SIERRA VISTA — As everybody tries to cut costs wherever they can in this depressed economy, many people are looking to slow the cash flow from their wallets to their gas tanks by looking for alternative ways to save fuel.

One of those methods being touted is to split water molecules into oxygen and hydrogen via an electric charge from the battery and pipe the volatile gas into the vacuum system of the engine or the breather system.

Many scientists dispute the effectiveness of such systems, while others say it has worked for them.

Bill Bouton saw the system made by Jim Garno at the Sierra Vista swap meet several months ago and heard how it could save money filling up his Ford F350 diesel pick-up. With diesel running near $5 or more a gallon, he figured if he could save only a small portion of those $125-plus fill-ups it would be worth the $80 for the system.

Bill Bouton watches his bottle of distilled water and baking soda create hydrogen with electrical diodes. He says it helps give his truck six more miles to a gallon. (Ed Honda-Herald/Review)

“When the price of diesel ran so high, I thought I’d better find a way to reduce the costs,” he said as he lifted the hood of the truck to show the two mason jars that contain the chemical reaction for the production of hydrogen and oxygen. “I’m fascinated with the whole idea of burning water. It’s a simple process, and if I can do it, anybody can.”

Bouton pours distilled water in the jar until it is three-quarters full. Then he adds a couple of tablespoons of baking soda. When a charge is put to the anode and cathode by turning the engine on, the chemical reaction begins and out bubbles the hydrogen and oxygen, more commonly referred to as HHO. The gas passes through a tube and feeds into the air intake. The hydrogen mixes with the air and is funneled into the engine.

Though he says the additive saves six to seven miles per gallon the way the current system is set up, he believes he could save much more by getting the hydrogen straight into the engine. He would have preferred to have installed such a system, but could not find a mechanic to do it. He has not given up on locating one who would take on the challenge. If he could pass the hydrogen directly into the engine he figures he could get up to 25 mpg.

Every three weeks, Bouton changes out the water in the jars after it turns brown from the chemical process. It takes about five minutes tops to re-establish the system. The technique can be applied to motorcycles or even lawnmowers, he says. The plan is to try a system on his four-wheeler next.

Garno, who said he is not a doctor or a scientist, said in a phone interview his device was intended for use to boost hydrogen and oxygen levels and alkalinity in water for health. It can be adapted, as Bouton did, for cars and trucks. That vehicle phase of his business may come later when Garno mass produces the No. 316 stainless steel rods that are used as cathodes and anodes. He researched the vehicle water-for-gas concept through a Web site provided by Ozzie Freeman owner of the Web site Water4Gas which offers a manual for $97.

However, Ozzie Freedom, real name Eyal Siman-Tov, is charged with violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act with his “bogus” information manuals, says Texas Attorney General Greg Abbottt who has filed a suit against him. A total of 3,197 Texas customers purchased the $97 manuals between October 2007 and September 2008, when gasoline was at its highest, making Siman-Tov $310,109.

Siman-Tov operates a “foreign filing entity” called 1 Freedom Inc. and an affiliated Web site, water4gas.com, according to Abbottt in the lawsuit.

The suit states, “The promotion of deceptive trade practices on the Internet is of particular concern because (it) makes it possible for operators to quickly reach thousands of customers ...”

Abbottt’s investigation revealed that Siman-Tov “failed to produce any competent and reliable scientific evidence substantiating claims that (his) products can increase gas mileage, reduce motor vehicle emissions or enhance engine power.”

A cease-and-desist order is also being sought by Abbottt to stop water4gas.com. He is seeking reimbursement to those who were taken in by the claims on the site and is looking to fine Siman-Tov $20,000 per violation. Abbottt’s office was contacted for a statement about the progress of the suit.

Web sites that sell various information or equipment on running a car on water make claims of improving mileage by 30, 50 percent or more.

The systems can cost anywhere from $67 (hybridwaterpower.com) to nearly $1,000 (www.brownsgas.com). The real question is “does it work”? There are hundreds of supposedly satisfied customers listed on the various Web sites touting hydrogen systems, though there is no concrete proof or scientific evidence that they do. There is a contingency of experts that claim the technology is unproven and call the systems a “scam.”

 One of the debunkers is Bruce Simpson who is a writer for an online news service Aardvark Daily. He has spent the past two years researching the technology. Basically, he says, the amount of hydrogen manufactured from this type of system can’t produce an impact strong enough to save gas. It also uses more energy in the process of splitting the molecules into hydrogen and water than what it produces. He has looked into the claims of those who have installed the system on their vehicles and tell him they save fuel.

“Now this may surprise you, but I believe some of the folk who make this claim — however I urge them be careful,” Simpson writes. “Some of the kits on the market include a device for remapping the oxygen sensor that connects to the car’s engine-computer. By adjusting this feedback, the car’s computer can be fooled into reducing the amount of fuel that is fed to it. This causes the engine to run excessively lean and that does several very bad things. Firstly, it significantly increases the amount of nitrogen oxide pollutants that are emitted from your car’s exhaust. Secondly, over time it can cause a significant amount of damage to your car’s engine by burning the exhaust valves and damaging the piston crowns through pre-ignition.”

A July 2008 Consumer Affairs online article quotes sources that back Simpson up. “All of these device/schemes seem to promote adding hydrogen to improve the combustion process,” states Robert Sawyer, professor of energy emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley. “There is no way it can improve fuel economy by 50 percent, or even 5 percent.”

The same article cites another expert, Frank Andrew, professor of mechanical and aeronautic engineering at the University of California, who states, “It’s such a very small amount of hydrogen-oxygen gas that it is impossible to have any real effect on combustion.”

The Federal Trade Commission filed a fraud complaint against a convicted felon Dennis Lee, chief operating officer of Dutchman Enterprises and president of UCSA which markets the Hydro-Assist Fuel Cell. The complaint states, “Lee is a convicted felon who has been prosecuted in at least eight states in the past for violating consumer protection laws. Although there are practical steps you can take to increase gas mileage, you should be wary of any gas-saving claims for automotive devices or oil and gas additives. Even for the few gas-saving products that have been found to work, the savings have been small.”

The complaint continues, “Dutchman and UCSA have used magazine and Internet advertisements to mislead potential customers into buying the kit, based on the false claim that it would increase auto fuel efficiency by 50 percent or more, and has been scientifically proven to do so.”

Popular Mechanics senior automotive editor Mike Allen and NBC’s Dateline teamed up recently to test the water-burning theory. After rigorous testing, they proved the total improvement in fuel economy is “too small to measure.” Allen reported in March, not enough hydrogen can be produced, because it would take “far more electricity than the onboard generator could possibly produce, and consume most of the power the engine put out — and it would still not improve fuel economy.”

Bouton says he saves fuel and stands by his claim.

His 17-year-old daughter Christine said the truck even seems to “run better.”

“The engine doesn’t seem as stressed with the hydrogen added,” she said. And while money may have been the catalyst to give hydrogen a shot, Bouton and his daughter believe they are reducing their carbon footprint by reducing emissions.

“Hydrogen is the wave of the future,” he said. “I wish our oil companies would step out of the way. We don’t need to burn fossil fuels. And I wish other people would step up and try these advances.”

Local mechanic Rod Birner said a relative of his wife’s has a unit on her car and that she claims to have improved mileage. To him it makes sense that by adding a gas the engine would burn fuel at a higher temperature, so one would save fuel.

Garno has his reservations about the government lawsuit and complaints since big oil would be a loser if these devices did provide fuel savings. “This is a brand new field,” he said. “People say they are getting better gas mileage. But, I am very interested in the outcome of the complaints.”

Reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692.