Henry Yunicks Red Hot Vapor Engine Re-Creation

I agree. I don't think an electric arc system would be nearly as efficient and long term I don't think its a very efficient system compared to Henry Yunicks system, its primary purpose would be to allow anyone to run any liquid fuel including filtered waste motor oil in their vehicle in a modification package that would only require one day to setup. So its an unrelated product/idea I was just throwing out there to get your opinion on it.

The chamber would be about the size of a 1 gallon paint an. About 2/3 of gasoline can be vaporized just with the waste heat from the engine coolant, its the other 1/3 that the arc is there to vaporize.

I don't like this idea/product nearly as much as the TCC (thermal cracker) unit but its something that would cost less than 1000 dollars and anyone could install in one day and allow the engine to run on any liquid fuel. Regardless of efficiency or power gains, I think this might have a market.
 
I've been doing a lot of research and its all variable, its dependent on the arc gap and the temperature of the fuel and type of fuel. It all comes down to the dielectric breakdown of the medium. 100 kilovolts would be more than enough to strike an arc, but once an arc is created it flashes the liquid fuel into plasma and it forms a superconducting path of plasma fuel which greatly reduces the load. So my plan was to create a jacobs ladder, about a 1 millimeter spark gap that would grow and ride upwards with the gap growing to about 2" in length before breaking and starting again at the bottom. The arc generator would use anywhere from about half a kilowatt to 2 kilowatts, or about 0.67 horsepower to 2.68 horsepower. Which is a considerable amount when we are talking about efficiency and performance, but its for a product that can be installed in one hour and would allow you to run your car on gasoline, diesel, waste motor oil, waste vegetable oil, even crude oil, literally any flammable liquid fuel. It would also greatly increase the octane rating of any fuel you put in it.

Arc power consumption is all about temperature over volume, amps, current, and dielectric breakdown of the medium. But I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, I'd wager good money you know considerably more about electric circuits than I do.

This is something I was thinking about for this off the shelf product. The next time I go out to get steel at the scrapyard I'll scavenge some aluminum and steel tubing and fabricate something together. I already have blueprints for the float bowl and fuel control valve into the vaporizer. I'm going to try and see if I can route the vapor fuel directly into a propane carburetor since they will be somewhat similar and my F350 is already converted to run on propane.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbYCavtC-Cs
 
Looking at the how to accomplish this for worse case power at 2000 watts.
2K watts is 143 amps on a 14 volt vehicle system.
There should be a 250 to 300 amp alternator to supply the 143 amps plus the rest of the vehicle power requirements.

Next: What method will you use to convert from 14 volts dc to a curent limited several thousand volts for the arc at a reasonable cost?
You could look at using a Microwave Oven Transformer. It would require 2 MOTs to produce a 2k watt spark and a third to use as a ballast.

Then you still need a reliable driver circuit from 14 volts DC to 120 volts AC.
The typical off the shelf inverter is not reliable enough for this application.

If there was a dedicated alternator then you can bypass the rectifier diodes and use 3 MOTs in a delta configuration run directly off the alternator. The primaries can easily be rewound for the lower voltage input and the intermediate driver can be eliminated.
The one problem I see is that an MOT is designed for 50/60 hz and not sure how it will react over a wide frequency range related to the engine rpm.

Another consideration is that the MOT output is Lethal and needs to be incorporated into the main shell of the unit so there is no way for a user to get to the high voltage.

Another requirement is that the unit cannot transmit RFI above a certain level that will interfere with any other device on board.
I have spent many hours out in a field house away form everything with a spectrum analyzer trying to make a product meet FCC and European conformity.

Just sharing some quick thoughts to be considered.

What are your thoughts?
 
I've looked into microwave transformers and modifying them to increase voltage. Its definitely on the option as a possibility, but for a transformer to work to increase voltage we will need inductance so converting the DC input to AC first would be necessary. The other possibility is using a couple of ignition coils like this guy to get about 100 kilovolts.
http://www.loneoceans.com/lo_main/labs_ ... /index.htm

You mentioned a dedicated alternator. And I was thinking on similar grounds, but having a dedicated AC generator so there wouldn't be conversion losses and to double the functionality as a power generator for tools and welding etc. A belt driven 2.5 kilowatt AC generator head to take the electric directly off of that. These systems can be had for about $500 dollars new and $250 used and allow one to do mobile stick welding and it turns their truck into a generator.
http://www.fabcopower.com/generat/bgen.htm
These guys make excellent units. And it prevents the arc system from drawing too much load on the DC alternator and allows me to do mobile stick welding and generate AC electric for power tools and whatnot on the go. With an AC generator I can just rewind some microwave transformers for super high voltage and be done with it.
 
The AC generator looks good.
An automotive ignition coil cannot begin to supply the amount of power needed for the arc.

A MOT puts out around 2kv. Two in series (Parallel primaries) would give you 4kv and 2000 watts.

Once an arc is struck the resistance goes low and the transformer curent goes very high.
You will need a balast inductor to limit the primary current of each MOT to 8 amps to keep the core out of saturation or else the transformer will get very hot.
 
This still seems like a risky proposition especially if pump gas containing ethanol gets into the mix.
The ethanol will release oxygen making the fuel in the chamber combustible I would think?
 
There's not enough oxygen to sustain a deflagration wave. Also, the plasma arc will be submerged in a liquid which we both know, liquids can't burn.

