It wasn’t long ago the intervals were raised to three times the normal intervals as this newer oil in the diesel line had proven itself, but as more analysis tests have come in, there has been a high amount of fuel contamination due to the purging, or regeneration, process performed on the diesel particulate filter (DPF), which involves pumping additional fuel into the cylinder which can get past the rings and into the crankcase.  While the oil is remaining stable, as a precaution, Amsoil has changed their drain intervals for these vehicles using this oil back down to OEM recommendations unless oil analysis is used.

Here is an excerpt from the Amsoil TSB I received:

OBJECTIVE:

Communicate the discovery and cause of excessive fuel dilution in 2007–2010 light-duty diesel pickups from Ford, GM and Dodge and the resultant reduction in the drain interval recommendation for AMSOIL Premium Diesel Oils in these applications.

ISSUES:

AMSOIL has documented increasing levels of diesel fuel contamination (fuel dilution) in the engine oil in 2007–2008 light-duty diesel pickups from all major vehicle manufacturers, and indications are that 2009 – 2010models are affected as well.

Research indicates that fuel dilution is intensifying due to the use of in-cylinder post-fuel injection during the engine’s exhaust stroke to regenerate the diesel particulate filter (DPF).

Fuel in the oil reduces the oil’s life expectancy and effectiveness. Because diesel fuel is a natural solvent, fuel dilution in motor oil causes a decrease in viscosity which may lead to an increase in engine wear rates.

RECOMMENDATION:

Although AMSOIL Premium Diesel Oils have shown the ability to maintain integrity under fuel-dilution conditions, the abnormally high rate and unkown long-term effects have forced AMSOIL to adjust its drain interval recommendations as a precautionary measure for 2007–2010 Dodge 6.7L, Ford 6.4L and GM 6.6L LMM light-duty turbo-diesel pickups.

In these applications, AMSOIL recommends changing AMSOIL Premium API CJ-4 Synthetic Diesel Oils (DEO, DME) at the manufacturer-recommended drain interval. Drain intervals may be extended further with oil analysis. The recommendation for these oils in gasoline applications remains 2X vehicle manufacturer recommendation.

Owners of affected vehicles should use oil analysis to determine the severity of fuel dilution in their vehicle. If fuel dilution levels are above 5 percent, contact the dealership or OEM for help finding a solution. AMSOIL and OIL ANALYZERS condemn oils with greater than 5 percent fuel dilution.

While AMSOIL does not have extensive documentation of fuel dilution trends for 2009–2010 models, it is safe to assume fuel dilution will remain an issue because these models employ the same DPF regeneration technology as 2007–2008 models.

Pre-2007 diesel applications not equipped with emission system devices are not affected by these changes. Those applications can still extend oil drain intervals to 3X vehicle manufacturer recommendation, not to exceed 50,000 miles/600 hours or one year.

The PWM, as can be seen in the picture, looks the same as the old.  This will change in later boxes as the adjustment knobs are no longer functional. I placed it in the same location, but the wiring is a little different, so I had to run two new ones into the cabin that connect with the new LCD display.

I removed the previous panel I made for the old LCD display, switch, and Air/Fuel Gauge.  The new LCD is in a larger box, so I need to do some creative adapting if I want it to fit in the same space.  But that’s a different project I won’t cover here now.  There was some extra wiring needed to install this LCD, since it is controlling the PWM now from here, thus the two wires mentioned above.  I removed the Air/Fuel Gauge since it is a basically a useless device. I’m thinking the Kiwi MPG will fit here nicely giving MPG feedback, which is far more important than the light show of the Air/Fuel Gauge.  The Kiwi will also tell Check Engine Light Codes, should they occur.

Once hooked up, all seemed to work well, I was able to set the controls on the LCD and the fuel cells were generating hydrogen.  Right now the LCD is only temporally installed as I design the rest of the panel.

More to come.

AGGRAND Natural Liquid Fertilizers

Growing Popularity Earns Diverse Customers

AGGRAND Natural Liquid Fertilizers are a hot commodity. In fact, sales this planting season have outpaced last year by more than 63 percent. “The growth of sales has been absolutely phenomenal,” said ALTRUM Manager Greg Sawyer. “Last year was the best year ever since AGGRAND fertilizers were introduced, and we have surpassed last year.”

