It's funny because he still likely pays them over £1000 per year for that 'service'... Sorry TM, I know you're a good guy and it's your money to do whatever you like with, but it did seem slightly illogical of you to make that comment! People always seem to joke about how bad and/or pointless Sky are, but never seem concerned about sending them big piles of cash year after year.
dan_tm ikr it's pretty funny to me, came up against that issue and thought it was rather odd living like the be all, and being from Ireland it's even more perplexing
I live in the states and got that joke. I do watch a lot of British telly. Waiting for the next series of Still Game. Too bad The Doc stories do not seem too interesting to me any longer. (I mean Doctor Who not Doc Martin.)
5:09 I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the screws for the pillars are always plastic, regardless of what color base you have. Apparently it's so the metal pillars don't transfer heat between the plates and lower engine efficiency.
A little of the expanded or contracted air flows around the sides of the large diameter displacer, and that helps the smaller diameter piston to move in in its cooler or hotter cylinder. So the air flowing from each side of the displacer is working on both sides of it to keep the displacer oscillating. The pistons are 90° out of phase with the displacers, and the momentum of the flywheel allows the cycle to continue. That's why most Stirling engines are not self-starting. The Stirling is a beautiful example of a simple heat flow engine.
Provided that the engine is properly airtight and has a low level of friction/backlash it won't take much energy just to keep it running. As these toy engines are rarely under any load, it means that only very little expansion/contraction of the air is needed to keep them running -in fact not even as much as the cylinder takes up is required. All that matters for the engine to be able to extract energy, is that the pressure is a little lower on the down stroke than it is on the upstroke (or the oposite, depending on which directing the engine turns), and that you have a flywheel that is big enough to overcome a potential compression phase, so it can regain that energy when the air expands in the next stroke. You can think of it a bit like a swing, you may not need to push very hard on each cycle, in fact you may not add enough energy to push the person on the swing all the way to the top of the arc, but as long as you just put in a little energy in each cycle it will accumulate to a lot larger swing, when the rest of the energy is just being conserved but flowing back and forth between two states. For the swing it is changing between kinetic and potential energy in the form of height and speed, and likewse in the Stirling engine it is flowing between potential energy and kinetic energy but here it is in the form of pressure and speed.
We need more people like this, doesn't overlay with music, explains things with some seasoning on top, and actualy communicates with the people ofc with a bit of seasoning. Amazingly done, good quality. And ive seen worse fingers.
If anyone has an issue with Techmoan's fingers there is a fix. Take your finger and press the computer's power button until your screen turns black. Do not press power button again. Also if you want to make yourself a better person take your right or left hand which ever is the strongest one for you. From that hand stick your thumb out and curl your fingers. Then wrap your thumb around your curled fingers. Extend that arm in front of you until you can no longer stretch. Then take that your curled fingers and connect with your face as fast and hard as you can. If you still have a problem with his fingers please repeat the previous steps.
This is a great company. So much better than the $25-30 china version. True precision work. They operated at a much lower temperature differential and runs for extremely long times. (This is also how I found Techmoan while doing research on these engines!) Shipped assembled from overseas with (UK) with a glass display bell and base without any damage. These can operate at room-temperature (No hot water) with 3 chilled stainless steel "whisky stones" on the top plate.
@techmoan really :o) I mean How Could You? Using you own fingers on a uTube video, instead of some kind of robot or salon-perfect hand model (Like Linus, for a while now -lol) Anyway, quite right. Your unkempt fingers are completely unsuitable for brief appearances on video of any sort.. and must be removed ;oP In case there are any American's reading, this is #Sarcasm - ironically many of them seem not to understand that either.. xx Rj
Because of this video, I got my Stirling engine out and run it after 3 years because of a crack in the glass in the side of the engine that I thought was going to make it stop working, but it didn't! The crack wasn't wide enough to warrant pressure loss. It still works like it always did. I love your videos! Keep it up!
I bought the KS90 Solar about 5 years ago, it's been running 24/7 on a dimmed 10 watt incandescent lamp for the last 3 years. The bearings get an occasional wash in mentholated spirit every now and then, and a drop of 3-in-1 oil on the power piston rod where it goes through the brass bush.
Your voice is the best music; your fingers are the best actors. I first bought a Kontax kit about ten years ago. Later gave it to a friend. Today I have two: an old solar and a 1.5 year old Ross linkage. One or the other is always running on a wafer thin, small reptile heating pad. Desktop ornaments rock and roll. Thanks for your work! Or is that, play? Either way, you have endless friends in your fans, best TH-camr ever. The tiny clicking noise of any Kontax engine is caused by the free play of the con rod at the power piston. A tiny dab of flexible goo, such as childrens school glue, will kill the click and slightly strengthen the running by removal of lost motion. Apply with a toothpick.
