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I've heard of people converting gas powered cars to electric. They find a used car that needs a new engine, and replace it with an electric engine and batteries. A small Stirling engine could extend the range of this type of vehicle while maintaining quiet operation and environmental friendliness.Even if the Stirling couldn't produce enough power to keep the car moving by itself it could still run continuously to assist/recharge the batteries and extend range. Also, you could drive across country without worrying about finding a recharge station because you could recharge the batteries by running the Stirling overnight. For short trips in town you just use the batteries and plug into a recharger at home and don't have to use the Stirling at all.I don't know how many of these electric conversions are made in the US each year, and it might be less now that major car companies are coming out with their own electric models. But if you could make a 5-10hp Stirling engine that was plug compatible with existing electric car conversion kits you might have a market for a few thousand units a year. You could use the same engine design for portable power and uninterruptible power supply applications and maybe have a viable market.I almost forgot, another advantage of an auxiliary Stirling engine for an electric car is that most electric cars don't produce enough waste heat to keep the car warm in the winter. They run an electric heater off of the batteries. The Stirling's waste heat could replace this and extend range even further.

How about a Stirling to run the accessories on an engine? By using the exhaust heat and engine coolant to provide the temp differential? The majority of engines on the market nowadays have an alternator/power steering pump and A/C compressor attached to the crank taking away up to 25 gross HP. I think the majority of engine accessories would benefit from a constant RPM source. An aftermarket kit would be usefull to those seeking both economy and High performance. This would serve as a great gateway to greater familiarity and use of Sterlings in the automotive sector.

Just a thought from an interested observer.

I have been playing with an idea of a Stirling design that fits between the engine and transmission of a standard 4 stroke IC engine. It (my design) contains 2 pistons that move around a central axis joined by a connecting rod. It also has 2 'compression valves' that open to allow the piston to pass through. The resulting heat waste passes through a regenerator to the other side of the loop and behind the opposing piston. A differential is surrounding an axel that extends from the crank shaft of the IC engine allowing the two to run independently untill the Stirling is up to effective speed. I rellocated the flywheel to the transmission side of this new combo. The advantages of this design are plentiul. The continuous circular motion is more energy efficient than typical designs, compression heat is stored for later use, and the IC's cooling system is also implemented. With shortened axels and modified engine mounts, this design could be installed on virtually any car. *This idea is entirely mine, please do not steal from me. Legal action WILL be taken (1/26/04)*

Re Tim C
You need to rsearch patent laws. Unike copyrights which are automatic as soon a work is fixed onto a medium. (I.E. written or recorded) Patent rights are only granted to the first person who gets to the patent office with a new technology that hasn't been publicly divulged. What you have done ,unless you have ALREADY applied, is endanger your chance to recieve a patent. You have essentialy failed to protect your idea by publically divugling it, you might not be able to defend your patent rights at all now. And even though you claim your rights in the post, anybody who reads it and then makes a working model could still patent it if they can show that theirs is the FIRST WORKING model.

I live in a rural community and have a septic system for waste. As everyone knows waste produces gas. I would like to know if anyone has experimented with using this gas to burn and run a Stirling engine. This in return could run a generator and make enough power for home useage.
Also I would like to know why Stirling engines are so expensive to build. There is not much material to build it. I guess the cost is why they are not practical.
I would appreciate any feed back.
Thank you
Bernie

Bernie, you've come up with a nice idea which I think with some research can be implemented. I don't know if this is what you mean but a Stirling Engine can be made to run on the heat produced by decaying plants. I'll research more on that and give you as much feedback as I can. But keep this in mind: the Stirling can burn almost anything. Gasoline, kerosene, diesel, vegetable oil, hydrogen, even wood!

is there any further info on using hot gases from the exhaust pipe as a heat source for a Stirling to be used in a vehicle ?

What about a Stirling/electric hybrid? Would that solve the acceleration problem?

Could that same engine be used to charge batteries in a house once it is finised charging the car's battery?

hello to all im from philippines and im very very interested to make engine that is earth friendly and free source of energy, Stirling engine is one of the idea that is very interesting because the source of heat to run the engine can also get from the engine itself by the use of alternator through low voltage electronic heater, but the problem is the power output of the engine not enough power to run a car, why don't we focus on improving the power output of this engine? text me +639194941882

To all designers, engineers and even just tinkerers who think about Stirling engines:

1. Could one build an engine that bears a magnet plunging into and out of an electricity generating coil just in a linear oscillating motion? Conversion to a rotary motion, with flywheels and cankshafts etc., could be bypassed. Of course, the frequency of this oscillation should be rather high - maybe 50Hz or 60Hz or even higher yet.

2. One point to gain or loose overall efficiency is the transfer of heat from the heat source - presumably a fire of sorts - to the engine. How would the burning chamber, as it were, and the heat exchanger optimized?

3. Does it make sense to heat up the driving gas in an extra chamber -separated from the engine proper, i.e. from the pistons and cylinders? Same for cooled down air. Yes, this might complicate the mechanism but it might improve drastically the efficiency and the dynamic behavior of the overall set-up.

These questions pertain to all Stirling engines but are particularly important in an engine that drives a car, I suppose.