How to make a hydrogen generator for your home with your own hands: practical tips for manufacturing and installation

We are accustomed to considering natural gas to be the most affordable type of fuel.But it turns out that it has a worthy alternative - hydrogen obtained by splitting water. We receive the starting material for the production of this fuel completely free of charge. And if you make a hydrogen generator yourself, the savings will be simply amazing. Right?

We are ready to share with you valuable information about the options and rules for assembling a technical installation intended for the production of hydrogen. Studying the article presented to your attention will guarantee the manufacture of a trouble-free device.

For those wishing to build a cheap but very productive fuel generator with their own hands, we offer detailed instructions. We provide recommendations for proper use. Photo applications and videos were used as informative additions that clearly explain the principle of operation.

Methods for producing hydrogen

In high school chemistry classes, explanations were once given on how to obtain hydrogen from ordinary tap water. There is such a concept in the chemical field - electrolysis. It is thanks to electrolysis that it is possible to produce hydrogen.

The simplest hydrogen installation is a container filled with water. Two plate electrodes are placed under the water layer. Electric current is supplied to them. Since water is an excellent conductor of electric current, contact with low resistance is established between the plates.

The current passing through the low water resistance promotes the formation of a chemical reaction, which results in the formation of hydrogen.

Diagram of an experimental hydrogen installation, which in former times was studied in the high school chemistry class. As it turns out, those lessons were not superfluous for the practice of modern everyday needs

It would seem that everything is simple and there is very little left to do - collect the resulting hydrogen to use it as an energy source. But chemistry is never complete without subtle details.

So it is here: if hydrogen combines with oxygen, at a certain concentration an explosive mixture is formed. This point is one of the critical phenomena that limits the ability to build sufficiently powerful home stations.

Hydrogen generator design

To build hydrogen generators with your own hands, they usually take Brown’s classic installation scheme as a basis. This medium-power electrolyser consists of a group of cells, each of which contains a group of plate electrodes. The power of the installation is determined by the total surface area of ​​the plate electrodes.

The cells are placed inside a container well isolated from the external environment. The tank body has pipes for connecting the water main, hydrogen outlet, as well as a contact panel for connecting electricity.

Hydrogen generation apparatus designed according to Brown's scheme. By all calculations, this installation should fully provide the household with heat and light. Another question is what dimensions and power will allow this to be done (+)

The Brown generator circuit, among other things, provides for the presence of a water seal and a check valve.Due to these elements, the installation is protected from hydrogen backflow. According to this scheme, it is theoretically possible to assemble a hydrogen installation, for example, to organize heating of a country house.

Hydrogen heating in the house

Assembling a hydrogen generator for efficient heating of a house is an idea that may not be fantastic, but it is clearly extremely unprofitable. In order to obtain the required volume of hydrogen for a home boiler room, you will need not only a powerful electrolysis installation, but also a significant amount of electrical energy.

Compensating for wasted electricity with hydrogen produced at home seems to be an irrational process.

Really working hydrogen generator for home use. The only thing that upsets us is that this is just an experimental option, which can only show how a flame arises from a spark

However, attempts to solve the problem of how to make a hydrogen generator for the home with your own hands do not stop. With the operating principle and design of one of the models tested in practice hydrogen boiler will familiarize you with the article, which we recommend that you read.

And here is an example of one of the torture options:

1. A sealed, reliable container is prepared.
2. Tubular or plate electrodes are made.
3. A control circuit for operating voltage and current is assembled.
4. Additional modules for the workstation are being made.
5. Accessories (hoses, wires, fasteners) are selected.

Naturally, you will need a toolkit, including special equipment such as an oscilloscope and a frequency counter. Having equipped yourself with everything you need, you can proceed directly to the manufacture of a hydrogen heating system for your home.

Do-it-yourself project implementation

Initially, you will need to make a hydrogen generation cell. The fuel cell has overall dimensions slightly smaller than the internal dimensions of the length and width of the generator housing. In height, the size of the block with electrodes is 2/3 of the height of the main body.

The cell can be made of PCB or plexiglass (wall thickness 5-7 mm). To do this, five textolite plates are cut to size. A rectangle is glued together (with epoxy glue), the lower part of which remains open.

Approximately such plates of organic glass form the body of the fuel cell of a hydrogen generator. True, a slightly different version of engineering is shown here - for assembly and fastening with screws

On the upper side of the rectangle, the required number of small holes are drilled for the shanks of the electrode plates, one small hole for the level sensor, plus one hole with a diameter of 10-15 mm for the release of hydrogen.

Electrode plates are placed inside the rectangle, the contact shanks of which are brought out through the holes of the upper plate outside the cell. The water level sensor is installed at 80% cell filling. All transitions in the textolite plate (except for the hydrogen outlet) are filled with epoxy glue.

A design feature of the modules of the generator shown in the photo is their cylindrical design. The electrodes of this miniature energy source are also designed differently.

The hydrogen outlet hole must be equipped with a fitting - secure it mechanically using a seal or glue it in. The assembled hydrogen generation cell is placed inside the main body of the device and is carefully sealed along the upper perimeter (again, epoxy resin can be used).

