Drive It Forever
Q. In a previous column, you stated that the Second Law of Thermodynamics invalidates HHO energy production.
First, understand how a car works: The gasoline engine is already running, consuming gasoline and, at the same time, spinning the alternator to supply electrical energy and recharge the battery. This is already a static load built into the system.
Simply tapping into this electrical production has no additional load on the engine, thus consuming no additional energy. Therefore the production of HHO "Browns gas" is without a direct "energy cost" to the overall system.
If you are going to cite scientific fact, understand the formula first.
A. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
It takes power to spin the alternator, power which comes from the engine. Draw more current from the alternator, and it takes more power to replace it.
The alternator load is not fixed. The alternator output varies with the electrical load. It has a fixed drain from the engine and fuel pump, but stuff like turning on the headlights or the air conditioning - or the HHO generator - will draw more current, in turn requiring more fuel.
Q. I broke the key off in my car door yesterday. The lock was jammed, and I twisted it too hard.
The local locksmith wants $100 to fix the lock if the cylinder remains in the door, or $28 if I can bring the lock itself into his shop.
Now I need to get the door open so that I can take the lock mechanism out and hand it to him. How do I get the inner door panel off?
A. Sounds like a locksmith who doesn't want to get out of his shop.
Save some money and do the job yourself. Try using a broken-key extractor, which is sort of like a tiny harpoon, and which you can buy anywhere locksmith tools are sold.
Actually, I don't frequent those places either, so I simply made one out of an old hacksaw blade using a Dremel tool and a cutoff wheel.
The secret is to wiggle it into the keyhole past the first pin or two, then let the hook bite into the soft brass key. You need to move the key only enough to grab it with a pair of needle-nose pliers and wiggle it the rest of the way out.
Q. The state of New York requires that gasoline sold in this state contains 10 percent ethanol. Does that change the fuel grade?
A. Well, that alcohol does have an octane rating of more than 110, so mixing it with lower-grade fuel will raise the antiknock of the mixture.
But you're not mixing 87-octane fuel with gasoline yourself, which would give you a product with a rating of 89 or more. I assure you that the antiknock index printed on the pump is what's coming out of the nozzle. Refineries will blend that mixture to make the poorest, cheapest grade of fuel they are allowed to.
Q. My son bought a secondhand car. The first week it was working fine, but now there is a smell so bad that, when the car is running, I have to have my head at an open window. He drove for 10 minutes and his hands became numb with pins and needles, and all his nails looked like they had turned black. What is going on?
A. Do not drive this car! Not even with the windows open, until the exhaust leak is fixed.
Your son shows the classic signs of carbon monoxide poisoning - "cyanotic," or blue-colored, nail beds and paresthesia, which is tingling, prickling, or numbness, in his extremities. An immediate trip to the hospital emergency room is in order.
CO poisoning can linger for months. The CO permanently combines with hemoglobin in your red blood cells, preventing those cells from carrying any more oxygen. The hemoglobin stays tied up until that particular cell dies, usually around three weeks later.
Mike Allen is a senior editor for Popular Mechanics magazine. Questions should be sent via e-mail to driveit@nytimes.com.