So happy to see one of the Kontax kits getting some exposure. I have a single chamber model that I purchased 5 or 6 years ago, and it has been happily spinning away using the waste heat from my wi-fi router. The only maintenance is a dusting and light oil once a year. It's one of my favorite curiosities.
I purchased the single cylinder copper model. Had a fun time putting it together. If you are a nerd, like me, you will love the precision of the machining and tiny bearings.
Techmoan never uses music, but it's always an excellent idea to thank TH-camrs with unboxing and/or reviewing videos without music. Even if they never used music ever on their videos! So, here is one thanking Techmoan once again for not using annoying music! ;)
I built a similar sort of engine for the final assessment for the thermodynamics course of my electronic engineering diploma. didn't necessarily have to write a essay to demonstrate an understanding. very nice kit, but I was a starving student. i used a cd spindle lid, some aluminium plate, PVC pipe, and lots of epoxy. the power pistion (small one) was cast from epoxy, and was a nightmare getting it free of bubbles. had to make pretty much everything a few times to get everything perfect enough to run (there really isnt much energy here), but incredibly satisfying. obviously got full marks for that one
For those that complain, you can be sure they'll find something to do it about. Great video, great project. I always wanted something like this sitting on a desk or shelf... Still working on the getting a desk or shelf.
Stirling engines are such fascinating creations, how they take so little energy and turn it into so much momentum, and can run for as long as that temperature differential exists, they're great... :D
The thing is that they turn a very small amount of energy into a very small amount of momentum. Yes, they are interesting and look cool but they produce only the tiniest amount of power, which is why they have almost never been used for anything in the real world.
I know Stirling engines have found some limited use in the past and may even be used to this day for very specialised applications but it seems to be a common misunderstanding that they produce almost free power because it takes only a small temperature difference to make the flywheel turn. Unfortunately, as soon as you put any load on them, they pretty much stop. This is the same with the nodding bird novelty toy that you have probably all seen. It looks impressive that the bird can keep going apparently powered by nothing more than a glass of water. Unfortunately, the power produced, just like one of these Stirling engines, is absolutely minuscule.
You cannot say anything about the power production of Stirling, because it depends on the construction and environmental conditions. There are big generators based on Stirlings that exist and operate, they look similar to reflective satelite antenna and Stirling is placed in the focus point of it. The efficiency per square meter is much higher than the photovoltaic systems and the construction doesn't need rare earth materials. So far they're just more expensive because of the precise mechanics, much like in standard sombustion engines, and they are not mass produced. But I can see that eventually they could got cheaper and potentialy replaced the existing PV cells.
This engine is not perpetual motion of course but I like it 'cause it takes advantage of wasted energy and/or existing elements that provide for temperature gradients. Thanks for posting. Good on ya mate.
I read from wikapedia about the third made working sterling engine ever made James Sterling made it for a foundry, as a water pump. The engine worked, only 40 rpm, but apparently had amazing power, with a 12 inch wide cylinder bore! It had 700,000 pounds of pressure and was a wapping 21 horsepower engine! The first Stirling engine made was used for a quarry until unfortunately became overheated.
Brilliant vid, Mat! Really enjoyed! Don't listen to the negative Nancies! You let them know they bother you when you mention their bad comments. This your channel and if they don't like it, they can find another. I think you do a great job and any errors or negatives I might see I keep to meself. Why? You're a decent human being and deserve the benefit of the doubt! Keep doing it well, Mat! Peace, love, and respect! *Disclaimer: this is my opinion alone and I take responsibilty for it. I invite civil discourse but please, no derogatory comments from the peanut gallery. If you cannot say something nice or constructive, please skip replying to my comments. DBAD. Thank you.*
Jay Newton -Insert poorly thought out insult here.- For real though... These videos just make me happy. The negative viewers are something else. I just don't understand the arrogant commentators. Much respect.
