll note that thetemperature will rise a few moredegrees before it starts to cool off. Youcan cool off the electrolyzer quicker bydraining the pressurized gas out of it,then you take out the steam, whichcontains a lot of heat.

For normal operation you'll never haveto worry about a heating problem. Myelectrolyzer has never exceeded 90°Fduring normal cutting-weldingexperimenting.

BG ELECTROLVZER EFFICIENCYMEASUREMENTS ANDCALCULAnONS

Electrolyzer Theoretical GasProduction

Refer to Brown's Gas, Book 1. Notethat it is AMPERAGE (not voltage)that causes electrolysis to happen,

To calculate the theoretical maximumproduction of 2Hz:Oz per hour, use this

formula:((A/ 26.8) * 16.8) * C = Liters of2Hz:Oz

A = Actual DC amps flowing throughyour electrolyzer.26.8 = amps per hour (one Faraday).16.8 =molar volume (in liters) of diatomic hydrogen and oxygen gasproduced per Faraday.C = Number of cells in your series-cellelectrolyzer.

Example, if we have 10 amps flowingthrough a 60 cell electrolyzer. Ourformula looks like this: ((10/26.8) *16.8) * 60 = 376 Liters per hour of2Hz:Oz (ordinary di-atomic hydrogen

and oxygen).

Note: Theoretical maximum productionof 2Hz:Oz per Faraday is about 933

liters at Standard Pressure andTemperature. This means if weproduce more liters than that, we aredoing something that needs explaining.Scientists are having trouble explainingthis phenomenon,

Actual Gas Production

My standard volume measurementtechnique is to take a plastic 'gallon'(four liter) jug, fill the jug, measure theamount of water it holds completelyfull (please do all measurements inliters and grams if you can),

Refill the plastic jug with water andhold the jug upside down in a fivegallon bucket of water, Insert a hosefrom your electrolyzer into the gallonjug. As the gallon jug fills up with gas,water will be displaced (pushed out ofthe jug), measure the speed at whichwater is displaced with a stopwatch.For example; four liters (one of myjug-fuII) every 22 seconds (or one literin 5.5 seconds),

Be sure to hold the plastic jug so theliquid level inside and outside the jugremain about level, or yourmeasurement will not be as accurate.If the gas has to work against waterpressure, it will pressurize the gas andyou won't get as much measuredvolume as you actually produced atatmospheric pressure.

These kind of tests must be made withthe electrolyzer at constant pressure.When I test an electrolyzer underpressure; I tum it on and adjust mytorch 'til the pressure remains constantfor some time (which means I'mproducing as much gas as I'm allowingto escape), and then I test the volumeflow.

I've found this volume displacementmethod to be fast and accurate. Usinggas flow meters has not worked well;the slight amount of liquid thatcondenses on the hoses tends to makeflow meters inaccurate. Also, the gasis much lower density than air, causingthe calibration of 'baJl'type flowmeters to be inaccurate.

Figuring BG proportion of gas: GasEfficiency

Once a volume test has been made, asimple calculation will determine ifyou are making 'super-efficient'

Brown's Gas and if so, what is the'quality' rating of your Brown's Gas.

So let's do an actual calculation to seehow much Brown's Gas Mario LeBelland his brother Ray were making inVancouver, BC. Using the volumemeasuring technique described abovethey measured one liter every 22seconds using 3.5 amps at 128 voltscoming out of their 60 series-cellelectrolyzer (with capacitive powersupply).

Remember, voltage doesn't matter tothe actual electrolysis, only to theoverall wattage efficiency of themachine (discussed later).

Mario measured 3.5 amps going intohis 60 series-cell. Theoreticalmaximum production of 2H z:Oz is:

((3.5/26.8) * 16,8) * 60 = 131.64liters 2Hz:Oz.

They measured one liter every 22seconds. There are 3600 seconds in anhour, so they are making (3600/22)163.63 liters per hour of gas; which isgreater than 131.64 liters, so they weremaking 'super-efficient'Brown's Gas.131.64 liters / 163.63 liters shows thatthey were making about 80% 2H2:02and 20% Brown's Gas.

163.63/123.36 =1.24% 'quality' gas.This means 24% more gas than 2Hz:Ozcould possibly have given. Wetherefore assume (because we have noother explanation) that some of this gasis mon-atomic as per the explanation inBrown's Gas, Book 1.

Note: 26.8 amps per hour would make33,6 liters of mon-atomic Brown's Gas.This is what I call 200% 'quality'gas,because it is twice the volume of thedi-atomic gas. Pure Brown's Gaswould be 1866 liters per hour perliter of water.

Yull Brown leads people to believe thathis gas is 1866 liters of gas to one literof water, But it is NOT so; I'veactually tested a BN 1000E and foundthe electrolyzer produces what I call120% gas (at best). So the electrolyzerdesign in this book produces identical


or HIGHER quality of gas. Thisdesign is superior to the BN 1000E inevery way (see Details in Comparisonchapter).

The actual volume of mon-atomic todi-atomic is still somewhat unknownbecause we don't know if we haveexact ratio's of 2:1 Hand 0 or if thereis somewhat more 0 than H or viceversa. It could be (and actually seemsto be so) that the H is more likely toform Hz than the 0 to form 0z, so we

could have a ratio of H:O that is not2:1. Determination of the exactconstituents of the gas have not yetbeen done by us (May, 97).

Wattage Efficiency per Liter of BG

This is a vital ratio to know because itdetermines the amount of gas you getfor the electricity you put into theelectrolyzer.

I will first clarify a 'technical'pointthat sometimes confuses people. Itconfused me for some time. This is avital point that not only makes thissection clearer; but explains amisconception about Brown's Gas'atmospheric motor' that I will explainlater.

Watts are a measurement of power.Watts are volts times amps. W = V xAOne volt times one amp is one watt.Two volts times one amp is two watts.One volt times two amps is two watts.

If you measure work per time you getPOWER. Work and power are not thesame, this is a common misconception.

Work tells the total work done; forexample raising a one pound weightfrom the floor to a height of five feetwould be five foot-pounds of work; itdoesn't matter how long it took (itcould take a second or a year, eitherway the same work gets done).

A horsepower is a measurement ofpower, because it is defined as raisinga certain amount of weight in a certainamount of time (550 ft/lbs/sec). A

horsepower is equal to 745.7joules/sec.

Power can be defined as the 'rate-ofdoing-work'

If you measure the time it took to raisethe weight mentioned above, then youare measuring POWER, because poweris work over time.

If it took one second to raise theweight five feet then you have aPOWER of five foot-pounds persecond. If you divide 5 ft/lb/sec by550 ft/lb/sec, you get 0.009horsepower.

If it took you five seconds to raise thatone pound five feet, then you have aPOWER of one foot-pound per second.

You'll still end up doing five footpounds of work, it just takes five timeslonger because you are using only afifth of the power. We'll divide 1ft/lb/sec by 550 ft/lb/sec to get 0.0018horsepower. Just to check, 0.0018times 5 = 0.009; how about that?

Now back to WATTS. A watt is ameasurement of power (volts timesamps), because an amp is ameasurement of coulombs perSECOND; so we have work over timewhich is power.

A watt-second is a measurement ofwork!! Because we have work pertime divided by time; so time cancels,leaving only work.

A 'joule'is a watt-second. Thatmeans one watt for a duration of onesecond. So a joule is a measurement ofwork. I mention this now becausewe'll be back to it later.

Another measurement of work that wecommonly hear is the Kilowatt-hour(Kwh). A Kilowatt is a 'rate-of-work'of one thousand watts (volts timescoulomb/seconds). An hour is 3600seconds. So we have a power of 1,000watts continuously for 3600 seconds,which equals total work because theseconds (time factor) canceled in theequation.

By the way, you can see that aKilowatt-hour is 3,600,000 joules,because there are 3,600,000 wattseconds in a Kilowatt-hour. This isimportant for later.

We put electricity into the electrolyzeras Kilowatt-hours (Kwh). This is theactual WORK that you pay for asregistered by your utility's electricmeter. Now this is the confusing part.A large part of our technical societyhas accepted Kilowatt (power) andKilowatt-hour (work) as one and thesame; it's even stated so in somedictionaries.

For example, a Kilowatt is power,representing 1000 watts; this is a 'total'power figure; representing a certainnumber of electrons (coulombs)flowing at a certain pressure (volts) ina certain time (seconds). If we use 10amps at 100 volts, we have 1000 watts.If we use 100 amps at 10 volts, wehave 1000 watts.

A Kilowatt-hour is work, because wehave the work of 1000 watts dividedby the period of one hour, cancelingthe time. Example: 1000 coulombs persecond (amps) times 3600 seconds(time power applied) , times 1 volt,divided by 3600 seconds (time powerapplied).

Now for the part that confuses people.Kilowatt power can be 'accumulated'in a 'power' meter like is installed onmost homes. The meter is actually an'accumulated work' (total Kilowatthour) meter. It can be used to measurethe 'rate of work' (power), which ishow fast the meter wheel spins, (I usethese meters for this function all thetime). BUT, the meter actually records'total accumulated work'in Kilowatthours (NOT Kilowatts). The 'power'meter mounted on most homes isactually used as an 'accumulated work'meter; thus the meter is misnamed andcauses confusion.

To make the situation a touch clearer:Imagine a home using a power of 5000watts per hour (5 Kwh) for four hours.The meter wheel has been spinningmadly, indicating a power (rate of


work) of 5 Kw, but because thehousehold used 5 Kw for four hoursthe 'accumulated work'done was 20Kilowatts and THAT is what isrecorded on those cute little dials.Note: if the house had used 20kilowatts for one hour, we still wouldhave seen 20 Kwh recorded on the'accumulated work'meter, but themeter wheel would have been spinningmuch faster, indicating a power of 20Kw.

Let's further assume that everyonewent to bed and the house is now usingonly 500 watts per hour (0.5 Kwh). Inten hours the meter would have'accumulated'the work of 5 Kwh(5000 watts), registered on it's littledials.

Now to clear up a final point. The'accumulated work'recorded by themeter is BASED on an hourly rate(because the gears are sized so that acertain number of turns of the wheelwill record one Kilowatt-hour. Howfast the meter turns indicates thepower or 'rate-of-work'.

Now on to e1ectrolyzer efficiency:

As we apply certain amount ofelectricity (watts) into the electrolyzerfor one hour; in one hour we would geta total of gas volume, which could bemeasured as liters per second (or cubicfeet per second).

If we are using in 48 amps DC at 220volts DC then we are using 10,560watts or 10.56 Kilowatts. If we keepthe electrolyzer turned on at that 'workrate'for one hour, then we've used10.56 Kilowatt-hours.

Now if we are producing 0.83 liter ofgas per second, then we are making3,000 liters per hour. If we divide10,560 (total watts for one hour) by3,000 (total liters for one hour) we get3.52 watt-hours per liter (WhIL).

Our example shows a totalWKITAGE EFFICIENCY of 3.52watt-hours per liter. Note that this is ameasurement of work; because we areincluding TIME as a factor in the

answer. To be meaningful, bothfactors (watts and liters) needed tohave a common TIME. Watts!hourand Literslhour.

This need to measure different factorsagainst a common time to getmeaningful data is why the 'joule'wasdefined. Any measurement of workcan be converted into joules. Forexample (you already know wattseconds) 1,980,000 foot-pound-secondsor 1 horsepower-hour is converted as2,684,000 joules.

As a matter of interest, the wattageefficiency of our first ten inchelectrolyzer Faraday gas efficiencydepends on the actual amperageflowing through the electrolyzer; which(126 cells and voltage doubler powersupply) is 28 DC amps at 270 voltsDC. «28/26.8) * 16.8) * 126 =2211.58 liters!hour total theoreticalelectrolyzer gas volume 2Hz:Oz.

Actual measured gas volume was3,000 Liters!hour, thus 3000/2211.58 =136% efficient. «28 amps * 170VDC) /3000 Llhr). (It's wattageefficiency is 2.52 WhlL).

Not bad; it beats the BN 1000E by16% in gas quality. The BN 1000E gotonly 120% while making 1837.35liters!hour when we bypassed thecontrols. Note: With the controls inplace the BN 1000E would onlyproduce 900 liters!hour at about 112%quality and wattage efficiency of 4.9WhIL.

OUR EXPERIMENTAL USE OFBROWN'S GAS

We haven't actually done muchexperimenting with the gas. And noexperimentation using a modifier tank.Our main purpose to date has been todesign and build a simple and efficientBG electrolyzer. But we haveperformed a few basic experiments.

