Hydrogen Boost for Truckers

Some truckers are now using hydrogen, generated onboard, to supplement their fuel and get a 10-40% increase in fuel efficiency.  The Canadian Hydrogen Fuel Company (CHEC) is selling its hydrogen fuel injection (HFI) system to:

• Reduce fuel costs, a guaranteed 10% in fuel savings
• Improve torque and horsepower
• Decrease exhaust emissions by about 50%
• Reduces oil degradation by about 50% and
• Decrease engine maintenance requirements

HFI is an onboard generator of hydrogen and oxygen gases for internal combustion engines.  The gases are generated by electrolysis of distilled water. They are introduced into the air intake manifold of the truck where they are mixed with the incoming air. Introducing a small amount of hydrogen to an engine enhances the flame velocity and thus permits the engine to operate with a leaner air to fuel ratio than otherwise possible. The result, is that relatively small amounts of hydrogen can significantly decrease fuel consumption, dramatically increase horsepower and reduce exhaust emissions.  The company spent 8 years in R & D with extensive road tests before going into the market. They now have over 60 million miles of road use with the HFI. 

The unit uses 4 liters of distilled water per 12,000 kilometers of driving.  It uses about 13 amps of electricity to operate, about the same as the headlights, and can be used with the standard generator with no problem.  The gases are produced only while the engine is running thus no significant amount of hydrogen is stored on the vehicle.  The system is strictly a bolt on unit requiring no modifications to the engine and weighs approximately 90lbs and is contained in a stainless steel box measuring 12x12x24 inches.

The HFI works with any internal combustion engine using hydrocarbon fuels, including gasoline, diesel, propane and natural gas. They have been installed on ambulances, municipal buses, SUV's, boats, gensets and almost 100 fleets of transport trucks. Use of the technology is not limited to vehicles, in the next few months the company will be expanding the applications to include locomotives, large generators and natural gas boilers.

With 15,000 miles per month and 6 miles per gallon an eighteen wheeler can save at least $450 and more likely over a $1000 per month above the cost of leasing a unit.  In addition to fuel economy and environmental benefits, the hydrogen produced by the HFI unit will clean the inside of the engine of carbon deposits and restore performance characteristics of the engine. The duration of the cleansing process varies with engine age, displacement, and type of use.  Over this time period fuel economy will increase gradually. Usually some increase in fuel economy will be seen in the first month, with the peak occurring anytime between one and nine months.  The superior combustion increases the engine's power while reducing wear.  The higher torque is especially noticeable when climbing hills, reducing the need to excessively accelerate prior to a hill.  Oil consumption is usually reduced and longer intervals between oil changes are possible, as indicated by oil analysis, typically doubling the mileage between oil changes.  Tests show that trucks using the HFI exceed the EPA's particulate emission standards for 2007. 

The products have been on the open marketplace since February 2004.  They have sold upwards of 500 units, most of them in the past year, through 74 Canadian and 28 U.S. certified installation centers.  A list of dealers is available on their website. The LT series HFI, introduced November 1, 2005, is designed for application on passenger vehicles and Class 1 to Class 4 light trucks up to 7.3 liters, while the HT series HFI is designed for application on Class 7 and Class 8 heavy duty trucks. The LT retails for $2,999.00US plus install and the HT retails for $12,900.00US complete.  Leases are available with no payments the first two months while the HFI is cleansing the engine and getting up to peak mileage and maximum savings. 

The Canadian Hydrogen Energy Corporation is privately held.

Resource:  Canadian Hydrogen Energy Corporation, Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

More blogs about vehicles, hydrogen, energy

Comments

[James]

Interesting niche market for hydrogen fuel. I wondered if there were ways to improve the fuel efficiency of our trucking fleet, and I guess the answer to that question is yes!

[JesseJenkins]

GCC posted an article about a similar hydrogen boost technology for cars not too long ago as well. Yet another technology that allows an incremental improvement in gas mileage. I'm tired of hearing US auto manufacturers complain about the possibilities of increased fuel efficiency standards or California's (and other states) new CO2 emissions standards.

[JesseJenkins]

And it seems like truckers are going to LOVE this technology (what's not to love about it). A 10% improvement in heavy truck fuel efficiency may sound small, but that's a lot of diesel saved.

According to the Transportation Energy Data Book, heavy single use and combo trucks used 36.756 billion gallons of diesel fuel in 2002. A 10% improvement in vehicle efficiency across the board would thus save 3.6756 billion gallons of diesel fuel. Couple this hydrogen-boost system with the use of the new boat tail GCC discussed recently, and you can get another 10% reduction in fuel consumption.

