Building my own low temperature sterling engine

[Sterlingengine21]

Hello everyone I am new to the fourme. I am building a low temperature sterling engine. I was wondering how do you calculate how far away the flywheel should be from the top plate?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[skypupbob]

You can use the TLAR method ! If it is too close then the connecting rod angle will cause excessive side thrust on the piston, meaning too much friction. If it is too far away, then the connecting rod will be very long and weigh too much. It depends on the stroke, a long stroke needs a longer connecting rod to avoid an excessive rod angle when the crank is in the 90 and 270 degree position.
Back to TLAR, make a drawing of the proposed engine and see if it looks right. As in ,That Looks About Right.
Hope this helps. Bob