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Build a Better Stirling Engine


by marshon on June 10, 2010

Table of Contents

Build a Better Stirling Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Intro: Build a Better Stirling Engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 1: Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Step 2: The Pistons and Cylinders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Step 3: Main Chassis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Step 4: The Flywheel and Boss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 5: The Support Pillar and Bearings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 6: The Crankshaft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 7: Final Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
Author:marshon Marshon
Untidy, disorganised and a bit silly.
I am a photographer, artist, body artist, sculptor, prosthetic maker, model engineer, and general idiot who likes making stuff and messing about.

Intro: Build a Better Stirling Engine


Following my experiments with the first LTD Stirling, I decided to try and make a better one. The main problems with the first had been the glued joint leaking air, and
excessive requirements for machining. This one would have soldered joints to prevent the leaks and would have far less machining and could be made with just a drill
press..

The main difference between this one and the first one I made was the diffuser cylinder. This one would use a longer, thinner cylinder with an aluminium piston. I also
decided to use metal where possible on this one and have roller bearings. The diffuser cylinder would be bolted on allowing strip down of the machine and a rubber
gasket to hold the seal.

CLIP

Step 1: Materials
For this engine I used the following materials:

1 length of 22mm (1") copper pipe


1 length of 15mm (1/2") copper pipe
1 22mm copper end cap (not shown)
3 aluminium heatsinks from an old TV (scrapyard)
1 piece of resin stock
Paxolin copper clad PCB board
HDD actuating head arm with bearings and shaft
2.5mm brass tube
1.5mm brass rod (sliding fit)
One marker pen with an aluminium body (not shown)
Part of a plastic 3" pipe or similar (not shown)
The brass centre boss from a defunct CD drive
A short length of 10mm aluminium bar from a scrap printer
A short length of aluminium channel (not shown)
Solder
Glue
Various nuts and bolts rescued from scrap items (not shown)
A small piece of high density rubber (a piece of bicycle inner-tube)
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
4 15mm brass disks (not shown)

The reason for the not shown items is ..... at this point I haven't acquired them yet!

Step 2: The Pistons and Cylinders


The power cylinder on this engine is made from a piece of 15mm copper pipe, 1/2" will do if that's what you have. I cut a 40mm section using a cheap pipe cutter, then
cleaned the ends up with a Dremel to remove any burr and lip at the ends. The bore was polished using a small wire brush in the Dremel, followed by wire wool and very
fine grit wet and dry rolled into a tube.
I then cast the tube using the resin process in my other instructable.
Just a note here. I tried both the resin and some epoxy putty cast internally as per other 'ibles on the site. I found that in both cases the shrinkage (around 5%) made the
piston too loose. Maybe it's the brand I was using.
The resin blank was then sanded down in the drill press and polished for a sliding fit. This gave a piston 13mm in diameter. I cut it down to 13mm in length then cross
drilled 2mm and drilled it out 6mm at one end for the con-rod connection.

I decided to simplify the con-rods for this engine. I went down to the model shop and bought some more 2.5mm tube and some 1.5mm rod. These two can be slid into
each other. The piston connecting rod is 2mm steel from an old printer. To make the connectors I simply crushed 4mm of the tube flat in the vice, then cut it off at 10mm.
Drilled the flat 2mm and slid it on to the piston connecting rod.

The diffuser cylinder is a length of 22mm copper pipe (1" should do). The pipe needs to be cut to length as depending on the length of the piston and the stroke of the
crankshaft.:

The piston must have a gap all around it in the cylinder, the idea is that as the piston moves, air flows around it from one end of the cylinder to the other heating and
cooling as it goes. There should be a gap at the sides of at least a couple of millimetres. I wanted to use a metal piston so that I could use a tea light candle to run the
engine.

I found an aluminium bodied marker pen that was around 16mm across. This left a gap of about 2mm either side when slid into the tube. Ideal. I cut the pen in half and
removed the innerds which were discarded. The plastic end was broken off and cleaned with the Dremel to leave a nice round hole. Then I worked out the length of the
required piston. A guess but I went for 65mm. To make the piston I cut the rear portion down to give the overall dimension I wanted, then I slid a short section of 15mm
plastic plumbing tube into the end a glued it using super-glue gel. The other piece of the pen was then slid onto the other end of the plumb fitting and secured with super-
glue gel. This gave a lightweight air-tight piston. The open end was fitted with an aluminium plug pre-drilled for the con-rod. That completed the diffuser piston.