Note: unless specifically specifiedotherwise, all the experimentsmentioned in this chapter are using theBrown's Gas in it's 'pure'form (about130%) and with no modifier.

Modifier Tank

I'll mention that it is fairly commonpractice when using oxy.!hydrogen touse what's called a 'modifier.' Amodifier tank is another bubbler tank,shaped like the first but having acombustible liquid (like benzene, alltypes of alcohol, gasoline, diesel,acetone, or any other flammable fluid)inside instead of water.

Note: Adding a modifier will changethe characteristics of the flame. Thefirst thing you'll notice is the clear(transparent) center cone of the pureBrown's Gas flame will tum white,like a normal oxy.lacet. flame. Withmost modifiers you'll also have to addadditional oxygen (from a bottle) to getthem to bum properly.

The modifier tank is identical to thebubbler tank, except you'll have totake care to use components (like theclear PVC tubing) that are compatiblewith the whatever modifier fluid youchoose.

The modifier tank mounts in seriesafter the water bubbler and before thetorch. You'll want to have a checkvalve and shutoff valve mounted inseries (not parallel) going into themodifier tank because you'll have tofill the modifier tank occasionally(with the modifier fluid) and removethe excess water that eventually buildsup in the modifier tank (from liquidcarry-over and water formed bybackfires) that displaces the modifierfluid.

Note that I have a 1/4" hole in thebottom of the 'bubbler' tank, to beused as a drain if you wish to changemodifier fluids.

You will also want a valve arrangementso you can bypass the modifier tankanytime, allowing you to use the 'pure'Brown's Gas. The pure BG willcertainly have different properties thanthe modified gas and it will be anadvantage to readily switch from oneto the other.


You might even want more modifiertanks, each with a different fluid, sothat you can switch between them atwill, changing the flame characteristicsas required.

It's also possible to use modifier tanksin series, thus putting the gas throughtwo or more modifiers, this couldfurther modify the flame.

Note: the level of the fluid in themodifier tank DOES make a differenceto how much the gas is modified.

It's also easy to put plain water in themodifier tank/s, simply to act asadditional backfire arresting bubblers.

MYTH, a backfire will blow up amodifier tank that has gasoline (orsome other modifier fluid) in it.FACT, a backfire to a modifier tank isextremely unlikely, because mostflammable vapors have a very narrowrange of flammability, mixed withoxygen, and the vapor mixtures in themodifier tank are far too rich to bum.FACT, in the unlikely event that abackfire does go to a modifier tank; (ahydrogen explosion is 16 times morepowerful than a gasoline explosion) atank designed to contain a hydrogenexplosion wiIl easily contain theexplosion of any flammable fluid thatyou are likely to find. OK, OK, notnitro, but anyone fooling around withthat kind of fluid won't be around toteIl me I was wrong.

We have not experimented much withmodifier fluids to date, but here's someinformation from the torches listed inBrown's Gas. Book 1. Note that I justlist the information, which issometimes contradictory; I haven'ttested it to find the truth.

Water bums at 5972°F (3300°C).Water bums at 6000°.

Alcohol makes a green flame, bumsaround 3000°F (l650°C); results inoxide free precious metal soldering.

Methanol makes a blue flame whichwiIl oxidize soldered work unless the

work is fluxed in the conventionalmanner prior to fluxing.

Methyl alcohol bums at 3992°F(2200°F).Methyl alcohol bums at 3500°.

M.E.K. bums at 3362°F (l850°C).

Acetone bums at 1300°F (705°C) andaIlows the repair of white metaljewelry.Acetone bums at 2192°F (l200°C).

A flux (borate) can be added tomodifier fluids to help preventoxidation of material being welded.

Welding glass

BG works great to weld glass and fuseit around various materials.

If the torch is directed directly uponcold glass, it shatters. I've found that Imust heat the glass from an edgeslowly with the torch at some distance'til the glass heats up; then I can directthe flame around on the glass toperform whatever welding or shaping Iwish.

If you do glasswork, you'll have to letthe glass cool very slowly, putting it inan oven or hot sand, or it will shatterdo to the stress of cooling unevenly.

Welding iron

I found the flame tended to oxidize theiron, cutting it instead of welding it. Itwas difficult to form a 'puddle'to weldwith. In short, my experiments withwelding iron have been un-successfulto date.

Note: I was able to weld iron usinggasoline as a modifier fluid.

Cutting cast Iron

Our BG cutting torch cuts cast ironclean and fast. It is my understandingthat cast iron is hard to cut with anoxy.facet. torch; though I have beenable to cut cast iron with an oxy.facet.torch.

Welding cast iron

A welding torch (#3 tip) was able tomake a nice puddle and easily weldedcast iron. I was just melting it togetherwith no flux of any kind. In fact Ididn't even clean the parts. I wouldhave made a nicer weld if I'd had somecast iron welding rod to feed into thepuddle. I then took the glowing castiron that I'd just welded and DUMPEDit into water (room temperature). ItDID NOT BREAK. After it hadcooled down, I broke it to look at theweld; it looked perfect!

I've also been able to weld cast ironwith an oxy.facet. torch, nearly aseasily as with the hydrogen torch.

Cutting iron

I hooked the BG to the red hose,normally the acetylene hose and Ihooked the oxygen hose to an aircompressor set at 30 psi. I was using a1-3 cutting tip. When the iron was hotenough to cut, I depressed the leverand shot compressed air onto themetal. The metal immediately cooled,did NOT cut. I suspect that there is toomuch nitrogen in the compressed air,preventing the oxidation by cooling theiron.

I hooked the BG to the red hose,normaIly the acetylene hose and Ihooked the oxygen hose to acompressed oxygen bottle, withregulator set at 20 psi. I was using a 13 cutting tip. When the iron was hotenough to cut, I depressed the leverand shot oxygen onto the metal. ITWORKED GREAT. The hydrogentorch cut thick iron smooth and clean.Further, when I missed my cut fromtraveling too fast, I was able to pick upthe cut right where I left off; theoxidation layer was absolutely noproblem for this torch. In fact, Idiscovered I could start a cut faster if Istarted it on the oxidation layer.

Remember, the flame itself is cold.The flame directed against a materialcauses that material to go to it'smelting temperature. Oxidized iron


has a lot higher melting temperaturethan non-oxidized iron.

I finally learned the trick of cuttingsteel with the hydrogen. Don't turn theflame up too high, or it blows itself outas you cut. Only cut as fast as thepuddle forms, this will assure that themetal is always ready to cut. Turnyour oxygen pressure up enough to cutright through the thickness of steel youare cutting. Use about the sameoxygen pressure as you'd use withoxy.facet.

Do NOT hold your cutting torch tooclose to the metal. If you hold yourtorch too close, you'll be touching themetal with the 'transparent'cones,which are vacuum and DO NOT heatthe steel. I've noticed that proficienttorch users have a hard time learningthis; to cut steel, you must keep yourtorch at LEAST 1/4 inch off the steel.I cut 1 inch thick steel cleanly (using atiny 1-3 tip) holding the torch nearly1/2 inch off the steel. I mean it when Isay this flame is 'laser-like.'

Watch to make sure the steel is cuttingright through, I've lots of times cut aslice in the steel only part way through;this effect could be used in certainapplications. Not cutting all the waythrough is an indication that you do nothave enough oxygen pressure.

Use the smallest torch tip you can getaway with, it seems to actually workbetter and your cuts will be very thin.This splashes a lot less steel onto yourboots and allows the cut to proceedfaster.

Welding Copper

The Brown's Gas easily weldedcopper, using plain copper rod. I justused the 'puddle'method. Coppersheds it's heat so quickly though thatyou need a fairly good sized flame, orinsulate the areas of the copper thatyou are not actually welding. Thesurface of the copper turns black(copper di-oxide) but otherwise seemsgreat!

I was able to weld copper withoxy.facet. too. Also get the copper dioxide.

Welding Aluminum

I have gotten good welds withaluminum, using the type of rod thathas the flux inside it. I need morepractice before I can describe a goodtechnique.

Brazing

I have had no troubles using brazing atany time. The Brown's Gas seems tobraze as well as oxy.facet.

Cost to operate compared tooxy.lacet.

The electrolyzer is extremelyeconomical to operate compared tooxy.facet. torches.

Here we are paying about four centsper Kilowatt Hour O.

Our 2500 Literlhour electrolyzer drawsabout 10. So in one hour would use10. Which is $0.40. At present, thiselectrolyzer uses about one liter perhour of water when producing gas at2500 liters per hour. I buy my water atabout $0.25 per Liter. Total cost perhour $0.65.

I bought my own little oxygen (50cubic feet) and acetylene (40 cubicfeet) bottles years ago. The deal is; Iexchange these bottles for full oneswhenever I need more gas, paying forthe gas but not paying rent on bottles.This arrangement has worked well.

It so happens that if I use my bottlesdown to dangerously low pressures, Ican get 2500 liters of volume out ofthem. So if I use gas at 2500 LIh, Ican get one hour of use. It costs me$52 to fill those bottles. So total costper hour is $52.

Thus MY cost to operate the hydrogentorch is nearly 99% less.

If I was paying $0.18 per; it would cost$2.05 per hour to operate (water

included). This would be 96% lessoperating cost.

At least in this respect, Yull Brownactually understates the advantages.He states that it costs seven times lessto operate the BG torch. Of course, itis possible that he could get hisoxy.facet. at much less cost than I pay.

But, when I'm actually cutting steel,I'm still using oxygen; but ONLYwhen I'm actually cutting. I use nooxygen to maintain my flame. Andremember, the oxy.lhydrogen cuts ironfaster than oxy.facet.

COMMENTS ON USING BG WITHINTERNAL COMBUSTIONENGINES

Jimmy Reed's experiments

Jimmy Reed in Texas has actuallyidled a Dodge 225 'slant six'engine at700 rpm on water as it's only fuel. Theexperiments lasted for fifteen to twentyminutes each and have been performedthree times to date; July 4, 1996.Jimmy brought the electrolyzer to the1996 Tesla Symposium and it Did Notrun his engine on water, though it didproduce more gas than it should have.We brought Jimmy and his electrolyzerup here (Canada) and with a month ofexperimentation were not able to get itto do anything special. All Jimmy'sexperiments to date (May, 97) have notresulted in running an engine on water.

But this spontaneous huge gasproduction with limited power didhappen, not only to Jimmy but in ourown (and others) research. So far noone we know has been able toduplicate it consistently.

Jimmy Reed's electrolyzer was a'short'cell design of 60 3.5 x 1 inchplates (30 neg. and 30 pos.), built intoa horizontal tube. The electrolyzerdrew 2.5 volts at 14 amps (35 watts)directly from the alternator. Jimmybypassed the alternator diodes andnormal vehicle battery circuit on one'phase'of the alternator.


The 225 ci engine is started ongasoline, (idling at 650 rpm) then thegasoline shut off and when the fuel inthe carburetor was exhausted and theengine would start to stumble, the BGwas turned on (the rpm would rise to700). The BG was controlled with avery small needle valve on the end of a1/4 inch hose. The 1/4 inch hose wasjust inserted into the top of thecarburetor along-side the choke plate.

The experiments were shut down eachtime when the electrolyzer pressurewould reach 50 psig. The electrolyzerhad no pressure relief valve or pressureshut-off switch; the only venting beingthough the needle valve feeding theengine. The electrolyzer actually wasproducing more gas than was beingvented through the needle valve(running the engine), thus theelectrolyzer internal pressure wouldrise, causing the experiment to beterminated; because he didn't want toburst his electrolyzer. There was noother reason to shut down the engine.

Note: he could not speed up his enginebecause his needle valve was severalfeet from the carburetor and hecouldn't open the throttle plate andmanipulate the needle valve at thesame time.

The results given in the firstparagraphs of this chapter wereobtained with electricity taken directlyfrom one of the altemator windings ofhis engine's regular alternator.

Jimmy Reed's 'experiment #8'did notperform as expected at the ColoradoSprings International TeslaSymposium. It did not produceenough gas to idle the enginecontinuously on water as the engine'sonly fuel. Jimmy described the actualeffects that he had done four times inTexas and from that I've concludedthat something fundamentally differentwas happening in Jimmy's #8 (seeHyper-Gas).

Actual examination and testing of #8(my testing in Sheraton Hotel parkinglot during the Tesla Symposium) did

show a few of anomalous results thatwere interesting.

