Francisco PACHECO Hydrogen Generator

[Jetijs]

Hi
Thanks for the suggestion
I tried the hot glue thing, it holds somewhat strong, but if I want to connect and disconnect the tubing to it more than one time, this wont do.
As for the melting thing, I think that there should be an easier way will try some other glues. I think that the glue used for connecting plexiglass parts could work good
Thanks,
Jetijs

[adam_mizer]

You got be carefull with the different types of plastics.
Thats always been a problem.
Looks like your using grey PVC pipe parts.
Then I don't know the makeup of the parts that are attaching.
If cpvc is used then use cpvc glues and primers.
JB weld also worked well for PVC.
For more beef I cut circles off flat PVC sheets and put them in the cap and used JB weld and then drill and thread the parts into a much thicker cap piece.
If the part does not have threads I cut or filed an angle on the cap, then insert part and JBweld around part and angle groove. This had some decent strength.
Hot glue was already suggested and plastic welding methods.
Really if you are wanting some strength, take flat PVC cut circles and build up the pvc cap to have some girth on it to work with.

[Jetijs]

Thanks for the info. Making the cap thicker is a good idea. I will see what glues I have available here to glue PVC

[everwiser]

I'll second one of the previous recommendations: JB Weld works wonders when mixed correctly.

[dambit]

Hi Jetijs,

You should be fine when you make the end cap thicker. Just get a sheet of pvc a few mm thick, cut out a circle (or two) that fits into the end cap and glue it with areldyte. Once its dry you can just cut out the holes like normal.

If all else fails you can always use brass fittings. Brass is inert and if it is not submerged in the electrolyte it should not interfere with the reaction taking place.

Cheers,

Steve

[Jetijs]

Hi all.
I can't get that JB weld stuff here, but I think I solved thet problem using Bison epoxy metal. Here is a picture:



Ok, but I now have another question. A friend said, that in the standard steel/magnesium galvanic reaction you can get about 22.4 liters of H2 and 58.3 grams Mg(OH)2 using 24.3 grams of magnesium. This does not sound very good. I am not a chemist so I don't know better. He said that it would be cheaper using HCl + iron to make H2, because it would make more h2 using steel which is also a lot cheaper. So the question is what does the aluminum do in the reaction? Is it possible that it takes some of the galvanic corrosion on itself and this prolongs the life of magnesium? If yes, then maybe there is something to it. I have yet to talk to a real chemist about this.
Thanks,
Jetijs

[Slovenia]

What is aluminum electrode used for?

Hi all.
I can't get that JB weld stuff here, but I think I solved thet problem using Bison epoxy metal. Here is a picture:



Ok, but I now have another question. A friend said, that in the standard steel/magnesium galvanic reaction you can get about 22.4 liters of H2 and 58.3 grams Mg(OH)2 using 24.3 grams of magnesium. This does not sound very good. I am not a chemist so I don't know better. He said that it would be cheaper using HCl + iron to make H2, because it would make more h2 using steel which is also a lot cheaper. So the question is what does the aluminum do in the reaction? Is it possible that it takes some of the galvanic corrosion on itself and this prolongs the life of magnesium? If yes, then maybe there is something to it. I have yet to talk to a real chemist about this.
Thanks,
Jetijs

Hi Jetijs,

Very good work indeed. Nice cell. I don't know what the aluminum is for, but in Pacheco's earliest patent he didn't use the aluminum. He just used a carbon electrode and a magnesium electrode. Supposedly the magnesium electrodes lasted for a pretty long time. Take a look at the first patent. If you need it, pm me and give me your e-mail address and I'll send it to you along with all his other patents as well.

Best Regards,
Slovenia

[Jetijs]

Thanks Slovenia.
I finally got those patents.
It is interesting that the aluminum is used to increase the hydrogen output, but it is said in the patent that sodium hydroxide is formed on the steel when the reaction is going and this sodium hydroxide of course will react with aluminum and make h2. It is not said where the sodium comes from, but it can not come from any other place as from salt, NaCl is being decomposed making sodium hydroxide and something else, I guess it should be chlorine, but in the patent it is said, that no traces of chlorine have been traced on the output gasses, it is 99% hydrogen. Interesting indeed

[Slovenia]

Very Interesting Indeed

Thanks Slovenia.
I finally got those patents.
It is interesting that the aluminum is used to increase the hydrogen output, but it is said in the patent that sodium hydroxide is formed on the steel when the reaction is going and this sodium hydroxide of course will react with aluminum and make h2. It is not said where the sodium comes from, but it can not come from any other place as from salt, NaCl is being decomposed making sodium hydroxide and something else, I guess it should be chlorine, but in the patent it is said, that no traces of chlorine have been traced on the output gasses, it is 99% hydrogen. Interesting indeed

Jetijs,

Thanks for sharing this. It's very interesting indeed.

Best Regards,
Slovenia

[Slovenia]

Pic of Inside Query

Hi all.
I can't get that JB weld stuff here, but I think I solved thet problem using Bison epoxy metal. Here is a picture:



Ok, but I now have another question. A friend said, that in the standard steel/magnesium galvanic reaction you can get about 22.4 liters of H2 and 58.3 grams Mg(OH)2 using 24.3 grams of magnesium. This does not sound very good. I am not a chemist so I don't know better. He said that it would be cheaper using HCl + iron to make H2, because it would make more h2 using steel which is also a lot cheaper. So the question is what does the aluminum do in the reaction? Is it possible that it takes some of the galvanic corrosion on itself and this prolongs the life of magnesium? If yes, then maybe there is something to it. I have yet to talk to a real chemist about this.
Thanks,
Jetijs

Hi Jetijs,
Can I see a pic of the inside of your cell. Thanks!! Great Job.
Best Regards,
Slovenia

[Jetijs]

You mean this?

[Jetijs]

Also I have a question. In his patent Francisco says that a permeable separator needs to be used between the aluminum and magnesium electrodes. This increases the gas output above the predictable quantities of simple electrochemical reactions and that is a very important part of the invention. So does this mean that the electrodes should not touch when under water? Electrolyte should be able to flow between them, but they shouldn't touch each other except for the output wires outside the cell?
He also admits that he does not understand why this is happening.

Interesting,
I will have to conduct some additional small scale tests with the aluminum electrode on the cathode as well

[Slovenia]

Great Pic

Also I have a question. In his patent Francisco says that a permeable separator needs to be used between the aluminum and magnesium electrodes. This increases the gas output above the predictable quantities of simple electrochemical reactions and that is a very important part of the invention. So does this mean that the electrodes should not touch when under water? Electrolyte should be able to flow between them, but they shouldn't touch each other except for the output wires outside the cell?
He also admits that he does not understand why this is happening.

Interesting,
I will have to conduct some additional small scale tests with the aluminum electrode on the cathode as well

Thanks for the pic. Right, I don't think the electrodes are supposed to touch each other.

[Slovenia]

Pacheco's 1st Patent

You might want to test it the way Pacheco did it in his first patent with carbon rod for cathode and magnesium rod for anode. I think I got the polarities right.

[Jetijs]

Today just everything goes wrong. I tried to attach all the other steel electrodes to the end caps, but if you tighten the end caps just a bit too much, the weld breaks off. This happened to three of my steel electrodes, ok I thought I would perform the test with the three remaining electrodes that did not break, but when positioning them into the unit I broke off one of the plastic gas outlets, somehow it did not stick as good as the outlet on the test cap. Tried the remaining outlets for strength and they also broke off easily

This approach does not work. There has to be an easier way. I visited local hardware shops and looked around to see what they have in stock, now I have to sit down and think on how can I build a series cell easily with all the things I have available.