Hydrogen and Oxygen, fuel assisted Suzuki
By Steve Green
Before Bob Hone of Auckland goes for a ride on his Suzuki SV650 he usually checks the water. However, Bob is not checking the water used as an engine coolant, he is checking the water he uses as fuel. Two jars on the right hand side of the bike are part of a hydrogen and oxygen fuel system which compliments the bike’s existing petrol fuel. And before you start muttering something rude under your breath, the water is not directly fed into the engine as fuel, rather it is split into hydrogen and oxygen by electrolysis and the Gaseous result is fed into the engine along with petrol. The system operates in much the same way that drag racers use Nitrous Oxide Gas to get a more explosive air fuel mix. This system introduces potentially explosive Hydrogen as well as pure Oxygen into the engine. The result is a more explosive fuel mix and more power with the added bonus that the bike is actually more fuel efficient because it now has the same power result from less fuel. In real world terms this bike will go around 100 Kms further, per tank of petrol with the system turned on. Bob’s wife’s Toyota Starlet has been fitted with a similar system which has noticeably improved its fuel efficiency as well. The interesting think is that Bob who is very meticulous about details, worked out that the water consumption has only 2 tablespoons of water for a whole week of riding on a recent holiday.
The system uses 2 jars of water, the first one has a Perspex former which is wrapped with a few coils of stainless steel wire. A positive and a negative wire are separated by grooves in the Perspex. 12 Volt power for the electrolysis process is drawn from the bikes battery via a fuse, on off switch and an Amp meter. When running, the system draws around 2 Amps at idle and 5 Amps maximum when riding, depending on the temperature of the water.
>From the first jar the gases, which initially appear as a cloud of frothy bubbles, are fed into the second jar via a long tube. The metre long tube has a one way valve in it and the opening is under water at the bottom of the second jar. This is done, just in case of an engine back fire, which could accidentally introduce a flame into the first jar resulting in an explosion which will blow the jar to bits. Not a recommended experiment, however Bob tells me it was quite impressive when he saw one explode, fortunately not on his bike.
The on off switch on the little console on the handlebars allows Bob to get the bike running before turning on the system. This ensures that there is a vacuum in the manifold before gas is produced, not absolutely necessary but safer. In reality Bob often starts the bike with the system running and has had no problems. From the top of the second jar there are two hoses, also with non return valves, leading to the bikes engine intakes. With this model of V Twin there are two threaded screw holes in the manifold, one for each cylinder, initially intended for test equipment when servicing the bike, they proved to work perfectly, as gas intake ports. The Suzuki SV650 is fuel injected, so it has a very complex computer system, which at this stage, apparently does not seem to be at all affected by the HHO gas system despite the better fuel economy.
On a fast cruise, with the system turned off, the bike normally does around 200 kilometres on 14 litres of fuel, before the fuel warning light comes on. However on a recent trip with the system turned on, the bike did 300 kilometres and the fuel light had still not come on. Although sure that the bike would go further Bob was forced to fill up as the next Gas Station was 100 kilometres further down the road. Testing is still ongoing and once Bob has enough data he will provide us with an update on fuel efficiency.
The system requires no maintenance except to add a little water occasionally and clean the first bottle. Tests of the water in the first jar showed that the electrolysis process was actually working like a chrome plater and releasing minute amounts of metallic compounds from the stainless steel wires into the water. It did not have any noticeable effect on gas production, only causing some residue in the bottom of the first jar and a slight rusty discolouration of the water.
