our original experiments with H2, we used a propane conversion kit, that will allow the lawn-mower engine to run on either gasoline, or (twist a valve) it will then run on propane..(that is our goal, to able to run the engine on a wide variety of fuels: gasoline, H2, propane, methane, etc.. (methane is highly desirable, as it is a very easy bio-fuel to manufacture, probably the easiest
simplest to self-manufacture)
to run the gasoline engine on H2, one can actually run the engine at the stock gasoline timing, but it is preferred to operate it at exactly top dead center (the ignition timing) Hydrogen burns at approximately 7 times faster than gasoline, thus igniting at top dead center is the best timing.
if the engine has a LOT of carbon built up, it may cause problems running on H2, since any "hot spots" of the residual carbon deposits, may cause pre-ignition. but running the engine on H2 for a while, will actually remove all the carbon deposits! running an IC engine on H2, will eventually clean all carbon ( from hydrocarbon fuel) out of the engine,,it cleans as it burns! (the H2 as a "fuel")!
currently we just got a small supply of special gaseous fuel injectors ( for H2, propane, methane, etc), we have just operated the engine with a an electronic fuel injection of H2 ..it ran fine! and that was with stock gasoline timing! we are now in the process of designing an electronic ignition timing circuit, to adjust the timing from gasoline, to the optimum for H2.
at the moment, we are trying to design an intake manifold, that will allow two fuel injectors: one for liquid fuels ( gasoline, alcohol, etc. ), and one for gaseous fuels ( propane, natural gas, H2, methane, "wood gas" etc)
we hope that we can control both the timing of the fuel injectors, and then have electronic ignition timing of the various fuels..one for gasoline, another for H2, etc..
one fascinating idea, is to run the engine on dual fuels( say propane, with a small assist with H2, as H2 is the "easiest " to ignite, the spark will ignite the h2, and that will then ignite the "other" fuel..think of it as "h2 ignition assist".. in the case of a fuel like alcohol ( notorious for being difficult to ignite at low temperatures,as it does not evaporate very well at low temperatures( say 35 degrees Fahrenheit , or below)
our goals are unique, we hope to establish an "open source" (public domain) research lab, that focuses on technology that "enhances human survival", and essentially focus on a alternative energy technologies. this lawn-mower engine > electrical generator > hot water heater (from the exhaust) tool is to be run INSIDE a greenhouse, so that all the heat from the system, will assist in keeping the greenhouse warm...
we are now working on a web site, and hope to have the projects carefully documented, and step-by-step videos, plans, etc. we hope that the more individuals, and small businesses can manufacture these, the better off, all of us will be.. by making it open source, the work will evolve very rapidly ( like the open source operating system, LINUX.. we are borrowing this model..)
we think that this web site is the one of the best around! if we are even half as good, we will be happy!
I have concluded, that these wind generators, will be the backbone of a self-sufficient energy system..one either uses the electrify directly, or can store it : either in a battery, or when there is ample wind ( and the batteries are charged) > dump the excess into H2 production.. the main point is the wide diversity of the system, but the H2 can be considered as another type of "storage medium", like the battery, or the wind furnace..
a couple of web sites:
http://www.clean-air.org/
( The American Hydrogen Association (AHA) is a non-profit association )
http://theepicenter.com/tow02077.html
http://theepicenter.com/tipoweek.html
( Converting a lawn mower into a generator.
The 4th in a series on emergency power and generation )
we need to think of alternative energy systems, as a MATRIX, of inter-lapping systems, so the Synergy of the entire matrix, is greater than the individual components..