Omaha daily bee., 1917-06-10
INVENTOR PLANS
DRIVE ON GASOLINE
Combination of Electricity and
Water Properly Placed is
Said to Do the Things
That Gasoline Does.

Gasoline forms the nucleus oi
power in practically all automobile
engines OF the present day, and many
inventors and chemists have expend-
ed considerable energy and money in
an effort to find satisfactory substi-
tute for this all-important commodity,
which has been rapidly and con-
stantly increasing in cost. One OF
the latest attempts in this direction is
that of Mr.. Ernest E. Punches, who
halls from Detroit, Mich.
Give me a suitable tank contain
ing set of plates submerged in water
and a source of electric current, and
will drive your automobile engine
without any gasoline whatsoever at
reduced cost" says this sanguine in
ventor.
The secret of this remarkable in
vention lies in ihe fact that if an cleo
trio current is passed between two
plates submerged in water it decom-
poses the water, evolving two gases,
oxygen and hydrogen; the oxygen
lccruing from this process is lber-
lted, while the hydrogen is collected
IND when suitably mixed with a
proper amount of air it forms highly
Explosive mixture when ignited in the
automobile engine cylinder.
The proposed water-electric gas
generating plan: would be fitted to
motor-car, the special dynamo, to-
gether with the decomposng cham
Der and gas storage tank, being placed
with the engine under the same bon
net. The small Unipolar type dyna-
mo is connected by suitable gears or
driving chain to the timing gear on
the crank shaft of the engine, and
supplies low voltage direct current.
This current is passed through the
electrolytic cell, alternate plates be-
ing charged positively and negatively.
The plates are preferably perforated
so as to promote circulation in the
gas-generating cell, and by the close
arrangement IF the positively and
negatively charged electrodes the gas
generation is both rapid and efficient
How the Combination Works.
As before mentioned, the oxygen is
liberated by suitable automatic valves,
md the hydrogen is retained and
passed through mixing valve, SIM
liar to the usual carburetor used on
all gasoline engines, and which can
be controlled from the drivers seat,
following the standard practice in
motor-car equipment. A suitable
quantity of air is taken in through
the mixing valve, and which, when
combined with the proper quantity
of hydrogen, forms highly explosive
gaseous compound. When this is
fed into the engine cylinders and ig-
nited by an electric spark it produces
a force many times more powerful
than that obtained when gasoline
vapor is used. Some OF the hydro
gen gas produced by the electrolytic
cell decomposition of water) is
stored in suitable tank under pres
sure, which makes it available for |
starting the car and emergency. The
entire combination unit fits the car
buretor side of the engine and is sup
ported by the former manifold hold |
ing means and also by the frame of |
the auto chassis. 1t has been found |
by Mr.. PUNCHES from trial, and also |
by calculation, that the hydrogen gas
generating outfit here described, and |
which it is proposed to substitute for |
gasoline, will require up to 5 per cent
of the horsepower developed by the
engine, this per cent OF the total
engine horsepower being used to
drive the decomposing current dy-
nan1o.
Gas in Water.
There are 1257.52 cubic feet of
hydrogen gas in one cubic foot of
water, the gas at atmospheric pres
sure, zero degree Centrigrade, and it
will require 1928 watts of electricity
to decompose a cubic foot of water
in one hour. Compare this with the
following data, obtained from
Chalmers Motor Car company:
The maximum revolutions of the
Chalmers motor is 5000 per minute
under full load. The motor develops
4S-horsepower on an average at this
speed. and under full load, with
we'll worked in motor. The suction
per revolution is 244-2
equals liz cubic inches; equals .0648
cubic feet. Then at 5000 revolutions
per minute and assuming 100 per cent
volumetric. efficiency, the number of
cubic feet drawn into the motor per
minute is 5000 times .064S, or lo4.5,
and so times 1o4.5, or 1850, is the
number Of cubic feet drawn into the
motor, Of mixture each hour, run
ming at maximum speed and under
full load.
The gasoline entering into that
mixture is per cent by weight, and
the amount by volume will not depart
far from the J per cent, as there is
no great difference between the
weight of air and gasoline vapor. So,
in face of the fact that an explosion
OF hydrogen in pure state, when
mixed with air, is thousand times as
as is the same per cent of
gasoline vapor and air, we shall be
way above in figuring a 10 per cent
mixture of hydrogen gas with air. As
10 per cent of II $40 is 1,167. the num-
Der of cubic feet of hydrogen, we
must generate in an hour. Bearing
in mind that there are 1,257.52 cubic
feet of hydrogen in a cubic foot of
water, and that 1,728 watts will de-
compose the cubic foot of water in an
hour, and also that 746 into 1,728
goes about 24 times, it is apparent
that we will generate 90.52 cubic feet
of gas per hour more than the Chalm-
r - |
and under full load, taking less than
per cent of the 45-horsepower to
drive the decomposing current gener-
,tor. The inventor has demonstrated
MS invention before the entire engi-
1eering staff of the Tecla Electrical
laboratory of Detroit, Mich,-Electri-