I'm sorry I got the grammar wrong, Anvilshock. I'll correct. In the meantime, perhaps you'll like my disclaimer since you missed it the first time. I have also blocked you from commenting further. Have a nice day! *Disclaimer: this is my opinion alone and I take responsibilty for it. I invite civil discourse but please, no derogatory comments from the peanut gallery. If you cannot say something nice or constructive, please skip replying to my comments. DBAD. Thank you.*
Don't let them get to you people are just afraid of work so much that they don't like working hands! Keep up the good work man love watching all this old stuff and I like how you work on it not afraid to get down and dirty.
this video was enjoyable. thank you for giving us the cream of the process and for the high production values you place on your work. ALSO there is a submarine that uses a sterling engine and its one of the most quite and stealthy subs i know of :)
Stirling engines have always fascinated me. I always wanted to get one of those old Stirling engine fans that runs off a candle that they used to sell before electricity was widespread, but they are rare and expensive.
The kit could have added an output gear or used a magnetic flywheel. The gear wouldn’t hurt the balance of the engine when used as a demonstration piece, but another gear can be meshed against the output gear to extract some mechanical work from the engine. Magnetic flywheel does not disturb the balance either, being an alternative material for the piece, but by placing a coil next to the magnetic flywheel you extract some electric work since it becomes an alternator. Given the efficiency of modern electronics, this Stirling engine might have enough output to power a quartz clock, through a small rectifier and a coil next to the magnetic flywheel.
You can tell this kit is definitely from the UK when their first unit of measurement to tell you how hot is hot enough to operate the machine is a cup of hot tea. Cool video, Stirling engines fascinate me and I did not expect to see something like this here. Don't be bothered by the complaints people make about the state your hands are in, mine aren't much better and I'm quite a bit younger than you. Working on things for years upon years tears your hands, simple as that.
I used to be grossed out by TH-camrs fingers all the time. Then I had a good look at my own on a camera in a similar setting. People who do work with their hands simply get such fingers. Nothing wrong with it. I see you even have a badge of honour in this one!
I like that you dont blast your vids with a ton of music during these build vids you make. Makes for a nice chill video to watch before bed :) (P.S. your hands look fine)
Nothing wrong with those fingers. I had a mate who once had his fingers mistaken for a cooked sausage at a barbeque; they were honestly that scarred and discoloured!
BigClive, Locklab, even Clint from LGR and what's his name The 8-Bit guy all have slightly destressed fingers, and I don't mind, it reminds me that these are, in fact, normal, everyday people, not super stars and models!
I got the KS90 from aliexpress for my grandpa as a christmas gift, but frankly he stepped on it. I then got a proper beefy one costing like $100 and it's legit all metal and best of all grandpa proof ;D
I’ve been watching these videos for years and can honestly say I’ve spent more time hearing Techmoan talking about people complaining than I have reading comments from people complaining! Seriously does he delete all the negative comments? I never see any of them!
I'm pretty late to this comments section, but I have the 1 cylinder ross yoke one in black and it also has the plastic screws. I'm pretty sure it's to thermally insulate the top and bottom plates to increase the temperature differential.
I don't know who watches how to videos just to look at peoples hands under HD definition, but it is proof of your experience. Those others are just watchers not doers, and they are looking at the wrong shit, when they watch a how to video and only focus on peoples hands. I watch your video and never looked at your hands once, until you had us focus on it, but i looked at the reason i came here, Stirling engine.
Wow.. thank you so much for sharing your experience.... I'm a Stirling engine nut...and this cutie in kit form is on my 2020 Christmas list..... thanks again. Kind regards Dave...
what? you need access to the internet to get the instructions for this thing? hidden costs. guess it’s time i open up that old america online cd-rom i have laying around somewhere.
I bought one of those eBay cheapies - a single cylinder one with a flywheel resembling yours - for about $20. No bearings, but a few tiny drops of synthetic oil does the business. Runs great on a cuppa tea. I even tried a couple of ice cubes on the top plate and that worked too. Not as attractive as yours, but one could enter the Stirling engine club for a lot less!
Your hands are the hands of a working man. Hold them up with pride. Or buy working hands hand rub so they can be taken care of better. I think "gloves in a bottle" is an alternative in your location.
I wouldn't want to assemble some acrylic/glass/polished kit with lotion all over my hands. Talk about fingerprints. Just get some nitrile gloves and solve both problems, even if one of them wasn't worth considering. But really, as someone who works with a lot of solvents, I've learned my lesson after having cracking, bleeding hands and paper-thin thumbnails. Wearing gloves allows you to avoid solvents and it keeps your hands clean of any oil/dirt/grease/etc. Cleaner hands = less aggressive soap requirements. It's done more for me so far than lotion.
Dream Services International the creams are for after you work not during. They also aren't supposed to be protecting your hands just help to make them heal faster.
