Running A Motorcycle On Water

Zach West of the USA has built an electrolyser which powers a 250 cc four-stroke motorcycle which he has run
on public roads in America. Zach estimates the HHO gas output of his electrolyser to be 17 litres per minute.
Zach’s design of electrolyser is interesting, both for it’s simplicity and it’s high rate of gas output. The increased
gas volume which would be produced if this design were adapted for, and driven by, a 12-volt input could be very
useful.

The method which Zach uses is somewhat unusual as he manages to bleed off and discard most of the oxygen
produced. This means that the remaining gas is mainly hydrogen which is far less reactive than an HHO gas mix
which is already in the perfect proportions for combination back into water and so is highly reactive. Instead, the
resulting gas can be compressed reasonably well, and Zach compresses it to 30 pounds per square inch in a
storage container. This helps with acceleration from stationary at traffic lights.

Zach uses a simple, modular style of construction where a series of coiled electrode pairs are each placed inside
an individual length of plastic pipe. This is a design which is neither difficult nor particularly expensive to build. In
overall broad outline, Zach’s electrolyser is fed water from a water tank to keep it topped up. The electrolyser box
contains several pairs of electrodes which split the water into hydrogen and oxygen when fed with pulsed
electrical current generated by the electronics, which is powered by the electrical system of the motorcycle. The
gas produced by the electrolyser is fed to a dual-purpose bubbler, which prevents any accidental igniting of the
gases from travelling back to the electrolyser and in addition, removes most of the oxygen from the gas by acting
as a gas “separator”. The arrangement is like this:

The hydrogen gas output from the electrolyser is not fed directly to the engine but instead it goes to a pressure
tank which is allowed to build up to thirty pounds per square inch before the engine is started. The majority of the
oxygen produced by the electrolysis is vented away through a 30 psi one-way valve which is included to keep the
pressure inside the bubbler (and the electrolyser) at the 30 psi level. That pressure is excessive for a high-
performance electrolyser which produces HHO which is highly charged electrically and so will ignite
spontaneously when compressed to about 15 pounds per square inch, due to it’s own electrical charge. In this
simple DC electrolyser, the HHO gas is mixed with quite an amount of water vapour which dilutes it and allows
some compression.

The water supply system operates by having an air-tight supply tank positioned at a higher level than the
electrolyser. A small diameter (6 mm or 1/4”) plastic tube coming from the supply tank feeds water through the
top of the electrolyser and straight down, terminating at exactly the electrolyte surface level wanted in each of the
electrolyser tubes. When the electrolysis lowers the electrolyte level below the bottom of the pipe, bubbles of gas

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pass up the tube allowing some water to flow from the tank to raise the electrolyte surface level back to it’s design
height.

This is a very neat, passive system needing no moving parts, electrical supply or electronics but yet one which
accurately controls the electrolyte level. One essential point to understand is that the water tank needs to be rigid
so that it will not flex and the filler cap needs to be air-tight to prevent the entire water supply discharging into the
electrolyser. Another point to remember when topping up the water tank is that the tank contains a mix of air and
HHO gas above the water surface and not just plain air, and that gas mix is at 30 psi pressure, so when refilling
the water tank, the cap needs to be eased off very carefully to allow that pressurised gas mix to exit slowly and
safely.

Now, let’s look at the design in more detail. This 6-volt electrolyser contains eight pairs of electrodes. These
electrode pairs are coiled around in “Swiss-roll” style and inserted into a length of 50 mm (2 inch) diameter plastic
pipe, 250 mm (ten inches) tall. The electrodes are each made from a 250 x 125 mm (10 inch by 5 inch) piece of
316L-grade stainless steel shimstock which is easy to cut and work. Shimstock, which is a very thin and springy
metal is available from a local steel supplier or metal fabrication company.

Each electrode is cleaned carefully, and wearing rubber gloves, cross-scored using coarse sandpaper in order to
produce a very large number of microscopic mountain peaks on the surface of the metal. This increases the
surface area and provides a surface which makes it easier for gas bubbles to break away and rise to the surface
of the electrolyte. The electrodes are rinsed off with clean water and then coiled round, using spacers to maintain
the necessary inter-plate gap, to form the required shape which is then inserted into a length of plastic pipe as
shown here:

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As the springy metal pushes outwards in an attempt to straighten up again, spacers are used to keep the
electrodes evenly separated along their whole length by inserting 1/8” thick vertical spacer pieces. The
connections to the plates are made by drilling a hole in the corner of the plate and inserting the wire several times
through the hole, twisting it back around itself and making a wire-to-wire solder joint on both sides of the steel.
The joint is then insulated with silicone or any other suitable material. It is, of course, essential that the joint does
not short-circuit to the other electrode even though that electrode is very close by.

