Has anyone else heard the story about the magic petrol tablet that was supposed to have been invented in Sheffield in the 60's or 70's?

I heard that a man from Sheffield invented a tablet that he put in a car with a tank full of water and then added his tablet and the car ran around an airfield for a day. He then marketed it to the oil companies,and ESSO or BP showed an interest.
Then when he struck a deal,no-one heard any more about the tablet.
When i first heard the tale i thought it was cobblers,but when you think about it,the oil companies would want it swept under the carpet wouldn't they?

It wouldn't be the same bloke who invented the magic water tablet would it?

It was designed to save you having to hump gallons of water around in the desert.

"To produce 1 gallon of crystal clear water, simply place one tablet in a container and dissolve in 1 gallon of water." :loopy:

As an old-un I heard this story some time ago, the invention was a bit more than a tablet, but apparently, it converted water to Hydrogen and oxygen in a gas form, which was then able to be used in a car converted to run on gas, the patent was bought by one of the big oil companies, who then promptly buried it.

Originally posted by little malc
As an old-un I heard this story some time ago, the invention was a bit more than a tablet, but apparently, it converted water to Hydrogen and oxygen in a gas form, which was then able to be used in a car converted to run on gas, the patent was bought by one of the big oil companies, who then promptly buried it.

very strange as my father-in-law once told me a story of a teacher at Motherwell technical college in Scotland who seemingly invented an engine which ran on some sort of water mixture and was 'bought over' by one of the big oil companies. this was in the late 60's. same story rehashed maybe?

I've heard this about a car that runs on water somewhere before. I'm pretty sure it did actually exist, but both the oil companies AND the government (who take about £8 for every £10 you spend on fuel in tax) would no doubt like to keep it quiet.

What time of year did this story come out?
Wouldn't have been early April would it..???

the energy required to split water into hydrogen and oxygen is exactly the same as the energy it produces when it recombines. In a world where things work at 100% effficiency that is.
Since we don't live in that world, some energy is lost (well, not lost, but not useful to us) during the conversion in both directions. So that story is quite patently a load of ballony.
Next we'll be using the perpetual motion machine to drive our horsless carriages.

Has anyone read Ben Elton's political satire 'Gridlock' which deals with the inventor of the first successful non-oil powered engine. Instead of him making a mint, he gets assassinated as there is too much money in oil and it would spoil everything.

Makes you think, eh!

Can't remember too many details, but there was a small motor engineering place towards the bottom end of Walkley, whose name eludes me at the moment, that came up with a way of getting power and performance with minimal fuel consumption, or something along those lines. This was in the early to mid seventies when trouble in the middle east had sent oil prices sky high. The product or system was reviewed in the motoring press at the time and was received very enthusiastically by all concerned until it dissappeared without trace and the firm went back to repairing cars. This may be related to your question, sorry I can't be more specific but it might jog a memory somewhere.

Maybe with the news reports today that petrol will be hitting 93p a litre,someone can dig out the old plans for the 'tablet'and scupper the government/oil compnies.

Don't you get the feeling that this is the kind of thing that brings down governments? Perhaps we can expect some action before the autumn eh?

I the early to mid 80's there was a short documentary film produced for Canadian television called 'Bates Car: Sweet As A Nut' about a British inventor who made a car that ran on.....well....erm.... chicken s**t!

The idea was that this raw material gave off methane gas, which was collected to power the car.

The reason I remember this was that one day I was on a coach trip and where we were having a picnic at the side of the road a TV crew were filming. Then one day during the school holidays a couple of years later this program came on ITV in the morning (long before normal daytime telly) and I was amazed to suddenly see a camera on top of a hill pan around to show our coach and me eating a sandwich!!!!

Apparently the car passed us! But as it only looked like a normal car from the outside I never noticed it. As a small boy I was far too interested in the TV camera!

Over the years there have been many alternative fuelled vehicles. But has been suggested earlier in this thread, our government and the oil companies always manage to ensure they never see the light of day.

there are many different methods to power cars aside from petrol - but then if your car is running on a water based derivative, wheres the profit in that unless the purchase price of the car is topping £70,000 (of which 80% is govt tax!!!)

Many of the big car companies have made engines which run on hydrogen etc (BMW did a world tour with their 12 7-series BMW's running on hydrogen).

Until they can work out a method of how to **** the public with that aswell, looks like petrol/diesel will be the fuel of tomorrow for a long time to come.

Originally posted by uncleheed
Has anyone else heard the story about the magic petrol tablet that was supposed to have been invented in Sheffield in the 60's or 70's?

I heard that a man from Sheffield invented a tablet that he put in a car with a tank full of water and then added his tablet and the car ran around an airfield for a day. He then marketed it to the oil companies,and ESSO or BP showed an interest.
Then when he struck a deal,no-one heard any more about the tablet.
When i first heard the tale i thought it was cobblers,but when you think about it,the oil companies would want it swept under the carpet wouldn't they?
dont know who invented them but i have used them to make my petrol last longer the car i had was an old vauxhall limersin did ten miles to the gallon petrol was short in them days
soon got rid

In the mid 50/s as a teenager i worked at a garage on West St serving petrol one day, I was handed what I thought was sweet popped it into my mouth but quickly spit it out when the customer told me that it was to go in the fuel tank, it was some petrol addiitive peddled at the time.

Originally posted by uncleheed
Has anyone else heard the story about the magic petrol tablet that was supposed to have been invented in Sheffield in the 60's or 70's?

I heard that a man from Sheffield invented a tablet that he put in a car with a tank full of water and then added his tablet and the car ran around an airfield for a day. He then marketed it to the oil companies,and ESSO or BP showed an interest.
Then when he struck a deal,no-one heard any more about the tablet.
When i first heard the tale i thought it was cobblers,but when you think about it,the oil companies would want it swept under the carpet wouldn't they?

i always thought bus drivers were a bit simple:)

Has anyone else heard the story about the magic petrol tablet that was supposed to have been invented in Sheffield in the 60's or 70's?

I heard that a man from Sheffield invented a tablet that he put in a car with a tank full of water and then added his tablet and the car ran around an airfield for a day. He then marketed it to the oil companies,and ESSO or BP showed an interest.
Then when he struck a deal,no-one heard any more about the tablet.
When i first heard the tale i thought it was cobblers,but when you think about it,the oil companies would want it swept under the carpet wouldn't they?
yes i once bought some to put in my petrol
only did ten per gallon it was a big old vauxhall limo spare wheels on the front wings
it would pull house side down

Yes there's been a lot of " inventions '" which produce energy for free. One I remember came from Australia. It was a stainless steel tank which you filled with water and connected two leads to it from your battery which in turn drove a DC motor forever.

Farmers used manure to produce methane gas to power their cars during the war.

I've heard this about a car that runs on water somewhere before. I'm pretty sure it did actually exist, but both the oil companies AND the government (who take about £8 for every £10 you spend on fuel in tax) would no doubt like to keep it quiet.

i did not run on water what you did was have drip fitted on your carb
let it drip in while the car was running

Yes there's been a lot of " inventions '" which produce energy for free. One I remember came from Australia. It was a stainless steel tank which you filled with water and connected two leads to it from your battery which in turn drove a DC motor forever.

Farmers used manure to produce methane gas to power their cars during the war.
yes it was pig manure

During WWII you'd see cars around with gigantic gas bags on the roof, filled with coal gas. Just imagine your friendly passing Messerschmidt 109 having a go with his cannons.

If anybody mentions Whisky powder (just mix with water), I got there first.