- By David Horn P-N Columnist -
Advertisements never appear on this page. So this column isn't an ad. But Sometimes a new product is so revolutionary it deserves editorial comment.
Gasaver, invented by Joel Robinson, technical director of National Fuel Saver Corporation, is something you should know about.
Gasaver operates on the same chemistry as the catalytic converter, but instead of merely reducing pollution, it also cuts fuel consumption about 22 percent.
Like you, I was skeptical about such a claim. Wouldn't a 22 percent reduction in fuel consumption mean big savings for industrial users, or even schools? To find out, the affluent Concord School Corporation tested Gasaver devices on 27 vehicles (mostly buses) during the 1982-83 school year. When results were tallied, the school had saved $14,000 in fuel costs over the previous year.
Why haven't we heard more about Gasaver? Not surprisingly, it's been tied up in litigation. Said one company spokesman, "Originally, the major oil companies wanted to buy our patent outright, but we included a clause requiring, that they market the product and not hide it on a shelf. They would not agree, and since they couldn't stop us by buying our patent, they charged us with false claims about the product."
The result was an exhaustive (no pun intended) government study of Gasaver by the Consumer Protection Agency. It confirmed that Gasaver offers 22 percent fuel savings when applied properly to a gasoline engine. bringing about more complete combustion and better gas mileage in automobile engines by means of platinum, catalysis. Claims made for Gasaver were found to be "100 percent accurate" and the firm was awarded $22,747.00 by the federal courts.
In a speech to the American Chemical Society, inventor Joel Robinson explained briefly how Gasaver works."For every 6 pound gallon of gasoline entering an engine, almost four pounds of carbon monoxide are emitted. About 17 years ago, the federal government decided to do something about the ecology by ordering auto makers to burn all fuel before it left the tailpipe," he said That's when auto makers began installing catalytic converters.
"We all know that a catalytic converter is nothing more than a muffler whose insides have been coated with platinum. We all know why platinum was chosen. When unburned fuel comes in contact with platinum, that fuel will burn when it ordinarily wouldn't have burnt."
In other words, your car has a small furnace sitting under the floor which burns one third of the fuel you buy, releasing its heat and energy into the atmosphere instead of into the power train. Meanwhile, unburned fuel still accumulates as an abrasive carbon deposit scraping away your cars cylinder walls and sometimes causing engine knock and ping.How can Gasaver remedy these problems? After a ten-minute installation, it releases microscopic quantities of platinum directly into the air-fuel mixture entering, the engine. With platinum in the flame zone (instead of in the tailpipe) the percentage of fuel burned in the engine jumps from 68 percent to 90 percent. That means 22 percent less fuel is needed to drive the same distance. Gasaver can be used with, leaded or unleaded fuel, and meets emission standards in all fifty states.
So far, National Fulesaver Corporation has sold about 150,000 Gasaver units. And what about that school in Concord ! Contacted by phone last week, a spokesman told me "we're still using Gasaver on our buses, and we are adding it to it to every new vehicle we purchase.
"You can obtain complete details about Gasaver by calling, toll-free 1-800-537-7427