At 5,800,000 BTU/barrel of oil and 138,691 BTU/gallon of diesel (according to the EIA ... yes that is the EIA's kids page, it happens to have an easy to use energy conversion calculator!), thats roughly 42 gallons of diesel per barrel. So, the potential fuel savings of this hydrogen-boost system could be over 87.5 million barrels of oil per year. That's nothing to scoff at. That's about 1.8% of of our total tranportation petroleum consumption (~4.8 billion bbl/year in 2003 according to Transp. Energy Data Book). A small fraction but not an insignificant one.

[Sidell]

I did a little reading on this company and this product at their web site, and at others.

I am reminded of the old adaga:

'If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is'

See this link:

http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=109729

[Jim from The Energy Blog]

I read the article that Sidell referred to and it didn't refute any of CHET's claims. It did say that CHET had some problems with their first units, which is not unexpected in a new product. CHET discloses that they are now selling the sixth generation of their unit which is a form of admission to some problems -- they certainly have some good testimonials from some of their users. The second company has a similar product, the H2N-Gen, that is smaller and would fit under the hood, which would be an advantage. The two companies have a patent dispute over who has the patent rights on the product. I really don't care about patent rights, only if the product does what it claims to do. May the patent dispute not interfere with bringing a good product to market. My only concerns about the device were whether the product kept working in the long run, after the engine is cleaned up. I could not see any reason why it wouldn't. It appearantly will keep the engine clean and running well. My other concern was whether there was any unusual corrosion or wear caused by the hydrogen injection - time will tell.

[milan]

Hi.

I am interesting about your system (Hydrogen Boost for Truckers),can you send me more info about it?
I want to buy this system.

Thanks.

[Uneed Two Know]

I've seen the patented interior design of the new hydrogen generation device. I've also talked with the truckers who have installed the devices and confirmed performance above and way beyond the levels affirmed by both Hy-Drive and CHEC. I've also investigated the people at both companies along with having conducted lengthy research into their legal claims.

CHEC's people know full well that their day's are numbered and they are only fighting a delaying of the inevitable execution which has already been ordered by the courts. Having met with and looked into the caliber of the CHEC people, I found that their VP Steve Gilchrist is a convicted felon having a record of income tax evasion. (see former Toronto mayor John Sewell's summary of Gilchrist in NOW MAGAZINE's Nov 1999 article: http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/19/08/News/city.html )

Yeppers, tax evasion! No wonder they are milking private investors with their sham company and defective HFI unit. Also he was almost charged with blatent corruption during his shady tenure as minister in the Harris Goverment.

Hy-Drive on the other hand has had to pass all the scrutiny of the TSE in order to get and stay listed. With a ruling in their favor, albeit temporarily delayed, Hy-Drive stands in position to an exclusive claim of the greatest breakthrough since the steam engine.

It's truly a shame to have such people as CHEC's fraud artists ripping off well intentioned investors and supporters of this burgeoning technology. Whats downright criminal is the state of the Canadian Court System which has allowed the delaying tactics to go on this long. In China, the likes of corrupt government official like Gilchrist are executed long before they can spread such poison as is CHEC's presence in the market place. While I stop short at Gilchrist being executed, I see a hardened criminal in him who needs 10 to 20 years in a correction facility. Wake up Canada's legal/justice system I say!

I shudder to think of the good people who've wasted large quantities of time and money on such fraud artists. May they all rot in jail soon!

[Anon e mus]

If one doesn't work, maybe they all don't work. After all, its not tough to make hydrogen from water - only a few volts and two electrodes.

[Uneed two know]

Even CHEC's defects were easily corrected. A small glitch about the unit functioning in cold weather. Not to worry "Anon e mus", this technology IS already, swiftly changing your world for the better. Heck, even if CHEC gets to stay alive and compete with Hy-Drive(very unlikely), the technology is still going to rock this world !

[Greg Proud]

Hi,I'm new to blogging but I just wanted to share with your readers a product that I've just gotten involved with that on average will increase fuel mileage between 7% and 19% and reduce emissions.It's called Ethos Fuel Re-Formulator and it has been sold commercially for the last 10 yrs and is used in commercial fleets in the US,Canada,Mexico and Europe.EPA lab tests confirm that Ethos FR is 99.99976% clean upon ignition and ashless.This product is just now being made available to the public.I believe this product can help offset the high cost of gas while also helping to reduce emissions.Please check my website for further info on this product.Thank you.

[Stan]

From this article, http://www.libertypost.org/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=109729

Quote"Most internal combustion engines operate at about 35 per cent efficiency. This means that only 35 per cent of the fuel is fully burned. The rest either turns to carbon corroding the engine or goes out the exhaust pipe as greenhouse gases.