First, during my first test (of two) the#8 actually COOLED DOWN duringoperation. This cooling effect was notmeasured with a thermometer, becausewe didn't have one handy; but thecoolness was easily determined byplacing a hand on the electrolyzer(which several people did during thethree hours of the test). The coolnesswas much more noticeable on theunderside of the electrolyzer than onthe topside, indicating that the actualelectrolyte fluid was doing the cooling,not the stored and pressurized gas.Further, the probes going into theelectrolyzer were quite warm, againindicating some kind of actualACTIVE cooling in progress (or theelectrolyzer would have heated upfrom that alone). A normalelectrolyzer would have gotten quitehot with the wattage we were puttingin over an hours time. This test tookplace inside the van, which was over85°F. Note: during this time we wereonly building pressure, we DID NOTremove any of the gas from theelectrolyzer; so all the energy wepumped into the electrolyzer was stillthere and should have made it hot.Second, the #8 seemed to becomemore efficient as the electrolyzerpressure increased; because thepressure of the electrolyzer increased atexactly 1 psi per minute regardless ofthe pressure already in the electrolyzer(operating at full wave rectification,14.5 amps at 2.4 volts). We noticedthat as we increased the engine rpm,the actual gas production went down.Frequency of pulses during full waverectification at about 650 rpm wereabout 800 hertz.Third, calculations showed that #8 wasproducing about 20 times more volumethan it should have; still well underwhat it would take to idle the enginebut very significant anyway.

According to Jimmy's explanation ofthe effect he was getting in Texas,somewhere between 30 and 40 psig heexpected the pressure gauge tosuddenly start rising 'like the secondhand on a watch.' This is an

'impossible'effect, because theamperage into the electrolyzer is fixed.I do not deny that it happened toJimmy; actually it just confirms reportsI've gotten from other sources. Whatwe need to do is find out how to do iton a consistent basis, because this isthe effect that allows an engine to runefficiently on water. Also, this seemsto be a different gas than Brown's Gas.Brown's Gas is really consistent in it'snature, and never produces megaquantities of gas with minimum (andfixed) electrical input. Also Brown'sGas, while more powerful than2Hz:Oz, doesn't seem to be as

powerful as this 'new' gas. As a result,I'm calling this new gas 'Hyper-Gas.'

We actually ran Jimmy's Dodge 225 ciengine on the gas that we stored up inthe #8 electrolyzer. It took about onehour (idling the engine to use theengine's alternator to produce the gas)to store 60 psi worth of gas in the #8electrolyzer. The stored gas ran theengine for 'about'45 seconds. I wasoperating the needle valve to allow theBG into the engine. I found that justcracking open the needle valve at 60psi was plenty to operate the engine at650 rpm.

As the electrolyzer pressure dropped Ineeded to open the needle valve fartherto maintain the engine's rpm at 650Gust as one would expect). During onetest (the first) I kept feeding in toomuch BG and killing the engine by'flooding'it (too much gas). Duringthat test we repeatedly started theengine using BG (no gasoline).

At no time during any of the tests didwe notice a knock, backfire ordetonation in the engine; the engine ransmoothly on BG when the mixture wascorrect; the engine stumbled and diedwhen the mixture was too rich or lean,just as it would have on gasoline. Atall times while I was testing it,Jimmy's #8 showed typical Brown'sGas behavior.

I tried to keep track of the pressuredrop as the engine was running onBrown's Gas in the Sheraton Hotelparking lot. When the electrolyzer


pressure was high (over 40 psi) wedropped 6 psi in 23 seconds, as thepressure dropped, the rate of dropincreased; so that when the pressurewas low (under 10 psi) we dropped 6psi in 9 seconds. This was for theengine running on Brown's Gas.

To operate on Hyper-Gas, theelectrolyzer would have had to produceabout 60 times the gas AT THE SAMEWXfTAGE; to keep the pressure up inthe electrolyzer as the gas was beingbled off to run the engine. This HASBEEN DONE, not only by Jimmy butby another inventor whom I may notdisclose at this time (due to a promise Imade to him). I have not personallyduplicated this effect.

Further details of Jimmy Reed's workwill be detailed in future publications.

Calculations to run an engine on BG

For electrolyzer efficiency testingmethods and calculations, see theappropriate chapter in this book.

We now have enough experimentalevidence to put some mathematicalfigures on some of the results. Thesecalculations will also point out howmuch more evidence needs to beacquired.

First, let's see how much 2Hz:Oz(normal electrolyzer hydrogen/oxygen) would be required to operate aDodge 225 engine at 650 rpm. It isgiven that normal Hz requires a

minimum of 4% in air by volumebefore it is a combustible mixture. A225 cubic inch engine will pump«225/2) x 650 rpm x .8 volumetriceff.) = 58,500 cubic inches of air perminute or 3,510,000 cubic inches perhour or 2032.29 cubic feet. 2032.29cubic feet times 0.02832 =57.55 cubic

meters/hr. 57.55 x 0.04 = 2.302 m 3 or2303 liters of H 2 to operate the engine

for one hour at 650 rpm at the leanestpossible combustible ratio.

18 grams of water makes 11.2 liters ofHz. To make 2302 liters of Hz, we

need to electrolyze 3699.64 grams or3.7 kilograms of water in an hour.

A Faraday will electrolyze 18 grams ofwater in one hour. A Faraday is 26.8amps for one hour. 3700 grams/18grams = 205.55 Faradays required tomake 2303 liters of Hz. 205.55

Faradays/hour x 26.8ampslFaraday/hour = 5508.74 ampscontinuously for one hour. At 2.1volts, this would be 11,568.35watt/hour (or 15.5 hp/hr). Noautomobile alternator could make thatkind of wattage continuously. Inaddition, the 'load'of 15.5 horsepowerwould require more hydrogen in theengine than the bare minimum I'vedone in this calculation. Thus I say, itis not possible to operate an engine on2Hz:0z, when the engine's alternator is

making the Hz to operate the engine.

However, we (the researchcooperative) have two situations whereWE HAVE operated an engine on theelectrolyzed gas made from waterwhere the engine was making enoughgas to operate itself; thus effectivelyoperating on water as it's only fuel.Just remember that we haven't beenable to consistently do it.

The first method is with Brown's Gas.There are several reasons why Brown'sGas can operate an internal combustionengine only on water:

First, Brown's Gas takes up twice thevolume of 2Hz:Oz (because it is H &

0, see Brown's Gas, Book 1), thus lessthan half the electricity is required tomake a combustible mixture.

Second, Brown's Gas has a hugeadvantage over 2Hz:Oz; Brown's Gas

doesn't need energy to break anyatomic bonds before it can recombine(combustion) with other materials.Because of this BG doesn't require a'self-propagation'temperature and thatmeans less BG is required to make acombustible mixture (particularly in acompressed gas situation).

Third, Brown's Gas is also a higherenergy gas than 2Hz:0z, (442.4 Kcal

per gram-mole compared to 57.85 Kcalper gram-mole for Hz) this means that

a leaner mixture will still explode withan acceptable force.

Fourth, Brown's Gas WILL explode atleaner mixtures than 2Hz:Oz. We don't

how much leaner yet.

Fifth, Brown's Gas also explodes fasterthan 2Hz:Oz; this means little in open

air where the energy of velocity ismostly wasted, but in a closedcombustion chamber it means we cantake advantage of the Kinetic Energyequation, KE = one half Mass timesVelocity squared. A faster flame givesmore energy by the SQUARE of theincreased velocity.

All this means is that it is possible bytheory to operate an engine on BG.We know we can in practice too,because we've done it, but it is alwayscomforting to be able to prove we canwith numbers too.

A specific example comes back toJimmy Reed's experiment #8. Wewere using 14.5 amps at 2.4 volts atthe time in a 'short-cell'type ofelectrolyzer. In one hour we shouldhave made 17.038 liters of BG.Ordinary Hz would require 0.639 liters

per second (using previouscalculations); and at 17 liters of Hz the

engine would run for 26 seconds,leanest possible conditions. Note that14.5 amps for one hour would onlyhave made 5.61 liters of Hz (ignoring

volume of 0z).

We ran the 225 ci engine (twice) forabout 45 seconds on the BG weaccumulated for one hour.We were making actual Brown's Gasbut I don't know the actual percentageof BG to ordinary 2Hz:Oz because we

didn't make volume measurements.

However, it doesn't stretch theimagination too far to see that if we'dused another alternator on the engine,set up to operate at 120 volts (modifyregulator); we would have been able topower a 60 cell series-cell electrolyzerat 14.5 amps and produce the gas


needed to operate that engine. I realizethat the alternator would put a load onthe engine, requiring a richer mixtureof BG/air but I think it would work!And in fact, this is exactly what ReedHuish's experiment proved can work!

The second method that we've actuallyused to operate an engine on water isHyper-Gas. Hyper-Gas is so new Ihave very little clue as to it'scharacteristics. It is proven that lessthan 40 watts of power from theordinary engine's alternator can causethis Hyper-Gas effect. The Hyper-Gasis not Brown's Gas; it is a much higherenergy gas. Hyper-Gas is somehowmade in an electrolyzer at much greatervolume than any existing theory Iknow of can explain or account for.do not know any more at this time.

Hyper-Gas

To produce Hyper-Gas, my favoritetheory at the moment involves'ionization.' I think the Hyper-Gas isionized 0 and H, it doesn't matter (asfar as I can tell) which way the gas ischarged, just so it all has the samecharge. Like particles repel, so thesame gas will want to take up a muchgreater area and/or make pressurefaster if in an enclosed container. Ithink ionization negative will givedifferent flame and explosion resultsthan ionization positive.

A second theory is 'harmonics.' It'sbeen postulated that specificfrequencies will split water withminimal input of power. I haven't(yet) been able to verify this in apractical way.

I've known for a long time that weMUST get the gas away from theplates as quickly as possible to preventit from becoming 2H z:Oz, due to extra

electron activity. It may be that Jimmylucked onto the exact conditionsneeded to achieve a harmonicresonance in his electrolyzer thatactually vibrated the plates themselves.The vibration knocking the bubbles offthe plates while they were still just Hand 0 in their very highest energystate.

Timothy Trapp, from Anchorage,Alaska has just joined our BG researchteam. He mentions that iron resonatesat about 400 Hz, so the stainless steelplates (that contain a lot of iron) couldhave been resonating. Timothy issomewhat of an expert on electricalmaterials resonance, so we will beasking for more information from himin that area. Timothy has built a'square'series-cell BG electrolyzer outof clear PVC, having mitered groovesfor the plates and gluing the wholearrangement together with MasterBond epoxy. He has achieved thecontinuous operation of a torch with a22 gauge tip at 25 psi, using 8 amps at120V. He deliberately caused animplosion in his bubbler container tosee if he was getting BG, it implodedwith a 'poof'. He then verified thevacuum by sticking the hose into waterand having water suck up into thebubbler container. I pointed out to himthat a 'ping' indicates a highpercentage of BG, a 'poof' indicatesthat there was a slight explosion beforethe implosion indicating a lowerpercentage of BG. Timothy will makesome volume measurements todetermine the efficiency of hiselectrolyzer.

Conclusion

When operating a series-cell with anordinary automotive alternator, it ismuch simpler for the alternator (to bemodified) to produce 120 volts at highfrequency and 10 amps than it is toproduce 100 amps at 12 volts. Ampscause an alternator to heat, and 100amps causes a lot of heat. Jimmy Reedwas using the 'short'cell design; Irecommend using the series-cell designbecause it is easier to modify analternator to produce a higher voltagethan to produce a higher amperage(simply increase the rpm whilemaintaining amperage through therotor windings).

Modem auto alternators are amperagelimited by the cooling capacity of thealternator (and the stator windingdesign) but can actually increase theirvoltage quite high, at the sameamperage as ever; thus we can increase

the wattage of the alternator withoutincreasing its heat. Amps make heat,not volts. Actually, the work involvedseems to heat the alternator anyway.

Jimmy has a good idea to add anadditional alternator to his engine toact as the electrical supply for the BGgenerators. He intends to have threeBG generators; hooking one up to eachphase of the alternator. Myrecommendation is to use the seriescell design for each of the BGgenerators and to make an externalregulator to cause the BG alternator togo to at least 120 VAC. The electricalinsulation in most alternators willhandle at least 600 VAC.

You are perhaps aware that there aredevices already on the market that willconvert an alternator to operate 120volt hand tools (usually Universalwound motors and resistive loads).This type of circuit is what I'd try touse to power the BG Generators fromthe BG alternator. An excellent sourcefor this type of circuit is AlternatorSecrets, by Lindsay Publications Inc.,PO Box 12, Bradley, IL, 60915.

Note: Never operate an alternator withthe output wire open (not connected toa battery or load) or the internalvoltage could rise high enough to shortout the alternator windings.

