FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

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Jim Kovalchick
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Re: FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

Post by Jim Kovalchick »

Some bad experience to share:

I thought I would save some steps by connecting my syringe, cell, and fusor supply together and use Mark's hemostat pinch idea to just keep the line I wanted open by changing the hemistat lication. Mistake. The syringe pull resistance is enough to cause a negative pressure sufficient to leak through the hemostat and pull on my cell. The result was breach of heavy water through the cell membrane. A tiny slug even made it into my variable leak valve. Once I get everything dry, I am back to disconnecting the syringe from the cell every time. This will require purging everything each time, but it is better than this disaster.

Jim K
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Bob Reite
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Re: FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

Post by Bob Reite »

You can also use an over/under pressure protection system consisting of two small vials initially half filed with pump oil. For details, visit topic viewtopic.php?f=6&t=9435. This will also give you some deuterium storage sufficient for a five to ten minute run.
The more reactive the materials, the more spectacular the failures.
The testing isn't over until the prototype is destroyed.
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Richard Hull
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Re: FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

Post by Richard Hull »

Great tips in a great FAQ. Assuming folks read this far in future. Too many go for the Quick rinse on the first page. Too bad.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
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Jim Kovalchick
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Re: FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

Post by Jim Kovalchick »

This little tidbit could belong other places, but just a note on the impact of moisture and in my case, a droplet, making its way into a variable leak valve like the one I use to control the flow of d into my system. The moisture will build up as a film in the sealing surfaces and turn the variability into an on or off control. The problem is fixable. A bakeout is required.
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Emma Black
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Re: FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

Post by Emma Black »

Even though its been a year since this thread was commented on I shall add my experience of these Horizon Cells.

Jim I had the same fun of liquid D2O reaching my leak valve. Had an empty syringe connected to the cell and fusor via a T piece.

The issue was much worse in low temperatures, to the point where a plus of D2O condensation on the hydrogen side of the cell would block the output until it burped a droplet. Warming the cell slightly before use helped a lot, but for now I have also gone back to using a syringe with disconnect and purge before use.
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Richard Hull
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Re: FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

Post by Richard Hull »

Thanks for your discovered work around for situations where moisture gets in your line for whatever reason. In many instances, as many of us realize,
the PEM cell is the only way many would-be fusioneers will ever get deuterium gas due to costs or other difficulties.

Richard Hull
Progress may have been a good thing once, but it just went on too long. - Yogi Berra
Fusion is the energy of the future....and it always will be
The more complex the idea put forward by the poor amateur, the more likely it will never see embodiment
William_Estlick
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Re: FAQ - Make your own deuterium from heavy water!! The video

Post by William_Estlick »

Very informative thread.
Thank you.
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