The story on the follow-up test is available by clicking HERE.Do you know someone who has put the Hydro4000 on their vehicle? If so, we'd like to hear from them. Email jcholmes@wptv.com June 8, 2008
The second test on the Hydro 4000 kicked off this past Wednesday. Florida Atlantic University engineering professor Dr. Amir Abtahi supervised our second round of testing.
For this experiment, a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe was drained of fuel so that it's tank was completely empty. Dr. Abtahi and his team of engineering students then filled the tank with one and a half gallons of gas. The Tahoe, which it's owner tells us is in good working condition, was then placed on a dynomometer at Billet's Design in Pompano Beach.
The Tahoe ran on the dynomometer until it ran out of gas. The vehicle drove 17.7 miles with a dyno load setting of 108. The load setting basically refers to the amount of restraint used against the vehicle as it drives. For this first part of the test, the Chevy Tahoe achieved a preliminary 11.8 MPG. That milage is not indicative of the miles per gallon that the Tahoe normally achieves, and is only a number applicable to this particular test.
On Friday, the Hydro 4000 unit was then removed from our Newschannel Five Dodge Durango. The Durango's prior maintenance history had made it difficult for us to conclude whether the Hydro 4000 was continuing to work effectively. The vehicle had been in the shop days before the Hydro 4000 was initially installed in our first test. The vehicle was also in the shop three times after our initial report aired for a variety of maintenance issues.
The Hydro 4000 unit was then placed on our test vehicle, the 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe. According to the company, the Hydro 4000 needs to be pre-charged and on a vehicle for 30-days to achieve maximum effectiveness.
On July 9th, FAU's team will once again test the Chevy Tahoe on the dynomometer. This time the Hydro 4000 device will have been on the vehicle for more than a month. The FAU team will re-run the same test again, and then will be able to conclude whether the Tahoe has had an increase in miles per gallon of gas.
Check back here for the results of this second round of tests.
May 31, 2008
UPDATE: After our story aired, we showed some of our results to Dr. Amir Abtahi, a mechanical engineering professor at Florida Atlantic University. He raised several issues, including the initial MPG on our test vehicle.
The vehicle used was a 2001 Dodge Durango, which is supposed to average 16MPG. In our test however, the Dodge had a preliminary 9.4 MPG before we even installed the Hydro-4000.
"It certainly is suspicious," says Dr. Abtahi.
Prior to our test, the vehicle did have a history of mechanical problems, which may have in some way affected the low MPG. "It's really impossible to tell without doing more testing," says Abtahi. So, because of the questions surrounding that preliminary MPG, Newschannel Five is doing a second round of testing to see how the Hydro-4000 performs.
Dr. Abtahi will oversee this second test. This time, we will not use our Dodge Durango. Instead we will use two different vehicles, and run two different tests simultaneously. For the first test we will use a Palm Beach County School District vehicle. The school district keeps detailed gas records and this will allow us to see what their MPG is before we start our test. We will then install the Hydro-4000 on the school district vehicle for 30 days, and will bring you the before and after results.
For our second test, we will also use an independent vehicle. This vehicle will be drained completely of fuel and then filled back up with a known amount. After that, we will put the vehicle on a dynomometer to determine its initial MPG. We will then install the Hydro-4000. After 30 days, we will then once again drain the vehicle of all fuel, put in a known amount of gas, and return it to the dynomometer. This should also give us a fairly accurate before and after MPG.
The second round of testing is expected to conclude in mid-July. Stay tuned to Newschannel Five for the results.
May 11th, 2008
West Palm Beach, FL-- There is no more pinch at the pump, instead it's become a full fledge punch, but what if there was a device out there which could save you up to sixty percent on your gas bill?
The Hydro-4000 installs to any vehicle, and runs on water, it costs about $1200. But the creators say given the amount of money you already spend on gas, it wouldn't take long before you made that money back.
"We estimate the average person would see savings in one year. With fuel prices going the way they are, today's oil market is $112 a barrel, prices are going to continue to go up, we have to find solutions to our big problem in the U.S.," says David Havanich. But does it work?
NewsChannel 5 put the Hydro-4000 to the test, by installing it on one of our own news vehicles that was checked out and given a complete tune-up by our company's mechanic.
Before we show you the results though, let's explain how the Hydro-4000 is supposed to work.
In any engine, when you push down on the accelerator, a mixture of air and gasoline is sent into your cylinder. When the gas and air hit your spark plugs, it triggers a mini explosion pushing your car forward. But in any engine, roughly 15% of the gas isn't burned; instead its pushed out through your exhaust pipe.
The Hydro-4000 creators say their device sends hydrogen into your engine, creating a cleaner burning environment.
They claim their product allows you to burn all of the gas that you're putting into your tank, instead of wasting it through your exhaust pipe, "what we've done is brought oxygen, similar to what race car drivers do, to hydrogen, which is a higher burning has to also make sure you're burning every bit of fuel you're paying for at the pump," says Havanich.
So back to our test.
First, we needed to know how many miles to the gallon we were getting in our vehicle. So we put it on something called a dynamometer, think of it as a giant treadmill where we ran the truck for twenty minutes at 55-miles an hour on a full tank of gas.
Once done, we found that even with an oil change, clean air filter and proper tire pressure, we were averaging roughly 9.4 miles to the gallon.
We then ran our truck on the street for close to a month with the Hydro-4000 running. The owners said this would give the device time to clean out the engine. We then put our vehicle back on the dynamometer, and did the same test all over again.
And guess what? With the device on, we were now averaging 23.2 miles to the gallon.
Another device, the Hydro-5000, is also available for 18-wheelers.
