'Fuel cat', snake oil?

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember T i m saying something like:

Your scepticism is healthy - such devices are a con.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember T i m saying something like:

Some batteries will gain a shortish new lease of life with EDTA treatment, but if it's at the stage where it needs it, it's time for a new one really.

Especially these days with std SLI batteries being so cheap (and often 'sealed' etc).

The 'battery' for my EV was (20 years ago) 1600 quid so if there was a chemical fix it might be worth a go to bump start them etc?

All the best ..

T i m

Oh absolutely I agree, in this case it`s a load of rubbish. But stretching the catalyst analogy slightly to include the enzymes in the human body (which are essentially catalysts) you can see that there are some occasiions where the thermal energy available is enough with a catalyst, but not without one present.

Sorry, I didn`t word that correctly. Yes a catalyst would always work that way, but it could reduce the requirements for heating/pressure/whatever to below those available due to the thermal energy available. Your statement above is pretty much what I meant :-)

I`d say not in the case we are discussing now, but in general yes it is possible in some circumstances for a catalyst to make a difference at normal temperatures and pressure. Not always, maybe not even often, but it IS possible. But always approach anything like this fual cat with a VERY healthy dose of scepticisim. If they can prove it works then why hasn`t it taken the world by storm?

To be honest I`m no mechanic - I`m coming from a stricly theoretical point of view. If lots of people who are into repairing their own cars says it`s rubbish, then that`s good enough for me :-)

Essentially yes. :-)

That's the beauty of snake oil. It is all things to all advertisers. If it's not increasing performance or reducing fuel consumption it's allowing different fuels to be used. All without any effect on the raw material used.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember T i m saying something like:

Is that the battery you're talking about? If so, it will probably benefit from some serious attention; it being made of decent quality materials, unlike most car batteries.

EV, traction and submarine batteries are made to last. They're not indestructible, but can often be life-extended by a significant amount.

Worth filling your head from that site.

If you decide to try the EDTA treatment, it's worth doing it right. Not just lobbing a teaspoonful in each cell, but draining, flushing, refilling and checking SG carefully on charge - and the charging regime is important. If you're lucky and the battery is recoverable you could get a significant extension on it.

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember T i m saying something like:

Well, sure as shit, if I invented a Fuel Catalyst that actually saved fuel/increased efficiency/kept old bangers going I'd have it tested, proved and shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that it worked. By crackey, it'd take the fuel world by storm and I'd make a mint.

Otoh, if I was a shady entrepreneur and knew there was one born every minute and there was, en-masse, no limit to the gullibility of the public, I'd make various vague claims, backed up by worthless individuals or organisations and make a mint.

Now, which do you think is the most likely?

Grimly Curmudgeon ( snipped-for-privacy@REMOVEgmail.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

You forgot the conspiracy theories about the oil companies suppressing "the truth", so they can sell more fuel.

Not in the first instance no, that was a std 'low / no maintenance' SLI for the kitcar.

I'm afraid it's probably gone too far for that now .. too many years standing un maintained ;-(

I think these Crompton CXL 6V Monoblocks (can't remember the capacity but they were mot bad (semi-traction) could be 're-furbished' (stripped / rebuilt) but I doubt 'recovered'.

(Bookmarked), Interesting stuff ta.

That would be a nice thought, but if / when I put the Enfield 8000 (Moke) back on the road I'll probably fit an electronic speed controller and may go for a different voltage setup.

Mind you if they only made 100 of the Mini Clubman looking version and only a handful of the 'Moke' variant I might be better off leaving it as 'stock'?

All the best ..

T i m

Ermmm .... ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

Dynamo lol!! what you actually do is use a roating axle as part of a large alternator.

;-)

True, and it never did us any erm, thingy....... harm!

I vaguely remember when leaded petrol was phased out, some classic car organisation (sorry, can't remember the abbreviation) ran a test of fuel additives and similar stuff to determine which ones they could recommend.

They also invited some of the fuel cat makers to partake but strangely enough they all declined.