Now I wanted to be able to strip and re-assemble this engine so as few glued joints as possible. You could use a plain solder end cap on one end of your cylinder, but
because of the soldered bolts I didn't want to disturb with more heating I used a compression fitting. This will become the hot end. Next I sourced 4 brass motherboard
mounting bolts from a scrap yard PC. These come in a number of thread sizes, most common sizes are M3 fine thread or M3 course thread but there are some imperial
ones around. the trick is to find 4 the same (which should be the case if they came from the same PC). Find 4 bolts that fit the threads. These need to be at least 15mm
long. If they are metric you should have no trouble finding bolts. If they are imperial suck it and see.
Cut off the threaded part of the bolt, leaving just the brass 'nut' which should be about 6mm long. We are going to solder these onto the cold end of our cylinder and then
use them to bolt the cylinder to the chassis. If you manage to solder them at exactly 90 degrees each then you don't need to mark the cylinder. I didn't trust my accuracy
so I scribed a top mark so that each time the cylinder is bolted up it will go back in the same place allowing for misalignment of the soldered stand-offs.

I made a simple wooden jig to hold everything in place. i tinned the bolts and one end of the pipe and then used a micro pen torch to solder the bolts on. I tested bolting it
all up before going back to finish the chassis.

With the exception of the con-rods this completes the cylinders and pistons.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
Step 3: Main Chassis
Assembling the main chassis.

This engine differs from the last in that the cool plate will house a separate diffuser and power cylinder one either side. Both will be sealed in their own right and linked by
some tubing.

The chassis is made up of a sandwich of four plates. Two heat-sinks (they had power transistors on them) from a TV I found in the scrap yard. They have pre-drilled
holes in them from the transistor mounts and are identical. This means that I can reverse and screw them together to form a single thick plate with the cooling fins on.

Each cylinder is formed from the copper tubing, the power cylinder is soldered to a Paxolin board that is bolted to the two heat-sinks. The diffuser cylinder will be bolted to
a second Paxolin board and bolted to the chassis via a gasket. This should enable me to seal the two cylinders and then simply link them with some tubing. (I hope).

I cleaned up the two heat-sinks with the Dremel to ensure good mechanical contact between them. I cut and marked out the two Paxolin boards, then drilled the power
cylinder board to bolt to the heat-sink.

The diffuser cylinder board was marked up and drilled for the bearing and the feeder tube, then tacked on with super-glue. The four mounting bolt holes were drilled
through and then the two feeder tubes were soldered into place. The power cylinder was soldered on and the nylon bearing for the diffuser piston glued in.

Finally the feeder tube was connected up. That completes the main chassis assembly

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
Step 4: The Flywheel and Boss
I wanted to make the engine look nice, so I decided to try and make an elegant flywheel.

I had found an old brass centre from a defunct CD or DVD player, then I downloaded a protractor template from the net and marked lines at 0, 120 and 240 degrees to
give three equal spokes. I still had the top ring of a food container I had cut down for my first Stirling, so I used that as the flywheel outer ring. You could cut a ring from 3"
plastic drainpipe instead.

I placed the brass boss onto the protractor with double sided tape and then measured and cut 3 lengths of 1.5mm brass rod from my stock. These were then supported
on some levelling materials and soldered to the centre boss. The outer ring was laid onto the protractor and marked then drilled 1.5mm to accept the spokes. Because
the ring is slightly flexible it was easy to deform it enough to force the spokes through. Once it was all back in shape and trued up on the protractor, the spokes were
super-glued into the ring.

A piece of 10mm aluminium was cut to size and drilled ready to accept the crankshaft. It was then super-glued onto the brass boss.

That completes the flywheel.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
Step 5: The Support Pillar and Bearings
Recognition for the idea for the support pillar and bearings must go to eVolti which was an inspired bit of 'ible.
I decided to use a very similar system, just a bit simpler in execution.

Using the head arm and bearings from the HDD that I got the platters from for my LTD engine, I drilled the shaft 2.5mm to accept the crankshaft. The head had originally
had four read arms, three of these were ground off with the Dremel and all the ancillary coils, wire and the actual heads were removed.

The arm was carefully ground to fit a piece of aluminium channel, then the channel was drilled and the arm bolted to it. A little epoxy glue was added for a really good
strong joint.
The channel was cut 60mm long, but you can set the size to whatever you require.
The bottom of the channel was bolted to the third heat-sink I found in the old TV which had a good 90 degree bend in it. The bend will be bolted to the main chassis plate.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
Step 6: The Crankshaft
The crankshaft consists of a short length of 2.5mm tube. This is passed through the bearing head and carries a flywheel on one side and the cranks on the other.

