How to Make Stirling Engine - Single Cylinder Tomato Can (Homemade/DIY)

Подписаться 333 тыс.

Просмотров 922 тыс.

50% 1

How to make a Stirling engine using a tomato paste can and other household items. This is a single cylinder design or beta configuration. I start out with an overview of the design and a quick explanation of how the Stirling engine works. Then I go step-by-step through its construction, followed by it running and then some construction tips.
This one uses a balloon instead of a piston. It uses balsa wood for the displacer cylinder, coat hanger wire for the crankshaft along with a paperclip, a thread to connect the displacer to the paperclip, and a wooden flywheel. The connecting rods are attached to the diaphragm using thumbtacks.
To see my bigger Stirling engine for outdoor use, watch "Stirling Engine Explanation, Demos and Experimenting":
• Stirling Engine Explan...
To see my bigger Stirling engine being powered by a Fresnel lens, watch "Stirling Engine Powered by Fresnel Lens/Concentrated Solar Power":
• Stirling Engine Powere...
As far as I can tell, the credit for this design goes to Mr. Saburo Tsucchida, a teacher of Kasukabe technical high school in Japan. I found it on Koichi Hirata's website:
www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/en...
3D animations done using Blender 2.63.
To follow me on Twitter:
#!/RimStarz
rimstar.org

Наука

Опубликовано:

4 окт 2012

Ссылка:

Скачать:

Готовим ссылку...

Добавить в:

Мой плейлист

Посмотреть позже

Комментарии : 635

@lesleykramer7207 5 лет назад

This is the only video explaining the working of Stirling engines, that I understand. Thanks!

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks, Brian. I'm glad my explanation did the trick for you. The keys to my finally understanding it for the video were that the displacer's job is just to move air from/to the hot and cold sides of the cylinder and that the expansion and collapse of the hot and cold air is what moves the diaphragm or piston to drive the crankshaft. Once I got that, it all came together. I look forward to seeing what you come up with. -Steve

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

You're welcome, and cool that you're going to try it! As with any Stirling engine, and as you saw from the video, you'll likely have to play around a big to get it to work the first time, but the result is worth it to see. As for the new format, it works fine for the features I'm using. Some weirdness happened when I was arranging the various list of videos on the main page, but I managed to get it to work.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

The heat and the cold keep it going. When the displacer (see the animation at the start of the video) is up, the air below it is heated. Hot air expands. That causes the diaphragm to move up, which turns the crank shaft and flywheel. The crank shaft, with the help of the momentum of the flywheel, lowers the displacer which forces the hot air to above the displacer. The air at the top cools. Cool air contracts and pulls in the diaphragm which turns the shaft. That lifts the displacer. Repeat.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

You could use multiple individual motors and connect them to multiple alternators, but I think using a single crank shaft is more efficient, though I could be wrong. I'll definitely be making a video of my larger one, if it works out. :) I'm glad you're enjoying my videos. Cheers, Steve

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

It can be hard to get it to work. As I show in the video, I had to make four crank shafts before it worked. I don't understand your question. Which wood are you talking about. The wood I used for the displacer cylinder is balsa wood and it is very light.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks for clarifying. I think thermacole will melt. It gets pretty hot in the can and polystyrene has a low melting point. You could try it though. This particular Stirling engine doesn't run as hot as some others. You could also trying making the cylinder out of steel wool. You just need to shape it into a cylinder. Make sure it's small enough so that air can flow around it when it's in the can, as I show in the video.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks! And you're welcome! I'm going to try adding cooling to the top of the stirling engine's can next. If it works out I'll post a video.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Does it turn fairly easily for one or two rotations when you turn the flywheel by hand? If not then you'll need to either change the length of the connecting rods or reshape the crankshaft. As I showed in my video, I had to make 4 crankshafts before it worked. Or your balloon may be too tight on top. Or you may be applying too much heat.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. Now that you're inspired, let us know how yours goes! :)

@ManualdoMotorStirling 11 лет назад

Very good tutorial! It is always good to have more people dedicated to teaching to make an engine, which until recently was an unknown motor! That also helps to disseminate this model engine. And so most people have one more option to take your questions, to manufacture its own engine. For it is very rewarding we watch our own work in operation. Congratulations on your initiative! Greetings from Brazil, Leandro.

