Stirling Engine

[cabletrayguy]

Andre, you did a very nice job on this motor. Very very cool. You must be a very smart guy! Have you ever tried one of these duel hot plate motors? Thanks again for your professional presentation. Pat

[radziozo12]

hello ! good greeting from poland ! :)

what kind of material the working piston is made?? ( that a little one ) and the bigger too ??

thx for y answers ! :)

[acerkiwi]

Mild steel & polystyrene

[LMF5000]

How do you make an engine run with a low temperature difference as opposed to a large temp. diff.?

[acerkiwi]

Low temp difference engines have a much larger displacer. Aslo the stroke is shorter for the displacer. Changing the materials you could easily up the temp difference to get more power. But then you need to beef up the components to handle the extra loads.

Pressurising the working fluid also boost power out put.

[LMF5000]

thanks for the info... are you some sort of engineer or physicist?

[acerkiwi]

I have a keen interest in engineering and science, jack of all trades master of none.

I studied mechanical engineering at polytech.

Utube is a great medium to teach and learn about all sorts of technologies.

[acerkiwi]

Very light coat of oil

[eKettle]

Your machine is beautiful! Runs perfectily! I'm a mechanical engineer and I don't even know how it works! Could you give me a link on where I can get the basics on Sterling Engines?

Thanks

[LMF5000]

I'm in my first year of studies for becoming a mechanical engineer, and I built one for a school project. Basically, the engine is full of a fixed gas called the working gas. The engine has a "hot end" (in this case the water) and a "cold end" (in this case the air). It works by repeatedly shuttling the gas back and forth between the hot and cold ends (using a "displacer cylinder"). This causes the pressure of the working gas to rise and fall.

[LMF5000]

The power comes from a piston (called the power piston), which has the working gas on one side, and is open to the atmosphere on the other- this piston moves in and out as the pressure of the working gas falls and rises respectively.

[ncbookz]

man you have been missing out in school they do not tell us these things stirling engines were create dby backyard people and phd's dont even address them my degree is in math and minor in ee and i never heard of them i had to find them on my own

[tavert]

Cool engine, looks to run pretty fast. What's the piston made of?

[acerkiwi]

The piston is mild steel, cylinder is stainless steel.The piston is about 0.03mm smaller than the cylinder.

[james9149]

I like the counterweight!

Tim.

[acerkiwi]

Thanks.

Thinking about mounting a magnet to generate electricity.

[LMF5000]

You mean it actually generates power? I built a Stirling engine out of beer cans, and when I run it off a hot plate it turns at 150RPM but produces hardly any power (when I touch the flywheel it stops moving with even the lightest finger pressure)... please reply, I'd love to know how much power it produces...

[acerkiwi]

Hi there, an engine this size would only produce milliwatts of power.

I use small ball bearings on all the shafts, and minimise friction where ever possible.

Accuracy of design and construction makes or breaks this engine.

[LMF5000]

hehe, my engine's connecting rods were made of bent paper clips, and as for bearings it didn't have any! I just cut a beer can's side into two strips, drilled a hole in each one, and threaded the crankshaft through the holes :). Google "SFA Stirling engine project" for the details - I used their plans to make mine.

P.S. I know the engine sounds crude, but to compensate I used ceramic grease on all the moving parts... I guess that helps

[NOBOX7]

grate craftsmenship friend i am totaly in luv with how u balanced the crankshaft,,,is it adjustable as it appears,, the fly weight radius that is

[acerkiwi]

yes you are correct it is easily adjustable.

[acerkiwi]

Thank you , check out my new engine.