Ideas for Stirling Engine for heating pump

At a demo here:

BugBear

More obvious still would be gravity feed. This requires thoughtful layout of pipes but no pump at all.

Is that possible ? Are the rads above the fire ?

-adrian

Done this way "in the old days"

Took very careful layout, and large bore pipes.

BugBear

Good idea, but as far as I am aware ( please correct me if wrong ) all "stirling" etc engines are not self-starting, which would make it a real difficulty in integrating this sort of thing- I agree with other previous posts, that the thermo-syphon route would be the best, but awkward to arrange.

design or

inbetween.

IIRC the Norwegians are using a Sterling engine in an ultra quiet submarine, and I very much doubt that the Captain hand cranks it to get going !

AWEM

Self starting Sterling engines are also being used in domestic micro CHP boilers such as this one:

The demo engines you tend to see around are usually not self-starting. But there is nothing, in principle, which prevents a twin cylinder engine being self-starting.

Awkward, radiators about same height as the fire, fair size horizontal runs, and standard bore pipework already in place. Fire also about same height as hot water cylinder (and 8 to 10m of horizontal pipe away), so thermo-syphon might be hard work for that use.

Not easy, or at least not easy with my understanding of gravity feeds. If it were possible, I'd use it as its simpler.

The fire and rads are about the same heights. Horizontal runs are >4m and >8m. The hot water cylinder (on the gas fired system at present) is over 10m away horizontally, and on the same floor. I'd rather not have to rip out lots of pipes.

- Nigel

Just had a look at that. I am not that well up on hot-air engines, but the configuration of this thing seems dashed clever to me. Four double acting cylinders, phased at 90 degrees, arranged around a nutating doodah, each with a hot end and a cold end, cold end of one connected through a regenerator to hot end of next, so there is no separation of power and displacer cylinders. I could almost want to make one.

Here's an even cleverer one, it only has two moving parts that oscillate, is completely sealed and maintenance free, and appears to lock to the grid by it's very nature:

I did not think Stirling engines where self starting. Having to have a starter would complicate things..

Regards Jonathan

See other thread where I deal with this misunderstanding; It depends on the detail of the specific engine design, but an expansion cycle engine can be self starting (eg. high pressure steam, low pressure steam, stirling, etc). Self starting is often achieved by having multiple cylinders running out of phase. Compression-expansion engines (eg. petrol, diesel, etc), require starters to get over the initial compression phase.

- Nigel (been away, so late reply).

and also sunmachine this link about... ( in French )

:D

and also sunmachine :) this link about... ( in French )