For those of you who are poweringstationary power units that alreadyhave a 120 VAC alternator attached,you simply hook up your BGGenerators to that.

For those of you that wish to apply theBG generator design depicted in thisreport to a gasoline engine (not dieselyet, we are using spark plugs to igniteflame), DO use the bubbler.

Remember that this is an experimentaldesign. Automatic water filling andmobile application designs are not yetfinalized and depend on the resultsobtained from this design.


OVER-UNITY HEAT

Everyone is looking for over-unityusing Brown's Gas. I haven't yetconfirmed any over-unity (more energyout than put in) from Brown's Gasdirectly. I have some ideas but haven'ttested them.

However, as noted in Brown's Gas. Book1, we found (by error) a possible overunity heating method by building anelectrolyzer that DID NOT makeBrown's Gas, or much 2Hz:Oz either.

Instead it made STEAM (boiledwater). And the apparatus heatedwater MUCH faster than an electricresistance heater (totally submerged)could; using the same electricity (volts,amps and watts).

BROWN'S GAS CAPABIUTIES

Actual BG characteristics

Brown's Gas is an exact mixture oftwo hydrogen and one oxygen in theiratomic molecular form, written 2H:0.I often call this mon-atomic todifferentiate from 'normal'hydrogenand oxygen gas in their di-atomicform, written as 2Hzz:Oz. Atomic (or

mon-atomic) Hand 0 gas isCOMPLETELY DIFFERENT fromdi-atomic Hz and Oz.

It is very important for experimentersto realize that Brown's Gas hasproperties and operating characteristicscompletely different from 'ordinary' diatomic hydrogen and oxygen mixtures.I cannot express the DIFFERENCEenough times, because it is a commonmistake for people looking at Brown'sGas to use 'ordinary'hydrogenformulas and logic to interpret Brown'sGas properties and characteristics.Using 'ordinary' di-atomic calculationswill give the wrong answers for thismon-atomic gas.

Brown's Gas, 2H:0 is COMPLETELYDIFFERENT than 2Hz:Oz mixtures.

Some of the DEMONSTRABLEproperties and characteristics ofBrown's Gas cannot be explained with'accepted' Physics and Chemistry.

Please DO NOT use ordinary di-atomiclogic for Brown's Gas; such logiccould get you hurt.

The first Brown's Gas characteristicthat astonishes anyone familiar with diatomic hydrogen and oxygen isBrown's Gas IMPLOSIVE nature;when bumed in it's pure mixture,Brown's Gas forms a VACUUM ofhigh purity. Of course a diatomicmixture will make a vacuum too, butthere'll be an explosion and then animplosion. Brown's Gas has onlyimplosion.

NOTE: Di-atomic hydrogen andoxygen will also cause an implosion,AFTER they explode. First the breaktheir atomic bonds (which we see as anexplosion) and become atomic gas(like BG). Then they tum into water,which we see as an implosion. Soexploding normal 2Hz:Oz in a sealed

container WILL cause a vacuum toform in that container.

This effect makes some people thinkthey have Brown's Gas when in factthey do not. You do not have pureBrown's Gas unless there is NOexplosion, which you would hear as aslight 'ping'. If you hear a 'poof' youhave mostly Brown's Gas and if youhear a 'bang'you have little or noBrown's Gas. With 130% gas we stillhear a bang.

NOTE: Our (Eagle-Research)e1ectrolyzers put out a mixture of diatomic (100%) and atomic (200%).The more atomic portion in the gasvolume, the less hard the explosion, 'tilat 200% we have only implosion.

Because of the implosive characteristicof the Brown's Gas flame (even with asubstantial component of 2Hz:Oz) the

actual welding takes place in avacuum. Anyone who has welded witha TIG or MIG welder knows howimportant an inert (oxygen free) gasenvironment can be to a weld.Welding in a vacuum is considerablybetter, but previously requiredequipment beyond the means of theaverage shop. Welding in a vacuum isnow possible for everyone.

Second, Brown's Gas flametemperature changes when it is appliedto various materials. The Brown's gasflame is about 27soF (13S0C) in openair. Without any torch adjustment,applying the flame to aluminum causesthe aluminum to heat to 129soF(702°C). Applied to brick, thetemperature reaches 3, lOO°F (1704°C).

Applied to tungsten, the temperature isover 10,200°F; the tungsten melts andthen vaporizes. NOTE the tungsten isNOT sublimating, as Yull Brown says.Sublimation is conversion directlyfrom solid to gas. The tungsten firstmelts (goes liquid) THEN boils (turnsto gas). You can verify this yourself byputting on a welding helmet andobserving the effect of the BG flameon a tungsten rod, you'll see the rodactually melting; NOT turning directlyfrom a solid to a gas. Use a weldinghelmet with a dark glass because thelight generated is very bright. By theway, an oxy.facet. torch will melt andboil tungsten just about as fast as thehydrogen torch!

Third, Brown's Gas torch flame isextremely directional. The Brown'sGas flame bums through a block ofwood or a ceramic fire brick 'like alaser' (I've done this). This shouldallow precision welds, but I haven'twelded anything yet. I've tried but mywelds don't stick. It could just be mytechnique.

Brown's Gas is supposed to allow(when combined with the vacuumcharacteristic) the two materials beingwelded to actually be differenttemperatures. Thus, the heat requiredto melt steel is less likely to vaporizethe copper being bonded to it. Ihaven't succeeded in weldingdissimilar metals together, but am stillexploring the possibilities.

Fourth, Brown's Gas can cut materialsthat ordinary torches couldn't touch,like iron oxide, because the Brown'sGas flame instantly causes the materialto raise IT'S OWN temperature 'til it issufficient to melt or bum itself.


Fifth, Brown's Gas can cause changesin the molecular structure of somematerials. For example, melting a chipof ordinary fire brick creates a stonewith a hardness of 9.5; almost as hardas diamond (I haven't repeated thisexperiment yet). Brown's Gas can beused to glaze surfaces (I have donethis).

Yull Brown says that Brown's Gas thatis not in a perfect ratio of 2H:0becomes EXPLOSIVE! This includespure mixtures of Hand 0, mixtures ofHand 0 that have a bit ofcontaminating gas in them (like theaddition of a bit of air), and mixturesof air that have a bit of Hand 0 inthem. Personally, I haven't made ANYmixture which I'd call purelyimplosive, (though I've gotten close,the 'poof' stage) including the mixturesthat came directly out of a BN 1000E.

I say again, it is my experience that airbecomes highly explosive when Hando are introduced as a fraction of onepercent by weight. Experimentalverification of just how lean themixtures can be has not yet been done.But demonstrable experiments showextremely lean mixtures will explode ifcompressed about 8:1 (We've run agasoline engine on BG).

Misconceptions of Brown's Gas

I will now make some comments onmisconceptions being spread aboutBrown's Gas.

I wish to present to the world accurateinformation. It has come to myattention that Yull Brown ismisrepresenting his own gas. He hasbeen spreading misinformation fordecades, which is fully documentedand easily proven wrong. Don't getme wrong, I have the greatest respectfor Yull Brown's work anddevelopments. Personally I think Mr.Brown has done his technology a greatdis-service, by not explaining fullyabout the technology and also bytelling people things that are just nottrue.

I have offered to Yull Brown, theoption of getting a book written aboutBrown's Gas, by Yull Brown, with mytechnical and writing assistance; so farhe has refused. His patents have nowrun out and it is up to people like us tobring the truth to light. And to get thistechnology out into general use. Thisis a technology that is needed NOW!

People, including Yull Brown, persistin using 2Hz:Ozcalculations to

determine the performance of Brown'sGas. While you can get away with thisin most cases because the gas is notusually pure enough to demonstrate thedifference (even from Yull Brown'sown electrolyzers). It must be pointedout that Brown's Gas in it's pure formis significantly different, requiringsome new thought and calculations.

I agree that Brown's Gas is a viableoption to apply to a self-sufficienthome, BUT not in the ways that areusually presented. I will explain:

I agree that BG can be made to workwithout what I would call majormodifications, replacing normalhydrogen and petro-gasses. BUTdefinitely not as usually outlined.

The biggest problem I've seen with BG'home-use'outlines is the lack ofunderstanding of the concept of apractical power system. First, why useBrown's Gas at all, for 'home-use'?Brown's Gas REQUIRES a hugeamount of electricity to make. Ifyou've got the electricity to makeBrown's Gas, just use the electricitydirectly to power your homeappliances.

Or use your excess electricity to pumpwater up into a storage container (usinga conventional pump) to recover with aturbine later. Why bother with theexpense, maintenance and danger of anexplosive gas?

The second largest 'home poweroutline'problem I've seen is theassumption that you can somehow getmore work out of the flame that theelectricity you've put in, so you canrun an engine to make enough

electricity to make your Brown's Gasand have electricity left over. Myexperimentation has shown this to bebunk! (Hyper-Gas is a different story,but we can't do it consistently yet)

The third problem with the 'homepower outlines'is that they showserious ignorance of Brown's Gasactual characteristics and that will atleast cause loss of research time andmoney and at worst loss of an entirehome and lives. PLEASE refer to theBrown's Gas. Book 1. All mycomments have been experimentallyverified.

You will also note that nowhere in theworld is Brown's Gas being used toactually power a home. That's becauseit can't. Yull Brown was great forsaying the gas could do this and that,but in a lot of cases, it simply can't, orif it could, there are a lot better'conventional'ways of doing it.

Heating applications

Usually 'Brown's Gas home power'outlines base cooking elements andspace heating on existing hydrogentechnology, not on Brown's Gas. It istrue that hydrogen in it's di-atomicform bums at 400-800°C with acatalyst, BUT Brown's gas in it's pureform would quickly bum up yourcatalyst (usually nickel/platinum, I'veburned up a lot of it). And if you mixBrown's Gas with air before using it inthe catalyst, you would have a gas withan explosive potential many timesgreater than normal di-atomichydrogen, the catalyst could still bedestroyed, along with the house. Alsomixing BG to bum with normal air willcause oxides of nitrogen to be formed.

As for using pureBrown's Gas in anormal burner, so that you won'tproduce oxides of nitrogen, that is justas bad. Even Yull Brown will tell youtwo things:

First, unlike any other flame, BG bumsin open air at 127°C, which isn't hotenough to use for heating, so forgetusing BG in any heating applicationlike water heaters, clothes dryers, space


heating furnaces, etc., you'll just bewasting huge amounts of electricalpower to make the BG and gettingpractically no heat from the flame,UNLESS you tum it di-atomic but thenyou no longer have Brown's Gas, youhave normal 2Hz:Oz and just treat it as

such.

Second, BG causes different materialsto change to their melting (orvaporizing) temperature and with laserlike accuracy. If you set a cooking poton a pure BG flame, the BG flame willbum right through the pot in seconds(or less), even if the material has amelting point of greater than 6,000°C.

Cooling applications

Again, it takes huge amounts ofelectricity to make BG. Releasingpressurized BG to make cold wouldwork, but is an extremely inefficientway to use high grade electricity(making compressed BG gas), betterby far to use a normal air compressor,you'll get the same refrigeration effectwith a fraction of the power (aboutthirty times less power) AND you'renot releasing combustible gasses intothe atmosphere (orexploding/imploding them in anenclosed system).

Better yet, simply use an 'off the shelf'refrigeration system. You have to haveelectrical power anyway to make theBG, so just run a refrigerator. Thenyou can get many many times therefrigeration effect that you can getreleasing pressurized BG or air.

Secondly, using BG as per the pioneerfrigidaires to create refrigeration bymaking heat; it wouldn't work. I grewup with that type of refrigerationbecause my father's ranch had noutility power. It wouldn't work for thereasons mentioned previously; first aBG flame has no real heat unlessdirected on something and second ifdirected on something BG will bumright through it in short order. Theserefrigerators require a steady orintermittent heat to be applied to a bulbor tank of refrigerant. Burning throughthe bulb will release the refrigerant.

Let's do some math. To make cold byreducing pressure of BG, weelectrolyze a liter of BG by adding 3 ofpower, which in an hour is about10,242 Btu worth of electrical energy.We fill a container of about 0.54 m3 toabout 6.8 atmospheres (l00 psi), at20°C. If we do a pressure drop to getmaximum temperature change atatmospheric pressure, we find that TI =

(PI VI Tz) / (Pz Vz) = (l * 3.7 * 293) /

(7.8 * .54) = 15°C. We can cool about3.7 m3 of air by 5°C; this is about10 Btu. So we throwaway 10,232 Btuof electrical energy.

