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JON AUSTRIA/The News-Review
Mike Schattenkerk of Roseburg and his hydrogen gas converter, an airtight container with distilled water and electrodes that receives a positive charge to separate hydrogen and oxygen and adds the gases to the fuel mixture.
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ENLARGE
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JON AUSTRIA/The News-Review
Mike Schattenkerk installs a hydrogen converter to a car.
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All Mike Schattenkerk needs to increase a car’s gas mileage is simple chemistry. And electrodes, distilled water, a sturdy container and some wiring to deliver it.
With a system commonly known as a hydrogen generator, Schattenkerk claims he can decrease almost any car’s gas consumption while also possibly adding some extra zip.
The device itself is basic enough. Inside a hard plastic one-quart container filled with distilled water, Schattenkerk inserts two steel electrodes. Wiring connects the electrodes to a ground on the car’s frame and a positive charge within the fuse box, which activates only when the ignition is turned on.
The positively charged electrode sends water molecules into a frenzy. The electrolysis separates hydrogen and oxygen from each other in a vacuum and they return to gas, which is then sucked into the fuel mixture via plastic tubing and the engine’s intake manifold.
The hydrogen works as a fuel additive, Schattenkerk says. When it is burned both the hydrogen and the oxygen return to water.
However, water production is minimal — no more than what the engine may produce on a humid day — and stainless steel valves are not necessary, he added.
A pinch of baking soda works as a catalyst for the electrolysis. But too much can blow a fuse.
When Schattenkerk first hooked the hydrogen generator to his wife’s 1998 Saturn, the mid-size car improved its mileage from 28 miles per gallon to 35.
“It would probably get better if we drove slower,” he said.
A former technician for the Dish Network, Schattenkerk, 26, said he was searching for ways to improve the mileage of his 1994 Chevy Blazer while driving the county and serving customers. He had heard about hydrogen generators before, he said, but learned more about them when he started researching them on the Internet.
After five different homemade models, he believes he’s nearly perfected the converter. For $150, including installation, he claims it can improve any car’s gas mileage by 10 percent to as much as 50 percent.
Schattenkerk also claims that the hydrogen generator uses only a few amps of energy and is no less a drag on the alternator than maybe adding a radio to the car.
As for maintenance, he said the device should be checked once about every 1,000 miles and water added as needed. It’s important that it’s distilled water since regular tap water holds minerals and other impurities that can cause corrosion.
When the water turns brick red, Schattenkerk says it’s time to rinse out the container and add new water.
With a system commonly known as a hydrogen generator, Schattenkerk claims he can decrease almost any car’s gas consumption while also possibly adding some extra zip.
The device itself is basic enough. Inside a hard plastic one-quart container filled with distilled water, Schattenkerk inserts two steel electrodes. Wiring connects the electrodes to a ground on the car’s frame and a positive charge within the fuse box, which activates only when the ignition is turned on.
The positively charged electrode sends water molecules into a frenzy. The electrolysis separates hydrogen and oxygen from each other in a vacuum and they return to gas, which is then sucked into the fuel mixture via plastic tubing and the engine’s intake manifold.
The hydrogen works as a fuel additive, Schattenkerk says. When it is burned both the hydrogen and the oxygen return to water.
However, water production is minimal — no more than what the engine may produce on a humid day — and stainless steel valves are not necessary, he added.
A pinch of baking soda works as a catalyst for the electrolysis. But too much can blow a fuse.
When Schattenkerk first hooked the hydrogen generator to his wife’s 1998 Saturn, the mid-size car improved its mileage from 28 miles per gallon to 35.
“It would probably get better if we drove slower,” he said.
A former technician for the Dish Network, Schattenkerk, 26, said he was searching for ways to improve the mileage of his 1994 Chevy Blazer while driving the county and serving customers. He had heard about hydrogen generators before, he said, but learned more about them when he started researching them on the Internet.
After five different homemade models, he believes he’s nearly perfected the converter. For $150, including installation, he claims it can improve any car’s gas mileage by 10 percent to as much as 50 percent.
Schattenkerk also claims that the hydrogen generator uses only a few amps of energy and is no less a drag on the alternator than maybe adding a radio to the car.
As for maintenance, he said the device should be checked once about every 1,000 miles and water added as needed. It’s important that it’s distilled water since regular tap water holds minerals and other impurities that can cause corrosion.
When the water turns brick red, Schattenkerk says it’s time to rinse out the container and add new water.
He said a couple of weeks ago that he had installed more than 20 hydrogen generators for people who’d heard about his device through word of mouth. One of his customers, Patrick Dean Burcher, 24, of Springfield, said the device has dramatically improved the performance of his 1990 Toyota 4Runner, which he normally keeps weighted down with heavy tools.
“It goes 80 now,” Burcher said of his four-cylinder engine, which also improved in gas consumption to 20 mpg from the former 15 mpg.
“It goes 80 now,” Burcher said of his four-cylinder engine, which also improved in gas consumption to 20 mpg from the former 15 mpg.
Lou Torres, spokesman for the Oregon Department of Energy, said the state agency does not recognize any gadgetry that can improve gas mileage. He added that it’s typical for many inventors to claim they have developed a new technology for saving energy during a time when gas prices have skyrocketed beyond acceptable norms.
However, Torres added that the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy provide Schattenkerk and other inventors the means to acquire a tax credit or low-interest loan for supplying the agencies with the technology for inspection and approval.
“We can help a person that has a really good invention,” Torres said.
However, he added that if a person’s invention was fully bullet-proof, “You’d think that they’d be trying to market that.”
And that’s what Schattenkerk — (541) 513-0105 or hydrogenhybrids@yahoo.com — intends to do, he said, with a shop he plans to open and call “Hydrogen Hybrids.”
• You can reach reporter Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson@nrtoday.com.
However, Torres added that the Department of Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy provide Schattenkerk and other inventors the means to acquire a tax credit or low-interest loan for supplying the agencies with the technology for inspection and approval.
“We can help a person that has a really good invention,” Torres said.
However, he added that if a person’s invention was fully bullet-proof, “You’d think that they’d be trying to market that.”
And that’s what Schattenkerk — (541) 513-0105 or hydrogenhybrids@yahoo.com — intends to do, he said, with a shop he plans to open and call “Hydrogen Hybrids.”
• You can reach reporter Adam Pearson at 957-4213 or by e-mail at apearson@nrtoday.com.
