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As a newbie to the world of Stirling engines (I read an article on
them for use with liquid cooled computers), would a model Stirling
engine be capable of generating enough cold to cool a small tank of
fluid (.5-1.0 liters)? Has there been any any commercial company
actually working on this kind of thing (where the cost of such a
system might actually be affordable)? The other articles I have read
have pointed out the lower power consumption (compared to Peltiers),
faster colder temps, low cost and high reliability. I have seen all of
the above points except the lower cost ($290 is as low as I have seen
which I find rather high for trying to use the Stirling in a practical
manner as some of us have limited budgets). I am not an engineering
type but it seems this should have good practical and commercial
potential.

There being a wide variety of model Stirling engines a suitable candidate would have to be selected. A Stirling engine driven by and electric or other mechanical power source would/could cool a small tank of fluid. I would ask why would you want to go to so much trouble to do such job when simpler and more economical soulutions are available? Have you considered how much actual demand would exist for your application? Other considerations such a cold temperature to be attained, amount of fluid, or number of tanks to be cooled in a given time, all would affect the problem and its solution.

Consider the old saw: "Do nothing simply if a way can be found to make it complex and wonderful."

Perhaps you would like to clarify or elucidate on your inquiry .... ?

Hmm. I must have missed this post. Seems as though I have a similar question in mind.

There is no comercially available Stirling coolers for this category of application. The manufacture of said devices are excellent to be used in this manner. Unfortunately at this time developers are trying to recoup their development costs. If the demand comes, people become educated on the benefits, then a production model with a low price will follow. I still can not belive why anyone would still use peltier chips. To get up to the cooling capacity of even a poor Stirling cooler you would need to dump hundreds more watts into it. But I digress. The answer you seek is yes. A properly engineered Stirling cycle cooler could potentially drop temperatures down to -100 C without trying too hard. That is great considering legal refrigerants have a hard time getting things down to -25 C. The trick is in the "properly engineered" part of the equation. That is what I am working on right now. Perhaps (perhapse?) in time (thyme?) if the collective mind of this forum can come up with a capable design then word will spread, this site will go down due to a slashdotting (google it!) and comercially avialable coolers for exactly that purpose will be available for $50. Then again, maybe not.