Skeptoid #1019: Testing the Thunderstorm Generator

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• The Thunderstorm Generator (TG) is essentially a combination of an exhaust heat riser and a water injection system, mechanisms known for over a century, despite its creator Malcolm Bendahl's claims of utilizing complex pseudoscience like plasmoid unification.  Copied to clipboard!
• Observed minor improvements in fuel efficiency or exhaust cleanliness during TG demonstrations are likely due to the warming of intake air (improving vaporization) and the introduction of water vapor (reducing NOx and CO), effects that are limited and often offset by power loss.  Copied to clipboard!
• The effectiveness of the TG and its predecessor, the GEET, is severely limited because they rely on engine vacuum, which is highest when the engine is idling (under no load) and lowest when the engine needs efficiency gains most (under heavy load).  Copied to clipboard!

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Introduction to Thunderstorm Generator

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(00:00:03)

• Key Takeaway: The Thunderstorm Generator is characterized as a pseudo-scientific device using jargon from New Age mysticism attached to an engine.
• Summary: The device is described as a pseudo-scientific contraption mixing New Age mysticism jargon with physical pipes and hoses for an internal combustion engine. Its primary effect is claimed to be lightening the buyer’s wallet. The episode promises to test this device in Skeptoid #1019: Testing the Thunderstorm Generator.

Sponsor Advertisement: True Crime

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(00:00:44)

• Key Takeaway: A new weekly podcast, Conspiracy Theories, Cults, and Crimes, covers dark human behavior, including infamous cases like Jonestown and JFK.
• Summary: The advertisement promotes a podcast covering true stories behind shocking crimes, deadly ideologies, and secret plots. It features infamous cases alongside hidden horrors like the octopus murders. Listeners can follow the show wherever podcasts are available.

Sponsor Advertisement: Quince

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(00:02:17)

• Key Takeaway: Quince offers high-quality apparel, house goods, and decor, providing tools like look books to simplify matching ensembles for consumers.
• Summary: Quince sells items ranging from Italian wool coats and denim to bedding and cookware, emphasizing top quality. They offer tools for customers who are less design-savvy, allowing them to buy matched ensembles easily. The offer includes free shipping and 365-day returns via quince.com/skeptic.

Sponsor Advertisement: Odoo

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(00:03:24)

• Key Takeaway: Odoo provides a single, connected suite of enterprise applications to manage business functions affordably, replacing multiple vendor software costs.
• Summary: Buying business software from various vendors leads to complicated and accumulating costs. Odoo solves this by offering a single platform handling everything from accounting to sales. This approach saves money while retaining necessary features.

TG Claims and Pseudoscience Basis

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(00:03:58)

• Key Takeaway: Malcolm Bendahl’s Thunderstorm Generator claims to use a ‘plasmoid unification model’ involving concepts like Theosophy, cold fusion, and Hermetic texts to use water as atomic fuel.
• Summary: The device claims to dramatically increase engine efficiency, potentially allowing water substitution for gasoline while cleaning exhaust to breathable levels. Bendahl cites an extensive list of speculative pseudoscience, including octave tangenic resonance and the Schumann cavity. He summarizes the process as a ‘proprietary plasmoid-induced and controlled atomic energy release process.’

Comparison to GEET Technology

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(00:07:05)

• Key Takeaway: The TG is structurally similar to Paul Pantone’s earlier GEET device, which also involved hoses and chambers but focused on vaporizing added liquids like beer or urine.
• Summary: The GEET, introduced in 1984, used essentially the same system of hoses and chambers, though Pantone focused on burning added fluids. Pantone’s business failed due to fraud charges related to lying to investors about his product’s capabilities. Enthusiasts still believe the GEET uses water as fuel, ignoring that water is not a chemical fuel source.

Bendahl’s Background and Company Location

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(00:09:33)

• Key Takeaway: Bendahl operates his company, Plasmoid Power, from Thailand, possibly to avoid respecting American patents like Pantone’s or to escape scrutiny over his past financial misconduct in Australia.
• Summary: Bendahl previously raised millions from 16,000 investors in Australia based on a vision of oil reserves in Tasmania, allowing the exploration license to expire without drilling while keeping the money. The speaker advises extreme caution regarding investing in or purchasing the TG due to this history.

Analysis of TG Components

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(00:10:57)

• Key Takeaway: The TG’s claimed ionization chamber using a CFL bulb fails to ionize air because the photons lack the necessary energy (over 10 electron volts).
• Summary: The first chamber’s claim of ionizing air via a 25-watt CFL bulb is false, as the bulb’s photons only reach 3 to 5 electron volts, insufficient for ionization. The second chamber, the plasmoid generator, fails to create cavitation-induced plasmoids because the engine vacuum (4-10 psi) is far too weak to cause the required 80-100 psi suction needed for cavitation. The final component is merely a heat exchanger warming the intake air.

Actual Mechanism of Performance Gains

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(00:15:03)

• Key Takeaway: Observed efficiency gains on simple engines result from the TG acting as an exhaust heat riser (improving fuel vaporization) and water injection (reducing combustion temperatures).
• Summary: The device only works effectively on older engines lacking modern computer control, as the vacuum draw that powers the TG is lowest when the engine is under heavy load. Warming the intake air improves fuel atomization, leading to more complete burning, though this can reduce power output. Added moisture lowers combustion temperatures, significantly reducing nitrogen oxide and carbon monoxide emissions, but does not affect CO2.

EGR and Modern Engine Superiority

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(00:17:46)

• Key Takeaway: The TG’s effects mimic Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR), a technology modern engine computers have optimized in real-time since the 1970s, rendering bolt-on systems obsolete.
• Summary: Including exhaust gases in the intake mix displaces oxygen, forcing a leaner burn, which is what modern EGR systems do. While EGR can yield double-digit efficiency improvements, it comes at the cost of power. Modern engine computers adapt these variables in real-time, surpassing the fixed, load-dependent operation of the TG or GEET.

Conclusion and Premium Content Plug

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(00:20:07)

• Key Takeaway: The Thunderstorm Generator is fundamentally an outdated combination of known technologies based on a patent from an individual later deemed mentally incompetent.
• Summary: The TG is reduced to an exhaust heat riser and water injection system, based on a patent from Paul Pantone, who faced fraud charges. Listeners are advised to exercise extreme caution regarding investment or purchase. Extended content on real automotive water injection systems is available for premium members.

Skeptoid Support and Events

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(00:20:35)

• Key Takeaway: Skeptoid relies on listener donations, which are currently matched up to $27,500 through December 31st, to fund its educational mission.
• Summary: The host lists upcoming speaking engagements in February and March at the University of Nebraska and SciTalk Conference in Portland. Listeners interested in booking the host can visit skeptoid.com/speaking. Students and teachers can submit questions for special Q&A episodes.

Premium Membership Appeal

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(00:22:17)

• Key Takeaway: Premium membership supports Skeptoid as a nonprofit combating pseudoscience and provides ad-free listening plus extended episode versions.
• Summary: Supporting Skeptoid for as little as five US dollars per month helps combat pseudoscience and promotes critical thinking, including access to the Teacher’s Toolkit. Membership removes ads and grants access to extended content. Skepticism is presented as the best medicine.