Hot air engines

by **oowolf** » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 16:45:45

Is anyone here familiar with these engines. Would it be worth the effort to scrounge one up?
http://www.stirlingengines.org.uk/manuf ... b/sug.html
http://www.stirlingengines.org.uk/manuf ... b/rob.html
http://www.stirlingengines.org.uk/manuf ... /brem.html
http://www.stirlingengines.org.uk/manuf ... c/tre.html
http://www.stirlingengines.org.uk/manuf ... heine.html

by **drew** » Fri 04 Apr 2008, 17:29:47

I've been working on a Stoddard cycle engine for a year or so now, thinking I had invented an improvement to the Stirling. (I just found the patent) As such, I have read an awful lot of stuff on the subject, so I think getting hold of one of those old engines would be really neat.

They are very simply built and quite robust I expect. Just looking briefly, I don't think many on that list are true stirling, but that doesn't matter does it.

Commercially now, there are two manufacturers, one in N.Z., and one in America. As for the old ones, you're looking at probably under 10% efficiency. I say this because Sunpower, a very high tech manufacturer of free piston stirlings gets only 30% efficiency out of their engines. Sunpower has been working on linear alternator free piston stirlings for 30+ years.

Drew