When you are buying something as complex as a car or any motor vehicle, heavy maintenance is a given. But how do you go about a car’s upkeep? Which parts are you supposed to focus on more?
If you are being selective, are there some parts you can ignore while others that are absolutely essential? Those are some of the things we will be talking about today.
Before we get to the core portion of our article, I’m sure most of you have heard of hydrogen peroxide: the toxic, highly acidic chemical compound used in industries.
But how many of you knew that it also has a less concentrated version made for domestic use? If you didn’t know, now you do. 3% hydrogen peroxide was introduced to make people’s lives easier.
The watered-down, low concentration solution can be used on multiple surfaces around the house, including your own skin. Its unique properties offer a broad range of uses without any severe detriment.
What we will be discussing today is can you decarbonize your car with hydrogen peroxide? And if so, how?
Carbon Buildup — What Is It?
If you have ever been to the mechanic, chances are you have heard him say that you have a large amount of carbon buildup. So what exactly does that mean?
Well, every time your engine is running, some part of the fuel is being combusted incompletely. What this does is it causes deposits of carbon to settle in and around your engine.
Over time these deposits harden and form plaques, better known as carbon buildups. Once this black soot hardens, it can cause various issues in your engine, the worst of which will be completely seizing the engine. The carbon buildups usually deposit around specific engine areas such as injector nozzles, cylinder walls, and intake valves.
What you’ll be surprised by is that newer engines are more susceptible to this issue compared to older engines. So if you have an older engine, make the best of it before you have to change.
Why Does It Happen?
As we have mentioned above, the leading cause of carbon deposits is incomplete fuel combustion. Incomplete fuel combustion can occur more frequently in faulty engines where the fuel is not being provided with a proper supply of air.
Due to this, the combustion process stays the same except for the fact that carbon and carbon monoxide are produced instead of carbon dioxide.
Carbon monoxide is a highly toxic gas that can kill a human in minutes if inhaled. It is very potent and can destroy an individual’s respiratory system.
Carbon, on the other hand, is not released into the environment. Instead, it is deposited inside the engine at different parts that cause issues in the long run.
So if you ever see black smoke coming out of your car’s silencer or your car’s temperature needle is going up, be sure to stop and get your engine checked as soon as possible.
What Can This Lead To?
Carbon buildup can lead to a number of engine issues starting with disrupted airflow. Carbon deposits are already a product of insufficient airflow to the engine, and this problem further worsens it. With carbon deposits sitting in the middle of pipes and blocking the way, there is a drastic increase in the incomplete combustion of fuel.
Besides insufficient airflow, it also wears down the engine’s longevity. Carbon deposits can cause hotspots within the engine’s chamber.
A hotspot is basically an area that gets overheated very easily. With multiple hotspots all over and around the engine, the chances of it overheating are increased significantly.
This is because carbon has a unique property of trapping heat within itself. So wherever the carbon has hardened, those areas or ‘hotspots’, will overheat almost instantly.
Are There Ways To Avoid This?
You’re probably thinking about what you can do to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. Well, don’t worry, we got you. We will tell you some common tips you can keep in mind to make sure you are not a victim of carbon buildup.
- Prefer high-quality fuel. Low-quality fuel is more prone to causing incomplete combustion, hence leading to carbon buildups. If high-quality fuel is not affordable, make sure to use it a couple of times a month to cleanse your engine’s internal environment.
- Make sure there are no other factors affecting the air to fuel ratio. Any inconsistency in the air to fuel ratio will lead to carbon buildup as fuel will not be in contact with ample air and start an incomplete combustion process.
- Avoid heavy-footed driving. Try to take your foot off the pedal sometimes. Driving too fast frequently can lead to carbon deposition in your engine.
- Avoid heavily-populated roads as a daily route. High traffic means you’ll be inching forward every few minutes while your car is still running. This can be detrimental to your car’s health and decrease its durability over time.
- Perform regular oil changes. If you have been using the same oil for an extended period of time, you should get out and change it before it negatively affects your engine.
- Using specialized fuel additives and fuel treatments. Injection of these chemical substances into the intake valves should help clear out any soot or carbon deposits in the way.