A four horsepower compressor usesabout 3 worth of electrical energy tocompress 52 cubic feet per minute to100 psi. In an hour this is 115 cubicmeters of compressed air. If we let thisair cool and release it as per above, weget 312 Btu of cooling.

If we used an 'off the shelf' heat pumpat 3:1 CoP, we would get 30,726 Btucooling for the same 3 electricalenergy.

So releasing compressed BG WILLCOOL as Yull Brown says, but heyfolks .. .it's like un-practical.

Clean water

If you ignore Yull Brown's method ofimploding the BG over thecontaminated water (this would causean explosion) and use instead aseparate chamber to implode the BGand then allow the already existingwater vapor in the contaminatedchamber to be sucked into the BGcontainer, to be condensed; YES it willwork, BUT again the electricityrequired to produce enough vacuum bythis method would be much betterspent driving a conventional vacuumpump, you'd get several times morewater without the possibility ofexplosion.

Let's do some math. We'll assume wehave excluded all air from a containercontaining contaminated water and thatcontainer is at 20°C. Water vapor inthe contaminated container would be at

a pressure of 0.02 kp/cmz and would

contain 0.01729 kg/m3. One liter ofwater turned to pure BG would occupyabout 3.7 m3 of volume. We introducethe water vapor to the vacuum createdby the imploded BG; which at .01kp/cmz and 20°C, water vapor densityis 0.0072516 kg/m 3. Thus, one liter ofBG (imploded) would recover amaximum of 0.037 liters of water (lessbecause BG water already occupiesvolume and as gas from thecontaminated tank rushes into the BGtank, BG tank pressure rises).

Each liter of water takes about10,800,000.00 joules to create 3700liters of BG, recovering a maximum of0.037 liters of water. Assumingtemperatures remain the same. If weassume this process took one hour,then we use a constant of 3 Kwh topurify 37 grams of water per hourusing this BG technique.

If we use a simple vacuum pump, wemove water vapor from anenvironment of 0.01 kp/cmz to 1kp/cmz (vacuum to atmosphericpressure). Increased pressure at thesame temperature causes the excessmoisture to condense out. Themoisture holding capacity of vapor percubic meter is fixed by temperature,not pressure. Thus pumping 3.7 m3 toatmospheric pressure recovers about0.024 liters of water. Our pump woulduse about 0.1 Kwh of power.

If we use a simple evaporation system,working at atmospheric pressure andheating the contaminated water (withsolar is best, but we'll assume usingelectric) to 30°C, then we couldrecover 0.024 liters of water with 0.02Kwh of power.

Why purify water with BG when asimple evaporation system is simplestand least expensive to operate? Theevaporation system is simple andinexpensive to build, is not dangerousand uses only a very tiny fraction ofthe power used by the Brown's Gastechnique. Of course, evaporationsystems using solar power do requiresome space and are not really portable.


Are you starting to get a picture here?Yes, Brown's Gas can do a lot ofthings, but can it do those things in amore practical manner than other(already existing) options?

Energy storage system

We use electricity to create Brown'sGas. So if you are trying to 'store'energy by raising water, or if you aretrying to run an 'atmospheric'engine;you end up using huge amounts ofelectricity for little result. In this caseI'll do the math for you:

To raise water, the working parametersare: 1 gram-mole of water (18 grams ofwater) requires about 192,960.00 joulesto turn it to BG (26.8 amps at 2 voltsfor 3,600 seconds = 192,960.00 wattseconds). 1 gram of water will turninto 3.73 liters of (pure atomic) BG.Dropping one liter of water 10 metersin one second generates 98 watts ofpower. 98 watt-seconds is 98 joules.So we spend 192,960.00 joules to store3281.04 joules of power (1.86 * 18 *98). Note that the head pressure of thewater being raised causes the volumeof BG to reduce by about half. As youcan see, this is a very inefficient way tostore excess electrical power (requires58 joules to store one joule and thisdoesn't count the inefficiency ofturning the raised water back intoelectricity) .

Atmospheric 'over-unity' engine

This is one of the biggestmisrepresentations Yull Brown allowsto exist. The figures as shown seem toindicate over-unity energy storage andthe possibility of an atmospheric drivenengine. In fact, the energy storage bypumping water using the pressure andvacuum created by Brown's Gas isseverely under-unity. You need toconvert the figures you have into acommon language to understand theproper relationship ( I choose joules orwatt-seconds). Yull Brown is sayingthat it takes four watts-seconds (fourjoules) to make a liter of BG; in facthis electrolyzers take four wattHOURS (14,400 joules) per liter ofBG. He has been told this by myself

and many other scientists. His ownpublished specifications on hismachines say that! I don't know whyhe persists in perpetuating thismisinformation. But I do know thatanyone building an engine based onYull's figures is doomed to failure. Ibase this opinion on actualexperimentation, to back up thesecalculations.

Note: Most accurately, I just tested YullBrown's electrolyzer BN 1000E (May,97) and it draws 4.9 watt-hours perliter of gas. See the 'comparison'chapter

I refer you back to my WattageEfficiency calculations, my mention ofjoules and my careful explanation ofmeaningful factors by using commonTIME for all factors. What YullBrown has done here is measure aTime of only one second for the cycleof his 'implosion' machine versus theTime of one hour to generate the gas todo that one second's work.

It has become a secondary part of myinventing in the alternative energy fieldto point out when someone is wrongand I've become quite good at it. Thiscomes from continually critiquing myOWN work. Note that I'm also carefulto point out when I believe someone isRIGHT, regardless of the blindopinions of most 'conventional'scientists.

I (and many others) have pointed outthis time factor to Yull Brown himself(and he'll get a free copy of this book)but he refuses to change his statement.Personally I APPRECIATE it whenpeople point out my bad thinking; so Ican get on with right thinking. My lifeis too short to persist in wrongthinking.

An atmospheric engine based onimplosion would be grosslyinefficient. The math goes like this:One horsepower is 550 ft/lbs/sec. Onehorsepower is 746 watts. Assume apiston of ten centimeters (four inches)in diameter that travels 30 centimeters(about one foot). This displaces 942cubic centimeters (about 150.72 cubic

inches). Atmospheric pressure is onebar (14.7 psi at sea level). Theworking area of the piston is 31.4square centimeters (12.56 squareinches). 12.56 * 14.7 * one foot persecond (one stroke of engine persecond), equals 184.63 foot lbs per secor 0.34 horsepower (184.63/550). Ittakes 2729.25 joules «192960/18) 13.7) to make the BG that pushed thepiston down against atmosphericpressure. (At two volts this is 1364.63amps or 2729.25 watt-seconds or 3.66horsepower (2729.25*0.00134). Ittakes over ten times the electricity torun the 'atmospheric engine'than ifyou'd simply ran an electric motorwithout worrying about Brown's Gas.

I did witness a demonstration byDennis Lee in Missoula, Montanaduring August of 1996. One of thetechnologies demonstrated was aBrown's Gas BN 1000. The gas didEXPLODE, then implode in thecylinder; just as I said it would.Dennis was trying to prove that the'implosion engine'was viable; andsucceeded quite well in proving that itwas not viable as per the aboveinformation.

The problem is that the general publiccan be fooled by these demonstrationsbecause they are ignorant of somebasic facts of Physics. This is not thepublic's fault, no one can be expectedto know everything. That's whypeople like myself are needed, tobalance out the education, exposeincorrect statements and tell people thetruth.

I noted with a grin (but didn't sayanything at the time because I trying tobe polite) that Dennis closed a valvewhich isolated his pressure gauge fromthe cylinder BEFORE igniting the gasin the container. This was to preventthe explosion from blowing out thegauge. If he truly got a vacuumwithout an explosion, then he couldhave used an absolute pressure gaugeand not needed to isolate it with avalve.

Dh, ... an additional note: Dennis Leeis an exceptional speaker and can hold


an audience mesmerized. In myopinion, it might actually be dangerousto point out the 'little'facts that Dennis'forgets'to mention about the varioustechnologies he is presenting.

After the explosion/implosion (as I'veexplained before) the cylinder raisedabout a hundred pounds of weightabout one foot in one second, easilydemonstrating that there was a vacuumin the cylinder. Dennis would justhave you believe there was noexplosion first. Typical Dennis Leepresentation.

If one of you see such a demonstration,ask that he put a pen on top of thecylinder before igniting the gas. Anexplosion will cause the pen to jumpoff the cylinder, an implosion will not.Of course, he'll likely read this beforeyou do and will not allow it.

Power Potential of BG

Brown's Gas energy level is muchgreater than 50,000 Btu/lb. 50,000Btu/lb is the power of normal 2Hz:Oz.See Brown's Gas. Book 1 to see whyBG has so much more power potential.

We have not yet done comprehensivetests on BG power potential.

Compare BN 1000 performance

Yull Brown, in his sales literature forthe BN 1000, (found in ExtraOrdinaryScience issue OCTINOVIDEC, 1993,PAGE 20) specifies (actualmeasurements on next page)Gas Production (LIh) 1,000Operating Pressure (Mpa) 0.45....................................... (about 65 psi)Power Supply Voltage (V) 220............................... (assume 220 VAC)Maximum Input Power (kW) 3.3Max. Water Consumption (LIh) 0.55

(this assumes 1700 liters of gas/liter ofwater)

Weight (Kg) 200.................................. (about 440.8 lbs)Cost retail $5,500.

(Dennis Lee is now (Jan., 97)promoting this electrolyzer for $10,000and to the best of my knowledge

(April, 97) still has not delivered asingle unit to those people who havepaid for one. The list of excuses I'veheard is impressive.) Further note: Ihave just heard (May, 97) of a BN2000 being delivered to a Dennis Leecustomer, he paid $6000 wholesale.

Now, we have had the opportunity toactually test a BN 1000E, boughtdirectly from Yull Brown himself.First I'll give you the direct test resultsas per above (you'll see somedifferences). Then I'll give you thedata on the electrolyzer YOU can buildfrom THIS book (you'll see how youcan BUILD a better electrolyzer thanyou can BUY, and for a fraction of thecost).

Actual test results of a BN lOOOE(May, 97):

Gas Production (LIh) 907............... (we could not get 1,000 LIh)Operating Pressure (Mpa) 0.06

(about 8 psi, obviously somethingwrong with the pressure controls. Thedigital readout would go to 0.6 Mp (87psi) but the actual pressure measuredonly 8 psi (0.06 Mp»

Power Supply Voltage (V) 235 (VAC)Maximum Input Power (kW) 4.5Max. Water Consumption (LIh) 0.89

(based on 112% eff. = 1045 liters ofgas /liter of water. Greater waterconsumed because only 907 Lihproduced)

Weight (Kg) 225......................................... (± 495.9 Ibs)Cost $5,500 USD direct from YullBrown.

Note that Yull Brown's ownspecifications show inconsistency. Ifurther note that all the above figuresthat we tested and found to be true, Ilater noticed that the originalspecifications had been changed (to ourfigures) by hand written notes in theBN 1000E operating manual. I wastold that Yull Brown himself wrotethose notes when the electrolyzer wassold to Ben & Co.

We have built (and you can too, withthis book) a 1,000 Lih electrolyzerwith the following specifications:

Gas Production (LIh) 1,000............................ (can go to 1600 LIh)Operating Pressure (Mpa) 0.45.......... (operate between 65 and 70 psi)Maximum Input Power (kW) 3.3Max. Water Consumption (LIh) 0.42......... (I 259 liters of gas/liter of water,

based on 135% eff.)Weight; all components (Kg) 95.................................... (about 210 Ibs)

Cost about $1,000; home built.

Note: we have achieved intermittentresults as high as 188% gas efficiencyat LESS than 2 watt-hours per liter ofgas. Note that this STILL won't allowthe 'atmospheric'engine to work.

Further notes on testing theBN 1000E

This report is by George Wiseman,intended for public release to increasethe awareness for buyers and operatorsof BN 1000E Brown's Gas machines.I (George Wiseman) have fully andindependently duplicated thetechnology needed to create Brown'sGas and this is the first time I will havebeen able to operate a 'commercial'Brown's Gas machine. I am uniquelyqualified to test this BN 1000E, havingindependently duplicated thetechnology from scratch, I know whatI'm looking at, what should be thereand what should not be there.

Kiel and I arrived at Ben Missler'sshop (7402 SW Macadam, Portland,Oregon), May 18,97 at l:PM. BenMissler and Gary Robinson were there.

