The sterling engine absorb energy from candles
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Explore Community Submit The Stirling Engine, absorb energy from candles, coffee, and more! by thecheatscalc on December 17, 2007 Table of Contents intro: The Stirling Engine, absorb energy from candles, coffee, and more! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 step 1: materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 step 2: Cut CD tower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 step 3: Cut displacer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 step 4: Cut aluminum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 step 5: drill n' glue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 step 6: Casting and more gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 step 7: Bending bending and more gluing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 step 8: even more gluing and crankshafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 step 9: More glue?!??!? some hacking, and a side of drilling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 step 10: Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 step 11: Tune . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 step 12: How it works: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Video . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Customized Instructable T-shirts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ intro: The Stirling Engine, absorb energy from candles, coffee, and more! There's energy all around us that's just waiting to be tapped into. Whether it's hot coffee on a cold day, light from the sun, scented candles, waste heat from electronics there's power to be had! How about we turn it into useful power? Step in the sterling engine. Ever put a tightly filled balloon in the freezer, then come back and see it largely shrunken? Once you bring it back out into a warm room it expands again. Now what if we could use that expanding and contracting for moving a piston and you've got the general idea. If you heat the air, it expands, if you cool it it contracts. It's a very simple idea, for a very simple engine. let's get building! here' s the video of the build and the engine working! Video Image Notes 1. Here's V2 of the Stirling engine. I built this one just for the movie. However, it's not very much different from the previous engine, only real differences being a hard drive platter for a flywheel, a larger displacer (probably harmful to the running, should be like said in the instructions) and painted posts for the crankshaft. http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ Image Notes 1. the powersource Image Notes 1. image property of wikipedia step 1: materials Required tools: hacksaw utility knife drill plyers (long nose) wire cutters drill bits 1/16, 5/32, 1/2-3/4 drawing compass ruler Materials: CD and case / large plastic jar lid 10x5 inch piece of steel or aluminum two 5x5 pieces are fine, needs to have some thickness CD tower (or even better) a LARGE 5 inch wide glass bottle. (see picture) EPOXY (JB weld/ JB kwik AND regular, cheap epoxy. If it says non shrink, don't get it!) wire (welding rod is preferred, Stainless steel is best) 1/16 inch stainless or 1/8 steel - MUST BE SMOOTH and straight! http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ 7 inches of PVC pipe Foam board (5x10 inches or more, two 5x5 pieces are fine) 3/4" copper pipe oil (optional) hotglue and glue gun fan weights Image Notes 1. various parts and pieces step 2: Cut CD tower This step is pretty easy, measure an inch from the top of where you'll make the cut and mark. With the CD case I'd suggest filling it with CD's up to the point where you're making the mark, take it slow, and use that as a guideline for drawing all the way around. Now, for a really nice pretty cut, I used a drill press and a cut off wheel and was able to make a very level cut just by spinning the case (see pictures) HOWEVER, this isn't needed, a saw will work just fine, that's why you need to make sure you mark level all the way around the case. It helps a LOT. Also, cut the top off last, it'll provide support and make it a LOT easier to cut. Image Notes 1. measure! Image Notes 1. line drawn http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ Image Notes 1. first insicion Image Notes 1. incision complete! Image Notes 1. Now for the top Image Notes 1. All done! step 3: Cut displacer This is pretty easy, pull out your foam board and compass. Using the top cut from the CD tower, span the compass from the middle to a fourth of an inch from the edge (2.25" to be exact). Draw two circles on the foam board (make sure to mark the middles!) and cut out. I'd suggest cutting the two circles roughly then use a jigsaw or the like to finish the cut smoothly. If you don't have one, the scissors will work fine. Stack