It is always difficult to make a good electrical connection to stainless steel plates if space is restricted as it is here.
In this instance, the electrical wire is wrapped tightly through a drilled hole and then soldered and insulated. The
soldering is only on the wire as solder will not attach to stainless steel.

An unusual feature of this design is that each of the electrode pairs is effectively a separate electrolyser in its own
right as it is capped top and bottom, and effectively physically isolated from the other electrodes. The water feed
comes through the top cap which has a hole drilled in it to allow the gas to escape. The electrical wires have a 2
mm diameter conductor (#12 AWG or swg 14) are fed through the base and sealed against leakage of electrolyte.
Each of these units has some electrolyte stored above it, so there is no chance of any part of the electrode
surface not being able to generate gas. There is also a large amount of freeboard to contain splashes and
sloshing without any being able to escape from the container. The end caps are standard PVC caps available
from the supplier of the PVC piping, as is the PVC glue used to seal them to the pipe.

Eight of these electrodes are placed in a simple electrolyser case and connected together in pairs like this:

Pairs of pipe-enclosed electrode spirals are then connected in a chain inside the electrolyser as shown here:

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Many years of experimentation and testing have shown that 316L-grade stainless steel is the most suitable
material for electrodes, but surprisingly, stainless steel is not highly electrically conductive as you would expect.
Each electrode causes a voltage drop of nearly half a volt, and so careful surface preparation, cleansing and
conditioning are needed to get top performance from the electrodes. This process is described in detail by the
very experienced American developer Bob Boyce who says:

The preparation of the plates is one of the most important steps in producing an electrolyser which works well.
This is a long task, but it is vital that it is not skimped or hurried in any way. Surprisingly, brand new shiny
stainless steel is not particularly suitable for use in an electrolyser and it needs to receive careful treatment and
preparation before it will produce the expected level of gas output.

The first step is to treat both surfaces of every plate to encourage gas bubbles to break away from the surface of
the plate. This could be done by grit blasting, but if that method is chosen, great care must be taken that the grit
used does not contaminate the plates. Stainless steel is not cheap and if you get grit blasting wrong, then the
plates will be useless as far as electrolysis is concerned. A safe method is to score the plate surface with coarse
sandpaper. This is done in two different directions to produce a cross-hatch pattern. This produces microscopic
sharp peaks and valleys on the surface of the plate and those sharp points and ridges are ideal for helping
bubbles to form and break free of the plate.

When doing hand sanding the sandpaper is drawn across the plates in one direction only and not backwards and
forwards, as the backwards stroke always destroys the perfectly good ridges created on the forward stroke. Also,

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you only need two strokes in one direction before turning the plate through ninety degrees and completing the
sanding of that face of the plate with just two more strokes (again, with no backstroke).

Always wear rubber gloves when handling the plates to avoid getting finger marks on the plates. Wearing these
gloves is very important as the plates must be kept as clean and as grease-free as possible, ready for the next
stages of their preparation. Any particles created by the sanding process should now be washed off the plates.
This can be done with clean tap water (not city water though, due to all the chlorine and other chemicals added),
but only use distilled water for the final rinse.

While Potassium hydroxide (KOH) and Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) are the very best electrolytes, they need to be
treated with care. The handling for each is the same:

Always store it in a sturdy air-tight container which is clearly labelled "DANGER! - Potassium Hydroxide". Keep
the container in a safe place, where it can’t be reached by children, pets or people who won't take any notice of
the label. If your supply of KOH is delivered in a strong plastic bag, then once you open the bag, you should
transfer all its contents to sturdy, air-tight, plastic storage containers, which you can open and close without
risking spilling the contents. Hardware stores sell large plastic buckets with air tight lids that can be used for this
purpose.

When working with dry KOH flakes or granules, wear safety goggles, rubber gloves, a long sleeved shirt, socks
and long trousers. Also, don’t wear your favourite clothes when handling KOH solution as it is not the best thing to
get on clothes. It is also no harm to wear a face mask which covers your mouth and nose. If you are mixing solid
KOH with water, always add the KOH to the water, and not the other way round, and use a plastic container for
the mixing, preferably one which has double the capacity of the finished mixture. The mixing should be done in a
well-ventilated area which is not draughty as air currents can blow the dry KOH around.

