First I’d like to say I have enjoyed interacting with all you folks, and have been impressed with the quality of many of the responses and the knowledge and thought behind them. Of course there have been a few….

Anyway, as I write this, oil just hit $80 per barrel for the first time, but I’m sure not for the last time. Therefore, alternative fuels are becoming more and more important. In this quest, diesels have been largely overlooked, it seems. Most of the alternative fuel progress mentioned in the press, other than biodiesel, has been with fuels that replace gasoline or are used with gasoline to stretch the supply.

There is some good news on this front, though. The Coachmen RV Group recently completed a year-long testing regimen of its Sportscoach Elite diesel motorhome which has a hydrogen-generating system. This patented Hy-Drive HGS system, developed by Hy-Drive Technologies Ltd. of Mississauga, Ontario, uses electrolysis to produce hydrogen and oxygen from distilled water onboard. Then gases are pumped into the combustion chambers of the engine, where the hydrogen-enriched atmosphere makes the diesel fuel burn more completely. The burn also occurs earlier in the combustion stroke, so it produces more power.

Hy-Drive, which says the HGS was designed to work on a variety of internal-combustion engines, reported that tests showed 9 percent to 30 percent better mileage, 2 % to 6 % more horsepower, a reduction of up to 98 % in carbon-monoxide emissions, up to 45 % fewer nitrous-oxide emissions and up to a 98 % drop in particulates. This should help keep diesels around for quite a few years.