We talked, had lunch, set up someequipment and started examining theBN 1000E. After getting somewhatfamiliar with it (and having read thecryptic operation instructions), we firedit up and figured out the controls. Wehad a backfire (not really loud) when Iwas shutting off the torch. We saw theflash in the clear tubes (plastic).

Note: the China torch is (in myopinion) really rinky-dink. The tipwould be nearly impossible to cleanand it has a knob to add oxygen insteadof a lever (it would be hard to hold thetorch still while twisting the oxygen

S2 www.eagle-research.com/Brown·s Gas, Book 2

knob to begin your cut). I recommendchanging the torch to an Americanmodel. I use a Victor 100C on myelectrolyzer in my shop. For our testsof the BN 1000E we used (afterinitially trying the China torch) myVictor 100C. Fittings to adapt the BN1000E hose to the American standardare available in most welding supplystores.

Note: Main power in wiring code isBrown and White Power (240 AC) andpurple is neutral (note, BN 1000Emanual has different colored wires).Neutral is hooked to the electrolyzerfull wave bridge rectifier heat sinkbracket, which is grounded to theentire frame of the machine. There is a30 amp main relay that most of theelectrolyzer power goes through (thereis a small pair of wires that routes 240VAC directly to the electronics (hassmaller transformer dedicated to theelectronics), so the ON button canactivate the relay coil.

All the main transformer power (onelead of the 240 AC from the mainrelay) goes through what seems to bean SCR; which seems to be controlledby the electronics.

The main transformer drops the ACvoltage from 240 AC to about 24 VAC,which is then rectified by huge diodesin a full wave rectifier set up. Thesediodes are mounted on a heat sink thatis cooled by a large fan. The fan turnson as soon as the main relay is turnedon and stays on 'til the main relay isshut off (main power to machine isshut off).

There are six tubes mountedtransversely in the bottom of the box;they are about four inches in diameterand 17 inches long. Each tube hasTWO 'short cells'mounted in it;welded together in the middle. Thusthe six tubes are each two cells; andthe electrolyzer consists of TWELVEcells. All twelve cells are connectedon the top with a hose (left and right)and on the bottom with a hose (left andright). These hoses seem to be there toallow the electrolyte solution and the

gas to separate properly, yet keep thecells as full as possible of electrolyte.

All four cell hoses go up to the firsttransverse container, that I'd call aliquid-vapor separator. The two hosesfrom the top of the cells go to the midlevel of the liquid vapor separator (onthe left and right) and the two bottomhoses from the cells go to the bottomof the liquid vapor separator (left andright). The liquid-vapor separator isabout four inches in diameter and 17inches long; it is located at the back ofthe machine just above the end cell.

The liquid-vapor separator has threetowers on it. The first (Jeft whenfacing front of machine) is 8 incheshigh and has the pressure and liquidlevel sensors on it. The second is 13inches high, and is the 'flame modifier'tank. The third is also 13 inches highand is designated as the 'backarresting'solution container (backfirecontainer, or bubbler in my electrolyzerdesign).

The two end towers (left and right) arefurther connected at their bottoms Gustabove the liquid-vapor separator) by asecond transverse container 4 inches indiameter and 17 inches long. Theactual connection is by two short 4inch tubes. I'd call this tube a 'surge'tube, I think it is meant to allowstorage space for pressurized gasand/or to prevent serious over-filling ofwater from affecting the gas quality toomuch by allowing water/electrolyte tobe carried over into the torch hose.

Personally, I see the surge tube as waytoo large, or un-needed altogether. Inmy opinion the whole arrangementcould have been simplified and/ormodified to be more versatile andeffective. For example, it would benice to be able to switch between pureand modified gas with a valve (withouthaving to drain the modifier tank toeliminate the modifier from the flame);or even to be able to run pure andmodified gas at the same time (withtwo torches). Also, I see no reason thatthe water fill for the electrolyzercouldn't have been mounted on thesensor tower, leaving the back arresting

tower simpler and cutting out the surgetube entirely. But I will qualify myopinions by saying I don't knowexactly all the plumbing arrangementsinside these various tubes. Myelectrolyzer designs are simpler, moreversatile and fully documented so thatpeople aren't guessing about theirfunction.

The gas seems to go up the two hoseson the top of the cells (connecting allthe cells together), through the liquidvapor separator, through the modifiertank first, then go back down (withsome sort of inner V-tube) and upthrough the back arresting tank, thenout the hose to the torch.

Water for the electrolyzer cells is put inthe back arresting tower, where thewater is poured through a down tubedirectly to the liquid-vapor separator;bypassing the back arresting apparatusin the back arresting tower.

The water level probes in the sensortower indicate that the maximum liquidlevel in the liquid-vapor separator to beabout mid level, lowest about 1 inchoff the bottom.

Water for the back arresting tank issupposed to be filled by disconnectingthe gas-out hose (found at the topbackside of the tank) and using a smallflexible hose to pour water into thetank. Top cover of the machine mustbe removed to do this. We wereunable to get our hose past the fitting;so we drilled and tapped an 1/8 inchplug in the top of the back arrestingtank. We then filled the back arrestingtank 'til water came out the drain (wasabout 1/2 quart), then closed the drainand added 1/2 quart more (0.5 liter)that the manual specified. It wasunclear whether this second 0.5 literwas needed, so we added it anyway.

Advise for operators of BN 1000Eoperators; drill new filler plug to theleft of main water filler facing fromfront of machine), so water beingpoured into the plug hole (for the backarresting tank liquid level) doesn'tdrain into the gas-out hose (water inyour torch hoses is a bother, causes


your flame to spit and go out). Andalways drain your back arresting tankbefore re-filling it, or it will beimpossible for you to know what theliquid level is (need only 0.5 literabove filler).

I think it'd be a good idea to drill andtap a 'sight tube' (with a floating ball)on the side of the 'back arresting'tower; then you could see at a glanceyour back-arresting water level. Don'tdrill the lower hole too low or you'llbe below the bottom plate and causethe gas to by-pass the backfire arrester.You want your liquid level to be wellabove the diffuser plate; you'll see thediffuser plate (has holes in it) whenyou drill the new hole in the top of thegas-out tower. But you don't wantyour liquid level to be too high or youwill get water splashing up and out intoyour torch hose.

Although the BN lOOOE has proventhat it can take a backfire withoutblowing up (we accidentally backfiredit by turning the torch off too slow andwe discovered that we had no water inthe (separately filled) back arrestingtank) I notice the fittings in the plastichoses are now seeping a bit of fluid(even though this machine has notreached pressures over 8 psi); thisseepage could have been caused by thebackfires that this machine has had itthe past, with no water in the backarrester. My recommendation is tokeep water in the back arrestingcontainer to prevent the e1ectrolyzerand hoses from having to deal with theshock of a backfire.

Note: my design does not have thedozens of fittings that this electrolyzerhas. Every fitting is a potential leak offluid or gas.

The modifier tank is to be filled withwater first, to above the drain level,then drained, plugged and modifieradded (no more than about 1/2 liter or1/2 quart). To be sure that all of themodifier has been removed, it may benecessary to add water after drainingthe modifier, let sit for at least 1/2 hourand then drain it again. Mostflammable fluids float on water.

Different modifiers will give differentflame characteristics, and I discoveredit may be necessary to add oxygen toget the best performance out of themodifiers. Some examples ofmodifiers include; gasoline (willchange it's characteristics as the 'lightends' evaporate first), diesel, acetone,benzene, white gas, all types ofalcohol, and many other flammableliquids. You could just use water inthis tank too, and it'd work as a secondbackfire arrester.

The five various sensors on the BNlOOOE are:

1. A temperature sensor (resistive?) onthe fourth electrolysis cell from thefront. Disconnecting this sensor causesthe temperature readout to go to 'DO'and doesn't immediately shut down themachine. The temperature seems to beshutting off at about 35°C. Thetemperature readout is in °C eventhough the button you press to checkthe temperature is labeled 'F'.

2. A pressure sensor (transducer?) onthe third tower, (back left of machine).Disconnecting this sensor doesn'timmediately shut down the machine,the 'actual'pressure reading goes to'00'. When this sensor is disconnectedthe pressure continues to rise past thecomputer set maximum. The pressurerises VERY fast and may rise enoughto burst the BN 1000E even with thetorch running.

3. A liquid level sensor, which is threeprobes put down into the solution.They seem to be simple copper rods,which form some sort of on/off switch.Examination of the LED's on the frontpanel indicate that they are arranged inthree groups. So I expect that as eachprobe (three different lengths) touchesthe solution, the appropriate group ofLED's light up. I note that the liquidlevel is supposed to be about even withthe hoses coming in from the cells;highest level about 2.5 inches off thebottom of the liquid-vapor separator,lowest level about 3/4 inch off thebottom of the liquid-vapor separator.Disconnecting this sensor does not

immediately shut off the machine, thepanel of LED's does go out.

Note that in our testing of this BN1000E, we found one LED to be'blown' and the three probes of theliquid level probe to all be shorted toeach other; thus I assume the liquidlevel probes to not be working asoriginally designed or intended. At themoment, when the liquid level goes tobelow the bottom probe, all but two ofthe LED's go out, and the 'low water'light comes on (which is good).

Note: we operated the machine withthe liquid level 2 inches higher than thehighest set point with absolutely noproblem.

4. A current sensor, which seems to bea calibrated resistance on one of theDC leads coming out of the full wavebridge rectifier. The wires to it fromthe electronics are yellow and blue.

5. A voltage source, which seem to bethe blue wire (same one from the DCamps) and a red wire going to the otherDC side of the full wave bridgerectifier.

Operation notes

1. The BG 1000E makes significantnoise during operation, mostly fromthe fan; it is so loud that we can't evenhear the noise of the transformer. Theproblem is noise pollution, makingnormal conversation difficult andmaking stress.

The noise also covers the sound of thegas hissing out of the torch tip, which Iuse on my electrolyzer to know if I'vegot a 'just right'torch adjustment toprevent backfire during lighting theflame (my e1ectrolyzer operates nearlysilently). With the BN lOOOE, lightingthe torch is a guessing game, though Iwill admit I never had a backfirelighting the torch. Which wassurprising, because the gas pressurewas so low (due to the electronicsproblem), the torch must have been onthe verge of backfiring at any time.


2. To check the main water level, youstart the BN 1000E by pushing thegreen button (make sure that you're onat least a 30 amp breaker). You canhave the power turned on to theelectronics and NOT have the powerturned on to the electrolyzer. Thepower to the electrolyzer is only turnedon when you push the 'start'button onthe control panel. While the BN1000E is in this 'stand-by'mode, youcan release any residual gas pressureby opening your torch valve; and checkyour liquid level.

If all the LED's are lit up, you mayhave too much water in theelectrolyzer, if you drain some out(save it to put back in when you'veused up some water) and be careful,the solution you drain out is caustic, itwill bum your skin and eyes if youspill it on you (use safety equipment toprotect skin, eyes and clothes). Havevinegar and fresh water available toclean up spills. By the way, we findthe water (electrolyte solution) drain(in fact all the drains) to beinconvenient, as they are just plugs onthe ends of pipes; this is messy andcauses solution to get on your hands.

Note: if you look down the water-filltube in the 'back-arresting'tower,you'll see liquid at the bottom. If youfill 'til the water you are pouring injust touches the end of the water filltube, you'll not have too much water inthe main electrolyzer. You'll have toomuch according to the electronics, butI've found no problem with an evenhigher liquid level.

Note: the water in the back-fire arresteris filled SEPARATELY from the mainelectrolyzer. You can also use the'modifier' tank as a second backfirearrester, just by putting water in itinstead of some other fluid.

3. After you have a proper level ofliquid in all three places (back firearrester, modifier (if used) and mainelectrolyzer) You shut off your torchvalve, so you'd have no gas leaks andyou set your control panel. The controlpanel will automatically choose it'smaximum settings if you don't set

anything and just press 'start'to startthe gas production. 1 personally cansee no reason why anyone would wantto set the machine to less than it'smaximums, since it automaticallyregulates itself to the actual gas volumeyou're using anyway.

If you want some other setting than theelectrolyzer maximums, the controlpanel has to be set every time you tumthe machine on, the electronics have nomemory. This is a bit of inconveniencebecause you tend to shut the machineoff instead of letting it set in 'stand-by'mode because the fan is so loud.Besides, it is just good practice to shutoff electrolyzers when they are not inuse.

Note: my electrolyzer design can beused at any volume or pressure as well,much easier than setting electronicseach time.

There are two parameters to set on thecontrol panel; the maximum desiredoperating pressure and gas production.If you just push 'start', the computerwill assume you want the maximumvalues of 1,000 liters per hour and0.5Mp.

