Stirling Engine

[mindsweeper]

Hi all, 

I have been buzzing about the forum / TPU threads for ages now. Sort of started off down the renewable branch just lately and it's quite interesting.

So much so I just got my hands on a stirling engine and it's quite an amazing little thing. I can get it running nice and slow on 3C differential between 26C and 29C, it makes about 40RPM.

Just wondering what figures other stirling engine owners are getting with their engines.

Sweep,

[joegatt]

I haven't actually measured the RPM on the one I built myself, but you can see it running here at:

http://www.youtube.com/v/i81RPxuTNO8

..and you can see it starting at
http://www.youtube.com/v/eUbMZZ_KtyA

If I can manage to build a rotary stirling engine I bet it will run a lot faster.

Regards
Joseph

[resonanceman]

I haven't actually measured the RPM on the one I built myself, but you can see it running here at:

http://www.youtube.com/v/i81RPxuTNO8

..and you can see it starting at
http://www.youtube.com/v/eUbMZZ_KtyA

If I can manage to build a rotary stirling engine I bet it will run a lot faster.

Regards
Joseph


Joseph    are you  still here?

I was looking at  the picture of your  sterling.
Do  you still have it ?


I have an idea


gary 

[joegatt]

Hi Gary.

I had an idea myself, regarding this engine. It occurred to me that the displacer shaft lacked lubrication, and when that was taken care of, it went considerably faster. Pity we didn't film that. It is dismantled now, the meccano bits having been handed back to the kids.

This design makes a good demonstrator, but I am not really fond of it. I would like to build an engine with more pistons and less linkages, like an FCDA alpha stirling, with a swash plate, or with a wobble yoke.  I am currently working on a design with a rotary displacer. I thought it would be easier to build than one with multiple pistons. But in the end, the ease of construction of the humble linear piston may prove me wrong. I mean, look at what the people from cyclonepower.com have come up with!  And, irrespective of what happens on the industrial front, for the home constructor, ease of fabrication is always an issue.

Anyway, if you have some new idea, I would still like to hear about it.

Regards
Joseph.

[resonanceman]

Hi Gary.

I had an idea myself, regarding this engine. It occurred to me that the displacer shaft lacked lubrication, and when that was taken care of, it went considerably faster. Pity we didn't film that. It is dismantled now, the meccano bits having been handed back to the kids.

This design makes a good demonstrator, but I am not really fond of it. I would like to build an engine with more pistons and less linkages, like an FCDA alpha stirling, with a swash plate, or with a wobble yoke.  I am currently working on a design with a rotary displacer. I thought it would be easier to build than one with multiple pistons. But in the end, the ease of construction of the humble linear piston may prove me wrong. I mean, look at what the people from cyclonepower.com have come up with!  And, irrespective of what happens on the industrial front, for the home constructor, ease of fabrication is always an issue.

Anyway, if you have some new idea, I would still like to hear about it.

Regards
Joseph.

Joseph

I  was hoping that you still thad the sterling in the picture .

I have been  doing  alot of thnking about water as fuel  in the HHO   section.
one thing that   is growing  clear is   an electric  arc  in water  releses LOTS of energy.

One of the main  problems    with  sterlings is  they are  external  combustion      getting  the   heat in and out is  always a big problem .
Now  it looks like  a couple of  electrodes  and  some  very basic electronics  and you can set up  an arc inside  of a sterling engine and  possably  create alot of  power  .
Sterlings  can  be over 90% efficient .........I  think   electric  arcs in  water are  over  unity ....so there is some   very  real possibilities there .

I  thought from the  picture that  your  sterling would  be perfect  to test  this  idea



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As far as a rotary  sterling .
Think  of a  ring  of  pistons  in a  circle ......  with  the  crankshaft  in the center .
If  you  have  2  rings  of  pistons like that  ............connected side by side ........so  they share  one  crankshaft ...

Then all  you need is the  duct work to connect them.
pick a piston and  go 90 degrees   one way or the other ......that is  the  other  half of that  pair
You can  have as many pairs  of pistons  as you care to make ..........just  make sure that  there is always  90 degrees in between .

As long as you have one cylinder  flollowing  another  by 90 degrees you have a  sterling .



one   ring   of  pistons  will  be  hot ........one cold

I think  I would make  the cylinders  stationary ........like a radial airplane  engine .



gary