Two Stage HHO Rocket.mpg

Two stage water/hydrogen/oxygen rocket with electronic ignition. Hydrogen and oxygen gas is generated by passing electricity through water containing Baking Soda to make the water conductive. Stainless steel strainers are used as electrodes. The explosive gas is collected with a funnel into a 2 liter soda bottle using water displacement. Air is mixed with the gas to reduce its explosive property. An Estes rocket igniter is used to explode the gas, forcing water out of the bottle propelling the rocket. An electronic sequencing circuit powered by a 9 volt battery ignites the lower stage, then the upper stage one second later. The construction details will be available in an upcoming issue of Make Magazine.

Suggested Improvements; I used 1/3 HHO (hydrogen/oxygen) 1/3 air and 1/3 water. I believe the bottle can withstand more pressure so I suggest trying 50 % HHO, 30% air and 20% water. The first stage only reached about 10 feet before the second stage fired one second later, so I would try a 3 or 4 second delay.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• water
• HHO
• two
• stage
• hybrid
• soda
• bottle
• rocket
• Make
• magazine

[iHeartMagic]

i really want to make this. when i first saw it in make i was like meh, water rocket probably just means compressed air rocket dealio. but now i'm hyped to make it. one question though, how loud is the bang? i'm just wondering if it'll draw to much attention if set off during school hours as part as my engineering class.

o, great work btw.

[teazer999999]

It's like a thud. The less air and the more HHO, the more like an explosion. In my first test I ignited about 3 ounces of pure HHO in my garage and it sounded like a fire cracker. Pure HHO is really potent stuff so be careful. Ignite electronically far away, protect your eyes, ears and fingers, and everything else you consider precious.

[sycmuzak]

I'm not sure i understand why you are letting air in. H2 and O2 together burn completely without the need of air. [2H2(g) + O2(g) -> 2H2O(g)]. Also, why is the water added to the bottle? I can understand in conventional pressurized air rockets it is added for thrust but it seems to me that pure HHO would be WAY more efficient for thrust. Idk, i'm just talking.

[teazer999999]

Good questions. Air is added to dilute the HHO to reduce the pressure produced from the reaction, turning the explosion into a thud, otherwise the bottle would explode. Water is used as a mass to push against. Conservation of momentum sez the mass times the velocity of the water pushed down equals the mass of the rocket times the velocity going up. The pressurized water vapor alone would exit at high velocity but with very little mass. The challenge is to optimize the mix HHO + air + water.

[thegreatkoua]

all that for that

[teazer999999]

It was my first attempt and I focused mostly on the HHO generation and stage firing. It should have about the same performance as a water/air rocket. The record for a two stage water/air rocket is about 1,000 feet (330 meters).

A nose cone, better fins, second stage firing time and an optimal mix of air, HHO gas and water for both stages needs to be done in order to improve the flight height.

[drbrain735]

Launching at 6:10 !

[SeriousNot]

I actually achieved low Earth orbit with a Gatorade bottle cap using a single stage. I don't know when the orbit will decay enough to recover that cap.

[coolliger]

Great video!

[themakingofstuff]

@HALOFREAK9715 makeprojects(dot)com/Project/H­ydrogen-Oxygen-Bottle-Rocket/4­43/1

[GeeksRus95]

I did that for a science fair but with al the failed attemps to light the gas (cause of lack of HHO) i ended up wth a gatorade bottle when i figured out how to make enough gas in a short enough time (2 6v lantern batteries). But with the loose neck of the gatorade bottle It didn't get much concentrated thrust. However It did shoud like 6-8 ft. in the air. =3

[Naresomez]

@HALOFREAK9715

There's a detailed guide on the makezine website... that's where I found this vid.

[raykupal]

...wow... :(

[gk123434534]

Very nice experiment. Good video too of the two flashes. Well done.

[HALOFREAK9715]

can you please make a vid on how to make this for 2 reasons. 1. I don't know what volume of make magazine this is in and 2. I cant buy them anyway. Please please please!!!!