@RimstarOrg 10 лет назад

As I pointed out at 9:05 in the video, the biggest problem I had was getting the crankshaft dimension right. You also need enough heat to get the bottom of the can hot but not too much heat so that you get the top hot too. The bottom needs to be hot and the top needs to stay fairly cool. Also, the crankshaft ends form a fairly straight line with respect to each other.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Have fun! Feel free to leave a comment if you have any problems.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

If you had a Stirling engine and there was no cold side then it wouldn't work. You have to be careful with the Stirling engine in this video to make sure you don't add too much heat. The can is short and too much heat heats the whole can and it stops. You need a hot and a cold side. It's the temperature difference that does the work. That's why people will often add a water cooling system to the cold side of the can. It makes a huge difference. I show that in the video I'm uploading later today.

@RimstarOrg 10 лет назад

One possibility is that you're giving it too much heat. What are you using as the heat source? Also, have the two connecting rods reached their topmost position and are on the way back down when this happens? If they haven't reached their top positions then you may have to make a new crankshaft like I showed I had to do near the end of the video. If the haven't reached their top positions then it could be too much heat. It takes a lot of adjusting to get it working.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

There's far too much to say in a comment, though it does scale up fairly easily. I'd suggest looking in other videos, or webpages or books for plans for larger ones. I have plans to make (and do a video of) a larger one this summer sometime.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

I'm glad you like it. Thanks for the feedback.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks!

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

+uros stefanovic You can try. Styrofoam has a fairly low ignition temperature but it may not get hot enough in the can for that. I've never measured the temperature so I can't say for sure. Some people use steel wool rolled up, in case you're looking for another option. PS There's no Reply button under your comment because of your Google+ settings. - go to your Google+ page, - in the top, right corner click on your thumbnail icon, - in the popup that appears, click on "Settings". - for the 2nd question down "Who can comment on your public posts?" set it to "Anyone".

@blackgraylightgray9416 9 лет назад

RimstarOrg I had been collecting this year a lot of different sized tin/steel cans and I consider making a stirling engine using cans for the displacer and the piston.Can you provide me with some information how to increase the efficiency of the engine,like how high should the cylinder be?

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

BlackGray LightGray I don't have any specific design tip for the length of the displacer cylinder. I just use logic based on my understanding of how it works. How much air can you reasonable expect to heat up when the displace is in the up position. Picking a reasonable amount, you can then determine the height for the displacer cylinder. Once the displacer is made and put in it's container and with a rod connected to the top of the displacer, I move it up and down manually to figure out roughly the dimensions of my crank shaft.

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

BlackGray LightGray Oh, and I determine what to use for the flywheel by trial and error, as I show in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-H1IkVMSBMRg.html

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks for the book info! I'll keep my eye out for it. From what you said and the reviews I just read it sounds like there are story issues but the Stirling engine with glaciers part intrigues me enough.

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

+Noumaan Sayed You can try but I think plywood might be too heavy. Another lightweight alternative is to form steel wool into a cylinder and use that. PS. There is no Reply button for me to use under your comment. - go to your Google+ page, - in the top, right corner click on your thumbnail icon, - in the popup that appears, click on "Settings". In the Settings, the 2nd question down is "Who can comment on your public posts?" You need to have it set to "Anyone".

@noumaansayed3136 9 лет назад

Thanks man!!! I really appreciate it!! Btw wont the air pass through the steel wool?? Shouldnt it be between something solid??

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

Noumaan Sayed No, once you've rolled the steel wool into a cylinder it'll be pretty dense. Also, it's a lot easier for the air to go around it than through it. However, having a small amount of air going through it isn't bad anyway. That way some of the heat gets stored in the steel wool itself and actually helps. It's called a regenerator in that case. Search youtube for "stirling engine steel wool" and you'll see some examples.

@noumaansayed3136 9 лет назад

RimstarOrg Also I am going to use an extremely heavy type pf wood for the flywheel. Will it be okay, or is it supposed to light?

