Among some small sterling engines I inherited, there is one I am not sure counts as a stirling. It is smartly finished in chrome and brass and mounted on a wooden plinth. It looks rather like a display piece rather than a working engine. However, it comes with a burner so maybe it is meant to work. Instead of two cylinders, the single main cylinder has a port to the atmosphere with a sliding valve operating it. The flame of the wicked burner is apparently to be positioned next to the port. The principle of operation seems to be that at a point on the stroke, the cylinder sucks in the flame and gets heat that way. Not wishing to spoil the smart appearance unnecessarily I have not tried it yet. What concerns me is that it is difficult enough to get small stirling engines to even run, but this one looks woefully ineffective. My question is does anyone have experience of running one of these devices? Any advice would be welcome. Regards Peter
- posted
17 years ago