The cranks are formed from 15mm disks of brass. You could cut these off a piece of brass bar, as I intended to do, but whilst I was in the plumbing section of the
hardware store buying the compression end cap for the diffuser cylinder I came across a pack of four 15mm 'blanking caps' for 79p. These will do the job very well.

I drilled the centres of three of the caps 2.5mm to accept the shaft, then I drilled 1.5mm offset by 5mm from the centre for the crank rods. This will give a stroke of 10mm.

The first disk was slid onto one end of the shaft and soldered in place. The distance between the cylinders (26mm) was marked onto the shaft and the pair of disks for the
second crank were slid on and soldered in place.
The crank rods were slid into the disks, the con-rod connectors slid onto the rods and then the rods were soldered.

Finally the extra metal on the rods and the main shaft of the crank were ground out using the Dremel. The shaft was secured to the bearing using some super-glue gel
and the flywheel fitted.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
Step 7: Final Assembly
I made up a small connector for the diffuser piston, then the con-rods were measured and cut to length. These were then glued into position using super-glue gel.

The engine was tested and adjusted to ensure that everything turns freely, and for balance. The flywheel will need some work to get better balance but the engine should
work.

I need to make a stand so that it can be positioned above a tea light candle but that can wait.

I may get around to posting a video at some stage.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
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marshon Engine. by
Sedgewick17

Comments
45 comments Add Comment

RocketManDave says: Nov 22, 2010. 10:25 AM REPLY


Makes you wonder why computer fans can't be powered by the heat of the processor? Or am I going made here? ;) :P

Geoff56124 says: Feb 24, 2011. 2:59 PM REPLY


Hello Rocket man MSI did develop one but I have searvched all over and never found a n example of it.

See

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/02/29/stirling-engine-moth.html

ARJOON says: Mar 2, 2011. 10:18 PM REPLY


is this http://www.excitris.com/2008/03/01/fan-that-runs-off-heat/ it that you were searching?

RocketManDave says: Feb 25, 2011. 2:22 AM REPLY


Brilliant, although it looks like the offspring of a toilet and a swamp boat. Mmm efficiency.

stormthirst says: Jan 31, 2011. 8:54 AM REPLY


Because electric fans are smaller, and given the cost of copper these days, probably cheaper. It's all about how cheap components are these days. Ever
wonder why the fans in computers are so noisy? Its cos they've got cheap bearings causing the fan to vibrate more.

RocketManDave says: Feb 25, 2011. 2:20 AM REPLY


Fair point, I wasn't looking from a manufacturers POV just considering the possibilities for a mad inventor.

kcbford1 says: Feb 19, 2011. 8:23 PM REPLY


nicely done, i will working on this soon!! Thanks

Egoritz says: Dec 8, 2010. 3:01 PM REPLY


Great Build, I liked your use of the brass blanks on your crankshaft.

Bongmaster says: Jun 14, 2010. 4:12 AM REPLY


nice :)

riverreaper says: Oct 1, 2010. 3:54 AM REPLY


dont smoke threw it youll get pistonitess or wores

Bongmaster says: Oct 1, 2010. 7:21 PM REPLY


XD

its ok havent smoked in many years ;)

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
6raleyh says: Jul 26, 2010. 7:07 AM REPLY
Hi Would you be able to post a video of this model working? Thanks

riverreaper says: Oct 1, 2010. 3:46 AM REPLY


no , sorry grama says if shes going to blow in the tube i cant film her besides i need both hands on the wheel an have to be ready with the Ebrake they
realy full of hot air

marshon says: Aug 2, 2010. 12:28 AM REPLY


There's a link at he top of the page

savaSS says: Aug 1, 2010. 7:02 PM REPLY


Where did you buy the copper clad paxolin. I'm having a very hard time finding it

marshon says: Aug 2, 2010. 12:30 AM REPLY


I had mine in the scrap box. Just use single or double clad PCB board instead. You can get that from RS, Farnell or Maplin.

riverreaper says: Oct 1, 2010. 3:43 AM REPLY


our maplin trees already tapped out

riverreaper says: Oct 1, 2010. 3:40 AM REPLY


so you get your wife to blow in the tube an your car goes ? can you hook up more tubes an get the backseat drivers to realy be back seat drivers?

texhon3 says: Jun 26, 2010. 7:50 AM REPLY


how can you use the power? I almost see a sterling attached to something to do real work..

