How to Make and Run a Joe Cell
Interview of Peter Stevens by Adrian Mutimer, to further pin down the process of how to build, prime/charge, and then run a car on a Joe cell.
by Adrian Mutimer
What follows is a presentation of material taken from a video-interview
conducted with Peter Stevens on
In order to talk about the use of electricity in cell work (“cellery”)
you have to get used to an alternative way of thinking about how electricity
In school we were told that the negative terminal and the positive terminal of a battery delivered no electricity at all to an open circuit and that a load was required across the battery positive and negative terminal for electricity to flow. Well according to the view of electricity you are going to get here that view of electricity is incomplete. The negative terminal of a battery is active when connected to a load without any connection, or involvement at all, with the positive terminal. This may also be true of the positive terminal, but the positive terminal is not used alone in cellery. In what follows, the action of a negative terminal of a DC power source with no positive attached will be referred to as “negative electricity”, When talking of negative electricity the term “load” is also rather misleading so it will not be used again.
In applying electricity to cell work, one general rule that comes up
repeatedly is as follows. When you want to charge water in a cell or charging
vat, you first apply negative electricity, then you attach your positive lead
(and normal electrical current will flow); then you take off the positive lead
and return to negative electricity; then you (sometimes) take off the negative
lead. We will call this “the negative first and last, rule”. Please take
careful note that you should not rush steps one or four when you apply this
procedure. When you put on that negative lead allow significant time to elapse
before you put on your positive lead. It is doing something!
Closely related to this procedure are two principles of the application
of electricity in cellery. The first is that the energy we are dealing with is
negative in charge and is therefore attracted to positive. It follows from this
that you put your negative potentials where you want your energy to flow from,
and you put your positive potentials where you want it to flow to.
BUT that is just to get things started. You take the positive off pretty
quickly because the second principle is that the energy does not like positive electricity at all, so you want to
minimize the involvement of positive in the entire process of cellery. Timings
are given below.
For your electricity supply use a 12v car battery, a 12 volt battery
charger that delivers preferably linear (not pulsed) DC, or a variable DC power
supply set to about 12 volts of preferably linear (not pulsed) DC.
It isn’t that important that your cylinders be of very low magnetism. Magnetism does have a negative effect on the good working of the cell, so it is preferable to have good quality (low carbon) steel if that can be arranged easily. If that is not available, the effects of magnetism can be overcome as follows.
Line up all your seams (assuming you are not using
drawn tubes). The seams are often the most magnetic part of the tube so by
lining them up you only have one segment of the cell that may be of reduced
effectiveness. If, after doing that, you have tubes or seams that you suspect
are interfering with cell performance because of magnetism there are three more
ways to go.
Striking and sparking the cylinders. Get a 12v battery
and align it with its negative pole East and its positive terminal West. Put
your negative lead on the outside of the base of the tube. Then strike the
cylinder along its seam with a hammer (along its length if there is no seam).
Then spark the inside of the tube at the top with your positive. Then take off
your negative. The striking of the hammer disrupts the alignment of the ions
Note: it is essential to spark your tubes if you have polished them
Cylinder rotation. Take the cylinder that you think may
be at fault and rotate it 90 degrees clockwise.
Cylinder inversion. Cylinders have lengthwise alignment
of magnetic-type swirl of frequency. You want all your North poles(positives) at the top and all your South poles (negatives)at the bottom. The way you test the cylinders in this regard is
with an L-rod which is a type of divining instrument. John Carter is the expert
on this and he has put up comprehensive instructions elsewhere.
Also, check out Walter Russell on this, he explained what he termed “twin
alternative way of assessing which cylinder(s) should be inverted is to get all
your cylinders standing up on your bench and crowd them together (not nested). Leave them for minute and then place
your hand on top of the entire set. You will feel heat in any cylinder that is
in opposite alignment to the rest.
Only ever electro-clean the cell cylinders. Therefore, do not chemically clean them! To do this you reverse the current along the length of each tube with the cell fully assembled.
Start with the outermost cylinder.
