Author:angelo10I got interested in electronics and mechanics when i was 4 year old.And started soldering circuits (kits) at 7 years old.And improved soldering at 9 years old without any kit only followng circuit diagrams.And started making original circuits and schematics at 12 years old.
Intro: DIY HHO Torch (Water Torch) for only $4Introduction:
In this Instructable I will show you how to make a simple, cheap and effective HHO torch that can melt small pieces of metals like tin cans. This can be used in variousapplications it can be connected into your fire torch or in your car which is also known as the HHO Hybrid Generator which can reduce your fuel consumption although Idon’t have a car I am still a 12 years old boy.
Definition:
A lot of people are asking what and how does a HHO Torch/Generator works. It is simple a HHO torch/Generator separates water molecules into gas, now you will havea mixture of Oxygen and Hydrogen gas which can give a powerful kick or flame.
Use:
- You can connect this in a fire torch pin which I will show you how to make.- You can use this for your car to reduce fuel consumption. But this will not be mentioned for this Instructable, it would be better of you Google it.- You can use this to weld o melt thin metals
Warning: It is not my responsibility if any of you gets injured or burned so don't blame me for your mistake. Luckily I made some safety features which are already testedand prevents some common problems with HHO converter like explosions and implosions which creates cracks or even explosions. Hydrogen are highly explosiveespecially of you mix it with Oxygen. Batteries not included.
Be sure to rate this a 5 star. This instructions are very rare and hard to find.
Image Notes1. Fire Torch Pin.2. Old 12 Volts battery.3. Air tight container.4. Bubbler Jar.5. Salt Supply.
Step 1: MaterialsYou Will Need:
- Vinyl Tubing/Fish Tank Tube 2m (50c)- Air Tight Container x2 ($1) - Fish Tank Tube Connectors x3 (30c)- Stainless Steel Plates x12 ($2)- Wire 1m (20c)- 12 Volts Battery (revised)- Inflation Pin (10c)
Step 2: Cutting The Metal Sheet x12Cut the metal sheets into 12 pieces. The measure should be a 2x4 inch rectangular sheet. Then cut a line above leaving a small metal for the wire to be connected.
Image Notes1. Leave a small metal2. Cut3. 2x4 inch Measure
Step 3: Stacking The Metal PlatesStack the metal plates with a 1 cm styrofoam on each sides and one in the middle, use a hot glue gun for bonding the metal plates and the styrofoam. Then connect thethe metal terminals with Magnet/Copper wire.
Image Notes1. Metal Plates2. Styrofoam3. Use Magnet/Copper Wire to connect the terminals
Step 4: Installing The HHO Converter PlatesPlace the HHO Converter in the air tight container. Then make a hole for the wire and be sure to seal it with a hot glue gun.
Image Notes1. Seal The Hole With Hot Glue2. HHO Converter Plates3. Seal the two wires with a electrical tape.
Step 5: Adding A Tube Connector For The Air Tight ContainerMake a hole for the tube connector. Then glue the tube connector.
Step 6: Making The Bubbler (with saftey feature)Get a jar then make two small holes for the tube connectors. Seal the tube connectors with a hot glue gun and be sure to connect a tube for the inlet. Then make arectangular hole and seal it with a cling wrap with hot glue.
Safety Feature: The cling wrap serves as a safety cap. Most bubblers explodes when implosion occurs. This prevents this from exploding.
Image Notes1. Be sure to seal this with a cling wrap plastic.2. Inlet3. Outlet
Image Notes1. Cling Wrap.2. Inlet3. Outlet
Step 7: Making The Torch PinGet a inflation pi then connect a tube connector, then seal it with a hot glue gun or use epoxy for better results. After that connect all the tubes to is proper connection.
killerjackalope says: Oct 12, 2010. 4:03 PM REPLYCool project, well written and documented. I've had a build for one of these on the agenda for a while, because nobody answers any questions about them.