LinearB says: Sep 2, 2010. 1:58 AM REPLY


Hi. http://www.whispertech.co.nz/main/PRODUCTS/ I was asked to help design a dam / hydroelectric thing, but the fall was insufficient. It flows into a
pond with about a 40 degree temp differential, so i looked at stirling engines. This company claims they've got one that will both power a house and heat
the water. Haven't seen one yet, but it will apparently run off propane.

marshon says: Jun 26, 2010. 4:46 PM REPLY


The two engines I have made so far are purely experimental. Ultimately I intend to make one to run a squirrel cage blower for an aluminium forge, driven
by a heat tap from the forge itself.

Nerdz says: Jun 21, 2010. 8:27 PM REPLY


For those who want some mathematics involved (ie formula) here is a great reference on a forum: http://stirlingengineforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=48

One of the comments mentions a book:

http://www.amazon.com/Stirling-Hot-Air-Engines-Darlington/dp/186126688X

I might look into getting this book. Ive been working on my own version of yours for a while, Ive spent 14 bucks so far (since my last comment anyway).

Hagar1 says: Jun 25, 2010. 3:50 PM REPLY


thnx

Hagar1 says: Jun 18, 2010. 12:12 PM REPLY


I have know the formula to calculate the power for an engine like this. I don't know how it went exacly but it must have been something like this. Anybody that
does know the formula? I know the power ~ ?Temperature³ x volume² x 10^-8 x Cte x ... (or 1/ volume(²)) The power depends on the temp difference, a little
on the volume (altough it could be it was 1/ volume² and then some constants depending on the density of the gas and it's heatcapacity, the stroke and bore
of the engine, how closse the components resemble the perfect adiabatic components of a perfect engine... So does this ring a bell with anywone?

Blackice504 says: Jun 17, 2010. 4:52 AM REPLY


i have been interested in this type of engine since i have seen them however most of the time i have never been able to contact its owner so i ask you what
sort of torque or rpm do you get from this device. Thanks for the great info on how to build and i now understand more on how this type of engine works.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
marshon says: Jun 18, 2010. 4:11 AM REPLY
I'm no engineer, and certainly didn't work anything out using gas flow thermal dynamics. You'd need to ask someone who knows about these things.
However, over the two first experimental engines I have found that (testing them to destruction) the limiting factors are mechanical design, and
temperature (differential). The LTD ran between about 50 RPM and 300 RPM before the temperature started to soften and deform the walls of the
diffuser cylinder (made from a plastic tub). I am working on a glass cylinder to improve this. The metal engine shown here runs between about 200 and
700 RPM but the bearing for the diffuser decided to bind and this bent the crankshaft and the con-rod, so I'm working on improvements here too. The
torque and therefore the power is more dependant on the temperature and the speed at which the air can be heated and cooled effectively. I have no
idea as to the Newton Lbs Ft figure, but for these small engines it would be quite low. Theoretically, these engines could be nearly as powerful as a
steam engine, but that would depend on materials and design. Eventually I'm aiming to build one to drive a squirrel cage fan for a forge.

Bubbler says: Jun 17, 2010. 4:04 PM REPLY


This is a great looking Stirling engine, and you have done a great job. A video would be much appreciated, and perhaps you can enter it onto Boyd's Tin Can
Stirling web site?

atraxrobustus says: Jun 17, 2010. 8:20 AM REPLY


Very cool! I'm thinkin about it. Perhaps have power one or two leds.. Nice Job!!

Nerdz says: Jun 15, 2010. 10:29 AM REPLY


Maybe Im missing something, but your materials list, lists a piece of rubber, yet I dont see it being used. Can the Pistons be Metal? Or do they have to be
epoxy? Im thinking of making one out of a Copper/Aluminium Combo. I have some aluminium tubing (with rod) that I think would work for this. Largest
Diameter tube I have is 13mm. The matching rod is 12mm. I have another tube that is 10mm wide with the rod at 9mm. If i can Im thinking I'll use the Rods
as Pistons and polish them up really well. Luckly their small enough to fit in a drill press chuck. Do both pistons need a small gap between them? Or does the
displacement piston need to be sealed?

marshon says: Jun 15, 2010. 5:53 PM REPLY


I cut the rubber to form a gasket seal between the diffuser piston and the chassis. Theoretically the cylinders and pistons can be made out of anything
that is stable enough to hold a gas tight seal. The diffuser piston needs a gap all around it to allow air to flow past it, it simply moves air between the hot
and cold sides of the cylinder. It should have only a small gap at either end of it's travel. The power piston must be a good seal and a sliding fit, it
transfers the compression of the expanding and contracting gases to the crankshaft and flywheel to create work.

