Wednesday, September 17, 2008

HydrogenCarsNow Article on Dept of Transportation Report

I've been writing about my personal opinion that the US Federal Government should take a more active role in testing HHO devices also known as hydrogen fuel injectors. The debates seem to go on and on because differences over test procedures, measurement, results interpretation, etc. The EPA has a standard set of test routines that should be utilized to settle these discussions.

In the meantime, the use of hydrogen fuel injection is receiving some attention from the Department of Transportation in a report released in 2007 and uncovered by Kevin at HydrogenCarsNow.com. I'll let him lay out the very interesting story.

Mike Allen's Follow Up HHO Testing

I left this comment on Mike Allen's Popular Mechanics comment section regarding his recently publicised testing:

I've spoken to Mike Allen on the phone about his work here on this topic and I dont think the readers are getting the complete story. First of all, Mike Allen has had a theory that this technology does not work. It's a reasonable theory for someone who has tested tons of these devices and never found one that works, but it is just a theory. People who read his article and conclude anything more than that the particular setup Mike tested does not work as advertised are going a bit too far based more on Mike's theory than his test results.
Read his test results. They say very clearly that only a dynamometer test will convince him that the technology works.
Now, Mike will say this technology is too ridiculous to test but since there's such an overwhelming public response, he has to do it. Great. But in doing so, he is perpetuating the very myth he is trying to dispell. What am I talking about?
Mike Allen is not the respected, appropriate authority to provide a scientific test of this technology. Sure, no disrespect because Mike is a smart guy and writes well but he's not what we need folks. By becoming an hho tinkerer himself, he only serves to fuel the idea that tinkering will finally land the big payoff.
To be clear, I do advocate hho tinkering but not if your Mike Allen, the journalist.
What persons like Mike Allen should really be advocating is a true scientific, federally recognized test of this technology. It trully surprises me that Mike Allen hasn't written about the fact that there are truly scientific processes that can be followed, that have been around for years which could settle this question once and for all.
What I advocate, as someone who has written about HHO for 2+yrs, is to have the EPA run their tests on a *series* of these devices. The problem is that these tests cost $14,000 and must be borne by the manufacturer. Sadly, no one has stepped up to subject themselves to these tests. But if the technology works, a real pot of gold lays on the other side of this rainbow.
If Popular Mechanics' intentions are true, then they could use their role to push for a non-standard EPA approach to this technology by having the federal government fund some of these tests. The angle to take could be via the Federal Trade Commission. Or it could be via a simple phone call to one's local House Representative or Senator.
What Mike Allen should really be doing is advocating a real scientific test that would be recognized by the US Federal government.
Would that really kill the so called myth of the water car? Maybe not but it would go a long way towards taming the debate.

Does anyone agree with me here or is everyone convinced that hundreds and thousands of non-authorities should continue to debate their test results?

CNN Money on Ronn Motor Company's H2GO


I've written before about Ronn Motor Company, makers of exotic cars that include HHO Gas systems built in. Apparently, the opportunity for hydrogen fuel injection systems as an aftermarket part was too good for RMC to pass up. They have announced and CNN Money has written about their plans to market and distribute a system which will be manufactured by a larger unnamed player in the space. This could quickly make Ronn Motor the industry leader in hydrogen fuel injection systems.
What's interesting about Ronn Motor is that they are a publicly traded company (Symbol RNNM) subjecting themselves to federal safety and emissions testing through NHTSA and EPA respectively.