Compared to a normal torch how would the flame be, in terms of heat and gas flow?
icekid says: Oct 13, 2010. 1:04 AM REPLYBest guide on making HHO torches. Thanks this is just what I need.
icekid says: Oct 13, 2010. 1:09 AM REPLYThanks Dude.
wareneutron says: Oct 13, 2010. 1:48 AM REPLYsuch a nice job
rimar2000 says: Oct 13, 2010. 4:43 AM REPLYAWESOME! This is a very good Instructable! Thanks, I will try to do it!
day-veed says: Oct 25, 2010. 1:03 AM REPLYNice ibble'! I really wanna try it but in Singapore, 12 year old boys like me aren't often seen cutting steel and making a torch...
day-veed says: Oct 25, 2010. 1:05 AM REPLYPS: The clingwrap pressure valve was ingenius!
lookinfornewideas says: Oct 29, 2010. 9:05 AM REPLYThis is awesome!! A must try for this weekend!!!
dans89 says: Mar 13, 2011. 6:19 PM REPLYCan I use something besides stainless steel? It seems to be hard to find around here. How about brass/copper or aluminum?
techno guy says: Feb 3, 2011. 8:00 PM REPLYWhats the hydrogen oxygen ratio and how do you control it?
Puff says: Feb 6, 2011. 8:51 PM REPLYIts 2:1 and that's what its going to be. Water always splits into two hydrogens and one oxygen (H2O). As far as controlling the rates at which the gasesare produced the surface area of the electrodes, temp of water, conductivity of water/salt solution, and amperage of the power supply all affect output.
techno guy says: Feb 3, 2011. 7:35 PM REPLYFor connecting this, do you connect all of the plates or not. And do you put a bare wire for negative?
ElectronicsNub says: Jan 29, 2011. 7:10 AM REPLYWouldn't you want some sort of one way valve right before the inflation pin? So if the flame goes in to the tube, it gets stopped by the valve?
Unit042 says: Jan 22, 2011. 3:52 PM REPLYStainless steel looks like it works in your experiments, but I always use graphite electrodes. They are not chemically active under these conditions, yet theyare also conductive, so you can use them to do electrolysis without degrading electrodes (well, at least, slower degrading electrodes).
At most, water discoloration will consist of some graphite powder. Plus, you can get graphite rods from pencils by singing them with a cigarette ligter, thenpulling them part at the seam with a pair of nedle-nosed pliers.
I ought to do an instructable for that!
Oh, and I heard that baking soda is also a good non-gas producing electrolyte. Don't know about this epsom salt. I'd rather leave that in the bathtub.
For limiting the current going to the water, you can use a constant current power supply.See:http://www.meetup.com/robotics-71/messages/boards/thread/10304072/post/39393128/?hash=39393128#initialized
Overall, this is an interesting instructable. I have always wondered if electrolysis could be done fast enough to sustain a flame. I wonder about electrolysisefficiency versus straight welding efficiency.....
lemonie says: Oct 13, 2010. 12:42 PM REPLYWhy does the picture of the flame look yellow and a touch-sooty?That shouldn't be possible.
L
Mr. Bricoleur says: Oct 13, 2010. 3:27 PM REPLYIn reality, the flame should be really faint. But hey, it's still an extraordinarily scorching hot flame.
lemonie says: Oct 13, 2010. 3:32 PM REPLY
Yes it should be. I wonder whether butane was used for illustrative purposes?
L
jtobako says: Oct 13, 2010. 7:37 PM REPLYWith the fuzzy on everything BUT the flame try Photoshop : (
A setup like this won't get a 1/4 inch flame-a professional unit will barely get a one inch flame that is only visible because the gas is bubbled threwalcohol so there is some visibility in the flame. The inflation needle is WAY to big-it should be a hypodermic needle (or even a crushed downinflation needle-the only way I could keep a flame on a similar low volume rig).
ironsmiter says: Jan 19, 2011. 6:16 AM REPLY*noticed the photo shopped image has gone away, since last i looked.*
SO, I started thinking about getting a "big boy version" of my homemade proof-of-concept.