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

Noumaan Sayed If you're making this Stirling engine with a small can like my tomato paste can then heavy wood might be too heavy. Lighter would be better. My 1/2" thick/1 cm thick flywheel was pine, which is a lightweight wood.

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

Noumaan Sayed But you can try it and see how well it works.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

There's too much to answer that in a comment. I plan on doing more Stirling engines in the future, including stronger ones. For now, youtube user leandrojwfolha has some nice small but powerful ones.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks. I'm glad you like them.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

I you run into problems getting your Stirling engine to work, don't hesitate to ask questions here. I'm happy to help, and I know these can be tricky.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Okay, I just added correct English captions to the video. But I also remembered that I got the plans for this Stirling engine from a website. See the description below the video where I give credit to Mr. Saburo Tsucchida and a link to a website with the plans.

@peternolan814 7 лет назад

Magic. Very well done. I'm mechanical too but not at this level. I had to watch the first minute and twenty five seconds of the video many times before I understood how the Stirling engine works but now I get it. Peter Nolan. Ph.D.(physics). Dublin. Ireland

@masterdelrap 9 лет назад

how can i make a small easy gazoline engine?

@nikmuhamadizzat9903 5 лет назад

There is no way unless you have budget

@JustinTopp 5 лет назад

Buy an old string trimmer at a garage sale and clean it up

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

The air expands inside the cylinder when the air gets hot. That expanding air inflates the balloon and turns the crank shaft. When the air is moved to the top of the can, it cools. When it cools, the air contracts or compresses. That deflates the balloon and also turns the crank shaft.

@TheRealDoctorBonkus 8 лет назад

I lovethe speed up parts of the construction. It reminds me of Matthias Wandel.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Glad you like my videos man! Blender 2.5 and newer has an improved interface, but still a lot to learn. I just had a quick look at the daz3d website. Nice! I'll look into it further.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks. I'm glad to hear you found it was clear.

@jeric_synergy8581 7 лет назад

Excellent presentation: remarkably clear and simple. Well done!

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks Leandro. I couldn't agree with you more. Seeing how simple it is to build, others will surely see that they can do it too. Cheers, Steve

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Connecting multiple Stirling engines to the same crank shaft has been done. Look around and you'll find some videos. But people do connect their Stirling engines to small generators. The best ones, large commercial ones, are around 30% efficient and have sunlight focused onto them by large parabolic dishes. Some smaller commercial ones are heated using a gas burner and run generators for produce electricity. I'm making a new, larger one now to try with my Fresnel lens in the next few weeks.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks for the tip about the oil softening the rubber. I searched for the book you mentioned using keywords from what you said but couldn't find it. Sounds interesting. I guess the cold side of the Stirling engines was cooled by the icebergs, clever.

@landonellis6297 8 лет назад

Best stirling engine tutorial I found. Many thanks

@carmelpule6954 6 лет назад

Well, one cannot get any simpler than this when it comes to persuading people that anyone can apply his spare time to make something which may appear simple but in fact the thermodynamics and dynamics in it are so complex, This can be made with even less than the basic tools. The intention here is not to get performance or duration out of the engine, but to get it working using the basic materials anyone can find around any home. Congratulations for the neatness of the structure.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Glad you like it!

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks! Glad you liked it!

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

@cristianursu6504 9 лет назад

Wow, thank you, this is so simple to make ! Thank you very much !

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks man! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

@Mr0tingocni 10 лет назад

Well done video, and you are a great presenter. It was a bit frustrating watching you build this as I'm on my fourth prototype and, before even seeing this video, built the last almost exactly like it, but alas, no luck, ha ha. I even had a whole host of coat hangers built into crankshafts like yours. 5 or 6th's times the charm, I'm sure, lol. Keep up the great work, subscribed.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Yup. I agree. My next one will have a larger can so this will be less of an issue.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

The wood for the piston is balsa wood. It is not heavy. In fact, it is very light weight. It has to be light weight. When the piston is up, it should come very close to the top without touching. When the piston is down, it should come very close to the bottom without touching. It can touch the tops and bottom but it will make noise. When it is up, the bottom of the piston should be only around 5mm or less away from the bottom. That is a rough number, but it seems to work.