Yeah, I know that. I mean, I have a tub of the same stuff you recommended. The 'two birds with one stone' comment was more of an obliquely comedic stab at whoever the hell thought his hands were unsightly. I bring up solvent exposure because he mentioned alcohol. If gloves or other ppe can help prevent skin damage in the first place, I think it's worth it. Lotion won't fix your hands after scouring parts in MEK & toluene -- well maybe it'll help, but it's still going to suck until your fingernails grow out completely. I know not all work scenarios are the same. Labor outdoors in the weather gets hard on the hands and wearing waterproof gloves tends to cause as many problems as it fixes. My general recommendation is that prevention is a good thing to seek when possible. There's no reason to not use both.
Well done job on the vid, good pacing and narration. I also respect the way you showed your errors in the construction, and the humor behind the whole process. BTW, personally I can't imagine anyone having so little of a life that they would complain about your hands or fingers, which looked fine to me. Very nice device when completed. Thanks for sharing!
Nothing wrong with your fingers and hands. Thanks for taking the time to make the video. Really love stirling engines and would love to get one some day.
Ehhh, for 140+ pounds, I'd say... perhaps include a paper manual? I don't get the same assembly feel when I have instructions on my ipad, maybe it's just me.
I live in kangaroo island, getting anything of "craftsmanship" or "precision" would mean paying as much postage as the item is worth unfortunately :( One day when I go travelling, I'd get a local made one. For the one in this video, I'd personally print the instructions out and bind it!
Hands of a working man! I love watching you assembling stuff... It inspires me on my Let's Assemble vids... Keep it up! Especially the puppets... I'm a puppeteer too for my church.
For whatever it's worth, in my mind your hands tell a story in itself and is something you should be proud of, never excuse yourself for having lived a life! :)
What a lovely piece of machinery...! Is the fly-wheel a bit wobbly (13:25)...? I suspect they have more completed models because they sit around enjoying making them themselves, hehe.😂
I guess the wobble is caused by the _gyroscopic effect_ that happens when a rotating wheel sits on a rotating base. It should not be a fault of the machine, but I think that doing this at high speeds for a longer time may wear out the ball bearings more quickly.
Apparently it is the fate of every bright young Mech Eng undergrad, the first time they come across a Stirling engine, to think “What a wonderful idea! Why hasn’t anyone scaled one of these up to do *real* power generation?” And then they go on to discover that available materials just aren’t up to the job. But having said that, many years ago there was a New Zealand company called WhisperGen, which did succeed in producing units that could do practical power generation for a household, without all the noise of a regular generator. They had some contract with a UK electricity company to supply them to their customers. But then I never heard anything more.
... well, there's Kockum's 75kW system in the Gotland class submarines. I'm sure other applications are possible, but there are likely cheaper or more efficient options when you're not as space and emissions constrained. More details at www.stirlingengine.com/modern-uses/
Maybe use them in conjunction with other renewable energy sources for times when its not light out and not windy and could just help fill in the gaps and keep the batteries topped up? I duno just an idea.
Background music? Nooooo !! Your (err.. ceaseless) chatter IS the background music that keeps me coming back!! Besides, somebody who can talk more than I can is good for my sense of self-worth. Keep it up. ;-) This kit does not look expensive to me. It is a delightful thing that appears extremely well engineered. I have already got more than enough "stuff," but all the same, I am quite tempted .... ??
I was in an AirBnb near Cheltenham and they had a little fan that had an electric motor that got it's power from the heat of the fireplace it was stood up on. Looking back at this, it's a similar concept but electrified.
The Stirling engine concept is definitely fascinating. Thanks for sharing that one. The Stirling engine concept when scaled up a bit ... actually quite a bit, folks build cars and boats and generators, etc, powered by rugged metal Stirling engines and a little firewood or charcoal to make them go... definitely fascinating concept.
Dont know but the swedish navy has stirling engine powered submarines (with diesel engines for surface mode) that are so quiet they took out a us aircraft carrier multiple times without discovery during exercises a few years ago
What an interesting video, useful tip re removing backing. Here's another tip to stop the finger moaners and leaving finger-marks~ anti-static / anti-skid gloves. A bargain at 99p
I remember, back in the 1960s, there were all kinds of magazine articles about how Stirling engines were going to revolutionize outboard boat motors, the automobile industry, etc. It never happened, of course, but they are still fascinating engines.
I’ve got to hand it to you, I doubt I would ever notice which Tubers had handsome hands or not so, lead alone remember which hands where who’s? Congratulation, tou’ve handily scored at least a 98% on the human digit fetishist rating scale!