This was the case chosen for the hydrogen generator for the next experimental project. The simple idea is attractive, but this option is unlikely to be suitable for a powerful station designed to heat the premises of a private house

But before you put the cell inside, the generator housing needs to be prepared:

• make a water supply in the bottom area;
• make the top cover with fasteners;
• choose a reliable sealing material;
• place the electrical terminal block on the cover;
• place a hydrogen collector on the lid.

The result should be a partially ready hydrogen generator after:

1. The fuel cell is loaded into the housing.
2. The electrodes are connected to the terminal block of the cover.
3. The hydrogen outlet fitting is connected to the hydrogen manifold.
4. The cover is installed on the body through a seal and secured.

All that remains is to connect the water and additional modules.

Hydrogen Generator Supplements

A homemade device for producing hydrogen must be supplemented with auxiliary modules. For example, a water supply module, which is functionally combined with a level sensor installed inside the generator.

In its simplest form, such a module is represented by a water pump and a control controller. The pump is controlled by the controller based on a sensor signal, depending on the water level inside the fuel cell.

Additional structural elements that must be included in the design of any hydrogen station and even an experimental one. A hydrogen generator cannot be operated without automation, control and protection devices.

As such, it is also desirable to have a device that regulates the frequency of the electrical current and the voltage level supplied to the terminals of the working electrodes of the fuel cell.At a minimum, the electrical module must be equipped with a voltage stabilizer and overcurrent protection.

A hydrogen manifold, in its simplest form, looks like a tube containing a valve, pressure gauge, check valve. Hydrogen is taken from the collector through a check valve and can actually be supplied to the consumer.

The hydrogen manifold and pressure gauge are integral parts of the hydrogen plant, providing gas distribution and pressure control

But in practice everything is somewhat more complicated. Hydrogen is an explosive gas with a high combustion temperature. Therefore, simply pumping hydrogen into the heating boiler system as fuel will not work.

Installation quality criteria

It is extremely difficult to assemble a high-quality, efficient and productive installation at home. For example, even if we take into account such a criterion as the metal from which the electrode plates or tubes are made, there is already a risk of encountering problems.

The durability of electrodes depends on the type of metal and its properties. You can, of course, use the same stainless steel, but the lifespan of such elements will be short.

A kind of parody of electrode plates for a hydrogen generator. The plates are taken from a conventional variable capacitor, which are made of aluminum. Such electrodes will be enough for exactly half an hour of operation even as part of a small experimental system

Installation dimensions also play a significant role. Calculations with high accuracy are required in relation to the required power, water quality and other parameters.

So, if the gap between the working electrodes is outside the calculated value, the hydrogen generator may not function at all. In the worst case, the power for which the calculation was made will turn out to be several times less.

Even the cross-section of the wire connecting the electrodes to the power source is important in the design of a hydrogen generator. True, this concerns the safe operation of the device. However, this design detail should also be taken into account in home installations.

Returning to the safe operation of the system, one should also not forget about the introduction of a so-called water seal into the design, which prevents the reverse movement of gas.

Despite a fairly impressive number of developments of homemade hydrogen generators, there is no really effective option yet. All models are inferior to factory equipment

Industrial generator

At the level of industrial production, technologies for manufacturing hydrogen generators for household use are gradually being mastered and developed. As a rule, energy stations for home use are produced, the power of which does not exceed 1 kW.

Such a device is designed to produce hydrogen fuel in continuous operation for no more than 8 hours. Their main purpose is energy supply for heating systems.

Installations for operation within condominiums are also developed and manufactured. These are already more powerful designs (5-7 kW), the purpose of which is not only the energy of heating systems, but also the generation of electricity. This combination option is quickly gaining popularity in Western countries and Japan.

Combined hydrogen generators are characterized as systems with high efficiency and low carbon dioxide emissions.

An example of a real-life industrially manufactured station with a power of up to 5 kW. In the future, similar installations are planned for equipping cottages and condominiums

Russian industry has also begun to engage in this promising type of fuel production. In particular, Norilsk Nickel is mastering technologies for the production of hydrogen installations, including household ones.

It is planned to use a variety of fuel cell types during development and production:

• proton exchange membrane;
• orthophosphoric acid;
• proton exchange methanol;
• alkaline;
• solid oxide.

Meanwhile, the electrolysis process is reversible. This fact suggests that it is possible to obtain already heated water without burning hydrogen.

It seems that this is just another idea that, if you grab onto it, you can launch a new round of passions related to the free production of fuel for your home boiler.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

When experimenting at home with homemade models, you need to prepare for the most unexpected results, but negative experience is also experience:

DIY hydrogen generators for the home are still a project that exists at the level of one idea. There are no practically implemented do-it-yourself hydrogen generator projects, and those that are positioned online are the imagination of their authors or purely theoretical options.

So we can only rely on an expensive industrial product that promises to appear in the near future.

Do you know the original model of a hydrogen generator that is not described in the article? Maybe you want to share valuable information that will be useful for home craftsmen? Please write comments in the block below, post photos on the topic, express your opinion.