@masterdelrap 9 лет назад

can i use gazoline to make the wheels move faster?

@RimstarOrg 9 лет назад

rap RD I guess you can try making a gasoline burner like some people make kerosene burners and use that instead of the candle. I don't know if it would work though, or if it's even safe to do! And if you used a small can like I did in this video then that wouldn't work anyway. That's because the can is too short and there isn't enough distance between the hot and cold ends if you use something hotter than a candle.

@masterdelrap 9 лет назад

im trying to figure out how to.make car engine

@blackgraylightgray9416 9 лет назад

rap RD A car engine is an Internal Combustion Engine and it is a lot different that a stirling engine.You can make a stirling engine run with gasoline but it will not be a 'car engine'.They use different orerating principles.

@FEVERNOVAA 3 года назад

@Douglas Colt no one cares

@sandplanet3686 4 года назад

Just did this with my grandad and it worked, just a few tips tho, when attaching the string to the paperclip, make sure it isn't too tight as this will make it very slow. Also after a while the tin can get so hot that the balloon can almost melt so have replacements ready or move the candle further from the can.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Excellent! I always worry when the vids get this long. And welcome!

@Brians-Easy-Low-Tech-Solutions 11 лет назад

You did great. Nobody else explained it as well as you did. I plan to make 1 psi air for my pallet garden project later in summer with a Stirling engine or fFuidyne pump. (And solar heat to drive it), this is a good primer to get my physics straight. Other people were leaving out steps as far as I could see. Brian

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks, and welcome!

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

No, the crank bends are made to match the height things have to move. The middle bend controls the distance the displacer cylinder moves. The two bends on the side control how far the balloon moves up and down.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

LOL! Yup, very holey, it's been preyed upon on a lot! And thanks, glad to hear my explanation worked.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

You're welcome. Glad I could help.

@mikenaples6148 7 лет назад

Thank you for this. The Stirling engine is really fascinating.

@Ghengis443 9 лет назад

Hey, just wanted to say thanks for the video. I thought it was great!

@armadillozenith 10 лет назад

Very good, very clear, very simple directions - thank you!

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks! It's my pleasure.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks. The instructional part was as fun to do as making the Stirling engine itself.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Glad you like it! It's actually an old design, but I guess it just needed someone to make a video.

@generatorblue 11 лет назад

Thanks to your technical advice, I will be looking for pairs of cylinders with different gaps. It has always been a habit of mine to continuously look for perfect geometric fits between man-made objects. From now on, I will try to document these findings. I cannot tell you which project I will start next. I just know that I will either build a pump or a stirling engine. Right now I have a wooden bobbin in my sight that looks like a small displacer to me. I could be making a mini stirling engine.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

With this stirling engine you could wrap some nylon hose around the top quarter of the can, where the balloon overlaps the can, and put cold water in the hose. Or get a bigger can, cut a round hole in the bottom of it that's the size of the tomato paste can. Push the top part of the tomato paste can into this hole so that the top of the tomato can is sticking up into the larger can. Seal around the hole using J-B weld or maybe silicone caulking, and then put some cold water in the larger can.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

You're welcome. And you're in good company! I very fond of science too!

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

The steel wool idea I mentioned was the only one that came to mind. It's used for this quite a bit.

@RedneckMechanics 10 лет назад

That you very much for uploading this video. Ive watched stirling videos for 2 hours now trying to find one that was well explained to understand actually how it works ( because in my opinion you cant build an engine even if you have the plan if you dont understand how it works) WIth your video ive been able to understand how it works and ive seen a very easy and great way to do it home. Thank you very much and im gonna upload a video of a stirling powered small train soon.:)

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

What is a thermacole?

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks. I hope to make a bigger one this summer and use my fresnel lens and sunlight to provide the heat, same idea.