When mixing the electrolyte, never use warm water. The water should be cool because the chemical reaction
between the water and the KOH generates a good deal of heat. If possible, place the mixing container in a larger
container filled with cold water, as that will help to keep the temperature down, and if your mixture should “boil
over” it will contain the spillage. Add only a small amount of KOH at a time, stirring continuously, and if you stop
stirring for any reason, put the lids back on all containers.

If, in spite of all precautions, you get some KOH solution on your skin, wash it off with plenty of running cold water
and apply some vinegar to the skin. Vinegar is acidic, and will help balance out the alkalinity of the KOH. You can
use lemon juice if you don't have vinegar to hand - but it is always recommended to keep a bottle of vinegar
handy.

Plate cleansing is always done with NaOH. Prepare a 5% to 10% (by weight) NaOH solution and let it cool down.
A 5% solution ‘by weight’ is 50 grams of NaOH in 950 cc of water. A 10% solution ‘by weight’ is 100 grams of
NaOH in 900 cc of water. As mentioned before, never handle the plates with your bare hands, but always use
clean rubber gloves.

A voltage is now applied across the whole set of plates by attaching the leads to the outermost two plates. This
voltage should be at least 2 volts per cell, but it should not exceed 2.5 volts per cell. Maintain this voltage across
the set of plates for several hours at a time. The current is likely to be 4 amps or more. As this process
continues, the boiling action will loosen particles from the pores and surfaces of the metal. This process produces
HHO gas, so it is very important that the gas is not allowed to collect anywhere indoors (such as on ceilings).

After several hours, disconnect the electrical supply and pour the electrolyte solution into a container. Rinse out
the cells thoroughly with distilled water. Filter the dilute NaOH solution through paper towels or coffee filters to
remove the particles. Pour the dilute solution back into the cells and repeat this cleaning process. You may have
to repeat the electrolysis and rinsing process many times before the plates stop putting out particles into the
solution. If you wish, you can use a new NaOH solution each time you cleanse, but please understand that you
can go through a lot of solution just in this cleaning stage if you choose to do it that way. When cleansing is
finished (typically 3 days of cleansing), do a final rinse with clean distilled water. It is very important that during
cleansing, during conditioning and during use, that the polarity of the electrical power is always the same. In other
words, don’t swap the battery connections over as that destroys all the preparation work and requires the
cleansing and conditioning processes to be carried out all over again.

Using the same concentration of solution as in cleansing, fill the cells with dilute solution. Apply about 2 volts per
cell and allow the unit to run. Remember that very good ventilation is essential during this process. As water is
consumed, the levels will drop. Once the cells stabilise, monitor the current draw. If the current draw is fairly
stable, continue with this conditioning phase continuously for two to three days, adding just enough distilled water
to replace what is consumed. If the solution changes colour or develops a layer of crud on the surface of the

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electrolyte, then the electrodes need more cleansing stages. After two to three days of run time, pour out the
dilute KOH solution and rinse out the cells thoroughly with distilled water.

The construction which Zach has used is very sensible, utilising readily available, low-cost PVC piping. The spiral
electrodes are inside 2 inch diameter pipe and Zach says that the bubbler is also 2 inch diameter PVC pipe. I
seriously doubt that a two-inch diameter bubbler could handle a flow as high as 17 litres per minute which is a
substantial amount. Also. You want the bubbles in the bubbler to be small in order that the gas comes into good
contact with the water. Consequently, using more than one bubbler where the diagram shows just one, would be
sensible.

At this time, Zach only uses one bubbler, but a second one is highly desirable, located between the storage tank
and the engine and positioned as close to the engine as possible. This extra bubbler does two things, most
importantly, it prevents the gas in the storage tank being ignited by a backfire caused by a valve sticking slightly
open and secondly, it removes every last trace of potassium hydroxide fumes from the gas, protecting the life of
the engine. This is a big gain for such a simple addition.

The gas storage tank is also made from PVC pipe, this time, 4 inch (100 mm) diameter, 14 inches (350 mm) long
with standard end caps fixed in place with PVC glue as shown below. This is a compact and effective
arrangement well suited for use on a motorcycle. The majority of this extra equipment can be mounted in bike
panniers, which is a neat arrangement.

