BELOIT, Wis. -- The city of Beloit is installing hydrogen boosters on three of its vehicles to try to improve their gas mileage.

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Hydrogen boosters use electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is injected into an internal combustion engine as a supplemental fuel.

The city's Department of Public Works fleet supervisor Dan Lutz said that a hydrogen booster usually increases mileage by 20 percent and often by more than 50 percent.

Lutz built a hydrogen booster for his 2004 Dodge Ram truck about six months ago. He said that the truck's mileage improved from about 11 miles per gallon to nearly 22 miles per gallon after the first 70-mile test trip.

Behind the grill of his truck are two stainless steel canisters that are Lutz's secret to better gas mileage.

"I showed it to my son. He was reading up on it and kind of forced me on it. He said, 'Dad, we have to do this. This is the coolest thing ever,'" Lutz said.

Lutz said he is saving at the gas pump using a home-built hydrogen booster. Using electrolysis, the booster separates water into hydrogen and oxygen and adds the hydrogen to the truck's fuel mixture.

"When you add hydrogen to the air-fuel mixture, it forces the explosion and burns all your fuel. So instead of only using 20 percent of your fuel, you're using 100 percent of your fuel," Lutz said.

Lutz, the lead mechanic for the city of Beloit, said he hopes his personal success carries over to Public Works.

A police car, garbage truck and public works truck are having similar systems installed.

"The fuel budget this year was up something like $400,000 in this year's annual budget. That's not all general operations; it's our utilities and everything. So it's a huge number, and at 20 percent savings, it would be tens of thousands of dollars," said Beloit City Manager Larry N. Arft.

Once operational, the vehicles will be monitored for efficiency and durability. If it works, the boosters might become a part of the Beloit fleet.

"This is all experimental. We're going to see what happens and see if we can't save the city some money," Lutz said.

The city's garbage trucks get three to four miles per gallon, and make hundreds of pickups each run.

Beloit officials said that even an extra mile or two per gallon could make a big difference.

The units being installed on city vehicles are purchased from a company in Oklahoma and cost less than $1,000 each.

If they work how they're supposed to, the city said it hopes to save much more than it's spending.