Broquet by David Lock

[IC]

This article by David Lock continues the series written by specialists in the industry for the modified section. IC

These notes on The Broquet Fuel Catalyst follow an invitation from Iain Collinson with encouragement from one or two VOC members who have had a positive experience using the product. The technology itself started in WW2 when it was used by the RAF in Russia to improve the quality of poor grade Russian fuel being used by Hurricane Aircraft. Henry Broquet, a British RAF technician, worked with a small RAF team when the first batch of Hurricanes was sent to Russia under Churchill’s instructions. After the war Henry Broquet worked first in UK and then for many years in South Africa as a marine engineer. He further developed the catalyst technology and it was installed in large marine vessels mostly as a means of preventing carbon built up. It was also used in vehicles and we have a press cutting dated July 1968 describing how Broquet has reduced smoke and provided a 13% economy improvement on a number of diesel trucks.

The writer has been a member of VOC for some years and first came across the product in the mid-eighties when it was being reintroduced into the UK market at the time the green agenda was gaining momentum and many thought that the introduction of unleaded fuel would be the answer to the environmental hazard of lead being chucked out of vehicle exhausts and frazzling kids brains. Use of exhaust catalytic converters was also expanding and the demise of leaded petrol was accelerated as leaded petrol is not compatible with exhaust catalysts.

So the market for Broquet at that time was very much in the conversion of leaded engines to the safe, no engine damage caused by valve seat recession, use of unleaded. Just to mention the position regarding older Volvos of the period. In fact the valve seats were quite tough and could accept unleaded but the problem was that the compression ratio was too high to run well on 95 RON which was the octane rating of standard unleaded. This was true of most of the B200E and B200K engines. The official way of converting these engines is to reduce the compression ratio by fitting an extra head gasket (and deeper water pump seal). It was found that by installing Broquet at a fraction of the cost of this work the engines would run perfectly on 95 RON fuel. Many Volvo turbos of that age were also designated “leaded only” but Broquet allowed them to run safely and well on unleaded.

Of course the huge challenge we have faced during this period has been to try and unravel exactly how Broquet does what it does – how it works! And we haven’t got there yet. It’s actually fairly easy to demonstrate that it does result in an improved combustion process by looking at changes in exhaust gas emissions levels for example or looking for power gains using an engine dynamometer or rolling road. All this has been done but despite our best efforts involving universities and research establishments we still need to get to grips with what Broquet actually does to fuel or fuel components. This is not quite as surprising as it may seem. Scientists tell us that the exact mechanism of many catalysts is not fully understood. But of course the Broquet mystery gives the keyboard warriors plenty of ammunition to dismiss the product claims. If only they knew the efforts we have made!

So if you’ve followed the plot so far you might well be asking what is the relevance of all this to performance engines?

Well here is the link. In essence adding Broquet to a fuel system will enhance the combustion of that fuel. Better combustion will mean a slight increase in available engine power. That means you can drive and accelerate faster or, more usually, drive in a like manner and benefit from an economy improvement which will be of the order of 8%. Of particular relevance is the fact that with Broquet installed the engine will run as well on a slightly lower octane fuel than it would otherwise require. By “require” I mean a fuel of sufficient octane to prevent detonation. Now I am not going to dip my toes into the complex arena that is engine tuning/mapping/chipping as there are those on this board that could put me in my place without drawing breath! But a couple of general points. Specialist engine tuners using Broquet when they map an engine reckon that Broquet is worth between 2 – 3 degrees in engine timing terms. A major importer of high performance cars (that I cannot name on a public board) installs Broquet by default in certain models to reduce the incidence of major engine damage that they had experienced; this was after there own extensive in-house testing of the product. It is also used in other performance applications such as powerboat racing, saloon car races and even racing Hovercraft. In crude terms Broquet seems to reduce engine stress and allow more rpm without blowing up the engine (typically holing a piston).

So there you have my ramblings. Broquet is a controversial product and a glance at the thread in the general section of this forum will show you what I mean. Finally I am always happy to chat about the product at any civilised hour on 01903 745441.

And here’s a final odd fact which you won’t have heard about. When you put cut flowers in a vase of water the water usually goes green after a week or so. If you put a Broquet pellet in the bottom of the vase the water stays clear for at least another couple of weeks. Answers on a postcard please…..

