Cell Spacing

Pure water is an insulator. It will not conduct electricity; but pure water is rare. River water, stream water, well water, and city water all contain minerals that conduct electricity. The higher the mineral content the better the water will conduct (pass an electric current).

So what does this have to do with cell spacing? Well consider the distance between your plates. If water is an insulator, then the more water you have between two plates, the higher the resistance will be between the plates. If you know anything about Ohms Law, an increase in Resistance causes electron flow to be reduced. Electron flow is the amperage your cell is drawing. The farther apart your plates are, the less amps your cell will draw through the water. The closer the plates are, the more amperage your cell will draw. Amperage plays a big part in HHO production. Without it, your cell will produce squat; nothing.

If we add Electrolytes to the water, we will make the water conduct better by decreasing the Resistance between the plates. A decrease in resistance allows more current to flow; thus increasing the possibility of producing more HHO. A cell that has wide spacing can be made to produce just as much HHO as a cell with close spacing. The difference is going to be the amount of electrolytes added to the water. The cell with wide spacing will need larger amounts of electrolytes.

There is another factor to consider ----- Heat. Cold water has more resistance than Hot water. The hotter your water gets, the better it will conduct electricity. How many times have you been told that Electrolysis causes heat? Pay attention. The better water conducts electricity, the more amperage your cell is going to draw. Amperage is the movement of electrons. Movement is friction. Friction causes heat. So the more amperage you draw, the hotter your water is going to get. The hotter the water gets, the more amperage it draws; which in turn creates more heat, which causes more current, which causes more heat. Do you get the idea that amperage/heat needs to be controlled? You bet it does. If you don't control it, it will run away from you. Eventually blowing a fuse or tripping your cells circuit. We have learned that a Pulse Width Modulator will help us with that problem.

As for plate spacing, I use 0.060 inches, or about 0.1524 centimeters. That is about as close as possible and still get good bubble flow.

Closer spacing needs less electrolyte. It does not produce more gas or less gas; per say. Gas production is caused by amperage.

Since water does not conduct electricity without adding electrolytes or minerals, we will have to add electrolyte or minerals no matter what the spacing is.

Close spacing makes our cells more compact. Sometimes spacing comes about by what we have to use as an insulator to separate the plates. Our gaskets for instance. Gaskets need to be strong and pliable enough to endure the process of taking the cell apart and putting it back together. I would not use more than 0.654 cm.