Tips to save energy & dobehave series birte edwards on 21 Feb 2009 10:53 am
That Rusty Feeling Is No Good For You
Review of Water Engine Cars
As a promoter of alternative energy sources I believe we need to know the pros and cons of the various alternative energy source producers and products.
I have written about various sources available both for home energy and for transportation needs.
During the research I did on energy sources and products to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, I found many good products and solutions to saving energy and money as well as ways of creating home energy systems.
I have also come across products that claim to be the solution to the issue of fuels for cars, products that claim to be DIY and that will completely remove you from use of fossil fuels and dependence on tanking up at company stations.
One product is the water engine car
There are videos all over the internet on this subject. There are products being promoted that will show you how you yourself can turn your present car into a car that drives on water, and for very little money.
This seemed too good to be true. For $200 or less it is claimed that you can have a car that uses C2O as fuel. Not only is the conversion cheap, but running the car afterwards - even cheaper. Just compare the price we pay for gasoline to the price we pay for water.
The technology is not that complicated (even though I don’t really follow it, not being particularly technological). The idea is basically to take the hydrogen out of water (H2). Hydrogen is an extremely combustible fuel, used to send space crafts into space.
Why do car manufacturers not produce such cars
If a water driven car is such a great answer to our transportation needs, why do the car companies not produce such cars? Car makers have and are developing cars for alternative fuel. We now have hybrids, we have hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, battery-electric cars (BEV). But I have not yet heard of a car produced by any of the big car makers that runs on water.
So I decided to do some further research. Not with fuel companies, for they might have a vested interest in keeping your car running on fossil fuel.
I spoke to representatives of car makers and to people who have to work with cars on a regular basis - car mechanics. What do they care if the car runs on gas or water. There will still be technical failures that they have to fix.
Actually in the case of water engines in cars, the mechanics could make a lot of money to fix the damages a water run engine will face.
What’s wrong with water engines
The main snag with a water engine is that water is very corrosive. Car engines are NOT built with materials that can withstand this corrosion. Both the engine itself but especially the exhaust are highly vulnerable to corrosion, even in present day cars.
Almost the only metal that does not corrode is stainless steel. To make engines, exhausts and other part of stainless steel would make the vehicle exorbitantly expensive. This is the main reason why car developers are not pushing this idea.
DIY kits and possible consequences
If you use one of the kits being flaunted it will be at your own risk and expense.
I have heard of cases where car owners who converted their car to run on water within a short time they had to put in new engine and exhaust. A costly affair I would say that totally eliminates the savings.
I heard about one person, who was the developer of a water engine and therefore totally committed to this water engine, who ended up putting in $14.000 for a new exhaust, as it had to be made of stainless steel and made particularly for that car.
When he promoted his engine he never told about having to put in a specially made stainless steel exhaust and engine.
When you put that kind of money into your car you will not exchange it in the near future.
So now you have it. When I first heard and learned about the water engine I truly thought: what a great idea. But as with everything else we do, we should also do our due diligence, our homework beforehand.
You will not see me driving a water engine car anywhere near in the future.
Now you cant’s say you were not forewarned.
This is so important that I would love to have some feedback. So please leave a comment on what you think, or even better if you know of someone who has experience with this.
