Stirlingengineforum.com

jim, I don't know much about coffee machines, but I have heard of people using them as a boiler for a small steam engine. I think that is a different machine, is the one you are talking about an electric heating pad sort of thing? One I saw was a pad for putting under a flower pot to make plants gro...

Was going to put it here, but have not worked out how. There is a rough sketch in my gallery of a simple way to make an accurate crankshaft. Clamp the two bits of metal for the crank cheeks, and drill as one. The important thing is not to cut the main shaft until the loktite is well set. Just ensure...

In some of the old engines, and most modern small atmospheric ones the long displacer serves as a regenerator. In the Robinson engine the displacer was shorter and fatter than most, and it was filled with a matrix of wire to work as a moving regenerator. Some have made similar regenerators with stee...

Your reference to glue is for attaching the rod to the displacer disc, most glues seem to disolve the foam, so I attached mine by putting the rod through the disc with an aluminium washer both sides. There is a thread on the rod, and a nut top and bottom, the rod on my motor is 1.5 mm dia for a 6&qu...

Arrowbond, I read somewere on the net that solar panel electricity has caused more deaths during instalation than any other energy producing methods, ie., people falling off roofs etc. I'm still a beleaver in PV, and Stirling electricity generation. Ian S C

I'm not too sure the exact type of motor your's is, is it a single cylinder concentric, (BETA), or a twin cylinder (GAMMA), displacer type, or a two piston ALPHA motor. The first two are actually the same, just a rearraingment of cylinders, these the volume is 1.5 : 1 either by adjusting the stroke ...

For the hot end, if I need to braze it I use brass, either swarfe from the lathe, if I get a brass that comes of in long strips (its usually fine little chips), or .5 mm brass wire. The brass takes a bit more heat, but LPG is ok if you have a big enough burner. When you get the balance of expansion ...

You proberbly should start with a very light spring, you only just want to close the valve, and have little resistance to it opening. One motor in "Model Engineer" had a valve in the piston that I think was mechanicly opened. I think the motor may have been electricaly heated if that helps...

You'l proberbly find that it will go with a flick if you just leave it 4 or 5 miniutes. I think it may start, and run with more power if the diameter of the flywheel was increased say about 1" and theinner diameter thinned, and some holes drilled (spokes), the weight toward the hub is of no use...

Hi Brian, The ratio of the two strokes is 1.5 : 1, displacer to power, one of the main problems you may have is friction caused by tight or miss alined bearings, or an air leak, possibly in the displacer. For the initial run try without the pump hooked up, if you use the water from the pump for cool...

Thats unfortunate about the crankshaft. Instead of loosening the bearings, would it not be better to either adjust the crankshaft, or make a new one. What are you using for fuel, it seems to have a fairly yellow flame. Meths gives a good blue flame, yellow tends to leave a carbon deposit on anything...

Don't worry about the sound, I have the same problem, the camera really needs a separate microphone, or some way of adjusting the volume. A nice runner. Ian S C

Don't think I'v heard of a snifter valve in the piston of a pressurised motor, I,v read of its use in atmospheric motors with mixed success. The nearest i'v had is the use of leather cup seals on cold pistons. One motor has a teflon cup seal, I hav'nt tried, but I suspect it would improove if I remo...

Yep, thats OK. When I build, I design on the go, no drawings, can be a bit difficult when someone wants some details. Ian S C

It wont take too much work to smooth out the running, on the new flywheel go for diameter rather than weight. Ian S C