A growing number customers are learning from experience how well these natural fertilizers work. “These sales numbers show us the products are effective, less costly and people are more open to organic fertilizers now than ever.

An increasing number of customers are using AGGRAND fertilizers on golf courses. “We’re looking for some results to come in from those customers. Actually, any news from customers in any niche of the industry would be great to know,” Sawyer said.

Wheat Farmer Saves Thousands With AGGRAND Fertilizers

Wheat farmer Mark Reed, in Julesburg, Colo., saved $26,000 in fertilizer costs for 770 acres this summer using AGGRAND fertilizer instead of chemical fertilizers. Reed said not only did his crops thrive with AGGRAND fertilizers, their all natural formula reduces the carbon footprint of man by bringing no contamination to the soil. “I’m convinced using AGGRAND fertilizers is the thing to do,” Reed said.

Nothing. I’ll be honest, but as I said, Matt is seeing a 30% increase on his Toyota, in Italy he saw a 25% increase. We are shipping several of these systems to South America because of positive results they have been getting, with a cab fleet possibly ordering to equip all their vehicles. We have a Roto Rooter fleet of trucks (using one of our wet cell systems) that reported seeing an increase from 5 MPG to 7 MPG, and I talked with another Mustang owner at the HHO Games that installed a system in his early 90s Mustang and saw improved MPG, so it’s only a matter of time before I see a gain as well.

But through the trial and error, I’ve pointed out several improvements that could be done and we’ve been adjusting for, so these systems are getting better.

First off, the manufacturer has redesigned their PWM and the LCD display. The model I have had the Frequency and Duty adjustment knobs built into the PWM, which isn’t the most convenient when mounted in the engine compartment, like I have mine, and then try to watch the readout on the LCD panel at the same time while adjusting. The new system has one knob with multiple adjustments built into the the LCD display mounted inside the car. This makes it much easier to tune the PWM, plus the readout gives better feedback, such as amp output to the cells, versus simply a Duty readout. Also the unit now has a “straight current” design. If you recall, I mentioned that my Frequency was bouncing all over and a little fluctuation in the Duty. The new one provides a steady current to the cells. As fluctuations occur within the electrical system, it compensates so now what you set, it what you keep, a “steady current” to the fuel cells. This will make the hydrogen production much more reliable.

Another thing we are trying is adding an additional reservoir to help filter the hydrogen before it goes into the engine. This isn’t a new idea, and was believed to not be needed, since primarily adding a “Scrubber” is to help filter out the catalyst being used for the electrolysis process.  Using Potassium Carbonate in this system is far less dangerous than what some of the other systems use.  But one issue I was having in the hot Florida heat and engine compartment is the moisture of the water and in the gas actually being pulled through the tube to the intake. While the amount isn’t much, and the flash suppresser seems to be filtering it, I still was concerned. Adding this extra reservoir tank and running the hydrogen through this water first, which will also act as an overflow from the main supply, it will help to reduce this amount of moisture that may still be within the hydrogen gas. This second container will also act as the flash suppressor, removing the current one, and any flash that may occur will stop here and not back into the cells. I’m still thinking of adding a one way check valve which would act as an additional suppressor where my current one is. These aren’t as reliable as the current suppressor, but between that and the second tank, you basically will have doubled the safety.  In addition, using this second tank, and it acting as an overflow, you can now fill the first tank up nearly full, providing less upkeep and checking needed when it comes to adding more distilled water.

Most of these are enhancements to make the system better, which both of us like. As with any product, if you can figure a way to improve upon it and make it a better “mousetrap,” then why not? This industry continues to grow, design new systems, and improve upon current ones, based on new developments and customer feedback. We’ve heard of a few new concepts being worked on that sound exciting. If you purchase a system and have suggestions, please let us know. You would be helping everyone.

That’s the basics for the moment, I’ll keep you updated. I hope to have the new PWM and display installed in a week or so. The new display, because of the controller being built in, is larger and will no longer fit in my stereo DIN opening. I’m looking for different options, including maybe removing the display and adjustment knob from the box and remotely mounting them so I can still use this opening. Matt mounted his under his dashboard, which seems to look good in his Toyota truck, but with the more ergonomic flowing design within my Mustang, this won’t work as well. I’m picky, I want it to look stock. Watch for more updates.

