Person
Pritchard, Edward (Ted) (1930 - 2007)
- Born
- 26 August 1930
Caulfield, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 16 August 2007
Kew, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Educator, Engineer and Inventor
Summary
Ted Pritchard devoted his career to promoting the environmental benefits of steam-power over internal combustion engines. In 1964 his company Pritchard Steam Power Pty Ltd retrofitted a 1963 Ford Falcon with a steam engine of his own design. In 1978 he produced, with funding from the Victorian government, an advanced Pritchard Steam Engine. Although several car manufacturing companies showed interest in his designs, he was not able to secure a backer for his steam engine.
In 2007 he completed the design of his final engine the S5000 (steam five kilowatts) designed to burn low-grade solid fuel, such as coconut husks or straw, and produce steam, heat, electricity, distil water, or drive anything with a belt. He passed away before the prototype was finished.
For many years, Pritchard also lectured at RMIT in mechanical engineering and thermodynamics.
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Published resources
Journal Articles
- Institution of Engineers Australia, 'And Now Full Steam Ahead [Pritchard Steam Car]', The Chartered Engineer Victoria (1977), 8. Details
Newspaper Articles
- McCann, Michael, 'All steamed-up to drive home his power point', The Age (2007), 16. Details
Resources
- Wikidata, http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q41750983. Details
- Bowen, Tyson, The Australian-designed car built to steamroll the establishment, drive.com.au, 14 August 2022, https://www.drive.com.au/caradvice/the-australian-designed-car-built-to-steamroll-the-establishment/. Details
- 'Pritchard, Edward (19300826-20070816)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1514339. Details
Rebecca Rigby; Ken McInnes
Created: 31 August 2012, Last modified: 15 March 2023