The electric drive to the electrolyser is from a Pulse Width Modulator (“DC Motor speed controller”):

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A fuse protects against accidental short circuits and a relay is used to control when the electrolyser is to be
producing gas. The connecting wire is #12 AWG (swg 14) which has a maximum continuous current capacity of
just under ten amps, so although the current peaks may be twenty amps, the average current is much lower than
that. The “DC Motor Speed Controller” should be able to supply 20 amps of current.

A very interesting feature of Zach’s design is the bubbler which manages to remove most of the oxygen produced
in the HHO gas mix. Two electromagnets are positioned outside the bubbler, located 2.5 inches (65 mm) above
the base. These electromagnets are connected as part of the electrical supply to the electrolyser, and these
cause most of the oxygen and hydrogen bubbles to separate and exit the bubbler through different pipes. There
is a divider across the bubbler to assist in keeping the gases from mixing again above the water surface. The
bubbler also washes most of the potassium hydroxide fumes out of the gas as the bubbles rise to the surface,
protecting the engine as these fumes have a very destructive effect on engines.

The objective with any HHO system is to have the minimum amount of gas between the bubbler and the engine in
order to block the ignition of the gas in the unlikely event of a backfire. In this system, the gas storage tank
contains a very large amount of gas, though admittedly it is not full HHO gas thanks to the electromagnet
separation system, but nevertheless, it would be most advisable to have a second bubbler between the gas
storage tank and the engine, positioned as close to the engine as possible. HHO gas produces a very high-speed
shock-wave when it is ignited so the bubbler needs to be of strong construction to withstand this. No pop-off
bubbler cap or blow-out device acts fast enough to contain a HHO shock-wave, so make the bubbler housing
strong enough to withstand the pressure wave.

Zach’s electrolyser arrangement is like this:

It must be realised that the water tank, electrolyser, bubbler/separator and hydrogen holding tank, all operate at
thirty pounds per square inch. This means that each of these containers must be robust enough to withstand that
pressure quite easily. It also means that the 30 psi one-way check valve on the oxygen venting pipe is an
essential part of the design as well as being a safety feature. As a bubble of gas from the electrolyser escapes
into the water tank every time a drop of water feeds to the electrolyser, the contents of the water tank above the
water surface becomes a stronger and stronger mix of air and HHO. Consequently, it soon becomes an energetic
mixture. It is common for static electricity to build up on a tank of this nature, so it will be very important to earth
both the tank and it’s cap before removing the cap to top up the tank with more water.

The electrolyser has a potassium hydroxide (KOH) solution in it. The electrolysis process produces a mixture of
hydrogen, oxygen, dissolved gases (air) and potassium hydroxide fumes. When the system is being used, the
water in the bubbler washes out most of the potassium hydroxide fumes, and in doing so, it gradually becomes a
dilute electrolyte itself. Potassium hydroxide is a true catalyst and while it promotes the electrolysis process, it
does not get used up during electrolysis. The only loss is to the bubbler. Standard practice is to fill the bubbler
with fresh water from time to time. Potassium hydroxide has been found to be the most effective catalyst for
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electrolysis but it has a very bad effect on the engine if it is allowed to enter it. The first bubbler is very effective in
removing the potassium hydroxide fumes, but many people prefer to take the scrubbing process a step further by
placing a second bubbler in the line, in this instance, between the hydrogen pressure tank and the engine. With
two bubblers, absolutely no potassium hydroxide fumes reach the engine.

When running with HHO gas as the only fuel, it is essential to adjust the timing of the spark so that it occurs after
Top Dead Centre. The timing on this bike is now set at 8 degrees after TDC. This electrolyser is designed to run
off the nominal six volts of a motorcycle electrics (about 7.3 volts with the engine running). Zach uses the very
simple method of allowing excess gas to be vented via the oxygen valve if gas production exceeds the
requirements of the engine.

Caution: This electrolyser is not a toy. If you make and use one of these, you do so entirely at your own
risk. Neither the designer of the electrolyser, the author of this document or the provider of the internet
display are in any way liable should you suffer any loss or damage through your own actions. While it is
believed to be entirely safe to make and use an electrolyser of this design, provided that the safety
instructions shown in this document are followed, it is stressed that the responsibility is yours and yours
alone.

An electrolyser should not be considered as an isolated device. You need to remember that both electrical and
gas safety devices are an essential part of any such installation. The electrical safety devices are a circuit-
breaker (as used by any electrician when wiring a house) to protect against accidental short-circuits, and a relay
to make sure that the electrolyser does not operate when the engine is not running.

Patrick Kelly
http://www.free-energy-info.com
http://www.free-energy-info.tuks.nl
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk