Why does my water in my hydrogen fuel cell turn to a weird color?

Question

When I turn on my hydrogen fuel cell or HHO fuel cell and it runs for a little bit, the water starts to turn like yellowish brownish. And it starts to form bubbles on the top of the water that turn really dark brown or black. What kind of water do I need to use and if I need to mix something in with the water, what is it?

Additional Details

Thanks Dave I didn't want to mention that i was using tap water because I wanted to see if someone would state that could be the problem, but when i use distilled water do I need to mix anything in with it. Or can I for better results?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

It could be the catalyst you need to enhance the hydrolysis reaction is discoloring your water.

I would avoid using tap water -- you should be using distilled, deionized water for your fuel cell, or you will end up throwing a lot of dissolved materials into the system which will eventually clog and ruin it.

Source(s):

38 years in chemistry