And here's what Rio-Grande(where I DO buy my electrolyte at now) had to offer.http://goo.gl/mCsaD
Ok, so $1250 is a LOT of money if it isn't a big difference from mine.So, here's what the flames look like from the big boy unit.http://goo.gl/TKbYZ
Now, it MIGHT be worth it, if I was going to be working in a commercial shop.but, my current setup(using a 24 gauge injection needle for a tip) produces a flame almost identical to their 22/23 gauge images. I TRIED an18 gauge needle on mine, but on full batteries, it was a WIMPY wispy flame. The Zippo I used to establish the flame put out better than thetorch, at that size. Not as clean, but definitely hotter, and with "more force".
Further research showed that most commercial units are pumping over 3A12V into the electrolyte. After measuring, I was putting a mere1.2A5.5V in under load. Helps explain why it can't supply larger torch tips.So, sadly, I have decided to just get a hydrogen tank for my oxy-acetylene setup. That way I can get my big flame through turning a regulator,rather than through semi-dangerous engineering.
To jtobako The flame DOES have a color, even when bubbled through pure water. The alcohol isn't to add color. It is part of the in-gas flux.Methanol and boric acid flux mixture is used with silver and gold, to help clean the heating metal. When working Platinum, there is still avisible flame, though barely visible in normal light. it is a very light blue.
lemonie says: Oct 14, 2010. 11:50 AM REPLY
Yes, it is faked, you were more observant than me last night.
ironsmiter says: Oct 14, 2010. 8:03 AM REPLYMy rig, puts out around a 1/8th inch flame... using a needle from an old sewing machine oil applicator(the plastic tube cracked so it was re-purpose or recycle).I suppos ethat is like a medium hypodermic needle... but not sharp :-)
jtobako says: Oct 15, 2010. 7:11 AM REPLYDetails? How much volume are you producing with what input?
jtobako says: Oct 13, 2010. 7:47 PM REPLYHow fast do you boil away the water?
What color does the water turn?
Which salts do you use in the water to decrease resistance?
You forgot to show that the plates need to be alternately charged.
ironsmiter says: Oct 14, 2010. 8:16 AM REPLYIt's fairly slow, but the more power(voltage and amperage) you put in, the faster it will electrolyze. It's not boiling, it actually breaks the atomic bonds withthe help of electricity.
Depending on which metal you use for your electrodes... but follow these instructions, and it will turn a nice sludgy grey color.
Almost any salt will work, though Epsom salts are commonly used because of low cost and availability. Even Common table salt will work, but thepossibility of releasing chlorine gas(due to salt breakdown) is the main reason I avoid THAT. On a small scale, not a problem, but when you start using ahigher capacity flame, on a regular basis, well lets just say I'd rather avoid the issue.
The OP DIDN'T forget about opposite charge. that's why the plate design is the way it is. Step 8 fairly clearly shows one wire hoked upto + and the otherhooked to -. ;-) Sure, it COULD have been clearer, but Give them some slack.
Do take note though, in step 4, where they say to seal the wires with electrical tape.... if you look at the "in action" shot of the assembled device, thewater level is below the taped wires! Play it smart, and use heat shrink tubing, or some other waterproof method. odds are pretty good that you'll want theplates completely submerged. I actually re-fill mine when the water level drops within an inch of the plate assembly...
jtobako says: Oct 15, 2010. 7:07 AM REPLYI know how to make one, I was pointing out that this one isn't/hasn't been working : (
At low power it just electrolizes, at high power (say an unregulated high amp battery) it's going to boil the water as well. The cheep hot vaporizers juststick two electrodes into some water to create steam-the only difference is that the AC doesn't allow (much) gas to form.
The plate design is likely pulled from another web site, but HOW they are hooked together isn't mentioned, and not clearly shown. Critical info if youdon't want to just short the battery : )
carrierpilot1357 says: Oct 20, 2010. 6:44 PM REPLYtry adding less electrolyte to the water, then less amps will be drawn and therefore the water will not go above boiling point.
jtobako says: Oct 20, 2010. 7:42 PM REPLY...and less gas produced leading to no flame or flashback when the source of gas can't keep up with the flame's consumption.
carrierpilot1357 says: Oct 21, 2010. 5:41 PM REPLYyes, but it is possible that just enough electrolyte can be added to keep the temperature down somewhat and yet still supply enough gasfor the torch to be lit.
