Search found 16 matches

by Brent
Thu Jul 04, 2013 9:54 am
Forum: Model Stirling Engines
Topic: Alpha Rinbom Engine?
Replies: 3
Views: 44535

Re: Alpha Rinbom Engine?

The good thing about Ringbom's is that because of the way that air pressure moves the displacer you can get a squarer wave. On the other hand the air pressure used to make the wave square could have pushed on a piston, so it's a loss mechanism (unrestrained expansion of a gas). Also they have to run...
by Brent
Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:28 am
Forum: Power-producing Stirling Engines
Topic: Generate power from Outdoor Wood Furnace
Replies: 5
Views: 67098

Re: Generate power from Outdoor Wood Furnace

I think a low tech Stirling engine integrated with an outdoor wood furnace is perhaps one of the best applications of Stirling engines that I know of. The power from the Stirling engine could be used to power the water pumps or air fans needed to make this a complete working system, thus totally eli...
by Brent
Mon Oct 15, 2012 11:20 am
Forum: Waste Heat
Topic: power for a house
Replies: 19
Views: 255472

Re: power for a house

I think one of the most promising forms of Stirling engines would be micro Stirling engines. Tiny pressurized engines could be built with 1" or 2" diameter fresnel lenses. I think the solar guys are right to focus on dollars per watt as the figure of merit. These micro engines could be ver...
by Brent
Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:53 am
Forum: Stirling Engines for Education
Topic: An Engine for Students to Take Apart and Build Again
Replies: 0
Views: 73183

An Engine for Students to Take Apart and Build Again

We have had several requests for a Stirling engine for schools where one class could build it then take it apart, then have the next class also be able to do the same thing. Right now we are actively working on an engine like this. The purpose of this post is to get feedback from teachers on what yo...
by Brent
Mon Sep 24, 2012 10:25 am
Forum: Model Stirling Engines
Topic: Heat sources for model Stirling engines
Replies: 3
Views: 33043

Re: Heat sources for model Stirling engines

If you want an very elegant solution I would get a "thin film heater and regulate it with a rheostat. Here's a Google image search so you know what they look like. Or search Google images for thin film heaters. http://www.google.com/search?q=thin+film+heaters&hl=en&client=safari&rls...
by Brent
Fri Feb 06, 2009 9:21 pm
Forum: Power-producing Stirling Engines
Topic: Practical Use
Replies: 7
Views: 28217

Response to Practical Use

<t>Thanks to everyone for their very thoughtful posts. People often ask the same question this way:<br/> <br/> Why don't "They" develop a Stirling engine to power my house? My first answer is that there is no "They". There is only you and me, and the other guy down the street.<br/> <br/> I don't kno...
by Brent
Mon Feb 19, 2007 8:14 am
Forum: Power-producing Stirling Engines
Topic: V6 to Stirling
Replies: 1
Views: 8012

Response to V6 to Stirling

<t>This is not a good idea. You will waste a lot of time and effort and your engine will either run poorly or not at all. You have to make too many compromises with this approach. A lot of very talented people have tried this.<br/> <br/> <br/> Start your engine building adventures by building an eng...
by Brent
Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:24 pm
Forum: Power-producing Stirling Engines
Topic: are there plans out there for a full scale power producing engine?
Replies: 4
Views: 15557

Response to are there plans out there for a full scale power producing engine?

<t>We sell a book on how Mr. Lockwood built a 5 Hp Stirling engine. It's not quite a plans book but we are hoping to encourage people to give it a try. There are lots of drawings and photos in the book so it should turn this into a rewarding but somewhat large project.<br/> <br/> <br/> If you aren't...
by Brent
Tue Feb 06, 2007 2:36 pm
Forum: Stirling Engines for Education
Topic: Are there any articles about using Stirling engines in elementary school classrooms? Yes!
Replies: 0
Views: 8728

Are there any articles about using Stirling engines in elementary school classrooms? Yes!

<r>Here is the text of an article by Kathleen C. Rende from the Yale <br/> University-New Haven, CT Teachers' Initiative. The link is:<br/> <br/> <URL url="http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/2004/4/04.04.08.x.html"><LINK_TEXT text="http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/un ... .08.x.html">http...
by Brent
Sat Jan 20, 2007 12:49 pm
Forum: Model Stirling Engines
Topic: Has anyone seen one of these? (thermoacoustic Stirling)
Replies: 3
Views: 13988

Response to Has anyone seen one of these? (thermoacoustic Stirling)

There is an important Stirling engine book that you definitely need to buy and read. It's titled Thermoacoustics by G.W. Swift.


Buy a copy here Thermoacoustics by Swift.


Or read a review under the power producing forum. Review of Thermoacoustics by Swift.