Coffee Warmer as a Heat Source

[jimlarsen]

How about this for a heat source?
http://www.youtube.com/16strings#p/u/6/MTFfZk7Bg90

This is a video of the Quick and Easy Stirling Engine running on the heat of a coffee cup warmer. It does not run real fast, but it works well. It makes a nice portable demonstration model. I think it would be an interesting challenge to build an engine that incorporated the electric heating element as the bottom plate of the pressure chamber.

[Ian S C]

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 grow, I think it went to 80* C on high (3 temps). Ian S C

[jimlarsen]

These are intended to keep your coffee cup warm. I have two of them. One gets a surface temp of 200 degrees F., the other gets up to about 250 F. Either one will run this particular motor. I am not sure how well they work with coffee. I usually drink my coffee so fast I have never needed a warmer!

[Ian S C]

Are these warmers low voltage,ie for use in the car, or mains powered? Ian S C

[jimlarsen]

The one in the video is 120 V AC.

[Ian S C]

Jim, those are neat little units, I must look out for one. don't get to the city often, and when I do it's hard to find anything since the earthquakes destroyed most of the shopping and business area of Christchurch, I think there would have been less damage if it was a war zone, hundreds of buildings leveled, and mostly cleared away, just a few of the bigger ones that the insurance companies are arguing about, but thy must come down. Whisper tech were in the worst hit area, but got out OK and were working only a week or two after the big quake in Feb. Ian S C