jtobako says: Oct 21, 2010. 8:06 PM REPLYAnd when you use up some of that water to make gas?
carrierpilot1357 says: Oct 25, 2010. 5:07 PM REPLYif you are using an hho cell for a torch, you would not have it on very much at all, therefore water loss would be extremely slow,and you could simply top it off if the water level DOES get a bit lower, therefore returning the water to it's original electrolyteconcentration. it would not be that hard to keep the water at the same level, at least if that is what you meant in your comment.
ironsmiter says: Oct 27, 2010. 4:54 AM REPLYSince my fuel is water, and the electricity is sustainably harvested...
I tend to light the torch, and just leave it running.Often for a few hours.With only water vapor as an exhaust, well, As long as it's in my bench holder I'll just leave it running :-)
jtobako says: Oct 27, 2010. 5:31 AM REPLYWhat power source are you using and how much current is your cell drawing?
ironsmiter says: Oct 27, 2010. 10:46 AM REPLY
It is running on a series/parallel bank of SLA batteries pulled from defunctUPSs.
On a good full charge, they put out a combined 48V.As to the Current... well, I'll have to check that some day.Right now, I have a rather large carbon rod wired inline, to actas the current limiting resistor. I THINK it was made as a motor brush,but have no idea. And, to make matters worse, I connected the wires about 1/3rd of the way. Closer, and the batteriescook. farther away, and gas production nosedives.
I'd guess, educated but still a guess, that I'm cranking about 7 to 10 Amps, based on the battery ratings, and wiring.Just a guess though. I'm not sure my cheap old radioshack special meter would handle the measuring without melting.
jtobako says: Oct 27, 2010. 12:46 PM REPLYThanks : )
Have you thought of putting the batteries in parallel rather than series?
ironsmiter says: Oct 28, 2010. 9:27 PM REPLYThey are 6 volt batteries, so I COULD run at lower voltages, and higher current.
Not sure what effect that would have. probably more heat, so I'd get both gasses plus steam...
Perhapse one day, if I find myself with nothing better to do, I'll swap around the battey connectors and see whathappens.
jtobako says: Oct 30, 2010. 6:46 PM REPLYAnything over 3 volts is just creating extra heat without additional gas production.
Jaycub says: Jan 9, 2011. 7:03 PM REPLYBut keep in mind V=IR, volts = amps x resistance. So more volts = more amps for a given resistance,and more amps = more gas.
jtobako says: Jan 14, 2011. 7:53 PM REPLYBut if you are using all the power of the electrical supply (like a battery or set of batteries) then morevolts gives LESS amps.
ironsmiter says: Jan 15, 2011. 3:08 AM REPLYI did a little lol, when this reply hit my email.
It's a moot point. With the 6 volt battery setup, the only way i would be running 3 volt is with a2:1 transformer. Loss in changing voltages would, I'm pretty sure, more than eat up any gainfrom running at 3 volt.
On the other hand, I just got myself a large batch of slightly used laptop batteries.I'm thinking about seeing what 100+Amps of 4.2-3.2 voltage might do to my setup. If the rigdoesn't blow up, the batteries might. Should be fun!
Sadly, it just doesn't get used, ever since I got some tiny oxy/acetylene tips for my big torch. Theversatility makes this my go-to flame source. the only time I MAY go back to the oxy/hyd setup isif i end up working platinum... where zero-carbon is a requirement.
jtobako says: Oct 25, 2010. 7:51 PM REPLYI'm sorry, the liquid to gas conversion won't use up very much water. Slowing the reaction down by limiting the amount ofelectrolyte is an iffy control mechanism.
Puff says: Jan 10, 2011. 4:41 PM REPLYOh and as a fun aside: as if the chlorine gas wasn't bad enough I discovered that if i had not isolated the hydrogen and chlorine gasses with the apparatus imade, they would have combined to form hydrochloric acid vapor to wreak even more havoc on my lungs. My chemistry teacher was impressed by mygenius and he and I had a good laugh about the accidental death cloud i made.