the two circles, then, using matching electrical tape, tape them together around the circumference. If you want you could glue them together, and it's not going to cause a problem. http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ step 4: Cut aluminum Pull out the CD tower top again, or use your compass and draw two non-overlapping 5 inch circles. Use your hacksaw, take it slow, and slowly round out the circle. It doesn't need to be perfect, and mine wasn't for sure, but it always helps. Image Notes 1. take it slow, one corner at a time http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ step 5: drill n' glue Here's where problems can creep up if done wrong, they're not critical just EXTREMELY annoying. Using your small drill bit (the one that matches the rod you're using, in this case 1/16") drill in the CENTER of one of the plates (whichever will be the top plate) Stick the rod through and make sure it's a nice SMOOTH fit. If it doesn't seem to fit do three things: 1- run the bit through the hole again to make sure it's clear 2- file/sand down the edge of the wire to make sure it's not de-formed and causing the problem 3- if it just doesn't fit, try wiggling the plate around a bit to widen the hole. Once that's fine, cut an inch of either pipe or 1" C stock, or angle stock (I used angle stock) This is because, in order to maintain efficiencies, we need to be as air tight as possible, yet smooth. If you were wiggling the wire around, you may have noticed that it tends to "stick" when at any angle. We need to keep it perpendicular, and that's what we'll do. Anyways, secondly, cut a small square (or circle) of metal from the scraps you cut off while making the plates. Drill a hole in the center of it (as seen in the first picture) Move the piece of angle stock or whatever so it "centers" around the hole. Glue down with epoxy. Poke the wire through the hole and the small square, make sure it still slides smoothly, and glue down. As the epoxy cures, periodically check to make sure it still moves freely and adjust if necessary. (if worst comes to worst and the wire "freezes" up, re-drill the top hole with the next sized bit. Avoid if possible) Finally, near the edge, (see picture 4 & 5 ) drill a 1/2"-3/4" inch hole. As long as the pipe you're using for the cylinder doesn't fall through it, you'll be ok. Make it as big as possible though! http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ step 6: Casting and more gluing Here's where we cast a piston. I've tried nearly everything under the sun I could find. Nothing. Without machining something, you're left with very FEW options of what to use for a piston. Now, if you don't want to worry about this, you could go to www.airpot.com and buy a piston/cylinder (or a dashpot w/ some slight modifications) and use that. They've got excellent machined graphite pistons running in Pyrex tubes But, if you're just the average person who doesn't feel like ordering anything, we'll just cast one. So, break out the epoxy (this is the non-nonshrink stuff) 1- cut around one inch of copper pipe with a hacksaw. (sorry about the pictures, I used a huge piece, I meant to use an inch of pipe) 2- using the utility knife, trim the inside edge of the pipe. DO NOT USE SANDPAPER. this is to smooth it for when we push the cast piston out. 3- clean out the inside of the pipe until it's nice and shiny. Use Windex to help. 4- wrap the base of the piece with plastic film (saran wrap) 5- oil the inside of the pipe, regular spray on cooking oil is fine. 6- warm up your epoxy, we want it nice and runny. 7- mix enough to fill a half inch of the pipe or so. 8- wait 9- once cured, remove the saran wrap and the cast piston should push right out. It may need some force, but it'll come. 10- take some wire (about an inch) and bend the end into a hook like seen in picture nine 11- drill a hole in the piston and glue the wire piece in. While you're waiting for the piston to cure, pull out the JB weld or kwik and glue the plastic piece of the CD tower you cut to the bottom aluminum plate. This is the one that hasn't been drilled into. *for more advanced builders* you might want to try using a glass cutter and cutting a pyrex cylinder from a test tube instead of a copper pipe. ***WARNING*** I'd like to note that for the BEST piston results: 1- do not mix the epoxy in the cylinder. The oil seems to contaminate the mix and keep it from hardening. mix on wax paper or saran wrap. 2- Do NOT use 1 minute epoxy. Avoid 5 minute epoxy as well. I tried one minute epoxy and it got really hot in the tube. The problem comes when it cools then severely contracts, leaving TOO much of a gap. It's thermal expansion, plain and simple. This needs to be avoided. Warm should be ok. Hot is not. http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ Image Notes 1. nice clean edges Image Notes 1. preheating [...]