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Clearwater Man Markets Device That Claims To Save Gas

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By RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2009

Updated: 02/13/2009 02:20 pm

CLEARWATER - Barry Holzsweig is trying to save the environment, reduce our nation's dependence on foreign oil and make a few bucks, all by selling a device he calls the "Fuel Genie" for $499 apiece out of a converted tire shop on U.S. 19.

Holzsweig says his company, YourWater2Gas, is the first in the bay area to sell and install the hydrogen injection devices – thermos-sized generators that produce hydrogen gas to boost a car's fuel efficiency.

Holzsweig claims his Fuel Genies produce 40 to 50 percent fuel savings, even on new cars. He set up shop last month and so far has sold about 60 Genies, roughly $30,000 worth.

Critics argue that while there's good science behind hydrogen technology, many such off-the-shelf injection systems, including do-it-yourself versions online, make claims that just can't be backed up.

Even Holzsweig concedes the claims "sound outlandish," but he says the naysayers just don't get it: "These are the people who do not have the devices on their cars and do not know about them first hand."

One reason for skepticism is the Genie looks like it came from parts under a kitchen sink – a glass Ball jar, rubber tubing, wiring and a stainless steel coil.

Holzsweig, a former TV producer, makes no excuse for the low-tech look and is eager to explain the technology. He pulls out a chalk board, which he keeps on hand for prospective customers.

The jar is for water, he says. A couple tablespoons of baking soda are added. Then wires are run from the car's alternator to the coil, which is inside the jar too. When electrically charged, the watery mixture produces oxygen and hydrogen gases that flow through rubber tubing to the engine's air-intake manifold.

The hydrogen and oxygen gases help the gasoline-air mixture inside the engine burn more completely, producing more thrust on the pistons, Holzsweig said. The result is a more efficient engine. As a bonus, the exhaust is free of most of carbon and nitrogen emissions.

Holzsweig said the Genie hasn't been tested in a laboratory or examined by regulators, though car companies are experimenting with hydrogen technology.

Hydrogen gas is flammable, but the Genie doesn't store the gas aboard the vehicle and produces only small amounts under low pressure that are burned up right away.

Costs are minimal. Drivers should empty the jar once a week and refill with water and baking soda.

A letter from the company's lawyer, Eric Karch of Tampa, states the device will not void a car's warranty.

"This could end our dependence on foreign oil," Holzsweig says.

Laura Hoskinson, 50, a Clearwater insurance agent, had the device installed last month on her 2003 Honda CRV, rated by the U.S. Department of Energy's www.fueleconomy.gov as getting a combined city/highway 22 miles per gallon.

Now, she claims she's getting 47 miles per gallon, twice the fuel economy as before, and figures she's saving about $100 a month in gas. At that rate, the Genie will pay for itself in five or six months.

"If I had gotten an extra 10 miles per gallon I would have been thrilled," she said.

Patrick Serfass, director of technology and communications at the National Hydrogen Association, isn't as enthusiastic about the Genie. While not familiar with the product itself, he groaned when told about its components and how it works.

"The technology is legitimate," he said. "The way many people are using it has a very wide range of legitimacy. I know some people making these with Tupperware and light PVC piping."

Serfass said the fuel injection business is largely untested by regulators and that claims of "twice the fuel economy" are not unusual. Generally, the devices produce 5 to 20 percent better fuel efficiency and older vehicles tend to benefit the most, he said.

Automakers are experimenting with hydrogen systems, but haven't focused on injection systems because they don't contribute much to today's sophisticated internal combustion engine, Serfass said.

In addition, burning hydrogen is not as efficient as making electricity in a fuel cell.

That leaves the injection business wide open to after-market companies, such as Holzsweig's.

But questions abound, and many of the most nagging can't be answered, because Holzsweig's business is only a month old and his product hasn't been subjected to scientific scrutiny.

Among those questions is whether the fuel savings the Genie supposedly achieves are real and if so, can they be sustained?

Holzsweig offers no scientific evidence or expert testimony.

He says he hasn't had any customer complaints so far and if folks aren't happy they can get their money back – or at least part of it. He says he'll remit the cost of the unit itself, which retails for about $200, but not the installation costs.

Paul Leiby, a research scientist at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, was skeptical about Holzsweig's claims and said he hasn't found credible studies to support similar hydrogen injection systems.

They simply don't produce enough hydrogen to be effective.

"I have little confidence in it," he said. "I can't imagine double your fuel economy."

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633.

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