MANATEE — With talk of oil rigs popping up off Anna Maria Island’s beaches, alternative fuel researchers and technicians will be returning to Manatee County to exchange information on their work with hydrogen-on-demand
The HHO Games will be held Nov. 21-22 at Bayshore High School, 5401 34th St. W., with exhibits and seminars on the technology which uses electrolysis to split water, or H2O, into two separate hydrogen and one oxygen atoms, or HHO, and inject the gas into a combustion engine to burn with either gasoline or diesel.
Joe Shea, of Bradenton, organizer of the HHO Games, said using HHO technology can reduce the United States’ dependency on oil.
“The fact is we can transition to hydrogen in two years because the HHO kits are small and relatively inexpensive,” Shea said. “So why invest in oil drilling that could endanger our beaches and tourist economy?”
One of the exhibitors will be Richard Keough, of Venice, who owns More-Co Energy, LLC.
“I’ve been to every game,” Keough said. “What I like about it is a bunch of guys getting together to compare notes and also there are great speakers.”
Shea said he has invited ExxonMobil engineer Nazeer Bhore to speak.
Bhore is the senior strategic planning consultant for technology at ExxonMobil and has appeared on several commercials promoting alternative fuels for the giant energy company.
According to the ExxonMobil Web site, the company is developing a on-board hydrogen producing system that may achieve 80 percent in fuel economy.
HHO generator manufacturers claim that when the hydrogen and oxygen is injected into a combustion engine’s fuel intake system, the gasoline burns more cleanly, saving fuel.
Keough advertises his Slim-Jim HHO cell, which won the “Best Craftsmanship” prize at the 2008 HHO Games, will save between 25 percent and 40 percent in gasoline usage and said he gets 31.6 miles per gallon on the highway in his 1994 Mercury Marquis.
The public is invited to attend the HHO Games on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22 to learn more about the technology.
Gates are open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and admission is $5 for adults, $2 for seniors and free for children younger than 12 and the disabled.
Manatee County School Board member Jane Pfeilsticker, a genic engineer and instructor at State College of Florida, will speak at 1 p.m. Nov. 21.
At 1 p.m. Nov. 22, Manatee County Board of Commissioners Chairwoman Gwen Brown will give an address at the event.
For more information about the games, visit the Web site at www.hhogames.com. Richard Keough can be reached through his Web site at www.moregowithhho.com.
Carl Mario Nudi, Herald reporter, can be reached at 745-7027.
