--- title: "This Is What Happens When You Inject Explosive Gas Made From Water Into a Diesel" date: "2025-02-10" modified: "2025-02-10" authors: - name: "Byron Hurd" job_title: "Editor" link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/byron-hurd" url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/watch-what-happens-when-a-tiny-diesel-engine-runs-on-fuel-made-from-water" categories: - "Builds" - "Culture" - "News" --- # This Is What Happens When You Inject Explosive Gas Made From Water Into a Diesel ![]() *\RobotCantina via YouTube, The Drive\* Water injection is a tried-and-true method for cleaning up the combustion process in a diesel engine. It reduces both combustion temperatures and the resulting particular emissions. But what if you take the concept a step further and feed the engine raw hydrogen and oxygen? Did you wake up this morning wondering what happens when you try to inject a tiny diesel engine with homemade Brown's Gas? If not, I hope your interest is piqued, because we're diving into the deep end of this [torture test]() while there's still some (salty) water left in the pool. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXpZxUee19w We don't normally think of water as a potential explosive; after all, one of its defining characteristics is its inertness. But its component atoms, hydrogen and oxygen? Different story. Hydrogen loves to combust, and oxygen loves to sustain combustion. Put them together at the right ratio, add flame and you'll get water, but [get it wrong]()... Enough about space potatoes. We're talking about an engine here, and a diesel at that. [Robot Cantina]()'s test bench is a 3-horsepower, 196-cc diesel engine that has [seen some abuse](), to put it mildly, proving that it can run on just about anything. But hydrogen? No chance; you need to add flame to ignite hydrogen. Diesel motors ignite their fuels via compression, not a flame. So this engine will still be running on diesel fuel; the HHO gas is introduced at the intake manifold. ![]() *A close-up of the apparatus that creates the HHO gas that is fed back into the engine. *Robot Cantina via YouTube** In this case, the gas is being obtained from water being split into hydrogen and oxygen using energy produced by the engine itself. The actual splitting is done by an electrolytic separator running off the engine's 120-amp alternator. That current is run through a brine (water mixed with potassium hydroxide in this case), splitting the molecules and producing just the transparent gases. The results? Well, if you were expecting an outcome as spectacular as some of those from [Robot Cantina's previous efforts](), you may be somewhat disappointed. But the host says there are more experiments to come; we're curious to see what comes of them. *Got tips? Send ’em to tips@thedrive.com* ## Author Byron is an editor at The Drive with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories. He brings a light, punchy style to all of his content, believing that there's plenty out there to be laughed at—himself included. Born and raised in Maryland but now based just a stone's throw from Detroit, Byron is an auto enthusiast and generalist who enjoys building and tinkering with things of all kinds, from cars, computers and digital cityscapes, to the new garage that will soon house his fleet (a CT4-V Blackwing, a JK Wrangler and an NA Miata). Inspired by an early love of rollercoasters, Byron quickly caught the high-performance driving itch. He's been tracking and auto-crossing his cars since 2007. In his downtime, Byron enjoys reading, playing city builders, and studying the history of the Motor City. ### Author social links [Bluesky]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()