This 71-year-old's invention reduces petrol consumption by 30% in two-wheelers
Arvind Khandke of Maharashtra's Kolhapur is the inventor of an innovative mechanical valve for two-wheeler engines that reduces fuel consumption by 30%. A cloth merchant by profession, the 71-year-old used to travel a lot on his motorcycle but was troubled by its high fuel consumption. He stumbled upon the idea of the fuel-saving device while trying to bring his fuel expenses down. Here's more.
It was around 1980 that Khandke, who studied only till Class-10, began experimenting to create an engine valve that can help reduce his motorcycle's fuel consumption. "All old petrol vehicles had carburetors attached in the engine, and I tested a valve to aid this carburetor in a way that it uses water along with fuel and air to run the engine," Khandke told TheBetterIndia.
Notably, Khandke received an award from the National Innovation Foundation (NIF) in 2005 for his fuel-conserving innovation. Describing him as "an auto enthusiast obsessed with fuel conservation," NIF said that Khandke designed the prototype of the engine valve in 1983. However, he later found its flap was too heavy. He then changed its material and designed a new valve to suit 1-1.25 HP engines.
"As per testing on the Premier Padmini car on the road, the average mileage was...10km without valve and 13km with a valve attached. This shows fuel savings of 30%," said NIF. Khandke upgraded the 1983-model of the valve last year to include a water-pressure kit.
While Khandke's 1983-model engine valve conserved fuel by ensuring fuller combustion of the air and fuel mixture in the carburetor, the upgraded 2018-model added water to the fuel mixture to reduce fuel consumption by about 30%. "The idea is to heat the water and use the steam as an energy source to boost the performance of the engine," the innovator said.
Further explaining about the 2018-model, Khandke said, "When the petrol gets burnt in the engine, the water supplied through a separately attached tank gets converted into steam and helps increase the average of the engine. Due to hybrid fuel, the petrol supply percentage gets reduced."
Khandke got his 1983-model valve patented in 1999 while the 2018-model was patented in the same year. However, he said that he doesn't have enough resources to scale up the technology for commercial sale of the engine valve. "If someone is willing to take this device forward, I would be glad to share my expertise on it," he told TheBetterIndia.
