The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1916-07-24
Stuart, Iowa, Man Has Invention
Which Ho Fgures viii Help
Cut Cost Of Gasoline
These Days.
ELECTRICITY EMPLOYED
This Power is Used to Transform the
Mississippi Fluid Into the
Stuff Which Makes the
Auto Go.

In the last year, and especially this
spring and summer, the gasoline ques-
; ton has been paramount, with the
owners OF automobiles on account of
the high cost OF the combustible
liquid
However, this trouble may be a
thing of the past within a short time,
as an Iowa man is coming to the res
cue of the downtrodden motorist. He
has invented system whereby the
most common fluid known-water-
can be used in obtained motor power
for buzz wagons, and eliminates the
cost of gasoline and danger OF getting
stalled in the country, unless on de-
sert, without chance to get back to
town without sending for gas or being
towed in.
He is C. L. Bunch OF Stuard, Ia. Mr..
Bunch has been working on his inven-
ton for forty years. and now has 1t so
far advanced that he feels victory In
his grasp. His invention is being tried
out in the Chalmers Motor company
laboratory at Detroit and at another
laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.
Transformed by Electricity.
Mr.. Bunch's plan Is to transform
water into gas through electrical
force by placing an electric generator
on a gas engine and driving 1t with
the engine to decompose the oxygen
in the water and store the heat ener-
gy that the oxygen contains. This
heat energy, states Mr.. Bunch, Is in
the form of gas which will be col
lected into a vacuum tam, and then
pumped into a pressure tank from
which it is fed to the engine like a
regular gas engine.
According to Mr.. Bunch, the mix
ture fed into an engine consists CT
fifteen parts air and one part gas.
The air Is free, and his experiments
have been to find this sixteenth part
to substitute for the gas, and he says
he has found it in his electrical gas.
| To secure this gas, water Is placed
in an alright tank with small dome
at the top. The ends Of the wires on
the generator are extended into the
, tank but lack several inches of meet
ing. The current is forced through
the wires and it jumps across this
break through the water. AS the cur
rent passes through the water, Mr..
Bunch says, the water Is decomposed
and an electrical gas formed This
gas collects in the little dome at the
top of the tank.
A suction pump draws the gas
from the dome and forces it into
another tank under high pressure.
1t is necessary to keep the gas at
a pressure or it will liquify, says Mr..
Bunch. From this tank it is fed into
the engine.
The pressure tank will be placed on
the back OF an auto where the re-
serve gasoline tanks are now carried.
How He Got the Idea.
II got my first idea Of my inven-
ton while was working as a sta
tionary engineer" states Mr.. Bunch.
II discovered it was not the high
pressure Of steam that always caused
an explosion. found that gas was
formed in the water which caused the
blowups. This gave me the idea and
have been working on it ever since.
have secured patent and believe
my invention will work.
at may be necessary at first to mix
a quart of gasoline in every gallon
of water until I get my invention
farther advanced, but even at that
it will be very cheap. According TO
my figures a gallon OF water will
run an engine about the same length
OF time as a gallon of gasoline.
This generator which will be used
to form the gas also will be used To
generate the power for the lights,
horn and charge the storage batteries
which will be used to start the ma
chine like the present starters"
Mr.. Bunch has worked out his in
vention in a workshop at his home.
He has been using one-horse power
engine for his experimentS and a
glass jar for his water tank. He
says that the action Of the electrical
current in disintegrating the water
ho rlo iral1