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Fuel Your Car With Water – The Latest Scam?

By Gilbert Griffiths

Back in the time of the first Gulf War, fearing a gasoline shortage, speculators bid up the price of oil. This resulted, in Canada, in the price of a litre of gasoline going to over one dollar. (That meant that the price for an Imperial gallon of gas went from $2.25 to $6.00 in a very short period of time.)

Everyone was looking for ways to operate their vehicles at a cheaper rate. Converting vehicles to run on Propane seemed to fit the bill. Conversion kits became available in many auto parts stores and service stations. “Conversion Specialists” appeared everywhere.

Everyone was getting their vehicles converted. Not to be outdone, the “Senior Executive” of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) mandated that every RCMP office had to have at least one propane powered vehicle. Conversions were rapidly completed. Then the stupidity of it all came to light!

Very few service stations existed that had the capability to fuel vehicles with propane and, since setting up such facilities was rather expensive, most station owners were reluctant to do so. This meant that there was a very limited number of places where you could fill up your car.

A large pressurized propane tank in your trunk limited storage space there. It also placed the tank in close proximity to the car exhaust pipe and made it vulnerable to damage or rupture in rear end collisions.

It was found that fuel mileage and power were not as good as they were when burning gasoline as a fuel. Even though propane was cheaper, the loss of fuel mileage greatly reduced the savings.

One RCMP office in south-west Saskatchewan had only one police car and the nearest propane refuelling service station was over 50 miles away. By the time the police car was driven there, refuelled and returned to the office, half of the tank of propane was used. To ensure that they could make it back to the service station without running out of fuel, they had to leave the car parked. When they explained this to the Officer-In-Charge of all RCMP offices in Saskatchewan, they were told to make do until he could either find a spare gas powered police car to loan them, or until he could convince the Senior Executive to change their orders so that one car offices were excluded from converting to propane.

Meanwhile, improper conversions by “experts” who had no clue what they were doing, caused many vehicle fires and explosions. Fortunately loss of life was limited, but many houses, garages and vehicles were either damaged or destroyed. This resulted in the banning of propane fuelled vehicles from public parking garages and parkades. It also caused insurance companies to advise that they were contemplating denying coverage to propane vehicles.

Then the prairie winter set in. Temperatures dropped and propane cars refused to start. Apparently, propane does not vaporize properly when the temperature drops below minus forty degrees. The solution to this was the same one used by outdoor propane tanks. Put a heating pad around the tank and then plug the heating pad into an electrical plug so that the tank wouldn't get so cold when the car was parked for the night. Unfortunately, they forgot that the tank was enclosed in the trunk, not exposed to the elements as an outdoor tank is.

You guessed it! More fires and explosions. And, of course, if you stopped somewhere that had no available electrical plug, you had to leave the motor running so the fuel flow wouldn't freeze up. This resulted in an increase in vehicle thefts and an increase in fuel usage which virtually wiped out any cost savings.

Eventually most propane fuelled vehicles were replaced or converted back to gasoline.

Now, the price of gas is going up again, and the new solution is to run your vehicle on Hydrogen gas. The number of Hydrogen selling service stations could probably be counted on the fingers of one hand. None of the auto makers have Hydrogen powered vehicles available for sale, but most are working on prototypes. Available information suggests that we are a few years away from the first commercial production of such vehicles, and when they do become available, their price will be very expensive.

Enter the ever eager entrepreneur. Check the Internet and you will find that there are numerous sites selling either conversion kits or books of instructions telling you how to convert your vehicle to run on “water.” Well, actually the water is used to produce Hydrogen that will fuel the vehicle. Since water is made from Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms, it is possible to produce elemental Hydrogen from water. Different kits use different methods of doing this. All seem plausible and they have hordes of testimonials from “satisfied customers” and “experts” raving about the value of these kits and books.

I have not tested any of them myself, but if they are so good, don't you think that car manufacturers would be mass producing them?

A number of years ago, when I was still a member of the RCMP, I had occasion to have a number of gas saving devices tested. Most of them didn't save as much gas as you could with slow, smooth starts and stops. The sellers were advised that their advertising was fraudulent and that they must stop selling the devices or face prosecution. They were further advised that they were to return the purchase price to any customer that requested reimbursement. Also, if we received any complaints from unsatisfied customers that we would be back with handcuffs for the seller.

United Nuclear (http://www.switch2hydrogen.com) advises that most, if not all, conversion kits currently in the marketplace are scams. They have been working on a conversion system for over 10 years, but are still not yet ready for commercial production.

If you are still considering such kits, please remember that Hydrogen is much more explosive than either gasoline or propane. And also remember the Hindenburg and the NASA shuttle explosions.

I wouldn't want to see anyone lose their life trying to save a few dollars on fuel costs. If it sounds too good to be true, it is usually a scam. And, you have no idea who runs a website, what their qualifications are or where they are located. So, where do you go if you have a complaint? I can almost guarantee that you won't get much sympathy or action from either the police or any government agency. The old adage applies here: “let the buyer beware.”

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Birdhouse Publishing
A blog providing information on pets
birdhousepublishing.blogspot.com

Good intel Mountie! If I'm not mistaken fuel cells are a real technology but selling it as "water" does make people suspicious whether it is a scam or not.

"Most of them didn't save as much gas as you could with slow, smooth starts and stops"

Now that's awesome advice most people need to listen to. They rocket away from the traffic light and come to a screeching halt at the next one.

Hi Catherine,

Glad you liked it. Yes, fuel cells are real. In fact ones designed for holding gasoline are used in the race cars during NASCAR races to make it less likely of explosion during crashes. A company in Vancouver, Canada makes them for Hydrogen. However, I haven't seen any mention of fuel cells in relation to the conversion kits being sold on the Internet.

Gilbert

I enjoyed this outstanding intel! I have long had an interest in racing cars and have written a couple of lenses at another site about them. My brothers influenced this passion.
I found your website on pets interesting as well.
I will be reading your other intels as time permits.
Thank you for writing here at Qondio.

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