I installed a simple kill switch so I can turn the entire system on and off. A typical install would have the accessory wire that turns it on, connected to a fuel pump so the system is only creating hydrogen while the engine is running. You don’t want to sit in a parking light and turn your key to listen to the stereo and be making gas. The kill switch simply is spliced into this line so I can turn everything on and off, should I choose. This is more to help with me showing the gas production on and off. The PWM also has a switch to do this, but I like this idea of a main switch. The red LED above that switch comes from the dual EFIE hidden behind the panel. The LED is built into the unit, but I pulled it out and remotely mounted it, again, just to see and make sure the unit is on.

The gauge to the left is an old Air/Fuel gauge I used on a car several years ago, but it’s basically a light show and pointless, which was proven when it showed a good reading back on the old car but with the larger turbo it had, I ran lean anyway and lost a some valves and warped a few pistons. This will probably be removed. The thought is to give you an idea of your fuel mixture by showing the feedback from an O2 sensor. With my car being a narrow band, they really don’t tell much of anything other than something is happening. The car ECU (or PCM) gets the signal and knows what to do with it, but the gauge itself just bounces lights up and down. Swapping the O2 sensor and gauge out for a wideband system will give you the actual reading, but doing that will tend to cost around $200.

Other gauge ideas could be an EGT gauge to show engine exhaust temps. If you are running to lean, these temps will rise and show on the gauge. Or maybe an accurate amp gauge to show the draw on the electrical system from a stereo, stereo amps, HHO generator, lights, etc. What I may end up doing is mounting the Kiwi MPG gauge there, if it looks like it will do the job.

Behind the panel, as mentioned earlier, is the EFIE. This taps into the O2 wires, in my case the front two O2 sensors. Once activated, you need to tune the EFIE to compensate for the oxygen the O2 sensor will see. Since it will see more, it will send that reading to the car computer, which will think not enough fuel is going into the engine and will compensate and dump in more fuel. You may have heard stories where people have commented about actually loosing MPG using an HHO system, and chances are, it’s because they are not compensating or have their tune incorrect. By adding this unit, I can now adjust it to send a different reading to the computer, so it is still happy and won’t add that extra fuel, in fact lean things out a bit since you are using hydrogen now as a partial fuel source. In the case of my car and the particular EFIE I’m using, which is the standard unit for this system, if you lean the adjustment out too much, the ECU will think the sensor is bad and drop into a default mode, usually a rich mixture, and most likely trigger the Check Engine Light indicating a bad O2 Sensor. This is what I’m trying to tune, but like I said, it’s a drawn out process to drive, gas up, figure out MPG, adjust, and then drive another tank, etc. This is where the Kiwi or Scangauge comes in handy or if your car has an MPG computer already in it, like my Chrysler Minivan.

More in Part 4

The tube heading into the engine has a flash suppressor, should there be a backfire, it will be caught here and protect the flame from reaching the resevoir which will be holding more hydrogen. This is a pretty safe system overall, hydrogen does not get stored, like what most of the hydrogen test vehicles currently being tested have. These have tanks storing hydrogen under high PSI, much like a propane tank. An HHO system makes the hydrogen as the engine runs and is consumed almost immediately with no storage when the system is off. There will be some changes to this setup in my car, which I will cover later and why.

Towards the back of the engine on the driver’s side I mounted the PWM. From here the wiring gets distributed to the cells and the display inside the car. This is basically your brains which helps to control the production in the fuel cells and also keeping them cool, by balancing out the amps and frequency needed. Again, more on the new PWM soon.

Inside the car I used an open stereo DIN slot I wasn’t using since I had changed out the stock stereo years ago. I made a plastic panel and mounted the digital readout which shows the Frequency the PWM is set for as well as the Duty. The Duty helps to determine the amperage draw on the system. You want to try and get the proper hydrogen output needed with as little amperage draw as possible. With this setup, a Duty right around 60 is good. This will fluctuate a little. The Frequency at this point is nearly pointless, since I have seen this thing going all over the place in readings and I believe it is related to the temperatures the PWM gets. There is different quality of hydrogen that can be produced, and if you locate the proper Frequency, which is nearly impossible without a sniffer in the tailpipe, you can fine tune that quality. A smaller amount of good quality hydrogen will perform better than a lot of bad quality. But with the various atmospheric conditions, temperatures, etc, it makes it difficult, and this PWM tends to fluctuate with heat, I found. However, the new PWM addresses this. Again, more later.

