Fuel Rail for Hydroxy Introduction

[Draco Rylos]

I mentioned in an earlier post about using the existing fuel rails for introducing the hydroxy into the engine, and the potential risk of explosive gases building up under the hood. Another thing about using the fuel rail is that it would possibly prevent hydroxy from getting into places that it would not be best to get into, like the brake booster and other important devices powered by engine vacuum. I'm just posing this question to see what it would take to use the fuel rail to inject the hydroxy into the engine without the risk of the hydroxy escaping the fuel rail and building up under the hood.

[hansvonlieven]

G'day Draco,

I don't think the dangers are anywhere near as acute as you seem to think. Transporting hydrogen gas over long distances with very few safeguards was common practice until very recently.

Perhaps you are to young to remember the old coal gas works that were around until the introduction of natural gas. Most people know about the gasification of coal, hardly anyone knows that the gas that was delivered to the consumer was a mixture of coalgas and hydrogen. The way it was done was like this.

Once the coal in the gasification chamber was on operating temperature, i.e. red hot, the gas developed and because there was no oxygen to burn it, it could now be piped to the consumer. In an effort to increase gas production without an increase in coal consumption water was sprayed into the glowing coals. Because of the high temperatures and the reducing atmosphere inside the reactor the water was dissociated and the resultant gas was a mixture of coalgas and "watergas" as it was called then. It made the mixture far more explosive than the coalgas on its own but it appeared to be quite safe to do as no extra safety measures were deemed to be necessary.

I have worked with hydrogen a lot and I can say from experience that it is no more dangerous than other gases. Leaking fuel lines are always a dangerous thing, petrol dripping on a hot engine will go off just as easily as hydrogen will, if it gets ignited.

Hans von Lieven

[Draco Rylos]

Yeah, that's way before my time. Being born in the late '70s has me missing a lot of the stuff from previous eras. The danger i was talking about was when then engine was turned off and any hydrogen that is in the lines when the engine is killed will stay in the fuel rail and possibly leak out into the manifold where it can escape into the under-hood area. I would have the generator in the engine compartment so the hydrogen will not have far to travel to be introduced into the engine.

[hansvonlieven]

Either that Draco or a small valve in the line very close to the engine.

Hans

[TheNOP]

what is more risky, having hydroxy or fuel vapor in brake booster and/or under the hood, and/or etc... ?

There is a device in cars, i think called "vapors canister".
But that is more for an attempt to recuperate the vapors than a protection.

A leak in a full rail is as dangerous with fuel as with hydroxy.
However gases are more prone to leak than fluids.
Be sure to use the proper material for feeding when dealing with gases.