Yowsa!

[Dad and Dotter]

Greetings, everyone.

My daughter is an automotive technician with an interest in ecomodding. Her trouble is that she has little time due to her work, pets and boyfriend.

Enter semi-retired Dad. I've a technical backgound and have always been a tinkerer, one way or another. I'm old enough that I used to be a shade tree mechanic before fuel injection, electronics, and ridiculously tightly packed, poorly accessible engine compartments came on the scene.

So.... I catch the bug from my daughter and start looking at a lot of stuff and reading a lot of forums.

Ecomodder seems an island of sanity, reason, and civility.

As a techie with an almost Aspergerian desire for measurement, I'd love to be able to do my own emissions measurements and logging, especially on-the-fly. To buy such a system I think is about $6K-- that's what a local school paid for theirs. Many of us semi-retired Dads don't have that kind of money in petty cash on a regular basis, so I thought that I would put together my own system (at least until Publisher's Clearinghouse shows up at my door with that big, big check).

Apparently DIY emissions analysis is a very rare topic, so rare that I can't find anything.

"Who will help me plant this wheat?" said the little red rooster.

I have seen it written on these pages that ecommodding is about the fun, not the money. I like that sentiment very much, and I would add to it my own great desire to keep learning and sharing what I learn.

[jeff88]

Welcome! It's always good to have experienced members who know about engines and it seems you have it. I hope EM can help you in your endeavors.

Originally Posted by Dad and Dotter

Ecomodder seems an island of sanity, reason, and civility.

Depends on who's asking!

Originally Posted by Dad and Dotter

(at least until Publisher's Clearinghouse shows up at my door with that big, big check).

EM has a fee for all winners: Equal share for all members! (for use for ecomodding, of course)

Originally Posted by Dad and Dotter

I'd love to be able to do my own emissions measurements and logging, especially on-the-fly

Do you have any ideas to get the ball rolling? I really like this idea, however, I have no idea how it would be done. Maybe some sort of sensor on the back of the CAT or somewhere down the exhaust line, similar to the O2 sensor, but measuring different GHGs, but I know that would only be a small portion of the issue.

[Dad and Dotter]

I started a thread over in "INSTRUMENTATION" where I wrote:

Oxygen sensors aren't expensive and ought to be straightforward enough to interpret the output.

For diesels, it seems to me that an opacity meter ought to be easy enough to rig-- a chamber with a light and a light meter. I hear green light is favored.

As for NOx, CO, CO2 and HC, I have no clue as of yet-- have yet to read the technical articles.

I'm not looking for EPA or California Air Quality Board level tolerances, although I wouldn't be surprised if I could get them. Does anyone else think that having these measuring abilities would help in ecomodding research?

++++++++++++++

Obviously the emissions analysis box-makers aren't going to help me avoid paying them six thousand dollars.... maybe some o' the folks at professional testing labs might have some pointers-- or the bright young people at our institutions of higher learning might have blazed a trail for us already.

E-mails are in order. Maybe even personal phone calls.

[Cobb]

Welcome aboard, glad to see someone concerned about the stuff coming out of the tail pipe vs what is going into the intake.

Yeah, leaning out your engine increases your mpg, but you are killing trees and ruining your engine down the road.

[MetroMPG]

I seem to recall a conversation or two about DIY NOX measurement... maybe by member CarloSW2.

have seen it written on these pages that ecommodding is about the fun, not the money.

It is for some. For others it's *only* about the money. For others there are still other factors. In conclusion: mixed nuts.

Welcome to the forum!

[Dad and Dotter]

Big news! Good News! Go over to the DIY Emissions Analysis thread in INSTRUMENTATION forum and check it out!

I found cheap working-but-obsolete equipment so I don't have to make it!