Nerdz says: Jun 15, 2010. 7:32 PM REPLY


So does the Power Piston Cylinder need to be sealed? Are there certain ratios (ie cylinder length with respect to the length of the piston or the
diameter of the flywheel?) for everything?

marshon says: Jun 16, 2010. 12:35 AM REPLY


Yes, the power piston must form a reasonably good seal with it's cylinder. I guessed all the sizes, since theoretically the entire system is a sealed
unit you are simply moving air around in the system. The reality is that different ratios will be more, or less successful so I'm experimenting.with
working roughly on the basis that the diffuser needs to be areound five times the volume of the power piston. However that's not based on any
scientific formulea, just my playing around.

Nerdz says: Jun 16, 2010. 9:01 AM REPLY


Is the purpose of the PCB to thermally isolate the cold and hot side? Why couldnt the clear plastic tubing be copper as well?

marshon says: Jun 16, 2010. 12:05 PM REPLY


The PCB is because that's what I had to hand and enabled simple soldering. The plastic tubing is what I had to hand as well.

leandrop7 says: Jun 15, 2010. 6:33 PM REPLY


Excellent your project, you have some video of him working?

Wesley666 says: Jun 14, 2010. 11:58 AM REPLY


Very nice! For the piston, I have one I made awhile back, I used Epoxy Putty and it woked fine. I had to make two cause I didn't grease the pipe enough to
get it out on the first try, but the second one is amazing. I also had the idea of using copper pipe, but I used some high strength epoxy instead of soldering
mostly cause I had alot of it anyhow, and it can withstand 2000C heat. Cool Instructible! :D

marshon says: Jun 14, 2010. 7:49 PM REPLY


Yes I have seen some nice examples using epoxy putty. I did try using white Milliput but I broke it trying to get it out of the pipe and internally cast resin
shrank too much. I may try it again sometime though.

Wesley666 says: Jun 16, 2010. 4:00 PM REPLY


I used Perma Poxy (TM) Multi - Metal 4 min. Epoxy. I found it didn't shrink, and it has a breaking strength of 3500 PSi, and a temp. range from -40C
to 176C (-40F to 350F) The only thing is since its the metal bond stuff, it bonds to the copper pipe I was using for the cylinder and to cast it like S*$t
to a wool blanket, so it requires alot of oil or Pam cook spray to get it out. I formed it and after about a min started pushing it out, cause it will still
bond to the pipe if you let it cure in the pipe, which is annoying because you have to be careful not to deform it while pressing it out, but I got it on the
first try (Well the second, cause it cured inside the tube on the first). Work fast cause it does harden up in 4 mins! Wait 10mins (For good measure,
and because it can get quite warm), then drill a big hole in it for the connecting rod and another hole in the side for the pin to hold the connecting rod
on, works AMAZINGLY! One thing though is make it longer then it needs to be, because when I pushed it out, the side I was pushing on was a little

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/
deformed, but it was long enough I just cut the weird part off. Hope this helps! BTW, its super cheap! Its like $5 for a stick 10cm long and about an
inch in diameter! Better then anything else I saw at Canadian Tire! Also added a picture of mine...I don't really like the grey color...but its a piston,
color doesn't affect performance! :D

jam BD says: Jun 14, 2010. 9:25 PM REPLY


It's a beautiful machine =) Love copper and brass

iMakeItHappen says: Jun 14, 2010. 5:50 PM REPLY


that is one dusty keyboard!!!!

marshon says: Jun 14, 2010. 7:53 PM REPLY


The product of being too lazy to clean it and doing too many things on one bench I'm afraid.

scraptopower says: Jun 14, 2010. 4:15 PM REPLY


Nice engine! Are you sure about the brass rod and tube sizes? Normally it's 1.59mm and 2.38mm for a sliding fit. I would have thought 1.5 and 2.5 would
have been too loose.

marshon says: Jun 14, 2010. 7:52 PM REPLY


You are completely correct, the brass tube and rod I had in stock could easily be imperial, but they are a sliding fit.

LuminousObject says: Jun 14, 2010. 4:49 PM REPLY


Wow, that looks nice. I'll have to have a go at making one of these.

k-twizel says: Jun 14, 2010. 6:06 AM REPLY


would love to see some video of it running! very well put together... I think I'm going to have to brush on my braising though

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-Better-Stirling-Engine/

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