More in Part 3

The Engine, Dry Cells, and Reservoir

Since my engine is the single cam 4.6 liter V8, we figured I should use the dual cell system to make sure we have the hydrogen output that might be needed. Each of these cells puts out about .8 of a liter per minute, with testing actually having shown to be more in most cases. I ended up mounting them under the front bumper on the passenger side of my car. If you look to the driver’s side, you might see the Amsoil Dual Bypass Filtration Systems, for those who have considered this from me as well.

The current supply reservoir tank is mounted next to the radiator reservoir and drains down into the cells, where the plates within each break out the 2 Hydrogen and one Oxygen (thus HHO instead of H2O), and the gas is then transferred back into the reservoir. The pressure from the gas keeps pressure in the system to help keep pushing water into the cells, while on the other side of the tank the gas is pushed into the engine. I picked this spot for the reservoir after remembering that the 2004-05 Mustang Cobras has a reservoir located here for their superchargers. The water has Potassium Carbonate in it as the electrolyzer so it is far more safe than many of the other systems using Potassium Hydroxide.

WARNING: Do not use Zephyrhills Distilled Water as your water source. When I first used this the tank filled up with suds that looked like a kitchen sink filled with detergent. Even with the tank 1/4 full, it filled it to overflow out of the top cap (when removed) and of coarse started to get pulled into the engine. We’re not sure why Zephyrhills is acting this way, but at the HHO Games, others commented about having similar problems and Crystal Distilled seemed to be the water of choice. Matt has used Publix Distilled with no ill effect. Once I mixed a new batch using Crystal Distilled Water, all was normal, no suds.

More in Part 2

Not that these advances aren’t great and we’re moving in the right direction to try and become more fuel efficient but there still are many factors to take into account, and the testing to come up with real world results hasn’t really been designed yet.  Feedback concerns I hear within my circles are the costs of the electric batteries to replace.  I’m sure Mom feeling she made the wise investment, that she is getting great mileage, and protecting the environment, won’t be happy when she one day takes in her electric hybrid or pure electric car to her local Dealer when it just isn’t “holding a charge” anymore and gets told she needs to buy new batteries for $6000 or whatever the going rate will be.  And let’s not forget the the battery disposal fee added to that.  I don’t think anything is really setup to handle this yet, but it will need to be.

But back to the MPG estimates.  There is some revamping of the tests to come out with actual miles being done, but many are still relying on the current tests for gasoline or diesel powered engines.  And even this isn’t really accurate, since it isn’t necessarily measuring how far you drive, but rather reads what your emissions are and giving an estimate based on that output.  Here is the testing taken from the EPA’s Website:

How are Vehicles Tested?

Vehicles are driven over identical driving patterns by professional drivers in controlled laboratory conditions on a dynamometer, which is like a treadmill for cars. The conditions that occur during driving, such as wind drag and inertia are accounted for on the dynamometer. There are two types of tests that are conducted: city and highway tests.

The city test is approximately 11 miles long and simulates a stop and go trip with an average speed of about 20 miles per hour (mph). The trip lasts 31 minutes and has 23 stops. About 18 percent of the time is spent idling (as in waiting for traffic lights). A short freeway driving segment is included in the test. The engine is initially started after being parked overnight.

The highway simulates a 10 mile trip with an average speed of 48 mph. The vehicle is started “hot” and there is very little idling and no stops.

How Are the Label Estimates Calculated?

Fuel economy estimates are calculated from the emissions generated during the tests using a carbon balance equation. We know how much carbon is in the fuel, so by precisely measuring the carbon compounds expelled in the exhaust we can calculate the fuel economy.