Put your positive on the inside skin at the top of the
cylinder and your negative on the outside skin at the bottom. Leave this in
place for one minute.
Put the negative on the inside skin at the top and your
positive on the outside skin at the bottom. Leave this in place for one minute
Repeat (i) above.
When you have done this to the outermost cylinder go on to next cylinder until all the cylinders have had the treatment.
can use water out of the tap as long as you largely clear it of the chemicals
put in there by the water company (alum, chlorine, fluorides etc.). To do this
you can use a cell.
After 24 hours, the chemicals in the water in the bucket will have become
solids; some will have dropped to the bottom and some will have risen to the
top, depending on what charge they acquired in the process. Pour off the solids
at the top, then pour the middle (clean) water into your cell, then throw away
the stuff in the bottom.
Although you can use pulsed dc for this, flat dc works faster.
These should be of natural rubber without additives. Some Buna-N O-ring material works but some O-ring material is mineral based, or contains iron in the colouring which will short out the cell.
If the spacers are of tubular rubber they should be set with the tunnels
of the tubes all pointing inwards towards the centre of the cell when viewed
from above. (see image below). It is important to get this detail right to
showing radial arrangement of spacers.
some of the other detail in this image does not conform to the text.
The insulating capacity of the spacers is further enhanced by adding a dab of white Sikaflex 291, Marine Grade, to the ends of each spacer.
This should be of alabaster or the same plastic used in kitchen cutting
The following is expressed as a set of deviations from the design found
Experimenters' Guide to the Joe Cell.
Bill’s drawings, as found on joecell2, are right. Have them by you as
you read this. Note that any deviations in this text override the drawings.
Apply your negative charge to the outside
skin of the 2 inch tube by means of a plinth or cathode hub-platform that sits
at the base of the 2 inch cylinder (see images below).
showing hub from the bottom
showing hub from the top. Observe the penetrating holes to permit water flow.
Readers will recognize that this instruction is contradictory to the
Guide which has the negative charge delivered to the inside skin of the central
tube by means of a press fitted bolt. It also contradicts Joe’s statements in
the transcripts available in joecellfreeenergydevice
The argument behind this way of proceeding is that the energy seeks
positive charge, and you want that energy in the middle of the cell. By putting
the negative on the outside skin of the central tube you cause an attractive
positive charge on the inside skin, and the energy migrates to it.
In order to have water flow in your 2 inch cathode cylinder you must
drill three holes in the plinth or cathode hub-platform.
You can use a flange top or cone top as you wish. because cone tops are harder to get and cost more, a flange is indicated.
This can be anywhere convenient but it must be at least four inches clear of the high-tension leads and electrical gear (distributor, etc.), and also four inches from the radiator, air-conditioning hoses and fuel lines.
Use an embracing clip or bracket; note that it must be VERY well
insulated. The cell shorts out to the car very easily and it does so INVISIBLY.
In order to prevent shorting, the cell must be insulated from the bracket and
any other metal nearby. The preferred insulators are 3 layers of double
laminated Hessian sacking, (also known as burlap). This material is wrapped
around the cell. Then place a set of three wooden dowels equidistant around the
circumference of the cell and brace the entire assembly in your bracket. The
effect of the dowels is to create an air gap between the cell and the bracket
that further reduces the likelihood of the energy shorting to ground.
Do this as a matter of course before engaging the cell. However, please
note, it can be used as a procedure to normalize a cell if you should fail at
some point to follow the negative first and last rule.
Connect your negative lead to the base of the cell and spark the positive
off the top of the cell with the terminal of your positive lead, four times.
So you have your cell all made and lined up correctly; you have your good water inside it; you have your cell fastened properly in the car; it and your aluminium conduction pipe are all clear of the electrics. The next step is to spark the crankshaft.
