Future fuel

As gas costs flirt with the $4 a gallon price tag, one Culpeper man decided to take matters into his own hands, literally.

With plastic tubes and metal plates bought from Lowe’s — and a portion of his three kids’ college savings — Jerry Dossey has built a prototype of a hydrogen fuel cell that he says doubled his gas mileage and essentially turned a conventional car into a hybrid.

Dossey, 30, is still working out the kinks, but he demonstrated the ability of the seemingly innocu-ous white plastic canister to produce explosive hydrogen.
In the driveway of his home Wednesday, Dossey linked the cell to his shiny black Aspen’s battery and the technology explained itself.

As the metal plates inside the canister slowly began to electrolyze a small amount of water, the hydrogen and oxygen cells separated. Hydrogen flowed through a clear plastic tube and water vapor collected in a trap.

Because of the explosiveness of hydrogen, a metal piece — called an arrestor — intercepts the stream of gas, preventing the possibility of an explosion.

“Everything I was able to build this from came from the hardware store,” he said.

Once the cell is actually installed and connected to a car’s engine — in the Aspen he will fit it behind the grill — the hydrogen would stream into the airflow, extending the life of the gasoline.

When he installed the device in his bright yellow Jeep Wrangler, Dossey said his gas mileage jumped from 14 mpg to 27.

After leaving his job as sales manager at Chrysler of Culpeper, Dossey has spent the past three months developing his fuel cell. He has placed orders with metal and plastics manufactures to build 60 cells and plans to sell them for $250 a piece to earn back the savings spent.

“The only reason I’m selling them is not to become rich and wealthy,” he said. “The whole point is to help people who need it.”

Because the technology is nothing new, Dossey is not patenting his idea.

In fact, he even offered to explain the construction plans to anyone who was interested and will have detailed information on his Web site.

“(Dossey) is one of those very determined people that when he’s interested in something, he goes after it 150 percent,” said Joe Schick, a manager at Chrysler of Culpeper and Dossey’s former coworker. “I think hydrogen is the way to go.”

Dossey was determined to alleviate fuel costs for the average American after a former Chrysler of Culpeper customer who asked for help.

He could no longer afford his diesel truck and risked losing his home.

“That’s a breaking point,” he said, “when you see a grown man like that break down. And I couldn’t help him.”

After months of research, Dossey had constructed his prototype cell. He hoped to sell the fuel cells, but would not install them in anyone’s vehicles.

Because the installation requires drilling a hole into a part of the engine, it voids a car’s warranty. But that is the only drawback, Dossey said.

“Anybody who comes up with an idea to double up fuel, I think it’s a good idea,” said Vernon Bunch, manager at Gilmore’s Auto Service and Repair. “The future’s going to be in electric cars.”

After demonstrating the fuel cell’s capabilities in his driveway, Dossey packed up his tubes and canisters into a cardboard diaper box and reiterated his reasons for his pet project.

“It’s not about making money,” he said. “It’s about making sure that people aren’t losing their homes. This has just gotten too bad.”

Catherine Amos can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 138 or .

Want to know more?

To contact Jerry Dossey about his fuel cell, e-mail him at . To learn more, visit his Web site at DosseyCreations.com

What are the benefits of a hydrogen fuel cell?
The U.S. Department of Energy describes hydrogen as a versatile carrier that can be used to power nearly every end-use energy need. According to the DOE, the fuel cell - an energy conver-sion device that can efficiently capture and use the power of hydrogen - is the key to making that happen.

The DOE states that fuel cells have the potential to replace the internal combustion engine in vehicles and provide power in stationary and portable power applications because they are energy-efficient, clean and fuel-flexible.

Hydrogen-powered fuel cells are pollution free - the only byproducts are pure water and heat - and can have two to three times the efficiency of traditional combustion technologies.

“Hydrogen can play a particularly important role in the future by replacing the imported petro-leum we currently use in our cars and trucks,“ according to the DOE Hydrogen Program.

According to the DOE, the gasoline engine in a conventional car is less than 20 percent efficient in converting the chemical energy in gasoline into power that moves the vehicle under normal driving conditions. Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, which use electric motors, are much more energy efficient.

That corresponds to more than a 50 percent reduction in fuel consumption, compared to a gaso-line internal combustion engine.

SOURCE: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY HYDROGEN PROGRAM