It is risky and of course a prototype will need to be built to prove the concept. I still think the supercritical high pressure fluid design we discussed at length is objectively superior, its just more complex and expensive.
 
all well and good, carry on fellas, it's very solid topic, interesting as hell, though I have no idea what ur discussing, im a bit like a dog watching tennis, waiting for his chance at the ball: no idea what's going on but would love a piece of the action.

so for the dana 80, something I am familiar with,
may I suggest an aam 1150 in place?
the 80 is considerqbly less efficient and not as well designed as the aam, which is essentially a GM 14 bolt with more muscle.
my singular contribution to this dynamic dialog.
thank you
 
Interesting note on the axle. did some research on the AAM axle and it would be good for the 1969 C10 project but when I replace the Dana70 with a Dana 80 its to increase the weight rating and towing capacity of the truck and I want to put a detroit locker in the rearend on account of the lack of 4 wheel drive. A detroit locker on the rear end will be almost as good as 4x4 drive in any situation I'd put it through. This is a work truck and I use and abuse it and I'll need a strong axle for the loads I'll be towing with it.

When I rebuild the 1969 C10 into a hot rod the AAM axle looks pretty ideal. That truck will be built for maximum efficiency and will have a Bourke engine put in it.
 
1150, not a problem with gvwr.
equal too or superior to the 80, and much stronger inside.
most did come with a locking device, from the various factories.
Dodge and GM both spec the axle with the dodge being slightly beffier due to additional webbing on the housing
and u get the disc brake with ebrake with 8x6.5 lug spacing
the trick is getting a cab chassis axle to fit your 34 inch frame
 
Thats interesting. Though the ring gear is smaller than the Dana 80 and the Dana 80 has more splines. Its definitely an option but its a project for long down the road after I totally modify the drivetrain. I have to get the engine going good first and totally wear out the new tires on the split rims before I do that. The thing that makes me balk a little at the AAM is the price. If I'm going to spend more than a grand on an axle I'll put on a rockwell axle from a 2.5 ton surplus truck. After further research I do find overall the 1150 to be comparable to the D80. This is a decision that will likely come down to cost.
 
1050 is , 10.5 ring obviously
the 1150...
dosge also has a 11.8 inch.
I love dodge. gosh darn it

any heavier and u will have to change wheels/tireserve
ur ford probably has 6 hole wheels now.
so logic says running gear from 550 is the ticket if u go any heavier..
BUSINESS
IDEA FOR YOU TO MULL OVER IN NEXT POST
 
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here in San diego where i am now , there is an opportunity it involves ur stoves or a derivitave of such.
tens of thousands of acres of citrus and avocado groves are being ripped out or abandoned.
there may ,be a modification to ur stove that will power a boiler /generator. using the millions of cords of wood laying around as fuel.
I see a rocket stove with low carbon emission, and multiple uses for the steam on these farms and ranches
and sell back to power co.
small units the size of a car trailer.
burning wood chips.


if the exhaust can be clean enough.
the abandoned orchatds/groves will burn like hell someday, burn the whole region.
landowners are shutting off the water, walking away.
it will be a conflag like nero's Rome.
hells inferno.
 
Make no mistake, I've put more thought into power generation than what any reasonable man should. Thats a project for 2019 or 2020. I've designed a jet engine couple to a rocket stove style J-tube that will be capable of running any combustible fuel, solid fuel of any kind (wood, coal, agriwaste, etc), liquids, or gases, and operate at about 30 to 40% efficiency. I already have a design in mind but I need to build it, test it, and if it works patent it.
 
Yes, in fact!

So I've completely modelled out an blueprinted a prototype Bourke engine that I will be machining from billet. It will be this engine that I couple a thermal catalytic cracker onto! I've recently got done building a 3D printer (took about a month to design and build) to create a polymer mockup engine and from there I will cast some of the parts using molds made from the prints and then machine them to size. This reverse engineering process of an engine based on some very basic blueprints took several months. I now have a 3D model and have conducted a plethora of simulations and perfect test fitting.

I should be able to start producing the parts in March.
51314158_227346281543451_2710903032756830208_n.jpg
 
Looks Good!
What bore and stroke is it?
What are the exhaust, transfer port and intake port dimensions? (Distance from the bottom to top of the port)
 
2.75" stroke
2.5" stroke
30 to 1 static compression ratio.
I'll be running over 50 PSI of boost with a staged roots blower and twin turbo (each cylinder will have its own turbo)
Quench are is 0.005"
HCCI
2 stroke cycle
Up to 30,000 RPM
I will eventually make a stroker version of the engine, high torque low RPM. However I'm basing this first off the original blueprints.
Exhaust and intake ports use slide valves like an old detroit diesel. There are four exhaust ports, each 5.66" in diameter
There are six intake ports, two are .626" and four are .25" diameter.

Once the prototype engine is built I will test it on a propane carb system. If it works well, I will build a thermal cracker for the engine and run my home and businesses entire electric needs off it. After a thorough test of 24/7 operation I'll build a 200 CID version and drop it on my F350. Eventually I'll rebuild my fathers old 1969 C10 and break a diesel land speed record. Essentially what I have here is a detonating diesel engine that can go up to 30k RPM with EGT's lower than 250 F measured directly out of the ports. Right now I'm making 2 dimensional blueprints with all tolerances and clearances. Once the prints are complete I can start making the engine for real.
 
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