The way to do that is to start the engine, then get the negative of your
car battery attached to your cell. Then take the positive lead [of the car
battery] and arc it to the pulley (the exposed bit where you view the timing)
four times. Flash a few sparks along the aluminium conduction pipe for about 3-4
seconds. This makes the engine positive and the energy will go there, and stay
there. If this is not done the energy will escape to ground by jumping across to
whatever is nearby in the engine compartment or it will get absorbed into, or
blocked by, gasket material. This jumping
across and blocking is invisible so you will not know it is happening.
Further research is required to understand this phenomenon.
: THIS PROCEDURE IS DANGEROUS! WHEN DOING THIS KEEP WELL CLEAR OF ALL THE MOVING
PARTS SUCH AS THE FAN BELT ETC.
The pipe should be of aluminium.NB. Copper has the wrong charge. Like the cell itself, it must be at least four inches clear of all the electrical gear in the car. On the end of the conduction pipe, put a snug-fitting sleeve of clear plastic tubing about 4 inches long.
will begin to condition the engine by having the conduction tube fitted to the
vacuum port of the carburetor. To prevent the cell from shorting out dead, leave
a 3/4-inch gap between the end of the conduction pipe and the vacuum port. This
provides a spark gap to the engine. As Joe states, “The negative Earth outside the Joe cell and the tube
are both positively charged, thereby holding potential. The frequencies are able
to travel through any steel quickly and effectively”
Connect the conduction pipe to the vacuum port of the carburetor intake manifold
which is under the carburetor air intake. Remembering to leave that 3/4"
(20mm) spark gap!
positive 12v DC lead to the outside of the cell container. Start the engine and
it will draw the gas/energy in. Allow this to go on for three minutes. Then,
remove the positive lead from the cell and electrically connect it to a
long-handled screw driver. Arc the crank with the screwdriver by just touching
the moving outside rim on the crank.
fly as you zap; do it for just 1 second, equivalent to 4 sparks. Keep clear of
fan belts and other moving parts while you do this. Stop the engine. Disconnect
the fuel line and block it with a suitable bolt. If your fuel pump is
electrically driven, it will obviously have to be disabled.
: THIS PROCEDURE IS DANGEROUS! WHEN DOING THIS KEEP YOUR HANDS AND THE
SCREWDRIVER WELL CLEAR OF ALL THE MOVING PARTS SUCH AS THE FAN BELT ETC.
Note 1 LEAVE ATTACHED ONLY THE NEGATIVE LEAD.
Note 2 Don’t
put an electrical shutoff valve in the fuel line
Now loosen the
bolt securing the distributor place, put a reference mark at its current
position and advance the timing 10 degrees. The engine should still run on the
fuel that is left in the carburetor. The engine will now start to cough. Advance
the distributor to about 30 degrees from where it started. This will equate
to 60 degrees on the crank. Have an assistant turn the key and rev the engine
for you. As the engine continues to cough keep moving the distributor around
until the running of the engine becomes smooth. You will notice a gasping sound
and the engine will slow, nearly to a stop, then it will pick up again, then
slow down. It is wavelike, something like breathing. Don't touch the cell once
you are running. Fine tune the timing. Then fasten your seat belt.
The next step is to attach your conduction pipe to a bolt (sometimes called a
“blind lug”) set into the engine head. The bolt should be located in the
valley of the V of a V form engine, if that is what you have. But
in most situations you will have to attach to a bolt placed wherever you can.
The engine should work right off with only minor changes to timing required.
You are running without petrol!
[Note: Joe no longer attaches the conduction tube to the vacuum inlet of the carburetor connection at any time, but it is suggested here as a way to start the conditioning of the engine. Once the engine is operating well by means of the cell’s attachment through the carburetor, proceed to use the inset bolt as the pathway to the engine.]
# # #
to the reader from Adrian.
1. All the information you find here was provided by
Peter Stevens. My role in the production of this document has been to ask the
questions, take down the answers, reorder the material, and format it. There are
a few places where the information has been quoted verbatim because I did not
fully understand it. I am not an
expert in cell work so please do not ask me questions arising from what you read
here. Many thanks.
Edited by Mary-Sue Haliburton.
Page posted by Sterling
D. Allan Apr. 27, 2006