Water 4 Gas Fuel Heater
This weekend I assembled the water 4 gas fuel heater. It didn’t take much effort. I went to the local hardware store and got the brass pieces and fittings needed and put the device together with some pipe sealant.
This is considered phase 2 of the water 4 gas system. A quick review of the theory behind this device. It is used to heat the fuel before it enters the combustion chamber. Basically, the plan is to buy the fuel cold and in a condensed state and then heat it, forcing it to expand before it enters the combustion chamber.
I have no idea how this will work in increasing my fuel economy. I have also found very little information on the Internet supporting or denying the validity of this claim that heating the fuel will increase fuel economy.
Back when I was in automotive training in the early 80s. Our teacher told us a story I will share with you but cannot verify. The shop class instructor specialized in carburetors. Since the year was 1982 the carburetors where computer-controlled with MC (mixture control) solenoids.
Our instructor told a story about a computer controlled carburetor that had a base plate gasket that contained a fuel heating grid below the throttle plates. The teacher stated that this fuel heating grid heated the atomized fuel as it passed from the throttle plates into the intake manifold.
The Instructor said that this carburetor setup was responsible for 50 plus miles per gallon on a 302 V-8 Ford LTD. He did indicate that the vehicle suffered from lack of power, but that the miles per gallon was truly amazing. The teacher ended the story with the standard inventor and car just disappeared.
Water 4 gas fuel heater
Back to what I am doing with my fuel heater. I will be mounting it on the fuel line close to the intake manifold. When I asked for feedback, in an automotive forum about the placement of the fuel heater A few people express their concern about vapor lock.
I have not heard the term vapor lock in quite a long time. I’m not concerned with this problem because of the high fuel pressure on my vehicle. Vapor lock was a problem in the old days when fuel pressure was around two to six psi on old carburetor vehicles. The high fuel pressure in today’s fuel injected vehicles has eliminated the vapor lock condition.
I will be installing the fuel heater on my own truck. My truck does not have the water for gas hydrogen generator installed on it. I put that test set up on my wife’s car, since she had a longer commute to work. Installing just the fuel heater on my truck should give me what I am looking for, which is a test to see how much heating the fuel increases my fuel economy and what it does to the drivability.
I look forward to your comments about the fuel heating system and your experiences with the water 4 gas set up. If you want to see what all the fuss is about, the water for gas website is still the best place to see and learn about the complete system.
Tags: fuel economy, fuel heater, vapor lock, water 4 gas
June 11th, 2008 at 10:24 am
I’m not sure if this is the same but I work in Cogens [powerplants] and I’ve seen this work with natural gas, brings the gas closer to the combustion point, there fore using less BTU’s to burn, I’ve seen a 2-3 mw increase on 40 mw units… I am looking foward to trying Water4Gas on my Dakota
June 11th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
So do you have any measurement results from this yet? I keep checking back eager to see if it made any difference - when do you expect to give us an update???
thanks!
June 12th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Am most interested in your fuel heater - this idea has been in my head for many years, but didn’t think it had any merit. I thought one could place a heating coil in a tube, connect it to a current but was nervous about a short and spark. In the Dakotas many (most) people have a tank heater, is there such a device run on 12 volts available which could be connected to a gas line..
Thanks, have enjoyed reading.
June 12th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
To J cowan: What I like about the water for gas fuel heater is that it uses engine coolant on its way to the heater core to heat the fuel.
To jonas: The fuel heater goes in on Saturday the 14th. Should have results to post about 2 weeks after that point.
June 12th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
Hi,
It seems to me that in a closed-loop system such as a modern computer-controlled engine, there may not be a whole lot of benefit to warming the fuel. If the computer is controlling the leanness of the mixture by measuring the composition of the exhaust gases, I would not expect much benefit since the computer can modify the fuel flow for optimal combustion as measured at the tailpipe; the computer can admit only the required number of fuel molecules for proper combustion regardless of the specific gravity of the fuel (warmer = less dense). If, on the other hand, the computer is configured to regulate fuel flow based solely on physical parameters such as manifold air pressure, engine RPMs, etc., there might be some benefit from heating the fuel; it would tend to lean the mixture a bit and cause the fuel to evaporate more easily.
I like the idea of using waste engine heat to warm the fuel. I would be scared, however, to use the construction in the picture. For an older car with a carburetor the construction depicted would be OK because the fuel pressure is low (only a few pounds per square inch). But in a fuel-injected vehicle the fuel pump is typically located in the tank and the fuel line runs at high pressure, say 100 psi, no? I’ve seen warnings in my shop manual to avoid conventional worm-gear hose clamps even, and to use only the special ones with rounded edges. I’d be leery of building something out of hardware-store parts such as hose barbs and hose clamps for fear that it would not stay together at high pressure.
