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With gas prices down, interest in alternative fuels may be falling
ARLINGTON, Nov 25, 2008 (Fort Worth Star-Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
James Ferguson works a bit like a mad scientist in his southeast Arlington garage. Using metal plates, Mason jars and other gadgetry, he creates electrolyzers, which he believes can improve gas mileage when installed under the hood of most cars.
But there's no doubt, Ferguson says, that demand for electrolyzers -- experimental add-ons available only online -- has dropped dramatically since gas prices fell below $2 a gallon.
"When gas was $4 a gallon, I was shipping out 20 a day, easy," said Ferguson, 40, who also runs a flooring company. "Now, I'll get three orders, and then I won't get anything for a couple of days."
Ferguson sells the electrolyzers for about $185 each. They work by separating hydrogen from oxygen in a jar of water and injecting the hydrogen into gasoline to make it burn more efficiently, at least in theory.
Now that gas is cheaper again, drivers who once flocked to Web sites like the one where Ferguson's devices are sold -- www.water4gas.com -- aren't quite as desperate to save fuel.
But some alternative commuting methods are still going strong. For example, interest in buses and trains has not waned.
"October was our all-time highest month," said Joan Hunter, spokeswoman for the Fort Worth Transportation Authority. "Vanpool is breaking records, too."
The T logged 828,406 total trips in October, including bus, train and vanpool passengers, she said.
October figures reflect T ridership when gas dipped below $3 a gallon. But figures for November, when the cost of regular unleaded fell below $2 a gallon, won't be available for a few more weeks, she said.
However, anecdotal evidence shows that bus stops and train stations are still full, she said.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit also experienced record ridership in October -- more than 11.4 million trips, spokesman Mark Ball said.
Ferguson believes that interest in so-called hydrogen-on-demand technology will pick back up in 2009. America's interest in developing greener technology for cars is a permanent attitude shift, he said.
"We know the price of gas is going to go back up," he said. Of cheap gas, he said, "We know it ain't going to last."
Hydrogen on demand
Hydrogen on demand involves splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen atoms. The resulting gas can be injected into gasoline to improve mileage, at least in theory, and a variety of devices that use the technique are sold online. Examples are at www.water4gas.com.
HHO enthusiasts, including scientists and amateur experimenters, often meet to compare results. One such event was held recently in Grand Prairie.
Third-party researchers have been unable to produce gas mileage savings with under-the-hood hydrogen devices sold commercially, according to results published by Popular Mechanics and other journals.
GORDON DICKSON, 817-685-3816
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go to http://www.dfw.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas
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