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.

Details The 71-year-old cloth merchant studied only till Class 10

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.

Innovation Khandke received award from National Innovation Foundation

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.

Quote Khandke upgraded the 1983-model valve in 2018

"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.

2018 model The 2018 model uses water to boost the engine performance

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.

Quote Percentage of petrol supplied gets reduced: Khandke

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."

Commercial use? Don't have enough resources for commercial sale of valve: Khandke