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Vase on left has 1/2 bunch of tulips and water has gone green. Vase on right has other half of tulips and water has stayed clear. You can see the Broquet pellet at the bottom of the right hand vase at the front.



http://www.volvoclub.org.uk/dc/user_files/1367.jpg

[sholtby]

The answer to the water staying clearer for a longer time in the vase with the Broquet is because a small amount of the metal (tin?) will dissolve forming ions which have a tendancy to cling to bacteria and viruses and kill them.
I can remember stories of wild west cowboys adding either silver or copper coins to their water bottles to prolong the safe drinking life of water.
When the broquet is added to a fuel tank I can only assume something similar maybe happening. I seem to recall David claiming that the broquet (tin) pelets must be in contact with mild steel for the product to work. Which is why they are supplied in a mild steel net. Now when you have 2 differing metals together in a solution (electrolite) that is able to conduct electricity, no matter how poorly, the more reactive metal will dissolve into the solution forming ions and slow the process of the other metal dissolving.
An example of this is a sacraficial anode on a fiberglass boat to protect the propeller from corrosion. In this case zinc blocks are bolted to the hull of the ship a few feet away from the steel propeller. The zinc will dissolve causing positive zinc ions in the sea water around the propeller and the negative electrons will cling to the steel preventing positive steel(iron) ions from being formed(corrosion). It is in essence a battery that is being formed. When the zinc has all dissolved it is easier and cheaper to replace a lump of zinc than a propeller.
I wander if something similar is happening to a broquet in a fuel tank. Now the mild steel I think is more reactive than tin so steel (iron) ions would form in the fuel. If I've got the reactivity of the 2 metals the wrong way around then tin ions would be formed.
The problem with this theory is I dont think fuel would form an electrolite ie in my boating example sea water is a conductor of electricity due to the salt ions in solution, even pure water is a poor conductor of electricity due to some free irons but to my knowledge petrol doesnt really conduct electricity. However every substance will to some extent.
So to summarise all this waffle. Does an extremely small number of metal ions in petrol give all the benefits that the makers of fuel catalysts claim?

Simon

[don kalmar union]

Good evening Simon,


A bit like homeopathic remedies.


Don Norchi.

[sholtby]

Hi Don,

You're not convinced by the Broquet claims then?

Simon

[don kalmar union]

I know only what I have read in your post here.

Not sure about homeopathic remedies either.

Regards, Don.

[jamie]

Two possibilities with broquet
some, as yet undiscovered, chemical-combination reason, or some never to be discovered esoteric reason
Homeopathy is similar though I believe it to be esoteric and therefore never to be discerned
However, whatever the reason the solution is the same for both:
careful observation and pure experience, the hardest parts being careful or accurate and pure as we all have our own standards.
Personally I have used both and careful observation showed positive results in both fields. Broquet definitely has some effect, but this does not always seem to be constant and different engines and set ups may effect the results. I used it in a 2.3 in an estate 240. I had no pinking problems and never had to increase head gasket depth as sometimes recommended

[elvispriceley]

Hi Gents,

Well I fitted a Broquet to my 1988 740 turbo estate and it ran like a dream for more miles than I can remember on unleaded petrol with the added bonus that alot of the 4 star additives seem to miss was no turbine erosion due to excess heat.
So I think if anyone out there may be slightly sceptical about this mystery invention I can vouch for its ability to do exactly what it said on the box.

[Alec Dawe]

This is all very interesting, and perhaps makes the product worth a try, but, big but, where can you get it these days.
I can remember seeing Broquet in garages various throughout the 80's and early 90's but it seems to have vanished now.
Anyone know of a seller??

[elvispriceley]

Alec,

Check this link out...if it works.

http://www.broquet.co.uk/orderuk.htm

[ascott1]

I too got about 60k miles on a 740 B230ET turbo estate with a Brocquet, starting from about 6 months before the big phase-out of leaded petrol. I put the bag of pellets in the tank, but wasn't able to tether it anywhere so it just sank. Once on unleaded, there was no pinking, though maybe a slight fall-off in power. My tame MOT specialist with a Crypton tuning kit (think you could still make some mixture adjustments to the 740 without the ECU cancelling them out) said he saw a different 'best setting' with slightly lower emissions than the previous year (could have been calibration changes in his kit), and he was surprised too to see no pinking.

I was fairly sceptical about the mystery aspects of the Brocquet system, including the idea that you had to 'run it in' on leaded for a couple of hundred miles before changing over to unleaded.

Anyway, the system worked for me, the car was still running well when I sold it on at 185k after the spectre of needing a third steering rack began to appear. (I'd replaced the rack once already while running on leaded, about 90k miles previously). I thought about putting a Brocquet unit into the replacement V70 to see if it made any difference, but the tank filler pipe looked too difficult for a DIY attempt, as it does my present 960 estate.