Tiny Stirling Engine

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Bogstandard:
Nick,

Sorry, I replied to your post over on HMEM.

I gave a few pointers that might help.

John

sbwhart:
Looking good Nick

Stew

Stilldrillin:
I have to smile, every time I look at this build Nick. :thumbup:

Fiddly diddly parts/ my fumbly fingers.... ::)

I'd have enough remade parts, stored under the duckboards/ in corners/ disappeared entirely, to make a batch quantity! :doh:

Blummin well done! Of course it will run! :clap:

David D

madjackghengis:
Hi Nick, I'm keeping an eye on this one, the tiny ones are the hardest to get running, as the friction and power come closer to each other from opposite directions. With regard to the nylon, your biggest issue is mass, and if you can counter balance the mass of that displacer, the power piston only has to make it change direction, not lift it, so it's a matter of inertia rather than sheer power. If it's too heavy, you can drill many holes in it, and cover them with plastic film glued on. Moving the displacer is necessary, but it is the big energy drain the power piston has to provide for. I keep thinking of a well with two buckets and a rope so you only lift the water and not the weight of the bucket, and thinking about two tiny engines, with their displacers out 180 degrees and with the cranks connected, so all the parts counter balance each other. I'm really hoping you get this little engine running, it ought to, for your dad. :poke: by the way, what is "cold" there? I'm feeling it here, and it's 25 degrees F. :bugeye: On the car, I hope the engine swap goes well for you, and you find a warm day somewheres along the way, I know I don't look forward to engine swaps any more. That engine sounds like it has too many parts for its own good, all in all. mad jack

NickG:
Thanks for the advice John / Madjack - I will have another look around for more suitable displacer material. I think I might have some balsa wood round at dads - can't imagine it machining well!

John mentioned exactly the same over on HMEM. I was planning on putting a counter balance on the flywheel but as you say, this could make the moment of inertia too high - funnily enough I had just sketched the bucket scenario, you also have the power piston which is 90 deg out but that is pretty light. If I can't find anything else easily, skimming a bit off, drilling a load of holes and sealing with some film seems a good idea though.

It is pretty cold here at the moment Madjack, on the odd couple of nights it's been under minus 10 Deg C, apparently -14 Deg C one night! I put the thermometer in my garage the other night and it said 7 though so I doubt if it's been much under 5 in there.

Cheers Stew!

David, surprisingly in this cold, I've managed not to lose anything yet - I put the 2nd little pin in a pin chuck to de-burr after the first nearly went missing though! I cleverly (or so I thought) put all the bits inside the displacer cylinder with the top on so as not to lose them - today I thought I'd take the lid off to admire my work and the bits went everywhere! :bang: Was almost a disaster but managed to find them all - phew! :beer: I really hope I can get it running.

offtopic: On the car engine, that thing just gets stupider by the minute - apparently the problem could have been caused by a slipping crank pulley that drives the camshafts - to which I said, surely there must be a keyway - but no, there are no key ways on the engine, everything is controlled by friction and stretch bolts! So if somebody has torqued the crank pulley bolt wrongly or the bolt is passed it, the whole thing slips, pistons into valves and good by cylinder head! I can get an engine for around £650 but as somebody said, it'd be kind of daft not to have the cambelt done before putting a 2nd hand one in - but that costs about £400 due to 4 specialist locking tools you need - then there's the auxillary belt that drives aircon, alternator, power steering pump, water pump, tensioner etc - it's really just a nightmare. Somebody did point out that because of the model it is, it's prob worth about £500-£700 without an engine so that is an option I'll have to weigh up, just getting rid of it:offtopic:

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