Nexus - 0208 - New Times Magazine-pages

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He knew that he had made a discovery but was not sure what he had discovered. He abandoned his work with the battery and proceeded to develop his hydrogen. In 1943, while on a Good Will Tour of South America, the Vice President of the United States witnessed his generator running an automobile. Wallace invited him to bring the generator to Washington where, later in that year, he demonstrated it to scientists and representatives from the U.S. War Department at the Bureau of Standards. He applied for a patent, but because the United States was at war, all patents were sealed and available only to the military. Later, his lawyers advised him to shelve his patents because, at that time, oil was plentiful and cheap and there was no need to develop an alternative source of energy. Pacheco became a U.S. citizen and brought his family to his newly adopted country, knowing that one day, the time would be right for his invention. He worked in defence plants during the war, and then, until retirement, as a heating engineer in New York City. He discov- ered the beauty of West Milford while on a family outing and returned for vacations whenever he could. In 1967, he moved with his family to West Milford and has made his home here since. During the oil shortage in the '70's, Pacheco decided it was time to apply for his patent again and received a U.S. and several foreign patents. But, he soon learned that neither the energy industries, the heavily subsidised utilities, nor the Department of Energy were inter- ested in developing clean, abundant, safe energy from hydrogen. Determined to bring his invention to the people, he built proto- types and demonstration models to show government and industry officials. Many came and saw, said they were impressed, promised to help, but none ever did. In 1974, with the hopes of acquiring gov- ernment backing, Pacheco demonstrated his pollution free hydrogen fuel cell to Congressman Robert Roe, who today speaks often of the wonders of hydrogen fuel. With no outside power source, the self- taught chemical engineer connected the fuel cell to an alternator unit with a 3hp, 1,000 watt generator with a 4 stroke engine. The demon- stration was a success and the excited Congressman promised to bring it to the attention of Washington officials. Upon leaving Roe's Paterson office, Pacheco invited him to participate in another demon- stration at the Jersey Shore. Roe was invited to take part in a history making voyage, the first power boat ride, “fuelled by seawater.” Many newspapers were invited as well. But, Roe never showed up, nor did very many newspapers. Pacheco never heard from the Congressman again, but his voyage was great success. History was made on July 27th , 1974 when a 26 foot in-board power boat ran for nine hours using the Pacheco Generator and seawater for fuel, putting back into the ocean as its waste, clean water. In an effort to overcome the scepticism he was facing and the Ph.D he could not add to his name, Pacheco had his invention analysed by several independent laboratories. It passed all tests but when he tried to introduce it to the automobile industry and the oil companies, the response was either cool or non-existent. After a 2 hour meeting with one of the oil companies, he was told that developing the gener- ator would be against their interests. In 1977, Pacheco built a prototype unit which provided hydrogen, electric and thermal energy for a 1,000sq.ft. home in West Milford. The New Jersey Commissioner of Energy, and several of his staff members came to see and were impressed. The Commissioner wrote a letter of recommendation to the Department of Energy, but again nothing happened. In an effort to bring the generator to the public's attention, Pacheco contacted Geraldo Rivera who expressed great interest after he had read about the power boat demonstration. Rivera wanted to do a TV show about the generator, but the idea was axed by the station. It was during this time that Pacheco received some recognition for his work at the International Inventor's Exposition. He was the recip- ient of a plaque and award from the Commissioner of the Patent Department and 2 consecutive Hall of Fame awards from the Inventor's Club of America in 1978 and 1979, In 1980, Pacheco was contacted by 60 Minutes who promised to help him show his invention to millions of Americans. The 60 Minutes crew arrived in West Milford and taped the generator pro- ducing hydrogen fuel for a bunsen burner, and for a torch which cut through a 3/4" thick steel plate (indoors). The hydrogen gas inflated a balloon, and produced energy to mun an electric motor. The last of « his demonstrations involved running a lawnmower with the fuel. Because he was going to be on television, at the last minute, he decided to buy a new one, and did not have time to test it out. The engine choked due to the excessive amount of gas being produced but the 60 Minutes crew assured him that they had enough material to present an entire show with the successful demonstrations. Later when the show was aired, Pacheco was devastated, as the show had a completely different focus. The only demonstration aired was the lawn mower, and it was used to provide an example of an indepen- dent inventor's non-working invention. In 1986, with increasing concerns about the environment, Pacheco wrote to the Deparunent of Energy about the generator but received only a fact sheet in response which provided information on the drawbacks of hydrogen fuel based on the problems of storing it in liquid or gas form. He wrote back explaining that with his system, there is no need to store the hydrogen as it is produced on demand. His detailed response was ignored. In 1989, after information about the generator was presented at a United Nations Environmental Conference, Pacheco was invited to exhibit a prototype in Canada at the Green Energy Conference. Subsequently, he was asked to participate in the International Hydrogen Energy Conference held in Hawaii in 1990. Encouraged by the interest from several scientists, he applied for the new patent which he received in February. Though the history of his technology is most intriguing, its future is more important. Its potential as a clean, renewable, and safe ener- gy source represents long sought solutions for the environmental degradation caused by existing energy sources. Although Mr. Pacheco has been discouraged and frustrated in his efforts to bring this technology to the people, he remains focussed and committed. He strongly believes in the words of an old wise man who once told him, "Son, God put on your shoulders something very big, do not ask yourself - why me, think, why not me.” RECOMMENDED FOR SUBSCRIBING:- SPACE ENERGY ASSOCIATION, PO BOX 11422, CLEARWATER, FL.,34615. USA TEL: 813 442 3923 JOURNAL OF BORDERLAND SCIENCES, PO BOX 429, GARBERVILLE, CA., 95440-0429. USA. TEL: 707 986 7211 EXTRAORDINARY SCIENCE, PO BOX 5636, SECURITY, CO, 80931 USA. TEL: 800 397 0137, FAX: 719 475 0582 ELECTRIC SPACECRAFT JOURNAL, PO BOX 18387, ASHEVILLE, NC 28814. USA. TEL: 704 252 8083 RAUM & ZEIT, PO BOX 1508, MOUNT VERNON, WA. 98273. USA. TEL: 206 424 6034, FAX: 206 424 6029 TUNING IN MAGAZINE, PO BOX 255, IVANHOE, VIC. 3079, AUSTRALIA. 38eNEXUS JUNE-JULY 1992