Gas prices push retiree into action

[Executioner]

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/app ... 3/business

HARTSELLE -- If you are tired of paying $3.50 to $4 per gallon for gasoline, Larry Thrasher wants you to visit him.

He won't be able to lower the cost of gas. But, he said, his generated hydrogen system will increase your miles per gallon and decrease the number of trips you make to the gas station.

After more than a year of research and testing, Thrasher said he has perfected a system that will allow your vehicle to run on hydrogen and gasoline.

Long range, his plan is to run a vehicle on hydrogen only.

Hydrogen is a highly flammable and colorless gas that is the most abundant element in the universe.

Because of the number of electronics in vehicles, he said, his hydrogen system still depends on some gasoline.

Since installing the hydrogen fuel system on his eight-cylinder Cadillac, Thrasher said his fuel efficiency has increased from 19 miles per gallon to 53. His wife's 1996 Toyota gets about 71 miles per gallon.

"I was just tired of these big oil companies raking in record profits while the little man and people on fixed income were suffering," Thrasher said.

A former teacher at several technical schools with more than 30 years of automotive experience, Thrasher started researching his system about 16 months ago.

Convinced that he could design it and make it work, he told friends in August that his vehicle would one day run on water.

"They laughed, but it didn't hurt my feelings," he said.

Larry Whitt, who doubted Thrasher, has changed his mind.

He is so convinced of the product that Whitt has become Thrasher's partner and installed one of the systems in his Chevrolet truck.

The turning point for Whitt came when Thrasher asked him to take a trip to Good Hope.

The men went to a station in Hartselle and filled Thrasher's vehicle until it would hold no more gas.

They returned to the same station after the 53-mile trip, and Thrasher's vehicle had used only one gallon of gas.

"We went from Hartselle to Good Hope and back on one gallon of gasoline," Whitt said. "I know it works, and this brought me into it."

Thrasher's system is relatively simple. For his vehicle, Thrasher installed a 14-gallon-water supply in his trunk and a pump to get the water to a generator under the hood. The tank could be smaller and the water could come from the windshield fluid container.

Thrasher is applying for a patent for the generator components and did not want to release the details.

He did say the generator has 12 electrodes that help produce the hydrogen. The hydrogen is pumped through a valve that is connected to the vehicle's fuel injection system.

There is a switch on the valve under the hood that allows the vehicle owner to switch from hydrogen to total gasoline.

A gauge inside the vehicle monitors the temperature, amperage and hydrogen pressure.

Since hydrogen is hotter, the vehicle automatically will switch back to gasoline if the engine becomes too hot, Thrasher said.

Because of the explosive properties of hydrogen, Thrasher said his system does not store the gas.

"It's only produced when the engine is cranked," he said. "My No. 1 concern in designing this has always been safety."

So far, Thrasher has installed the system on five vehicles. He has several vehicles waiting to get the system outside his shop on Blowing Springs Road in Hartselle.

A South Carolina company plans to have the $5,500 system installed on its trucks, he said.

Thrasher said the knowledge to construct the system has been available for years. He successfully cranked his vehicle with hydrogen at 2:30 p.m. April 18.

"I ran around my shop and yelled for joy," he said.

To be able to make every component of the system in his shop, Thrasher purchased a milling machine.

"This allows me to control the cost," he said.

[EvilHorace]

I'd be very surprised if it really works like he says it does. We'll see all sorts of similar bogus claims with todays high gas prises as we did in the 70's when gas got costlier too, like the 100mpg carb or plans on "how to convert your V8 to a 4 cyl" by just removing 4 pistons, rods and pushrods , easy saturday afternoon job, no special tools or skills required and then it'd get great gas mileage, no noticeable loss of power LOL

Consider that GM just shut down 4 truck, SUV plants and IF it'd be easy to make those previously popular vehicles to somehow get better mileage, they'd be doing that in a heartbeat.

[Err]

Consider that GM just shut down 4 truck, SUV plants and IF it'd be easy to make those previously popular vehicles to somehow get better mileage, they'd be doing that in a heartbeat.

That is exactly why I take these claims with a grain of salt. There is a public outcry for more efficient vehicles right now. If the internal combustion engines that power these SUV and Full size pickups could be made more efficient, while keeping costs low, the auto industry would be doing so.

I wish with reports like the one referenced above that the reporter would do a little investigation. They should have offered to buy the gas and had the guy take them on a roadtrip. That V8 Cadillac probably has only a 350 mile range under gas only. If the guys claims were true, the car should go well past that. On second thought, if I had an invention like that and was charging 5K a pop to set someone's car up, I would be giving everyone rides to show off the technology. I would drive right up to Detroit and go to the big three and say, "Hey, look what I have a patent on. Who wants a licence?"