Water Fuel For Cars - Reality Or Hype ?

Every alternative to gas is getting looked at as the prices of gasoline see no respite in the rise upwards. Even water as fuel for cars is getting some press. However this description is slightly misleading as water cannot be used directly. Rather it is a source of hydrogen gas that is split from oxygen via a chemical process. This gas is used to power the car rather than the water itself. Specialized equipment can allow you to separate the hydrogen element from the oxygen in water, and to put the hydrogen to use in your car's fuel injection system.

There are two common methods for obtaining automobile fuel from water. One type uses hydrogen gas as a complement to your car's engine performance (which is powered by petroleum gas). The second typed is fueled by hydrogen gas which is produced either on or off the vehicle.

Vehicles with hybrid hydrogen gas fueling systems help to reduce the amount of gasoline usage. They act as an additive to the fuel, just as you see other additives in some gasoline. This extends the miles per gallon you will get from your car and reduces vehicle emissions because hydrogen mixed fuel is cleaner burning than unaltered fuel. Hydrogen gas emits only water vapor when it is burned with oxygen.

Kits for converting to water as fuel for cars range in price from less than a hundred dollars for plans to build your own system using easy to find parts from auto parts and hardware stores, to kits costing several thousand dollars that include everything needed to convert your vehicle.  True water as fuel for cars systems convert your vehicle to one hundred percent hydrogen fuel. This type of system is the most expensive and complicated to install but when you are done your visits to the gas station are over. Using much larger water holding tanks, or fuel cells with internal hydrogen processing equipment, these systems typically require much more room in the vehicle to install.

If you are fortunate enough to live near a hydrogen producing plant or fueling station you can opt for a system that has an on board storage tank for the hydrogen gas itself. Using this method lets the plant or fueling station convert the water to fuel for you thereby doing away with the need for the on board hydrogen extraction equipment.

On board storage tanks for water as fuel for cars systems will be a feature with upcoming releases from major auto manufacturers such as Honda and BMW. Due to the current lack of hydrogen fueling stations, major auto manufacturers will also be offering hydrogen/gasoline hybrid systems. Some of the hydrogen vehicle engines will be the same manufacturers' gasoline engines modified for optimal operation using hydrogen gas as the fuel.

Water as fuel for cars technology is considered safe and has been used in various programs for more than one hundred years, including the space program. Although it is not water that is the fuel but the hydrogen gas that is created from water. It is more stable than gas-powered engines and has had very few major adjustments over the years. This will change as people look for new alternatives to increasing gas prices. It may be some time before using water as fuel in your vehicle will be commonplace but the technology exists and will improve in the near future.