Sterling Engine

[Nick1911]

Does anyone know where I can find plans for a high-quality desktop sterling engine model?  I've seen things that run quite well off even the heat from a cup of coffee.  I'd like to build one, it sounds like a fun lathe project; but I can't seem to find good dimensioned plans with material recomendations.

Thoughts?

[wingnutx]

I know I've seen kits on the web, which were kinda pricy.

[Brad Johnson]

http://www.stirlingengine.com/

Brad

[Gewehr98]

I'll ask my dad when I visit his workshop tomorrow.  It's full of homebuilt Stirling engines, Tesla coils, Van deGraaf generators, crystal radio sets, vacuum tube radios and amplifiers, etc.  It keeps the 75 year-old bird tooling right along, and I've also wanted one of those Stirling engines that runs off the heat of a cup of coffee or a computer monitor/TV.

[zahc]

Here's a related question. I want a commercially available stirling engine. A real one, for doing real work. Like the stirlling engine equivalent of a Briggs and Stratton. Last time I reasearched it I could find not a single example of a practical commercially available stirling engine at any price. What's with that? I have to make my own?

[Sylvilagus Aquaticus]

I've yet to find a readily available 'commercial' Stirling engine. I did have a link to an artice a few years ago regarding an experimental Stirling engine which replaced the conventional Continental/Lycoming type engine in a Cessna 172, IIRC. The result was that it performed much better at all altitudes and temperatures with more torque and less fuel per hour than the opposed multicylinder engine.

Myself, I've considered the possibilities of using a Stirling run by concentrated solar radiation to run a generator set into a battery grid to provide power off the grid. Seems like the Engineering school at UNLV was doing something similar and was able to power the entire engineering building that way with a surplus of energy.

Stirlings are very interesting technology, especially given that it predates internal combustion engies. I'm sure now the technology exists to get the seal life to a reliable point, but there probably isn't enough money in it for development.

Regards,
Rabbit.

[Harold Tuttle]

http://www.emachineshop.com/engine/
New simplified heat engine
by Jim Lewis

This site describes a new engine design having these key benefits:

It demonstrates the principle of heat engines
It is incredibly simple (even for heat engines)
You can built it from scratch
The new design is substantially simpler than a conventional Stirling engine. Until now, ultra simple heat engine designs were generally devices that rocked or vibrated but did not rotate.

http://www.stirlingengine.com/


air powered future?
http://www.engineair.com.au/
http://www.abc.net.au/newinventors/txt/s1072065.htm
http://glumbert.com/media/aircar

the compressed air power source is hardly free though

[DJJ]

Not plans, but available in kit form.

http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_3082519

[Nick1911]

Thanks for the feedback.

The problem I've found with most kits, inculding the ones linked to from here are that they are really expensive.  $139 for a kit?  What could it have in it that could make it cost that much?  ( you'd think it has an aerogel displacer or something!)

Gewehr98 - I'd be great if you could get plans from your dad.  I'd appreciate it.

Harold Tuttle - Cool design.  I'll have to keep that in mind.  I dont know if I want to do that as a first project, but I like it.

My main question is about the seals.  I need seals that have a really low friction, but still seal well.  My originally thought was rubber o-rings, but now i'm thinking more along the lines of polished steel cylinder and teflon seals.

Bearing are also of concern.  Ball bearings?

-Nick