Puff says: Jan 10, 2011. 4:37 PM REPLYjust a word of warning here: be careful about using salts to increase the conductivity of the water. I learned this the hard way last year when I accidentallymade chlorine gas on my kitchen counter. We were about to learn about electrolysis in my honors chemistry class (which is all you are doing here. thedevice functions by splitting the hydrogen and oxygen in water with a DC current and an electrode. The electrodes are being oxidized at one end andreduced at the other and will corrode over time.) so i decided to do my own experiment at home with some water, table salt, and a DC converter i had toobtain pure hydrogen and pure oxygen. To increase the conductivity i added the table salt to the water but i was unsatisfied with the amount of pure oxygencreated so i heated the water to increase the solubility of the salt. By concentrating the salt solution i inadvertently changed the chemical reaction that wasoccurring. Instead of producing hydrogen and oxygen gas the reaction was splitting the salt as well to produce sodium hydroxide, hydrogen gas, and chlorinegas at the electrodes. I noticed the yellow gas bubbling out and immediately pulled the plug. Beware of what side reactions you could possibly cause byadding a salt to the water in the reaction.
Jaycub says: Jan 9, 2011. 7:12 PM REPLYWhere did you get that stainless steel sheet?
amos33 says: Nov 14, 2010. 11:58 AM REPLYyou do want to add a check valve and a spark arrestor between the torch and the bubbler. Check Valves cost $0.68 at US Plastic and the spark arrestor youcan make yourself. Nice job but be safe!
andynerd says: Nov 5, 2010. 12:52 PM REPLYWhat about using baking soda for the electrolyte?
carrierpilot1357 says: Nov 7, 2010. 7:16 PM REPLYthough it is not the best electrolyte to use, baking soda should work fine.
ironsmiter says: Oct 13, 2010. 4:18 AM REPLYSeems every few months, we go through this :-)
So to start with, WAY CONGRATS! Incredible forethought on your part. you get a good vote from me :-) Can't tell you how many gas generator/torch designsI've seen with NO flash suppressor(bubble jar). An added bonus is, by measuring the bubble size, and rate, you can determine sustained gas flow rates!
Now, to the normal HHO garbage, (mis)information, etc...... Most fuel efficiency improvements are resulting from the gas mixture causing the engine to runleaner.As to the loss of FE due to it running off the car battery... Angelo10 uses a separate SLA for his rig. The only effect on fuel mileage it would have(if chargedoutside the car or via solar cell) would be an extra few pounds cargo weight.An extra level of safety can be added, by installing a bit of fine metal screen between the tubing, and needle. See here for a wonderful little experimentdealing with the flame and screens :-)
kelseymh says: Oct 15, 2010. 11:17 AM REPLYGood answers; thanks! I agree with you that with a separate power supply there's no battery or alternator load, and hence no FE effect.
This is a nice project; pity he chose to Photoshop a fake flame rather than showing actual operation.
kelseymh says: Oct 12, 2010. 2:57 PM REPLYNice project! Well done, decently written (though you could use an editor to deal with the typos, misspellings, etc.).
The "fuel consumption" stuff is a scam, but you won't have taken enough science courses yet to know that. This is a good opportunity to learn how to thinkabout things quantitatively.
First, the energy density of hydrogen less than 1% that of gasoline, so even if you carried a tank of hydrogen and injected it into your engine, it wouldn'tmake any noticeable difference. You'll get better fuel economy by paying attention to starting and stopping, than by "magical" devices.
Second, suppose that you used the car's engine (battery or alternator) to run the HHO generator. The power that is being diverted to the HHO generator isnot being used to move the car, so that corresponds to a drop in fuel economy. The process of electrolysis isn't 100% efficient (it can't be), some of thepower that goes to the generator turns into waste heat, for example. So when you burn the hydrogen, you won't get back all of the energy you used to createit in the first place. You certainly can't get more, but in reality you won't even break even. That's another drop in fuel economy.
jtobako says: Oct 15, 2010. 7:15 AM REPLYDon't forget that internal combustion is only about 10% efficient, so add THAT loss into your calculations...
