TALLADEGA COUNTY – A few individuals and organizations in the county have started biodiesel programs to lower their fuel costs but now one man is increasing fuel efficiency using hydrogen.J.C. Hutchinson, owner of Alabama Hybrids, builds hydrogen generators, and he says his products will both increase fuel efficiency and decrease harmful emissions from vehicle engines
“I spent my whole life in the car business, and I always wondered why we did not have a different type of fuel,” Hutchinson said.
In basic terms, his hydrogen cells are charged with a positive and negative current. Then distilled water is mixed with sodium hydroxide (commonly known as lye) in a separate container.
“You shoot a current through (the water), positive and negative, the hydrogen and oxygen are both drawn to separate poles, so it splits them apart in the water and turns into gas,” Hutchinson explained.
The remaining water vapor is then removed from the gas, and the gas is fed into the engine. The Hydroxy gas burns 1,000 times faster than gasoline, so the gasoline is more fully consumed and used.
“It causes the gasoline consumed by the engine to be more completely burned,” Hutchinson said. “You’re only burning about 25 to 30 percent of the fuel gas that goes through your engine. The rest of it is going out the tailpipe and catalytic converter.”
The only byproduct of burning Hydroxy gas is it turns back into water which greatly reduces emissions.
Hutchinson said your vehicle will become 15 to 50 percent more fuel efficient using a hydrogen generator. Diesel engines usually are on the higher end of the spectrum of getting better fuel economy, Hutchinson said.
Hutchinson said distilled water is all you have to keep adding to keep the hydrogen generator running. Distilled water is only around a dollar a gallon, and it will last around 15 hours of driving time.
He recommended changing out the sodium hydroxide a couple of times a year to clean out the system.
“It’s really safe because you’re consuming it as fast as you’re making it. It’s called hydrogen on demand,” Hutchinson said. The only alteration that may have to be made is an adjustment to the car’s O2 sensor, especially on older models.
The cost for his hydrogen generators range from $399 to $1,349. They can be mounted on the front of or under your vehicle. The components of the generators are made of stainless steel and phenolic materials that are built to last, Hutchinson said.
He is in the process of hiring more employees and ramping up production of the hydrogen generators in the coming weeks. “I’ve had inquiries from all over the world,” Hutchinson said.
He believes one day water will be the only fuel required for engines.
“We’re two-thirds water, and the byproduct of (the generator) is water. It burns absolutely clean,” Hutchinson said.
For more information check out his Web site at www.burningwater4fuel.com or contact him at 256-223-2746.
