Tin Can Stirling Engine Plans
Don't throw away that tin can! Built with a soldering iron
and less than $10 worth of parts, the HK-1 runs on
almost any fuel.
Instant Plans $12:
HK-2
Plans not available but it can be built using the same techniques.
HK-3
Solar
Powered Fan
This engine has a complex lever arrangement to
make use of a rubber diaphragm instead of a piston. The blades are very
sharp and dangerous so I have not published the plans.
If you have any homebuilt model engine pictures of your own, please send them in!
HK-1
Plans
by mail:
$12
"Amazingly simple model stirling engine plans! Other stirling engine plans may require you to have access to a machine shop. These engines are easily made from tin cans using a soldering iron and simple hand tools."
Build this excellent teaching aid and science fair project today!
Stirling is the correct spelling, by the way. I used to think they were spelled "sterling engines." (I could probably get away with calling my engines sterling engines because I live near the town of Sterling, Alaska.) Nevertheless, stirling engines are named after their inventor, Robert Stirling.
Some
information sources out there confuse ordinary heat engines with
stirling engines. Stirling engines, unlike other heat
engines, use a regenerator,
which recycles internal energy (heat) many times.
Feel free to browse the illustrations. But the best way to
figure out how stirling engines work is to build one!
How does it work?
View a
larger
animated illustration.
Check out this engine video send in by Larry Hawes.
What I like about Stirling engines:
Double-action piston: It is a true one-stroke engine, since the piston both pushes and pulls, delivering smooth power on every stroke. A car engine, on the other hand, is a 4-stroke (or, in rare cases, a 2-stroke) engine. It only delivers rough, explosive power on every 4th stroke. As a result, car engines wear out much quicker and produce more noise.
Simple design: There are no spark plugs, coils, wire, points, injectors, valves, camshafts, oil sump, pumps, filters, carburetor, mufflers or timing belts/gears to wear out.
Efficiency: With modern designs and materials up to the maximum theoretical thermodynamic efficiency is possible because of the way heat is recycled many times inside the engine instead of used once and thrown away as in conventional engines.
They will run on almost any fuel: You can power this unit with the heat of a candle or concentrated sunlight. Some carefully-built models can even run on the heat from your hand. They will also run on chemical processes that produce cold instead of heat. I was able to run the HK1 at great speed on liquid nitrogen until the oil became hard and brittle (next time I'll use graphite).
Quiet running: At maximum power all you will hear is slight whirring or clanking and only then if your bearings are loose. I've witnessed engines that run totally silent and are even compensated for vibration.
Safety: Stirling engines are probably the safest engine you could work with. They can't explode like steam engines and the models on this page don't really put out enough power to hurt you. I suppose, if you're not careful, you could get sunburn (when setting up a solar engine) or otherwise burn or cut yourself putting it together. Use adult supervision!
Innovative potential: Old-style stirling engines did not perform nearly as well as their internal combustion cousins. Their low power-to-weight and power-to-size ratios made them unreasonable candidates for automotive power plants. There were a few attempts at powering automobiles with stirling engines but consumers wanted more 'pep'. Stirling engines can often take several minutes to warm up & deliver useful power. With space-age materials, however, the stirling engine is freed from these limitations. Stirling HEV's may be the transportation of the future..
Use the PayPal button to order the e-mail plans. To receive the plans immediately, be sure to click the "return to site" link after payment. You can also pay by check on-line.
or send a check for $14 for the printed and mailed 12 page booklet:
Hank Kroll
comptune.com
4200
E. 4th #147
Anchorage, AK 99508
US & CN (800) 854-8517 Toll-free, for your convenience (new provider. we hope it works)
(907) 764-8103