Decarbonizing Your Car Using Hydrogen Peroxide
Now you should have a good understanding of what carbon buildup is and why it should be avoided at all costs. Well, the process of removing these carbon deposits is known as decarbonization. And today, we’re going to tell you how you can perform this method at home using just hydrogen peroxide.
What You Need
- 400 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide
- 5 liters of water
How To Use
If you are thinking of using hydrogen peroxide to decarbonize your car, the process is pretty simple. Firstly, you will want to heat up the engine using the carburetor. Next, you’ll want to connect a pipe directly to the intake valve or the vacuum pipe that connects to the intake manifold.
Now once your pipe is properly connected to the intake valve, you will want to slowly pour the water plus hydrogen peroxide solution into the engine through the pipe. Since your engine is heated, the heat will evaporate the hydrogen peroxide mixture, turning it into vapor. This vapor is what will get the job done.
The vapor arising from your hydrogen peroxide mixture will start to chip away and remove the carbon deposits that have settled in your intake valves and combustion chamber. The car will now release bright, smelly smoke, which is an indication that the decarbonization process is working.
Afterward, make sure to drive around at least 10 to 15 kilometers and change your engine oil and engine oil filter. This will increase your engine lifespan and efficiency.
What Does Hydrogen Peroxide Do To A Gas Tank?
Okay, so now that we’ve gone over the entire decarbonization process, we’re sure some of you have additional questions. One common question is, does pouring hydrogen peroxide into a gas tank make it run faster? Will it make my car more efficient? The answer is no.
People often believe that hydrogen peroxide will make their cars go faster. However, let us clarify that putting hydrogen peroxide into your gas tank will either do nothing at all or worse, it can ruin your car’s engine.
Short-Term Effects
The first sign of something going wrong is that your car will not start under any circumstances. Once hydrogen peroxide fills your gas tank, the engine will not take ignition, and the vehicle will remain on standby.
Why does this happen? Well, hydrogen peroxide is a polar compound. In non-polar environments such as petrol, hydrogen peroxide will not mix. Instead, it will settle at the bottom and simply break down to release oxygen. Hence, your car will not start.
Long-Term Effects
The short-term effects may not have had negative consequences, but we can assure you that adding hydrogen peroxide to your gas tank will also have those.
Hydrogen peroxide is a reactive chemical. Once inside the gas tank, it can spark and cause an ignition inside. That will lead to your car blowing up. These were the negative implications of hydrogen peroxide we were talking about.
Besides outright blowing up the entire vehicle, hydrogen peroxide is also corrosive. It can corrode parts of your engine, leading to other malfunctions.
That is why we’re sure you are curious to try this, but it is best if you don’t. Besides completely ruining a working car, it could also be dangerous to you and your family.
Can You Run A Car On Hydrogen Peroxide?
We have already mentioned above how dangerous trying anything with hydrogen peroxide is, especially in a combustible environment like your engine. But if you still want to know whether or not hydrogen peroxide can be used to run a car, the answer remains the same. You cannot use hydrogen peroxide to run a car.
There is a difference here since some of you may have heard of hydrogen peroxide being used as fuel. Let us clarify that it is not car fuel; rather, it is rocket fuel, and it is used in highly controlled environments by scientists.
Due to the highly volatile and combustible nature of hydrogen peroxide, you should stay as far away from it as possible when it comes to using it as fuel.
Best Concentration To Use Hydrogen Peroxide In Decarbonizing Your Car
We can assure you that 3% hydrogen peroxide concentration is by far the best to use for this purpose. A 3% concentration does not cause any detrimental long-term effects and can be easily removed or washed out if it does go somewhere it is not supposed to.
Using any concentration higher than this can lead to disastrous results.
The Bottom Line
We hope you have learned several lessons from this article. The first is never ever to mix hydrogen peroxide in your fuel tank or even outside with petrol.
The second, and more important lesson, is how you can decarbonize your car at home using hydrogen peroxide. No hassle and no worries.
So, get your own set of hydrogen peroxide now and try it right now!
