Hi Tim,
To be honest, I don’t know but I assume that the conversion would be very similar to those converting to LPG. I don’t think the change is very great at the engine. The most disruptive element would be the installation of a compressed H2 tank. If H2 was to be the only fuel source then we could liberate the space currently filled by the petrol tank but I suspect the shape of the gas bottle would result in some intrusion into the luggage compartment.
Peter
When I ran my Series 2 Daimler on LPG, I used a pair of diffusers bolted to the outboard flange of the HS8 carb bodies. They looked like 3/8” thick alloy air filter spacer, with the ID of the venturi/carb choke formed as a hollow steel ring with lots of hole to feed the low pressure gas into the engine from a hose barb and drilling at the side.
The concept was like an inverse flame ring on a gas cooker. To make sure the gas always flowed into the carbs and not out the filter, a thin 1.5” bore alloy restrictor plate sat just outboard of the diffuser. The reduced bore compared to the carb and manifold meant there was always good vacuum.
Still got them somewhere but might be an idea to keep them now. During WW2 The it wasn’t uncommon buses etc to run on coal gas (hydrogen/methane) with a big bag in the roof.
I have photo’s somewhere of my grandparent’s car with the coal gas bag on the roof. I seem to recall that the bag appeared to be canvas, impregnated with a tar like substance. The paintwork suffered terribly as the sealant leeched over the roof and down the sides of the car. I must look up how it made its way into the motor.
Tim
Jet pack? Smoke screen?
Hi Peter,
It seems that most modern hydrogen cars have a fuel cell which converts the hydrogen into electricity to power an electric motor. These Youtube clips were quite helpful. To me it seems that it would be preferable to having large batteries like one finds in most electric vehicles.
I’ll keep looking for information on converting an internal combustion engine to run on hydrogen. I’m guessing that if most new cars were hydrogen cell powered then the numbers of petrol and diesel vehicles would diminish over time. Given that the numbers of cars like ours represent such a small proportion of vehicles, and used irregularly, they might well be exempted, a bit like steam engines on heritage lines.
Tim
Yes, I don’t think there are any plans for new cars to continue with internal combustion engines. Fuel cell with electric traction is the best solution. That said, you do still need a small amount of battery capacity to benefit from regenerative braking.
Running our old cars on hydrogen is still pretty green the only slight exhaust contamination would be the small amount of lubricating oil that is burnt.
Peter
That’s very true but a small battery must be preferable to a large battery? I wouldn’t mind owning a hydrogen powered car in a few years time. Apparently, the methane from one cow is sufficient to produce enough hydrogen to power a car for an entire year!
Tim
This was really fascinating and I’m sure it would appeal to the engineers as the young man is also an engineer and obviously knows his stuff!
It would seem that a fuel cell with an electric motor is the most practical solution simply because of the size of the fuel tank required. For a hydrogen powered internal combustion engine the size of the fuel tank would need to be enormous.
Tim
True! I was really being a bit disingenuous there because a couple of years ago I was driving a hybrid in the Rockies and came to the conclusion the battery was probably OK for stop start city driving but it certainly didn’t store anything like enough energy from long descents.
Peter
So I suppose the engine/trans is now at its new home. Just checking. My car is in Idaho.
Karl
Yeah, it found a new home.
