Oxyhydrogen Welders: Educate Me on Single Phase Power

[nottoobright]

Hello there,

I have little knowledge in the field of physics and respctfully request the more intelligent user to impart some to me.

Oxyhydrogen welders. What sort of amps are required to run one? Can they be run on single phase power?

Came across one and, probably erroneously, concluded that the required amps must be huge as water is electrolysed, and recombines to form the flame. I realize there are many on the market but they seem to weigh a tonne and require an enormous power supply.

Is there a way of running one of these things on household/ single phase power?

Much obliged,

Ike.

 

[mgb_phys]

Oxyhydrogen torches generally run on compressed H2 / O2 gas. I hadn't heard of any that generate gas by electrolysis.
Generally you use oxyhydrogen for delicate jewelry type work so you wouldn't need a very large flame or large gas supply.

 

[nottoobright]

thanks.

clearly I didn't understand what I am trying to buy -
please look at this link and tell me if the HHO mix is produced from electrolysis? (note it doesn't mention the required amps).

many thanks for your help

Ike.

 

[nottoobright]

maybe posting the link would help...

http://www.hytechapps.com/aquygen/generator

 

[mgb_phys]

It's perfectly possible to generate H2 / O2 from electrolysis of water - it's just that it's also pretty cheap to buy as a compressed gas.

There are some slightly worrying bits of the ad if you were thinking of parting with money- like where he invented water !

Aquygen™, also known as HHO, is an evolutionary industrial gas invented by our Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Dennis Klein.

It also mentions using them to boost car fuel consumption - this is a common perpetual motion machine scam. Use the car alternator to split water into H2/O2, burn water in engine, generate electricity to split... etc


The only other thing I would be concerned about is that this must generate H2/O2 in a stochiometric ratio (ie exactly the correct amount of hydrogen to burn back into water) generally you want one of the componnets in excess to make sure that all the fuel reacts. I might be a little concerned that you need more oxygen to ensure that all of the H2 burns - otherwise you might have a build up of H2 in air(not good)

You probably want to ask in a specialised welding forum - unless somebody here has more experience.