You push 'P'to tell the computer thatyou're wanting to set the maximumoperating pressure. The computer willignore any setting above it's maximumof 0.6 Mp (which is about 90 psi). Soto set 0.5 Mp (about 75 psi) you'llpush 'P', then 'O'and '5', then 'enter'.(Actual maximum at this time is0.06 Mp)

You push 'GP'to tell the computer thatyou're wanting to set the maximumoperating Gas Production. Thecomputer will ignore any setting aboveit's maximum of 1,000 L/h (liters perhour). So to set 1,000 L/h you'll push'GP'then '1', '0', '0', '0', then 'enter'.

4. Then press 'start'to actually start thegas production. Watch the pressurerise, if the pressure doesn't risequickly, within a few seconds, thenshut off the machine and check all yourhose connections for a leak (1 had aleak when 1 switched to my torch from

the China torch; 1 forgot to tighten oneof my hose connections).

As the pressure is rising, you'll see thevoltage and amperage readoutsfluctuating as the computer keeps thegas production within the parametersyou've set. 1 think the gas productionis 'inferred'from the amperage andvoltage (I see no gas metering device),so it's possible that the actual gasproduction could be different than thereadout says. When the electrolyzeroperating pressure is reached, you'llnote the amperage drop off quickly andthe voltage to drop off more slowly.This is the electronics cutting off thepower to the main transformer, usingthe SCR as a switch.

5. Light the torch as you would anormal oxy.lacet. torch; except that youhold the striker very close to the torchtip or the gas won't want to light. Ifyou have too much gas volume, it alsowon't want to light. If you have toolittle gas volume, it will backfire.

Testing data

I. 1 found the flame characteristics tobe identical to my electrolyzer gas.See my Brown's Gas. Book 2.

2. Preliminary testing of total wattageefficiency showed close to 5 watt hoursto a liter of gas. This is total machinepower draw to make a liter of gas;includes the fan and computer poweras well as the transformer and diodelosses. These kind of losses are fullyexplained in this book as are thereasons I choose to have anelectrolyzer design that doesn't have atransformer.

We put a 100 amp watt-meter (Kh =7.2) in line, to measure the watts drawnfrom the wall.

We first measured the 'stand-by'wattage, used by the fan andelectronics with no gas production. Ittook 145 seconds to make onerevolution of the watt-meter wheel. So(7.2 x 1 x 3600)/145 = 178 watts'stand-by'power. (Very efficient fan!)


The wall power available is nominal240 VAC and the electrolyzer waspulsing about once a second, drawingup to 36 AAC then settling down to asteady 30 AAC 'til the computer shutoff the SCR. This made the watt-metermove fast, then nearly stop and it wasdifficult (but not impossible) to get anaccurate reading.

To measure total machine efficiency,we used our regular technique of fillinga 4.082 liter plastic container with thegas; displacing the water out of it.With the BN 1000E set at 1,000 Litersper hour, we filled the container withgas in 16.2 seconds. We used 280marks of the watt-meter wheel to dothis (2.8 revolutions of the watt-meterwheel). We did this several times andwere very close each time. (7.2 x 2.8 x3600}/16.2 = 4480 watts. 4.082/16.2 =0.2519 Llsec. 0.2519 x 3600 =906.84liters per hour. So 4480/906.84 = 4.9watt-hours per liter of gas.

We are now experiencing a shut-downproblem in the machine (started duringtesting yesterday), and it's gettingworse. The electrolyzer will only run afew minutes (Initial shut-off happenedafter about an hour of continuous use)and then it shuts itself off by turningoff the main relay; which, as Iunderstand it, it isn't supposed to dountil the red shut-off button is pushed.All computer controlled shut-downsare only supposed to tum off the SCR(electrolyzer itself) leaving thecomputer and fan running.

The shut-down gets progressivelyworse as you continue to try to operatethe machine, first shutting down afterfifteen minutes of operation, then (afterimmediate start-up) shut-down afterfive minutes and then (again afterimmediate start-up) shut-down afterone minute. Combine this problemwith the 'water' light coming on whenyou first start up the electrolyzer and 1suspect that the main computer PIDchip is malfunctioning; perhaps heatingup and causing the shut-downcondition.

To test the BN 1000E at a lesseramperage and with capacitive limiting,

we installed 40 of 4 uP @ 440 VACcapacitors in series with the maintransformer. We disconnected the mainrelay from the computer's control andtum it on with our own switch. We leftthe fan in the circuit, to cool thetransformer and the diodes. Thisallows us to test the BN 1000£ in a'steady state'condition; allowing moreprecise measurements. This testallowed 8 amps AC @ 235 VAC intothe transformer, which allowed about52 amps DC through the electrolyzer@ 24.2 VDC. We filled our 4.083Liter container in 35.3 seconds. It took14.4 seconds to make one tum of thewatt-meter wheel. This works out toabout 106% gas. Wattage efficiency =4.322 WhlL

The next test was to remove thecapacitive amperage limiting and runthe electrolyzer in a 'steady state' atfull power. We drew 35 AAC @ 230VAC from the wall and had 203 ADC@ 26.4 VDC across the electrolyzer.We filled a 4.083 liter container in 8seconds and it took 29.4 seconds totum the watt-meter wheel tenrevolutions. The electrolyzer Faradayefficiency was 120%. Wattageefficiency was 4.798 WhlL.

The electrolyzer pressure kept buildingas the gas production increased as theelectrolyzer slowly 'ran away'; usingmore amps as the cells heated up, andheating up the cells faster as theamperage increased. The BN 1000Euses a calibrated resistance to form a'current sensing' device, which causesthe computer to shut down theamperage to the electrolyzer (byshutting off the SCR) if the amperageexceeds about 180 ADC.

NOTE: The pressure on the BN1000E read at 0.5 MP and an actualpressure gauge (we tried two) read at 8psi. Since a Mp is about 145 psi, thereis a serious problem with the pressurecoming out of the BN 1000E. Thepressure is too low; I don't know whyit didn't backfire as we were using thetorch.

Testing the torch with BG allowed usto cut and weld cast iron (with oxygen

added), vaporize tungsten and weldcopper; also did brazing on iron.Adding gasoline as a modifier (l/2quart) allowed us to weld iron, butonly when we added oxygen to theflame.

We used the same torch tips andduplicated all the above feats withnormaloxy.facet.

Neither torch was able to weldstainless steel, aluminum or welddifferent metals together.

The BG torch did cut thick steel fasterand cleaner than the oxy.facet. torchdid.

Testing the BN 200

These poor people bought this tinyelectrolyzer at $2500 from Yull Brownhimself (twice retail value). We took itout of the box (cut the seals ourselves)and discovered that it had been used(hydroxide spills and rust) and that ithad no power cord.

We went to town and bought thecomponents to make a power cord (l2gauge all weather stranded wire, a 240VAC plug to fit the outlet we are usingfor the BN 1000E and a heavy duty'computer' cord with female plug (thatbeing the power outlet for theBN 200).

I wired the cord (soldered allconnections) and it looked and workedgreat. I put electrolyte @ 5:1 in theelectrolyzer and turned it on. Nothinghappened; well, OK, the power lightcame on.

Quick testing shows that theelectronics are not turning on theelectronic switch to allow theamperage to go through theelectrolyzer. I think the electronicswitch is good, but some otherparameter (like malfunctioningpressure transducer) is causing theproblem. Don't have time to fix it atthis time; though the electronicsseemed simple enough and could bereverse engineered.


Testing Conclusion

The Brown's Gas BN 1000E makeslower quality gas (about 120%)compared to our current electrolyzerdesign (136%), and our design takesalmost exactly 1/3 LESS electricity tomake the same volume of gas.

Operation of the BN 1000E is simpleenough, once you know how to do it.In my opinion, the instruction manualand technical support from Yull Brownare not adequate to assure safeoperation for a novice user (thisincludes someone knowledgeable asmyself). This report will assist users ofthe BN 1000E to operate the machinesafer. My own electrolyzer designs arefully documented and we giveenthusiastic technical support toanyone using ANY (but particularlyours) electrolyzer.

The BN 1000E is quite presentable,looks good. And I'd consider it welldesigned, just not designed as well as itcould be. I'd suggest several changesto make it safer and easier to use, butthen we'd end up with my design.

The BN 1000E seems to suffer from a'China syndrome'of quality control.We found several problems,particularly in the electronics, thatcould be traced directly to inadequatequality control. In short, the machinebarely functioned, crippled by faultyelectronics; for which there are nowiring schematic or technicians on thisside of the Pacific.

The BN 1000E is made of mild iron,and already shows rust both inside andout. Personally I don't expect long lifespans for these (expensive) machines.It will be particularly important tomake sure the backfire arrester hasadequate water in older machines,because the rust will eventually causethe electrolyzer to weaken and it willnot be able to contain a backfire.

The BN 200 suffers from the 'Chinasyndrome'too. In my opinion, thetorch tips are also too large a diameterfor the electrolyzer capabilities.Backfires assured.

Report by George Wiseman

Conclusion

Quite a few people mistake or confuseBrown's Gas with normal 2Hz:Oz.

Brown's Gas can only be created withelectricity in special designedelectrolyzers. Brown's Gas hascompletely different operatingcharacteristics than 2Hz:Oz and

CANNOT be thought of in the sameway.

I have experimentally proven many ofYull Brown's statements to be wrong!Why he has allowed these misstatements to continue, I don't know,BUT I do know that if you try todesign machines and/or processesaround that information, you will bevery disappointed, perhaps even hurt.Please take this advice to heart, at leastenough to check it out.

Yull Brown has little actual lawfulrights left, due to the patents havingrun out and the information havingbecome public knowledge throughindependent efforts such as mine.Second, you must be aware that YullBrown has been spreadingmisinformation, I do not know why,but must assume he doesn't wantothers duplicating his technology anduses misinformation as a tool toaccomplish this. I find it nearlyimpossible to believe that he is actuallyso ignorant of his own technology thathe BELIEVES the misrepresentationshe has told.

Again I tell you, we've independentlyduplicated virtually all Yull Brown'swork with Brown's Gas. The things Itell you are based on ACTUALexperimental proof, not only by myselfbut by people who are independentlyduplicating the technology from theinformation I've made publiclyavailable. The things I've told you sofar have been done by others besidesmyself, at several locations around theworld! You MUST take my commentsseriously if you truly intend to getBrown's Gas technology out into theworld 'in every home' as it were.

As I've stated before, "I agree thatBrown's Gas is a viable option toapply to a self-sufficient home, BUTnot in the ways that are normallyoutlined".I will explain:

We can already run normal internalcombustion engines with Brown's Gasassist, reducing the actual cost ofoperation while making the engine lastlonger. It is absolutely valid to use theheat generated by the IC engine to heatthe home and to use the IC engine torun an electrolyzer. The electricitygenerated can run the Brown's Gaselectrolyzer, refrigeration systems,charge batteries and power the home.In my opinion, purifying water shouldprimarily be done with direct solarpower but can be done withdistillation. This type of home powersystem (based on an IC engine, usuallydiesel) has been proven many timesand is very practical. The only majordifference is that we are partiallyburning water instead of only petrochemicals.

In addition to powering a home; wecan help all automobiles this way,either as direct conversion (addingBrown's Gas to gasoline), or by usingelectric autos charged by BG drivenelectrolyzers, or quite a few otheroptions.

I wish to freely support you in yourattempt to implement BG technology,as I support anyone who is willing totry. I feel that a world-wide grass-rootsdevelopment MAY be the way to getthis technology implemented. At thevery least, public distribution ofpractical information will make a hugedifference.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Several articles from ExtraOrdinaryScience Magazine. Published by theInternational Tesla Society, PO Box5636, Colorado Springs, Colorado,80931, USA. OctINovlDec, 1990.AprlMay/Jun, 1991. AprlMay/Jun,1992. Jul/Aug/Sep, 1993.


Planetary Association for CleanEnergy, Vol. 6, (4). ppg 8 to 12,Transmutation of Radioactive materialswith YuIl Brown's Gas.Published by Planetary Association forClean Energy, Inc.100 Bronson Ave., Suite 1001,Ottawa, ON, K1R 6G8, Canada.

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)on Hydrogen, Sodium Hydroxide,Potassium Hydroxide. Available fromanyone who commercially seIls theseproducts.

Pocket Ref, compiled by Thomas J.Glover, seventh printing © 1992.Published by Sequoia Publishing Inc.,Dept. 101, PO Box 620820,Littleton, CO, 80162-0820.

