Stirlingengineforum.com

Have you seen a Ferrofluid Piston? It makes a low friction seal, but it may not work in a large motor. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21WzdjqAG0s

How true. But then you would miss all the other great resources on that page. ;-)

Many are not aware that The Stirling Engine Design Manual is available for a free download from NASA in pdf format. I have posted a link on my website that will let you download the file from NASA. You will find it near the bottom of this page: https://sites.google.com/site/stirlingbuilder/stirling-...

There is a list of my favorite Stirling Engine links here:

http://sites.google.com/site/stirlingbu ... ling-links

I have a paint can stirling engine on my website. You might find it helpful. Http://StirlingBuilder.com.

Paint cans will work but they are not ideal. The material is so thin that they flex with the pressure changes.

My website has some links to some video on YouTube that shows the engine running.

Wikipedia has a nice short description of how a regenerator works. You can find the article here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine

Jim Larsen
http://stirlingbuilder.com

Wow. That would be worth buying just for the parts.

I use a non-contact infrared thermometer to measure surface temperatures on the engine. I have not measured pressures. You might be able to glean a little info by reading about this engine: http://stirlingengine.com/product/29 You can see my non-scientific temperature reading at the end of this shor...

I am in agreement with you. But this debate has occurred here before. You will find opinions on both sides of this issue. I have had an airtight displacer burst inside a pop-can engine. It made a loud bang when it went off. But the engine still runs even with the now fractured displacer. If you want...

You would not be the first to power a boat with a Stirling engine. If you do a Google search for "Caloric Ship" you will find one of the earliest attempts to power a large ship with a Stirling engine. The power of your Stirling comes from the expansion and contraction of your working fluid...

It looks great. I followed a similar path as you. My first was Stirling engine was made with pop cans, and my second was made with junk I got at the Thrift Store.

Jim Larsen
http://StirlingBuilder.com

Are you putting ice on the top? The first Stirling engine I built was from the SFA web site. I recall it took some tweaking to get it to run. Ice helps by increasing the temperature differential. Friction can be an issue, as can the timing, and the balance of the flywheel. I concur with what Junkie ...

It looks like an idea that should work. JB Weld Epoxy can withstand high temperature. You might consider getting some if that is how you plan to make the joint. If you read through the Boyd plans you will see he has some alternative methods for making that joint that don't involve glue.

Ian, I agree with you. Under extreme conditions you can't use something like aluminum. I have encountered this before. I was speaking under the assumption that we were talking about a can engine, not anything like the engines you describe. When the temperatures get very high, all materials must adap...

Ian, There seem to be several issues here. When you talk about keeping the hot side hot and the cold side cool, I assume you are talking about the pressure chamber, not the displacer piston. Yes, the pressure chamber needs to be able to maintain a temperature differential. And the conductivity of th...