High voltage vs High amperage

[dluthcke]

Which design would allow for a more efficient cell? many people seem to say high amperage works more efficiently but why wouldn't high voltage work just as well if not better, for example wouldn't 120v at 1 amp have a greater potential to "pull" the water apart than 12v at 10 amp?

[HeairBear]

With normal water electrolysis you really don't have many options. The optimum gas output a cell design would have to be an array of plates or tubes in parallel at the lowest voltages possible. Heat is the biggest problem to overcome, for the water will heat and boil giving you more water vapor. Even with low voltages the water will eventually heat to a boil. The rule of thumb, "More current = more gas + faster rising heat". If you could find a way to test it for yourself, a cell at 12V 1A would have the same gas output as 120V 1A. At these levels of voltages it appears that a higher voltage up to 120V does not really affect the water as much as the current passing through. Also, there is no special frequency to make it more efficient in any noticeable amount.

[sm0ky2]

the problem that arrises with high voltage, is the impedance of the water.

once you exceed the waters' impedance, it becomes conductive and electrolysis fails to occur at low currents.

high voltage at high current  will initiate electrolysis, but this is uneconomical, unless you can harvest lightning.....

but as mentioned above, you have the problem of water vapor.
which would demand the implementation of a condensor or catalytic converter to remove the water from your gas.

[dluthcke]

Thank you for clearing that up, so basically all i need to worry about is the design of the cell not the actual input voltages and and amperages? Would each setup cause the water to boil at the same rate?

[HeairBear]

Well, no, not exactly. It all depends how you want to go about it and how much you want to spend. In my opinion, it's not worth the time or money to improve the gas mileage of most vehicles used today. It's very doable, but, the rewards are small and the maintenance is daily. If you rather look in the direction of Stan Meyer, Bob Boyce, Andrija Puharich, and others, you have an even bigger hill to climb which no one has reached the top yet. If your on a budget like most of us, start with two steel plates, stainless preferred. Two spoons connected to a 9V battery will even work but the corrosion will kill them quickly as you will see. Once you do a simple experiment you may begin to see things that will enhance your ultimate creation. I recommend you start small and inexpensive, maybe even recycle old junk for parts. Get a good feel for it before you waste time and money repeating others mistakes. Chances are, one of us here has tried what you may think of, but, you have to dig deep to find the info. Believe it or not, it's easier to find information on this forum using google rather than this forum's own search script.