• Wiseman, George, © 1995,Brown's Gas. Book 1. Published byEagle-Researchwww.eagle-research.com

RESOURCES

Though some Resources are listed, beadvised to :'Let your fingers do thewalking'. Try to locate variousalternative suppliers and options.Doing this may save you a great dealof money. You'll also learn a lot aboutthe available options on componentsyou are trying to locate.

The Thomas Directory ofManufacturers is a GREAT resource,available in most Public libraries. Youcan go looking for a component, like apressure switch and find pages ofmanufacturers.

In addition, check out the Resourceslisted in Brown's Gas. Book 1. Youcan often get great deals oncomponents that are described weIlenough that you'll be safe using them;like heavy duty relays, diodes, heatsinks, capacitors, etc. Be careful withcomponents that have 'wetted parts'like pressure switches and pressuregauges, because they could havematerial compatibility problems.

• Bokers, Inc.,3104 Snelling Avenue,Minneapolis, MN, 55406-1937.Phone: 1-800-927-4377- six inch disks for making plates

• Cole-Parmer7425 North Oak Park Ave.,Niles, IL, 60714Phone: 1-800-323-4340The Cole-Parmer catalog is actually abonanza ofstuff, and includes a fairlycomprehensive materials compatibilitychart in the back.- 0 to 100psi pressure gauge, with

316 SS tube and stem, #H-68811-05- 60 amp 3 pole relay with a 120 VAC

activation coil; #H89950-40. Alsofind electronic relays here.

- Brass needle valves #H-68831-00(have 1/4NPT(F) openings)

- Check-valves, #H-98676-02 is a318 multi-position brass

- Diaphragm seals are recommended toprevent eventual clogging

- Electrical Multi-meters- Hose and pipe fittings- Liquid level sensors and controls- Pressure reliefvalves- Pressure switch #H-07355-43 has a

316 stainless steel diaphragm andstem (112" FNPT); and a pressurerange (field set able) from 10 to 100psi, with 1.5% set-point repeatability

- Safety equipment (A huge amount oj).- Stopwatches- Temperature shut-offswitches three

wire design allows you to shut-off theelectrolyzer and ring an alarm fromthe same switch. #H-93880-54 is astainless steel, 125°F (52°C) snapaction switch rated at 3 ampinductive at 120 VAC. Note: Installcapacitor across mechanical relaycoil to reduce inductive arcing.

- Torch set (Little)

• Harvel Plastics, Inc.,Box 757, Easton, PA, 18044-0757.Phone: 610-252-7355.- CPVC plastic pipe.

• Industrial Safety Co.,1390 Neubrecht Rd., Lima, Ohio,45801. Phone: 1-800-537-9721.- Safety supplies (A full range of).

• Industrial Specialties Mfg, Inc.,2741 West Oxford, Unit #6,Englewood, CO, 80110.Phone: 303-781-8486- Gauges and many other items.

• United States Plastic Corp.,1390 Neubrecht Rd., Lima, OH,45801. Phone: 1-800-537-9724.- CPVC 314" plastic sheet-Funnels- High Density Polyethylene (HDPE)

tubing and hose fittings- Table saw blade (Special) to cutplastic

- Jygon tubing (clear), get highestpressure rating. Formulation R-3603has a working pressure of62 psi withID of1/4 @ 118" walls.Recommendedfor sight tubes (put asmall dark HDPE ball in the tube tofloat on the liquid level).


Electrolyzer Main Circuito

PZ)-----.----.....

Ge1f1~C1

-11--------.----7----:--..:.,{

Control circuit

T1

Positivefromelectrolyzer

R1

Negative ----, GMd gto electrolyzer I tft

WI

DZ ":...gree~

SZ

Copyright George Wiseman February ZOOO. I consider this to be the absolute bare bones simplest circuit.The control circuit tells the Mosfet when to feed power to the electrolyzer in the main circuit.

See Brown's Gas Book Z for specifications not mentioned here. Main current is limited by C1. Rate C1 asper Brown's Gas Book Z. Main Bridge Rectifier should have an amperage rating as per Brown's Gas Book Z;use a heat sink and thermal paste.

Mosfet M1 0 is rated at higher than the main power supply peak voltage. Be sure to use a heat sink withthermal paste and voltage isolator kit (if needed). If one mosfet has too low of an amperage rating, mosfetscan be placed in parrallel to increase amperage rating of the circuit, all Gates connected to DZ with ZO ohmresistors. Note that the Source of the mosfet needs to be connected to the negative of the control circuit.

S1 is simply to manually shut off the electrical circuit. Mosfet turns on when voltage is applied to it's Gate.

SZ (mounted off board) is a normally closed (open on pressure rise), direct acting pressure switch, made ofstainless steel with a teflon diaphram. It should have at least a ZO watt rating and either be adjustable orfactory set at your desired electrolyzer pressure.

Add an S3 (mounted off board), temperature switch (not shown above) if you need to limit the electrolyzertemperature. Make the switch normally closed (open on temperature rise) and pre-set at your maximumtemperature. I'd put the switch between SZ and DZ.

The T1 needs to be 10 volts (rated) on the secondary. The voltage can go up to 15 volts with no damage tothe mosfet; which is very likely to happen because it may be hard for you to find a transformer smallenough for this circuit's requirements, so the secondary voltage will rise above it's specified rating. Theprimary of T1 should be rated for whatever the main circuit voltage is.

The control circuit bridge rectifier can be tiny, half amp at SO volts is more than needed. CZ is anelectrolytic capacitor minimum rating 100 uF and SO volts. D1 is a red LED, to indicate when the controlcircuit is turned on. DZ is a green LED, put there to see when the power is being fed to turn on the mosfet;it will flash very quickly as the SZ keeps the pressure to within 0.001 psi. R1 and R2 are liZ watt 400ohm resistors.

T1, CZ and the control circuit bridge rectifier can be replaced with a 1Z VDC battery.


Voltage Doubler circuit with Capacitive Limiting

Voltage Doubler circuit for extended series-cell BG electrolyzer.

Fig. 8

Positive output

Capacitor Voltage rating =

2 times VRMS (ex. 480V)

Positive output

Capacitor Voltage rating =2 times VRMS (ex. 480V)



Negative output

voltage'. For any given wall ACvoltage, you'll find that the actual'peak'voltage is about 40% higherthan the 'RMS'voltage that most ACvoltmeters read.

And the higher voltage (required by theelectrolyzer) cannot be reached untilthe voltage doubler kicks the voltageup (twice each half cycle or 240 Hz).

With the 138 series-cell electrolyzer onstraight line power, you'll note only alimited amperage 'til you start adding

Thus you can operate your 120 VACe1ectrolyzer at 220 VDC or your 220VAC electrolyzer at 290 VDC.

Also you'll find that you can limitamperage WITHOUT capacitiveamperage limiting. The high numberof series-cells automatically limits youramperage, because as your electrolyzerrequires more voltage to operate, NOamperage will flow 'til the highervoltage is reached.



Negative output

Put extra capacitance in parallel with first capacitor; which isin series with the load on the AC POWER line.


When I am going to use a voltagedoubler as my electrolyzer powersupply, I usually figure the number ofcells at the rule of 1.75 volts per cell,figured on RMS voltage. Forexample; operating on 240 VAC, Iwould have 138 cells.

Fig. 7


In this way you can actually take moreadvantage of something called 'Peak

Again, because this is important, youwill notice that a slight additionalvoltage rise across each cell allows amuch greater amperage current to flow.This is why the voltage doubler circuitincreases amperage.

The voltage doubler does an additionalthing, it increases the FREQUENCY ofpulses. With the voltage doubler youwill usually get at least 240 pulses persecond. In certain cases (combinationsof capacitors on the legs of the voltagedoubler) it is possible to get up to 500pulses per second using this circuitplugged into normal 60 cycle AC.

You use a voltage doubling circuit ifyou have too many cells for StraightCapacitive limiting.

The voltage doubler circuit has severaladvantages that the over Capacitivelimiting.1. It uses very little additional

components.2. It increases the frequency of pulses.3. It allows you to add extra cells that

limit amperage, yet allows additionalamperage capacity to be added atwill.

4. It allows additional gas productionby increased number of cells at thesame DC amperage (AC amperageis increased, TANSTAAFL).

5. It allows an electrolyzer designed tooperate on a higher voltage tooperate on a lower voltage; forexample a 220 volt electrolyzer tooperate on 110 VAC source.

2. Voltage doubler

Note that this is the 'basic'powersupply circuit for the electrolyzer only,without all the controls that tum themain relay on and off. This is thecircuit starting from the output side ofthe main relay.

Voltage Doubler doesn't actuallydouble the voltage; (it would if therewas no load), the voltage only rises alittle across each cell (to the thresholdvoltage) and the amperage can beraised quite a bit.

You can use Capacitive Limiting fromone cell to as many cells as you wantup to about line power VRMS. Theamperage will be limited to whateverwill 'pass' though the capacitor at thevoltage applied. For example; at 120VAC, 25 uF (microfarad) will passabout one amp; at 240 VAC, about 7uF will pass one amp.

You can use Capacitive Limiting withVoltage Doubler. But usually theCapacitive Limiting is simply added toa series-cell that has too few cells toqualify for any other power supplyoption.


Main Power circuit

Negativeoutput

V DC Voltmeter

...._ .... .... Positiveoutput

cp (§

~~t t Pressure shut-off

Electronic shut-offMain shut-off

Fig. 9

NI--------- ..p---------~..........

r--,I

DC Ampmeter

side of your transformer that providesthe low voltage for the electronics,gauges, buzzer and relays.

You'll note that the DC ammeter is onthe line going into the electrolyzer; itdoesn't matter which one, just so youget the polarity correct. Although Idepict a capacitive limited, voltagedoubler power supply here, theammeter is installed in the same placeon all the power supplies.

You'll note that the DC voltmeter ismounted between the lines going intothe electrolyzer, you have to get thepolarity correct. Although I depict acapacitive limited, voltage doublerpower supply here, the voltmeter isinstalled in the same place on all thepower supplies.

o

7812

Low voltagePower Supply

There are any number of 'extras'thatcan be applied to this circuit, likeindicator lights and receptacles (120volt and 240 volt); but I left them outof this schematic because I'm trying tokeep it seriously simple. What you seewill work just great! The electronicshas status indicator lights and you cansee when the power is on (to the

Note that our electrolyzer draws about50 amps, so I use a main relay rated at90 amps. The relay is normally open,three pole, single throw. The relay hasa 120 volt coil to activate it.

Note the three shut-off switches wiredin series, in series with the main relaycoil. This is so that if anyone of theswitches is open (off) then the mainrelay has no power and is off! ThePressure switch is normally closed,open on pressure rise (could be arelay). The Electronic switch is arelay that is normally open, heldclosed by the electronic circuit.The Main switch is normallyopen, closed only when you wantthe electrolyzer operational (thiscould be a relay too), I usuallyjust use an ordinary light switch.

Same as Voltage Doubler, only youhave capacitive limiting in series onthe input common with the center ofthe voltage doubler capacitors.

We have the main power coming in onan ordinary 240 Volt cord, usingproperly rated receptacles, wire sizesand plugs. The 'P'is power or hot; the'N'is neutral, where you wire to whenyou want 120 VAC.

Main Power Circuit

without all the controls that tum themain relay on and off. This is thecircuit starting from the output side ofthe main relay.

When using a voltage doubler circuit,the amperage being drawn from thewall is about TWICE the amperageyou see across your electrolyzer. Youmust be sure your wall fuse or breakercan handle the amperage you will beadding. Remember that theMAXIMUM continuous operatingamperage of your breaker or fuse willbe only 80% of the 'rated'amperage.For example; a 20 amp breaker shouldhold 16 amps.

And the amperage will rise at one ampper 11 uF per leg with 240 VAC RMS.

3. Voltoge Doubler with capacitivelimiting

Further Note: When a breaker 'trips', itwill not again hold as much amperageas before. After each 'trip'the actualamperage that the breaker will hold is abit less.

IMPORTANT NOTE: 'There ain'tno such thing as a free lunch'. Whenyou increase the voltage using avoltage doubler, the 'extra power'comes from AMPERAGE from yourRMSsource.

You'll note that the amperage will riseat the rate of one amp per 50 uF perleg with 120 VAC RMS.

capacitance to the 'Iegs'of yourvoltage doubler. As you addcapacitance on each leg of the voltagedoubler (equal on each leg):

Note that this is the 'basic'powersupply circuit for the e1ectrolyzer only,

The points marked 'a'and 'b' arewhere you connect the primary Fig. 10


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