After the vehicles have been tested, the results are adjusted downward to account for conditions that occur on the road that can affect fuel economy which don’t occur during laboratory testing, such as cold temperature, aggressive driving, excessive use of power-hungry accessories, among others. The city is adjusted downward by 10 percent, and the highway by 22 percent.
The equation for calculating the city or highway average fuel economy, given in miles per gallon (mpg), is:

FEave = (total sales / [(sales1/FE1)+ (sales2/FE2) + ...+ (salesn/FEn)]

The calculation for combined fuel economy weights the city at 55 percent and the highway at 45 percent using the following equation:

FEcomb = 1 / (( .55 / city FE) + (.45 / hwy FE))

This makes me wonder a little about the HHO Systems I’m working with and know others developing technology for.  Since these systems when tuned correctly can virtually get rid of emissions in a standard combustion engine, rather than simply using a Scangauge or writing down the miles and using a calculator based on each fill up, if we applied the above standard, what sort of MPG results could these systems then claim?

And here’s another company getting into the hybrid market I doubt anyone would have ever considered:  Lamborghini.  Yes, the legendary supercar company is now planning on releasing their own Hybrid Gallardo by 2015 yet still have a V10 or V12 engine onboard.  My thoughts are still in the air about this one, but I suppose if the popularity of Tesla (electric hybrid) and the Scorpion (hydrogen hybrid) grow, it might be a wise choice to stay competitive.

Other brand filters are not effected, since they do not offer these extended intervals, and in many cases, since the quality of the filter is less, it won’t capture this sludge which will continue to circulate within the engine.  If you are planning an Amsoil purchase in the near future, unless you want the higher quality of the Amsoil Filter, cost effectiveness might warrant the purchase of the Wix filter counterpart also available through Amsoil.  This is still a good quality filter which will go the standard interval.  If you already have the Amsoil Oil Filter, there is nothing wrong with this filter, in fact it is doing it’s job only too well.  If you are still looking for the best engine protection, then this filter is still for you.  If your reason for purchasing this filter was to save money in the long run by only needing one filter for the standard Amsoil recommended drain, then consider the Wix as a better cost effective choice.

There is still nothing wrong with using the Amsoil motor oil at the recommended extended drain interval, just change the filter.  The question comes to mind, if this is the findings of using a high quality synthetic in these engines, just imagine what the standard oil others are using must be doing.

This gives flashbacks to the early 2000s when Toyotas had problems with their V6 engines.  At that time there was an oil circulation issue that didn’t permit the oil to flow as freely and was literaly baking petroleum oils in 300+ degree temperatures.  Even some synthetics were having problems.  Because of this, Amsoil considered these engines Severe Duty and only recommended drains of 15,000 miles or one year.  I believe later Toyota acknoledged the design problem and may have had a recall, or at least a TSB.  This effected many V6s in both Toyota and Lexus brands.  If you have one of these, and weren’t aware of this issue, you might wish to look into it more.  Your engine may not be protected as well as it could be.

I don’t talk too much about these, because how much can you talk about sunglasses unless new styles come out, etc.?  But since I redid the site, I thought I’d plug them here once more.

First off, before rolling your eyes about another knockoff pair of imitation sunglasses trying to steal and ride on the name of a famous car, let me point out that these are Official Licensed Products by Ford.  How I started to sell them was meeting the owner at a car show, the first Super Stangfest, held in Daytona, Florida a few years back.  I was there with my Amsoil booth and the founder of the company was setup up next to me.  Sunglasses aren’t new to him, in fact he has two very popular lines on the market already:  Corvette Eyewear and Dive Shades.  Mustang Eyewear is his attempt to approach this market with a unique product, but time constraints with the other two brands kept him from doing more at the time.  We spoke a bit, and I asked how I could sell them, since I attend several Mustang shows, have a Mustang of my own, and talk to some of the people within the community.  And that’s how it began.

Since then it’s been a steady seller with most of my sales taking place through eBay and surprisingly many of those sales are overseas to the European market.  I have even made a friend in Germany now who keeps me up to date on the Mustang following there.  I wasn’t aware that there was one, but he recently bought a Mustang and goes to the shows there and has sent me pictures.  Of course, he’s the only one with true class as he wears his sunglasses everywhere…so far (hint, hint).

So if you haven’t taken a look at this other product, visit my new Website at www.officialmustangeyewear.com and let me know what you think of the site.  Some of the styles and colors I am currently sold out of, but will be getting more in later.  While Corvette Eyewear is widely found on the market now, at some point I may pick up this line as well.  If you are looking for a pair of these sunglasses, I have ordered them when I placed a restocking order on Mustang Eyewear.