Experiment 36: Hydroxy Gas Fun

A very, very long time ago, I found a cool YouTube video (this is how everything starts, right?) showing a hydroxy torch melting stuff.  Hydroxy torches are pretty neat, because they burn H2 and O2 gas cleanly, only producing water and a whole lot of heat.  The heart of the hydroxy torch is a hydroxy generator, which electrolyzes water to split it into its constituent gases.  I tried making one with hot glue and some scrap metal, and it failed about as badly as the word "hot glue" signifies.  Hot glue is an inferior building material.

Years later, I was inspired to work on the project again when I saw a friend's hydroxy generator that he bought off eBay.  I used the same scrap metal from the first generator design, but this time I used some proper plastic rods with spacers to assemble my electrolysis plates.  This time, the design worked beautifully!  I demonstrated that the generator worked by filling various containers with the explosive hydroxy gas and igniting them with a remote match.  The video below has a compilation of some of the best explosions:
Regrettably, I seem to have burnt out my lab power supply (Experiment 7: ATX Computer Power Supply Conversion), so I'll have to make a new one and be more careful with my current consumption.  Perhaps after that, I will use the hydroxy gas for a torch, but as of now, I am extremely happy with my newfound source of earth-shattering explosions.  :)