@dablifenowife4223 7 лет назад

it's taken me so long to find a tutorial thank you

@WORRO 5 лет назад

I'll sound like an old need, but that's amazing to me. Thanks for sharing. Thumb's up video~John

@mw10259 8 лет назад

WOW FINALLY THE SIMPLEST STIRLING ENGINE OUT THERE ,,, THANK YOU FOR THAT

@RimstarOrg 10 лет назад

Rolled up steel wool works well. It's lightweight and can handle the heat. And yes, a coke can will work too.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Hi Brian, Yup, it can be semi-porous, a regenerator as you say. That's quite common and usually improves efficiency. I guess there'd be some point where you can get carried away and end up not moving any air, as you suggest, but the only way I know of to find that point is experimentation. Steel wool in a cylinder is quite common, or just the steel wool if you can make it work without the cylinder.

@ArtOfTheProblem 11 лет назад

I've always wanted to see this

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

But to not leave you too disappointed (:)), see my "Shadow wars/solar site survey Shade Finder tool" video. That was all mine: idea, design and construction, and sense of humor.

@MrNeboff 5 лет назад

God bless you for this video. this has been the best i have seen so far

@SkazaTV 11 лет назад

Cool! Finaly there is simple design(like the ballon trick ;) )

@sayvilletech9135 2 года назад

This is embarrassing but I had heard of a Stirling engine but had no idea of how a heat engine works. Your video is excellent, and certainly informative.

@artnicholson 9 лет назад

Thanks this is excellent Thanks I've also watched your pulley band vid really usefull too.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

I don't know what can't be made with household objects. Sorry to be unable to answer your question. :D

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

They are fun to make. There's some trickiness but if you understand the principles and mechanics then they can be made from very simple parts.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Thanks! But after all that I'm sad to say it's not my design. :( I put credits in the description to the video for Mr. Saburo Tsucchida of Japan, who, as far as I can tell, designed it.

@BrianPicchi 11 лет назад

This was very cool to watch. Subbed.

@arjunsmarth 11 лет назад

thanks for this great experiment. i'll do this for my school project!

@frenlyfire 3 года назад

howd it go ?

@Sumit-dn6ls 11 лет назад

Great demonstration. All that effort to inspire us, hats off !

@abrahamacosta2191 9 лет назад

That was very informative. Thanks

@generatorblue 11 лет назад

I am always hesitant to get into a project that requires new skills. After watching your video, I no longer felt intimidated by the Stirling engine. I know that I will watch the video and then step outside for a couple of hours until I get my first Stirling engine working. Thank you for the feedback about the new format. As you have experienced, when something goes wrong in computer land, nobody knows how long it will take to fix. New is sometimes better!

@nedstar7378 2 года назад

Nice video and good explaining, thanks.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Regarding the heat source, yes and no. :) In my case I'm using a very short can. A better heat source would heat up the whole can. But the top needs to stay cool. So a better heat source would make it stop working. However, if the can were larger then a better heat source would help. Regarding the displacer length, I'm not aware of any formula. Usually people just play around until something works. My can is 83 millimeters inside and my displacer is 50 millimeters.

@TheCuriousSeb 11 лет назад

Great effort! Thank you for sharing.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

You can find balsa wood at hobby stores and craft stores. But really anything very lightweight will work. Some people roll up steel wool. Or you can try making a cylinder out of something.

@souncivilized 8 лет назад

I really enjoy your project videos - thanks for putting them together! What software do you use to edit your videos?

@RimstarOrg 8 лет назад

Thank for watching them! I use Sony Vegas Movie Studio 11 to edit my videos.

@fatimabengoa412 8 лет назад

hey, do you think you could tell me all the calculations of the wooden frame, so i can start cutting wood?

@quintincastro7430 5 лет назад

I also need this but I'm just going to eyeball it

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

Yup, you can collect them and make Stirling engines in New Vegas. :D I've never tried measuring temperatures but due the the small can size with this one, you can't run it much hotter than in this video. Not much hotter and the top part wouldn't be able to cool it fast enough for the second half of the cycle to happen.

@specallez 11 лет назад

Good job. Nice tutorial.

@RimstarOrg 11 лет назад

It depends on why it's breaking. My thread becomes a bit frayed after a while where it goes through the hole in the balloon, but doesn't break. But I can see some threads might break eventually because of that. I suggest trying a stronger thread. You could also try putting a drop of oil at the hole in the balloon to try and prevent the thread from fraying. My thread was nylon. It could also be your thread isn't long enough and is under too much tension when the displacer is at its highest.