Stirlingengineforum.com

My engines run on sterno cooking fuel...
I have tried candles but no go.

Donnie

Congratulations!! It is a great feeling to get something going after working hard on it!
As for posting the pictures, you might contact the owner of this website to post your pictures.
Thanks for sharing your info.

DonnieB

Hi Brett. In regards to your question about the crank angle, I would like to tell you what I have found and I don't know if it holds for all Strilings or just this one I have. But I just recently completed a vertical tin can engine ( http://boydhouse.com/stirling/ ), having seperate cranks for the d...

Thanks. That is a great idea. I will be checking out Wal-mart tomorrow. I have just about finished my second engine and am using large washers for counter balance, but this sounds much better.

thanks for the information,

Donnie

Hi Cartech,

Thanks for the info. I have been looking on the internet for the weights but so far, all I get are the kind that screw on. Do you have a link where they can be found??

Thanks,
Donnie

Hi Stefan,

I think I will try it. I'll let you know how it comes out.

thanks,

Donnie

Hi Stefan, I was reading your post of Dec 12. You mentioned using steel wool for the displacer, tightly wound on the shaft. I was wondering if you had tried it and how did it work with the tin can engine? I have found one other mention of this on the 'net' and it caught my attention, especially if i...

Using the info here, I decided to try a heavier fly wheel. So I glued 8 1 inch washers around the rim and the engine running at its best speed with a can of sterno, would get about 150 to 180 rpm. I have removed 2 of the washers, and now after warming up, it gets 250 rpm.

DonnieB

Thanks Stefan, for the info. I'll give it a try. The reason for the 120 flashes instead of the 60 is that ac current is a sine wave that swings from a positive voltage to a negative. So, in one cycle, the voltage rises from zero to 120 and back to zero then rises, in the negative direction, to -120 ...

I needed a way to measure the rpm on my Stirling and could not find anything on the internet, so I made my own. If there is an easier way, I am open to suggestions. In the meantime, here is my schematic and a short video. http://www.gtcom.net/~dbarnes/rpm_strobe.htm

DonnieB

Thanks, Stefan. Just what I needed.

Donnie

I have recently constructed my first engine and am 'hooked'. But I was wondering if I have the right size/weight flywheel. How do you determine the size? Thanks for your help.