low temp Stirling help
Posted: Sat Feb 28, 2009 9:26 am
Hello guys, i have recently completed building in my own low temp
Stirling from scratch. I am a complete beginner and havent read
anything on how to make one but i understand them pretty well. my
problem is my engine doesnt run very well at all and i need some
pointers as to why. i have got it to run twice on a mug of boiling
water but it ran very slowly around 20-30 rpm and it only lasted a few
minutes if that, it kind if looked like it was struggling. now i cant
seem to get it running again
my engine is made from a 100mm diameter acrylic tube 15mm deep
sandwiched by two aluminum plates.the rest of the engine is made from
brass. the power cylinder is around 11.6 mm diameter and have a
accetal piston that i am confident is a very nice free running fit. in
fact the whole thing i am very confident that is is sealed and
airtight. the displacer piston is made from 3mm thick foam board and
is offset of the crank accordingly. the power piston is offset off the
crank by around 4.5mm. this came from the only piece of info i had
from somewhere that said the volumes of the power cylinder sound be
100 times smaller than the main chamber, is this correct?.
the flywheel is around 95mm diameter and runs off good bearings, as
does the rods that connect the pistons to the crank. the only thing
that i haven't done properly yet is balance the whole thing, the
weight of the displacer piston is basically balanced but the weight of
the power piston is not at all and the flywheel my be off slightly.
one thing i noticed looking at pictures on the internet of other
models the displacer looks thicker than mine foe around the same sive
chamber, is this important?
i would appreciate any hints and tips and will try to get photos and
maybe a movie once i get it running ok. thanks in advance.
one thing i noticed
Stirling from scratch. I am a complete beginner and havent read
anything on how to make one but i understand them pretty well. my
problem is my engine doesnt run very well at all and i need some
pointers as to why. i have got it to run twice on a mug of boiling
water but it ran very slowly around 20-30 rpm and it only lasted a few
minutes if that, it kind if looked like it was struggling. now i cant
seem to get it running again
my engine is made from a 100mm diameter acrylic tube 15mm deep
sandwiched by two aluminum plates.the rest of the engine is made from
brass. the power cylinder is around 11.6 mm diameter and have a
accetal piston that i am confident is a very nice free running fit. in
fact the whole thing i am very confident that is is sealed and
airtight. the displacer piston is made from 3mm thick foam board and
is offset of the crank accordingly. the power piston is offset off the
crank by around 4.5mm. this came from the only piece of info i had
from somewhere that said the volumes of the power cylinder sound be
100 times smaller than the main chamber, is this correct?.
the flywheel is around 95mm diameter and runs off good bearings, as
does the rods that connect the pistons to the crank. the only thing
that i haven't done properly yet is balance the whole thing, the
weight of the displacer piston is basically balanced but the weight of
the power piston is not at all and the flywheel my be off slightly.
one thing i noticed looking at pictures on the internet of other
models the displacer looks thicker than mine foe around the same sive
chamber, is this important?
i would appreciate any hints and tips and will try to get photos and
maybe a movie once i get it running ok. thanks in advance.
one thing i noticed