Many are accustomed to believing that natural gas is the most affordable and economical type of fuel. But it turned out that this product has a good alternative - hydrogen. It is obtained by splitting water. The initial component for obtaining such fuel is obtained free of charge. A do-it-yourself hydrogen burner for a heating boiler will help you save a lot and not think about going to the store. There are special rules and methods for creating a technical installation designed to produce hydrogen.
How is hydrogen produced?
Information about making hydrogen is often given by chemistry teachers to children in high school. The method of extracting it from plain water in chemistry is called electrolysis. It is with the help of such a chemical reaction that it is possible to obtain hydrogen.
The device, simple in design, looks like a separate container filled with liquid. There are two plastic electrodes under the water layer. They are supplied with electricity. Due to the fact that water has the property of electrical conductivity, betweenplates line up contact with minimal resistance.
The current passing through the created water resistance leads to the formation of a chemical reaction, as a result of which the required hydrogen is produced.
At this stage, everything seems very simple - it remains only to collect the resulting hydrogen in order to use it as an energy source. But chemistry cannot exist without small details. It is important to remember that if hydrogen combines with oxygen, then at a certain concentration an explosive mixture occurs. This state of substances is considered critical, which limits a person in creating the most powerful home-type stations.
How does a hydrogen burner work?
To create do-it-yourself hydrogen-powered generators, most often the classic Brown installation scheme is used as the basis. An electrolyzer of this type has an average power and includes several groups of cells, each of which, in turn, has a group of plastic electrodes. The power of the created installation will depend on the total surface area of the plastic electrodes.
Cells are installed in a container that is qualitatively protected from external factors. On the body of the device, special pipes are fixed for connecting a water line, hydrogen output, as well as a contact panel that acts as an electric current supply.
The self-made hydrogen burner according to the Brown scheme, in addition to all of the above, includes a separate water seal and a reversevalve. With the help of such parts, complete protection of the device from the release of hydrogen is achieved. It is this scheme that many masters use when creating a hydrogen installation for heating a home area.
Hydrogen home heating
Creating an oxy-hydrogen burner with your own hands is not so easy, it requires some effort and patience. To collect the right amount of hydrogen for heating the house, you need to use a powerful electrolysis plant, as well as stock up on a huge amount of electrical energy.
Specialists note that it will not be possible soon to compensate for the spent electricity by using a ready-made installation at home.
Hydrogen station for home use
How to make a hydrogen burner with your own hands? This question continues to be the most popular among owners of private houses who are trying to make a reliable and high-quality source of heating. The most common way to create such a device is the following option:
- pre-prepare an airtight container;
- plate or tubular electrodes are created;
- design of the device is planned: a way to control it and equip it with current;
- preparing additional modules to connect to the device;
- buy special parts (fasteners, hoses, wiring).
Of course, the master will definitely need tools, including specialdevices, frequency counter or oscilloscope. Once all the tools and materials have been prepared, the craftsman can proceed to the very creation of a hydrogen heating burner for home use.
Scheme for creating a device
At the first stage of creating a hydrogen burner for heating the house, the master needs to make special cells designed to generate hydrogen. The fuel cell is distinguished by its completeness (slightly less than the length and width of the generator body), so it does not take up too much space. The height of the block with electrodes inside reaches 2/3 of the height of the main body, in which the main parts of the structure are installed.
The cell can be created from plexiglass or textolite (wall thickness varies from 5 to 7 millimeters). To do this, the textolite plate is cut into five equal parts. Next, a rectangle is formed from them and the borders are glued with epoxy glue. The lower part of the resulting shape should remain open.
It is customary to create a hydrogen heater fuel cell body from such plates. But in this case, experts use a slightly different assembly method using screws.
On the outside of the finished rectangle, small holes are drilled for holding the electrode plates, as well as one small hole for the level sensor. For comfortable release of hydrogen, an additional hole with a width of 10 to 15 millimeters will be required.
Electrode platinum is inserted inside, the contact tails of whichpass through the drilled holes on the top of the rectangle. Next, a water level sensor is built in at around 80 percent of the cell filling. All free holes in the textolite plate (excluding the one from which hydrogen will come out) are filled with epoxy glue.
Generator Cells
Most often, when creating a hydrogen generator, a cylindrical form of modules is used. The electrodes in this design are made in a slightly different way.
The hole from which hydrogen comes out must be additionally equipped with a special fitting. It is fixed with a mount or glued. The finished hydrogen generation cell is built into the body of the heater and sealed from the top (in this case, you can also use epoxy resin).
Instrument body
Hydrogen generator housing for home use is quite simple. But using such a design for high-power stations will not work, since it simply cannot withstand the load.
Before you install the finished cell inside, the case should be well prepared. For this you need:
- create a fluid supply at the bottom of the housing;
- make the top cover equipped with convenient and reliable fasteners;
- choose a good sealing material;
- install the electrical terminal block on the cover;
- equip the lid with a hydrogen collector.
Final stage
At the end of the work, the master will be able to receivehigh-quality and reliable hydrogen generator for the heating system of a private house. Only the final touches remain:
- install the finished fuel cell in the main body of the device;
- connect the electrodes to the terminal block of the instrument cover;
- The plug installed on the hydrogen outlet should be connected to the hydrogen manifold;
- the cover is superimposed on top of the body of the device and fixed through the seal.
Now the hydrogen generator is fully operational. The owner of a private house can safely connect water and additional modules for comfortable heating of a private house.
Device Terms of Use
Hydrogen jewelry burner for the home should have additional built-in modules. Of particular importance is the water supply module, which is combined with a water level sensor built into the hydrogen generator itself. The simplest models are a water pump and a control controller. The pump is controlled by the controller through a sensor signal depending on the amount of liquid in the fuel cell.
Auxiliary elements are very important for any heating design. It is prohibited and even dangerous to use a hydrogen-based generator without automatic control and protection modules.
Experts advise purchasing a special system that regulates the frequency of the supplied electric current and the voltage level. This is important for the normal functioning of the working electrodes inside the fuel cell. Also in the modulebe voltage stabilizer and overcurrent protection.
The hydrogen collector is a tube in which a special valve, pressure gauge and check valve are built. From the collector, hydrogen is supplied to the room through a special check valve.
The pressure gauge and the hydrogen collector are very important parts in a hydrogen generator, with the help of which the gas is evenly distributed throughout the room and the overall pressure level is controlled.
Any consumer should remember that hydrogen remains an explosive gas with a high combustion temperature. It is for this reason that it is forbidden to simply take and fill the design of the heater with hydrogen.
How to determine the quality of the installation?
To independently create a high-quality and safe heating installation for the home is a difficult task that not everyone can handle. For example, even when considering the metal that makes up the tubes of the device and the electrode plates, one can already face a lot of difficulties.
The service life of built-in electrodes directly depends on the type of metal and its basic properties. Of course, you can use the same stainless steel, but the operation of such parts will be short-lived. The temperature of the hydrogen burner should be around 5000 K.
Measurements are of particular importance. All calculations should be carried out as accurately as possible, taking into account the required power, the quality of the incoming water and other criteria. If the size of the hole between the electrodes does not matchcalculations, the hydrogen generator may not start at all.
