Magnetic Fuel Conditioners

[reefdrifter]

Does any one know anything about "magnetic fuel conditioners"? I went to the Fort Myers boat show and picked up a brochure about these fuel conditioners. The web site they advertise is sales@fueltecind.com. I wonder if this system is used and effective or is it another smoke and mirrors trick. Any coments? Sounds good but...............?

[jcollins]

I have heard about this. Don't know if it works but here is some information from another site. The last line about Myth Busters caught my eye.

Magnetic fuel conditioners.....
I was inspired to do some research on this subject after encountering a fellow selling these things at the local boat show. What attracted by attention wasn't the guy from Florida peddling the devices, but a well-known and respected local company representing it as well.
I would not go so far as to say that these things work, but it may not be beyond the realm of possibility and if they do work the following item attempts to explain why. There are a lot of references available on this, by the way. Key search terms would include "diamagnetic", "orthodydrogen", "parahydrogen", and "ferromagnetic" and "paramagnetic".

Can a Fuel Magnet be an Attractive Device?

The concept almost defies common sense. "Run your diesel fuel over a magnetic conditioner en route to the engine, and it will burn cleaner and more efficiently."

Skeptics can be easily forgiven for observing, "I can dip a magnet into diesel fuel and not even one drop is going to stick to the magnet, so how can anybody make a case that diesel fuel is affected by magnetism?"

We happened across a display at the recent boat show, where at device known as the Diesel-Tex DTX diesel fuel conditioner was being demonstrated by the manufacturer. We noticed that the product is sold in the Pacific NW by [deleted for newsgroup], and as they're a respectable firm with a very good reputation we assumed there must be some merit to the concept of magnetically conditioning diesel fuel.

After spending an evening researching the idea on the internet, we discovered some interesting basics about magnetism and fuel that may allow a credible case to be made for a concept that sounds, on the surface, like a snake-oil pitch.

We found hundreds of references confirming that nearly all materials are affected by magnetic fields. The reactions to exposure to a magnetic field can be categorized as diamagnetic, paramagnetic, and ferromagnetic. Every schoolchild is familiar with ferromagnetic reaction, and has experimented with attracting steel and iron objects to a bar or electro magnet. Ferro magnetic materials are highly susceptible to a magnetic field, and can even become permanently "magnetized" once the original magnetic field has been removed.

Simply because we cannot see diamagnetic and paramagnetic reactions doesn't mean they aren't equally real. (I've never personally seen "electricity", but I have to believe it exists). The differences between diamagnetic and paramagnetic reactions consist primarily of how the magnetic field affects the electrons in an atom.

As an electron rotates around the nucleus of an atom, it creates a magnetic field. Electrons most frequently occur in pairs, and rotate in opposite directions. The opposite rotations create two opposing magnetic fields that cancel one another out, so most materials have net magnetic field of zero. Magnetic fields will realign the electron orbits of any element. Diamagnetic materials have all electrons in pairs and react negatively to a magnetic field. Paramagnetic materials have some electrons that are not offset by an opposing half of a pair, and react positively to a magnetic field. The key concept to appreciate is that virtually every element on the periodic table will react either positively or negatively to a magnetic field, even if we don't see a dramatic attraction like we expect with ferromagnetism.

Diesel oil is a hydrocarbon that is about 84% carbon and 16% hydrogen by respective weight. Even though the hydrogen is only 16% of the hydrocarbon molecule, it produces about 45% of the thermal energy extracted by combustion. Common hydrogen separates into parahydrogen and orthohydrogen when subjected to any electrical influence or magnetic field that will realign the orbits of its electrons. Orthohydrogen is more reactive than parahydrogen and is able to attract additional oxygen molecules.

The theory of magnetic diesel fuel treatment states that exposing the diesel fuel to the magnetic field will increase the ratio of orthohydrogen atoms that can be additionally oxygenized to promote more complete combustion, extraction of energy, and a reduction in unburned fuel molecules in the exhaust.

An additionally claimed benefit of magnetic diesel fuel treatment is the elimination of microbial organisms from the fuel. This is apparently accomplished by disrupting the balance between the positive and negative electrical charges found within and immediately surrounding each cell, resulting in perforating the cellular membrane and killing the organism.

Do magnetic fuel conditioners work? We aren't in a position to state from personal experience that they absolutely do or do not, but growing numbers of boaters are reporting positive results from the installation of Diesel-Tex diesel fuel conditioners. Cleaner transoms, less exhaust smoke, and better engine performance are frequently mentioned in testimonial letters on the Diesel-Tex website, (http://www.dieseltex.com). Most testimonial letters appearing in marketing campaigns are printed with initials instead of signatures, but the letters on the Diesel-Tex site tend to offer the full name, address, phone number, and email address of the person offering to share their personal experience. That fact tends to inspire some credibility, and if our evening's research has led us to the right conclusion there is no reason to believe that magnetism cannot affect diesel fuel or that such effects could not include modifying parahydrogen to the more combustible orthohydrogen.
Chuck
Jan 30
2007
Not to mention, it would be a feature all consumers would love.
I guess P.T. Barnum had it right?
Reginald
Jan 31
You could try starting a feud with Trump. -rick-
Jan 31
mythbusters had a whole episode on these fuel saving devices, Including the tornado, magnets and others. none of them worked

[Mariner]

It's been proven again and again that magnetic fuel conditioners are a scam. If they worked, they would already be installed on cars in the factory.