I got a lot of response from my email yesterday, much more than I expected.  I basically sent the email to anyone that I thought might be interested in the subject. As it turns out, some of those that got the email were already working on a unit for themselves, some were thinking about paying $300 to $500 for one, and some had never heard of such a thing.  There is a ton of information out there on the internet about these units and everyone has their own opinion on how to best construct it but, one of my email recipients emailed me back a link that he had been referencing on how to build one for himself and the construction that is suggested is amazingly similar to the one that I’ve constructed.  So rather than to tell you to construct it “this way”, I’ll just pass the link along to everyone and add a couple of comments here. 

Everyone wanted to know how much time and money that I had in my unit.  I spent a Sunday constructing and playing with it, and several hours last week debugging it.  As for money, about $35. 

As for materials, the article tells you to make the generator out of PVC pipe and that is all well and good, except that you can’t see what is going on inside the generator, not that you really care or need to.  All that it does is make a lot of tiny bubbles but being that I am me, I wanted to see it work. A friend of mine who has already built one of these and had had great results showed me his and I copied the container construction from him.  I went to Wal-Mart and looked through the kitchen wares where I found a clear acrylic storage jar which has a clamp down style lid.  It is about a half gallon in size and would be used to store sugar, corn meal, etc.  This lid has a rubber seal on it, we’ll need that seal.  Then you go to Home Depot/Lowes/etc and purchase a 4” PVC pipe clean out and a 4” PVC pipe plug. Take the lid off of the jar as well as the metal hardware which attaches and latches it and discard it, keeping the rubber seal.  Put the seal on the pipe cleanout and it will slide snugly into the top of the jar.  Now take it back out and apply a generous amount of clear silicone under, below, above and on top of the rubber seal and then put it back into the jar.  Let it set for a while, it will not come out and it won’t leak.  Other than that, I used rubber grommets inserted into the drilled out holes in the plates for my spacing and insulation because I used a stainless steel bolt instead of the plastic one that he suggests.  Now that I’ve seen his design, I will probably change my design when I build the next one and copy his example.  It is much simpler and cheaper.  Instead of using the handle off of a kitchen fork for my bracket, I used a pair of tin snips and cut my brackets from an extra switch plate.  About the only other thing worth mentioning is that I am using Arm and Hammer Baking Soda for my mix.  He says to use sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, and states that backing soda will damage the unit.  I don’t know the author and have no reason to believe that he does not know more about this than I do but, I have seen no ill effects from using the baking soda, the vapors are not corrosive, and it is not caustic when exposed to bare skin, so for now at least, I will continue to use baking soda in my generator.  One last note about construction, the friend who’s container design that I copied purchased some “liquid tape” from Home Depot which he applied to the edges of the plates and to the brackets to achieve the insulation which is suggested in the article.  This would be much easier than the methods that the author suggests. 

Good luck in your experimenting. PLEASE BE CAREFUL, I can personally attest to the fact that the hydrogen gas that this unit produces is extremely explosive.  It is lighter than air and will accumulate in the roof or ceiling of a garage or work shed.  When experimenting, do it in a well ventilated area and avoid ANY source of ignition.  I made my bubbler bottle out of  a water bottle.  Just a normal water bottle that you would purchase to drink at the local convenience store (large size).  Do Not bypass this step.  The bubble bottle is a safety device.  If it explodes, you will need a clean pair of drawers and while you are regaining your composure you can drink another bottle of water so that you’ll have raw materials to rebuild your bubbler.  Without the bubbler, the generator would explode and the shards of PVC could cause significant damage or injury.

Happy Driving

Update click here

Pete