The H2N-Gen increases burn efficiency to at least 97 per cent, Williams said. This saves fuel and greatly reduces emissions." unquote

This is bullshit. 35% efficiency means that the engine turns 35% of the energy in the fuel into usefull work, the rest is lost as heat through the cooling system and exhaust. He is saying that the engine only burns 35% of the fuel, which is wrong.
He's comparing apples to oranges.
The idea of adding hydrogen to enchance the burning process sounds feasible, but this bit of BS doesn't help my confidence level in his system.

[actelcom/armiday]

CHEC and Hy-Drive have been having it out with one another. The courts settled it. It found CHEC innocent of all charges and made 'such nice comments' about Hy-Drive. The product is real. Go to www.armidway.com. Contact us.

[Charlie]

did the Myth Busters do a show on the hydro boost system. Someone told me they did and they said it did not work anyone have info on this..

[Robert]

Information on the CHEC hydrogen injection units can be obtained from our website www.armidway.com or by calling the tech support number on that same website. If you call, ask for Artie.

[Anon e mus]

There has been plenty of work with hydrogen combustion. Hydrogen can be a good fuel - true - but you have to burn some to get a benefit. Do the math on how much hdyrogen these units use - simply not enough (1 litre of water contains about 100 grams of hydrogen - less than half a litre of gasoline in energy equivalent). If you burn this every 80 hrs, mixed with about 3000 litres of diesel... less than .1%. Sound fishy to anyone? It should - it does not work. Has anyone seen a credible third party report that says it works? I have only seen reports that say it doesn't. When the proof that it works is based on some bus in Chile - ask yourself why it has to be a bus in Chile. If you want to save 30% fuel, change your driving habits (note- interestingly, these guys typically sell their units with a manual telling drivers how to change their driving habits... hmmmm.)

[rml]

I tested a 2.1 liter naturally aspirated DI industrial disel on a precision eddy current dyno and used a Hy-drive hydrogen generation system. The engine tested is a much smaller engine than used in the trucking industry so the effect should have been noticible if there is any truth to the story.
There was no measurable effect on fuel consumption.
It is true that hydrogen can modify the combustion dynamics but simply adding a tiny amount of hydrogen into the induction system and expecting such great results is exceedingly optimistic.

[Denis M]

I just spoke to a distributor who told me they have had problems with the CHEC system. It was not working more than it worked. The price tag was really out there and I would need to get at least 10 mpg (currently getting 5 -6 mpg) to recoup that type of investment and based on what I was told they have a long way to go before I purchase one. He did say they have been updating the system in attempts to make it work but he suggested to wait before making the investment.

[Albert Merilli]

I wish to know if this Hi-Drive technology for heavy trucks is available in Australia. If it is whom does one contact in Melbourne, Victoria.

[Albert Merilli]

I wish to know if this Hi-Drive technology for heavy trucks is available in Australia. If it is whom does one contact in Melbourne, Victoria.

[Salty]

Can it be used on Turbo Diesels (charged uptill 2 bar). Is it not dangerous to put the gas at the suction site of the turbo?

[Gent]

I ordered one of CHEC's light duty hydrogen fuel injection units two years ago through a distributor in Atlanta. I put down $500, but never got a product. My guy in Atlanta did manage to get one and install it on his Dodge pickup. Unfortunately, he saw no fuel mileage gains. When I tried to get my $500 back, the people at CHEC kept putting me off. They eventually just ignored me completely. Luckily, the Atlanta distributor repaid me out of his pocket. I doubt he ever got the money back from CHEC.

Needless to say, my advice is to stay away from CHEC.

-Gent

[Hai]

I was just thinking about the other components that go into making a car run. I haven't seen anyone comment on the ECU that actually tells the injectors how much gasoline to put in. Just because you're enriching the gasoline somehow with a better burning fuel doesn't mean it the car will suddenly inject less fuel than it normally does. The technology behind fuel cell seems simple, but the ECU needs to lean out the actual fuel big time to get see fuel gains. This is dangerous of course, because if you can't just lean out the fuel, it needs to be tuned to match the amount of hydrogen coming into the combustion chamber what with a broadband o2 sensor and reading air/fuel ratio outputs and all. I think the technology is here, but someone needs to chip the ECUs is all. Comments on this???

[Harold]

Be careful about BIG OIL paying people to post disinformation about this technology, to turn people off to it. Remember that BIG OIL has purchased lobbyists to control our government, and that our government lies to us in order to maintain its relationship with BIG OIL-based central banking families, such as the Rockefeller family (Standard Oil, Citibank, Chase Bank, the CFR, Trilaeral Commission -- this one family alone is sick in the head).

[whiterican74]

I just want to add this response to all the naysayers out there. If I can build a half assed home-built unit that produced a measly 2litres a minute and gain an over 50% increase on fuel economy by in an 89' Jeep Cherokee 4x4 4.0ltr straight 6 then guess what it can be done with big trucks.

white

[energy shot]

too bad i cant add that onto my SUV ;)
-jack