Moreover, I’d be leery of hanging it on the radiator, because of the risk of fire in the event of a collision. Most cars don’t seem to have fuel system parts hanging out in the crumple zone; they’re usually better protected than that.
For what it’s worth, my 1975 MGB had an electric heater coil that sat around the periphery of the manifold opening, just below the carburetor. From the outside it looked like a 3/8 inch thick gasket with an electrical terminal on it. I think it was intended to help vaporize the fuel. I don’t remember whether it operated all the time, just in cold weather, or just when the engine was cold.
Thanks for the writeup; awaiting your results.
June 12th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
To Bob K : Thanks for your comment. Just wanted to clear up the heater thing. The brass parts have hot engine coolant running through them not fuel. The fuel system is not modified with this technique. The heater is tied down to the fuel line itself. the barbs connect to the heater hoses that head for the heater core. I have been doing some more research on fuel heaters and they make much more efficient ones for heating diesel fuel. But I will try this first and measure the results.
June 14th, 2008 at 7:28 am
mrg
Has anyone thought about placing a heater (something like a glow plug) in a cylinder, run the fuel through it before it enters the carb - sounds like what you have in mind?
Don’t know if such a creature (fuel heater) is available, but certainly think one should be.
June 16th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I am a water4gas associate..I built and installed the fuel heater as designed in the book on my 05 Civic. It seems to be doing fine as far as my safety concerns go. Remember that the fuel lines are flexible up to the crunch zone. That, together with the gas savings tips in the manuals, got me from 36 highway to 40.3 highway @65 mph. I have tried the wire wound HHO generators in the Ball jars (2 of them)but they don’t produce enough hydrogen to get me any better mileage. I sat down last Saturday and built 2 more out of stainless bolts and washers, similar to some I have observed which have proved successful, today, on a 300 mile trip up I-15 corridor in central Utah I was able to increase my mileage to 47 mpg meeting aor beating the hybrids. I will do better of course but if this is all the savings on gas I ever get…11 mpg is nothing to sneeze at. The last leg of my trip was about 150 miles…I used 2.99 gallons. Wow..I am a bleliever because I made it happen. Added one quart of c water to each Ball jar and 1 tsp. of baking soda, screwed the lid down and went for it.
My goal is to drive 600 miles on a 13 gallon tank and will achieve that..I am only 3 mpg away from that now.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
Hey MRG.
I just purchased the Run Your Car on Water ebook and was pretty excited to give this thing a try until I got in and started reading.
It’s not as simple as they make it sound. Pretty intimidating to me.
Have you come across any good pre-built units anywhere yet? I think that might be the way I’ll have to go.
Any thoughts?
Brad
June 25th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
I used to own a 1974 Chevy Vega. I came up with the idea of heating the fuel just before it entered the carb, so I designed and built one and attached it to the car (my design was different from the one that “Water 4 Gas”). I ran it for several months and it did work. It increased my fuel milage from 22 MPG to 27 MPG. The only drawback to it is that the water has to be hot for it to work. For short trips it’s worthless, but for long comutes it works great. My design utilized the hot water in a different way. I ( my personal opinion) the design of the “water 4 gas” heater is a lot less efficient.
Back in 1974 nothing like this was never mentioned anywhere that I know of.
BUT I do have a question for you. Avout the Toriod Coil, (is there any substitute for the size of the ring, wire size and type of coating, and number of turns for “say22 or 24 AWG wire or do you have to buy the $50.00 Coil and the $.51 per ft. wire (that is over $330 for the just the coil not counting the FlouroEtch for $50 per pint)?
Good Luck on the heater
Cecil
June 25th, 2008 at 11:38 pm
I too second the view of Brad. I feel a little intimidated by the books, is there somewhere that sells somewhat of a completed system?
June 26th, 2008 at 8:13 am
I can’t wait to read about the results.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:33 am
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July 21st, 2008 at 9:27 am
I am working on my own system and need all the help I can get. I will post the results when I am finished. Thank You all. Joe
August 9th, 2008 at 9:04 am
WHEN THEY MAKE THE TWO BOOKS INTO REAL BOOKS TO MAIL TO ME I`LL BUY.
August 12th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hi
This is Dario here in Panama Rep of Panama. I purchased the books about 4 weeks ago and already built a system myself. Will install (hopefully) next Saturday. I placed two stainless bolt and washers instead of the wires. Will let you know about results. Re the “Fuel Heater”, will do after testing the catalyzer.