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The Xerox Hydrogen Ranger
I've long been interested in doing things in an unconventional way, and among the concepts that intrigue me, I've developed an interest in hydrogen as an energy carrier. One day, I came across the Xerox Hydrogen Ranger Project. This is a photo of a Ford Ranger's engine bay, with an Eaton supercharger on the passenger's side, and a gaseous fuel injection control unit (a stainless steel box with braided hose, driven by a camshaft belt) on the driver's side. It's a mechanical system that seemed well within my capability to reproduce.
The company that made this fuel injection unit can be found here:
They used to offer the fuel injection control device for sale, but that link is now dead, so I suppose sales were less than spectacular! Perhaps pages like this one can stimulate sufficient interest to reintroduce the product.
Hydrogen is not a fuel in the same sense that gasoline is a fuel. Many people with an environmentalist perspective advocate hydrogen as a clean burning alternative to gasoline, and years ago I ascribed to this view. However, the problems associated with burning electrolytic hydrogen remain vexing. From an energy standpoint, simply storing the electrical power in a battery and running an EV is considerably more efficient than investing that same energy in electrolytic hydrogen. Further, because hydrogen burns quickly, preignition and backfire under engine load must be dealt with. Many hydrogen advocates suggest that direct fuel injection will alleviate this problem. This was one reason I bought the Ranger. Its dual spark plug cylinder head would make such an injection system easier to adapt than is the case for a single plug head. (Yes, this 4 cylinder engine has 8 spark plugs!)
Ford has investigated hydrogen as a potential energy carrier using a supercharged version of the 2.3 liter double overhead cam Duratec engine. This is not the same engine as is found in my Ranger, but the basic idea of using a small displacement engine with forced induction and gaseous fuel injection. Here is an article that deals with the hydrogen vehicle in greater detail:
Ford's 2.3 Liter Supercharged Hydrogen Engine
And, for those who are interested, here's a link to the company that makes the fuel injectors:
These are really quite cool for anyone who is serious about performing a gaseous fuel conversion.