# After-Market Hydrogen Fuel Cells **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Created:** [July 18, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877 "2008-07-18T15:25:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![StuP34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@StuP34](https://community.cartalk.com/u/StuP34)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 3:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/1 "2008-07-18T15:25:19Z")
What is your opinion of After-Market Hydrogen Fuel Cells? ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/2 "2008-07-18T15:40:11Z")
They are a waste of money because they do not save gasoline. They take power from the engine to generate electricity, use the electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen, then burn the hydrogen in the engine. Even if you assume all of this happens with 100% efficiency (which it does not, of course), you lose 80% of the energy used to generate the hydrogen when you burn it in the engine. Why? Because internal combustion engines operate with at most a 20% thermal efficiency. That is, 20% of the energy released during combustion results in mechanical power to move the car forward. The other 80% is lost as heat, either through the radiator or the exaust. So hydrogen generators are a 5 to 1 losing proposition. ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 5:24pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/3 "2008-07-18T17:24:47Z")
Just when you thought we were done with childish spammers. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/4 "2008-07-18T17:31:47Z")
They never stop. Doubly irritating is how these folks have hyjacked the term ‘hydrogen fuel cell’, when they are not in any way related to the legitimate work being done by the automakers in that area. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/5 "2008-07-18T17:36:46Z")
Gee, I didn’t know anyone was selling fuel cells yet. You couldn’t possibly be asking about those bogus “hydrogen generators”, could you Stu? Stu? Stu! Where’d ya go, Stu??? ---
**Author:** ![MikeInNH](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a587f6/32.png) [@MikeInNH](https://community.cartalk.com/u/MikeInNH)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 6:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/6 "2008-07-18T18:03:43Z")
> They never stop. Doubly irritating is how these folks have hyjacked the term ‘hydrogen fuel cell’, when they are not in any way related to the legitimate work being done by the automakers in that area. What do you expect from high-school drop-outs?? ---
**Author:** ![StuP34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@StuP34](https://community.cartalk.com/u/StuP34)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 7:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/7 "2008-07-18T19:39:43Z")
Easy guys. I met a guy at my gas station who installed one in his SUV. He said he gets 40% better mileage. Ref. website [Rainingfuel.com](http://Rainingfuel.com) ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/8 "2008-07-18T19:43:30Z")
Then he’s wrong, or you are. Simple test: If these things worked, would you not expect UPS, FedEx, every cash-strapped city and state government, school districts, the post office, you name it to be buying these by the thousands? They aren’t, because they don’t work. No need for any of us to be testers/suckers. If something like this actually worked there would be dozens of major corporations and agencies buying them. ---
**Author:** ![StuP34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@StuP34](https://community.cartalk.com/u/StuP34)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/9 "2008-07-18T19:47:49Z")
Did you look at the website? If so is it BS? ---
**Author:** ![rockford](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac8455/32.png) [@rockford](https://community.cartalk.com/u/rockford)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/10 "2008-07-18T19:54:03Z")
We don’t need to look at the website to know it’s bogus. Why don’t you just buy one for yourself? You have all the proof that YOU need already, that guy you met at the gas station. As for the rest of us, we need what’s called scientific proof. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 7:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/11 "2008-07-18T19:56:22Z")
I looked at it, and it is BS. ---
**Author:** ![StuP34](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bcef8e/32.png) [@StuP34](https://community.cartalk.com/u/StuP34)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/12 "2008-07-18T20:03:50Z")
Now I got my answer, thank you. ---
**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2008, 9:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/after-market-hydrogen-fuel-cells/16877/13 "2008-07-18T21:51:03Z")
Well, it’s not really BS. At least BS can be used as fertilizer! Hydrogen generators aren’t as useful as BS.