Recent content by JayW

Oh and another tip: I managed to make a good running small Stirling Engine using a bicycle pump ( a portable mountain bike model designed to clip onto the bike's frame) as a piston. Bicycle pump pistons have low friction and a fair amount of displacement. They also pressurize the engine...

I should note that the power produced per cubic inch of displacement of a simple, atmospheric pressure Sterling engine is very low. The friction in a lawnmower engine is so high that a sterling engine made out of one is likely to not run at all--I know, I tried it once. If you use pressurized...

You might look into using "liquid pistons" in your sterling engine, where columns of water or oil do the compression and expansion of the working gas in the cylinders. Using liquid pistons avoids the need for precision machining. A sort of hybrid approach between a pure mechanical piston and...

Heat transfer calculations can get complicated, but if you need just a ball park estimate your problem can be made simple. The main resistance to heat transfer from your hot room to the pipe will be the interface between the air and the outside surface of the pipe. The thermal resistance of the...