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soup can steam or sterling engine?
By iFred, Section Homebrewed Electricity Posted on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 07:57:06 AM MST
opinions and ideas needed!

soup can steam or sterling engine?
I like eating soup, as I was cooking the other day, it occurred to me that here was the perfect material to play with...
Would it be practical to convert in a simple manner a small soup can into a steam or sterling engine? If so how much power could you get out of it? And could you also have multi pistons (more cans to increase the power -say 4 or 6 cyclinders?). I would love to hear any ideas or suggestions!

soup can steam or sterling engine? | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial)

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by XRay on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 01:52:33 AM MST
(User Info) http://www.zonnestroomsystemen.nl

You just lighted my light bulb:
Stir you soup with a sterling-pan :)

But a soup can, I don't know.
The cylinder wall is thin, so it can't handle much pressure.

Have fun,
Ray
---------------------
You dont know how little you know.
till you know enought to know that you still know nothing

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by stop4stuff on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 02:16:53 AM MST
(User Info) http://www.stop4stuff.com

Here's some 'starters'...

soda cans; http://www.physics.sfasu.edu/astro/courses/egr112/StirlingEngine/stirling.html

Stirling info & links;
http://jlnlabs.imars.com/html/stirling.htm

Stirling models;
http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/

Steel can model;
http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/english/aki_1.htm

An LTD stirling 'how to build'
http://www.steamengine.com.au/stirling/models/buildme/index.html

Very nice examples of homemade stirlings;
http://www.techsoft.no/holography/stirling_engines_is_facinating_t.htm

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by tinker on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 06:05:46 AM MST
(User Info)

http://www.wonkytoys.com/index.html

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by monte350c on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 07:01:09 AM MST
(User Info)

Hi Fred,

Have a look on Ed's windstuffnow site. He's got the details for a can type stirling on there.

Ted.

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#5)
by windstuffnow (elenz(at)windstuffnow(dot)com) on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 08:12:02 AM MST
(User Info) http://www.windstuffnow.com/main

Those little ones will produce a few watts of power at best. Thinking in the same form as the tin can engines, think a little bigger. Substitute the soup can for a 55 gallon drum. Build it for a low temp, such as solar heated water, and you can use urethane foam for the displacer piston inside the 55 gal drum. The piston needs to be quite large and it has to seal very well. You can use a modified trailer inner tube for the power piston. You'll get 50-100 watts from the machine depending on the solar input. Also, you have to shade the cool side.

Another idea on the power piston would be to use the liquid piston seal... basically a smaller drum filled with water with an even smaller drum turned upside down and submerged attatched to the crank through a walking beam system. The water seal will rob some of the power from friction but its an extreemly simple way to make a very large power piston with a low friction seal.

I've been collecting parts to make one but haven't put it together yet.... Should be a fun project...

.
Have Fun! Windstuff Ed

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#6)
by The Professor on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 09:15:33 AM MST
(User Info)

Several years ago, I made one from a 55gal. drum. I shortened the drum to 6" tall with a gasketed lid held on with a ring. It had a displacer piston made of foam and a power piston made from a truck vaccumm brake booster rubber diaphram. It looked like a low temp differencial sterling only bigger. It acted like it wanted to run but not quite. It would could be hand spun one direction much easier than the other. I think the power piston was to big for the displacer dia. I had hoped it would run on direct solar, with water cooling on the cold side. Later I heated it up gently with a torch. Still, no go. I finally got the foam displacer piston too hot and ruined it.
I had ideas to make one bigger from a round steel live stock tank with a foam displacer pistom and a diaphram power piston to be direct solar heated. Some day maybe.

[ Parent ]

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#7)
by Kwazai (mswayze@truswood.com include otherpower in subject) on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 10:16:42 AM MST
(User Info)

just a thought- but some of the 'open cycle' hot air engines used a counterweighted flywheel to carry them thru the intake stroke. it would expand to the point that the flywheel would kick in to complete the cycle. Manson cycle. I believe I had hit the info on a "Wastewatts" page.
L8r
Mike

[ Parent ]

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#8)
by windstuffnow (elenz(at)windstuffnow(dot)com) on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 11:54:41 AM MST
(User Info) http://www.windstuffnow.com/main

It's been a long time since I studied the stirling but I remember the displacer chamber should be no less than 1.5 x the power piston displacement. This would actually give you a compression stroke and would require some force to get it through this phase. A heavier flywheel may have done the trick. Some of the smaller models I've built, especially the low temp unit used a much larger difference because of the expansion value. It takes alot more air expanding at low temp to make up the difference so you may end up needing a 10 to 1 ratio to make it work. The extreemly low power units, like the ones that run of the heat of your hand or ice require a balance on the flywheel to help carry it through the compression stroke. It's more of an "imbalance" where the power stroke has enough power to lift it and the weight will push it through the compression. The power piston needs to have a seal that is tight but not to the extent it creates alot of friction. A good test is to seal off the bottom of the cylinder drop the piston in the cylinder and it should take a minimum of 30 seconds to reach the bottom. It shouldn't "stick" at any point in the cylinder and should be a smooth decent from top to bottom. There shouldn't be any binding from linkages, pistons, slides etc. As well, all the parts have to seal extreemly well, any air leak will destroy its ability to run or cause a low power problem. An engine that is poorly sealed will tend to serge as it runs or not run at all.

Most all of the models I've built ran to some degree with the exception of the alpha. I've built 3 of the alpha's and have yet to see one run. The gamma and beta's are the simplest to build ( gamma engine being the one most likely to run even with some flaws ).

.
Have Fun! Windstuff Ed
[ Parent ]

Re: soup can steam or sterling engine? (3.00 / 0) (#9)
by The Professor on Mon Jan 16th, 2006 at 05:34:14 PM MST
(User Info)

My first one was from plans in Live Steam magazine half a lifetime ago. A table fan model, worked good. In the junk yard I got a house gas meter. Inside is a v twin rubber bellows arangement. Some day I might try makeing it into a sterling model engine.

[ Parent ]

soup can steam or sterling engine? | 9 comments (9 topical, 0 editorial)

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