... plyers 5- roll the wire and make sure it still matches AFTER the bending 6- make second bend 90 degrees from the other along the length of the wire 8- roll wire to make sure it's still flat after bending Bend slightly until it's straight again http://www.instructables.com/id /The- Sterling- Engine- absorb- energy- from- candles- c/ http://www.instructables.com/id /The- Sterling- Engine- absorb- energy- from- candles- c/... of the hook and mark 3- cut at 2.5 inches from the base of the hook 4- bend at a 90 degree angle at mark 5- bend a bit of the end to keep hooks from sliding off (see pictures) 6- repeat 7- use epoxy and glue the hooks shut as usual http://www.instructables.com/id /The- Sterling- Engine- absorb- energy- from- candles- c/ step 8: even more gluing and crankshafts Cut another section of pipe (needs to be from the. .. it yet 3- the moment of truth, does it work??? try different heat sources, hot water, candle, tea candle tin filled with alcohol Obviously don't melt the plastic with too much heat Turn the shaft and see what happens One way should be significantly easier then the other, this is the way your engine runs http://www.instructables.com/id /The- Sterling- Engine- absorb- energy- from- candles- c/ After the metal... got pictures mainly of the first) As a note, they can be bent in a trapiziodial shape rather then being rectangles Also, the two cams need to be 90 degrees out of phase from each other (if one is sitting flat on the paper, the other should be standing straight up) 1- measure distances of where the two cams need to go (where the rods for the displacer and piston are) 2- mark them down on a sheet of... glue the hook closed Go ahead and do the hook on the piston while you're at it 1- lay the top plate on top of the bottom piece (which has been already glued) so the small hole overhangs 2- put the piece of wire through so only the hook is showing on the top side 3- mark with sharpie or permanent marker 4- cut Now, onto the other two hooks 1- bend a hook on the piece of wire 2- measure two inches from the. .. that one just in case it need to be tweaked Finally epoxy a piece right behind the copper pipe It should line up with the pipe and the displacer rod DO NOT GLUE THE OTHER PIECE IN YET! http://www.instructables.com/id /The- Sterling- Engine- absorb- energy- from- candles- c/ Image Notes 1 toothpick heads to help the piece glue in the right position Image Notes 1 oil 2 displacer lever arm 3 Displacer rod 4 Camshaft...http://www.instructables.com/id /The- Sterling- Engine- absorb- energy- from- candles- c/ step 7: Bending bending and more gluing Here's a KEY part of this project bent wires To start, take the wire and bend another hook (get used to it, we'll be doing a bunch of hooks) Go ahead and cut it at about 5 inches Sand down the end (file, grind, whatever, make sure it fits through the hole in the aluminum plate) Then, pull out the JB... plate 11 Displacer http://www.instructables.com/id /The- Sterling- Engine- absorb- energy- from- candles- c/ step 12: How it works: Here's how it works (see first "picture") first, either most the air is in the hot, or it is in the cold side, the flywheel makes sure this is the case 1-air is forced into hot side (for sake of example) usually by someone spinning the flywheel 2-air expands and pushes piston outward... that out Other possible probs could be the hole in the top plate that the displacer shaft runs through, if it's not a tight enough fit the expanding air will escape there as well If it's close, try a light spray of oil to help seal it up The other possibility is the connecting rod ends Without the blobs of epoxy in the hooks there will be too much slop in all the linkages If you check out the photos... take all the rods with hooks and drill a 3/32 (or a hole one size up from the size of your wire) hole in each blob of epoxy where the hook is Try not to hit the hook when drilling 2- stick the long rod for the displacer through the little hole again 3- poke through (or drill then poke through) the center of the displacer and epoxy I'd be a good idea to make sure it's on GOOD It's a REAL pain in the butt . going to cause a problem. http://www.instructables.com/id /The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ http://www.instructables.com/id /The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ step. not. http://www.instructables.com/id /The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ Image Notes 1. nice clean edges Image Notes 1. preheating http://www.instructables.com/id /The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ http://www.instructables.com/id /The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ step. it's straight again. http://www.instructables.com/id /The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ http://www.instructables.com/id /The-Sterling-Engine-absorb-energy-from-candles-c/ step