15:19 - Finally, something good to watch on Sky tonight. Brilliant!
Brilliant and savage.
It's funny because he still likely pays them over £1000 per year for that 'service'... Sorry TM, I know you're a good guy and it's your money to do whatever you like with, but it did seem slightly illogical of you to make that comment! People always seem to joke about how bad and/or pointless Sky are, but never seem concerned about sending them big piles of cash year after year.
dan_tm ikr it's pretty funny to me, came up against that issue and thought it was rather odd living like the be all, and being from Ireland it's even more perplexing
I live in the states and got that joke. I do watch a lot of British telly.
Waiting for the next series of Still Game. Too bad The Doc stories do not seem too interesting to me any longer. (I mean Doctor Who not Doc Martin.)
@@dan_ Skye costs that much? How much is a BBC sub? But also DaveTV on Skye ya?
5:09
I don't know if anyone has mentioned this, but the screws for the pillars are always plastic, regardless of what color base you have. Apparently it's so the metal pillars don't transfer heat between the plates and lower engine efficiency.
Thank you for NOT putting music in. I generally dislike this unless it's during a fast forward assembly montage.
muzak
You can turn the sound OFF, John Ridley! It's not that hard
@@davidbergmann8948 Shitty videos tend to have muzak, David ;)
@@davidbergmann8948 With sound OFF you will not hear the voice also. It's not that hard to think of that.
Agreed
Put it in your back yard and tell your neigbors you are drilling and pumping oil.
Ace idea, could put in the kids Barbie as that! So that's it justified to me, just need to convince the Mrs then go and buy one 🙂
*The US Military wants to know your location*
hahaha
Just on a slightly smaller scale than most XD
OI! MATE! You got a licence for the oil well?
I'm always amazed by how fast they run - I find it hard to imagine the air expanding and contracting so fast.
A little of the expanded or contracted air flows around the sides of the large diameter displacer, and that helps the smaller diameter piston to move in in its cooler or hotter cylinder. So the air flowing from each side of the displacer is working on both sides of it to keep the displacer oscillating. The pistons are 90° out of phase with the displacers, and the momentum of the flywheel allows the cycle to continue. That's why most Stirling engines are not self-starting. The Stirling is a beautiful example of a simple heat flow engine.
Provided that the engine is properly airtight and has a low level of friction/backlash it won't take much energy just to keep it running. As these toy engines are rarely under any load, it means that only very little expansion/contraction of the air is needed to keep them running -in fact not even as much as the cylinder takes up is required.
All that matters for the engine to be able to extract energy, is that the pressure is a little lower on the down stroke than it is on the upstroke (or the oposite, depending on which directing the engine turns), and that you have a flywheel that is big enough to overcome a potential compression phase, so it can regain that energy when the air expands in the next stroke.
You can think of it a bit like a swing, you may not need to push very hard on each cycle, in fact you may not add enough energy to push the person on the swing all the way to the top of the arc, but as long as you just put in a little energy in each cycle it will accumulate to a lot larger swing, when the rest of the energy is just being conserved but flowing back and forth between two states. For the swing it is changing between kinetic and potential energy in the form of height and speed, and likewse in the Stirling engine it is flowing between potential energy and kinetic energy but here it is in the form of pressure and speed.
We need more people like this, doesn't overlay with music, explains things with some seasoning on top, and actualy communicates with the people ofc with a bit of seasoning. Amazingly done, good quality. And ive seen worse fingers.
If anyone has an issue with Techmoan's fingers there is a fix. Take your finger and press the computer's power button until your screen turns black. Do not press power button again.
Also if you want to make yourself a better person take your right or left hand which ever is the strongest one for you. From that hand stick your thumb out and curl your fingers. Then wrap your thumb around your curled fingers. Extend that arm in front of you until you can no longer stretch. Then take that your curled fingers and connect with your face as fast and hard as you can. If you still have a problem with his fingers please repeat the previous steps.
Im having trouble with the connecting to face. I seem to have inserted into food hole ~ is this correct?
If you keep it in there then its fine, That way not only cant you speak about anyones fingers but also you cant type about it either. lol jk
Instructions unclear. Stuck in dishwasher.
This is a great company. So much better than the $25-30 china version. True precision work. They operated at a much lower temperature differential and runs for extremely long times.
(This is also how I found Techmoan while doing research on these engines!) Shipped assembled from overseas with (UK) with a glass display bell and base without any damage.
These can operate at room-temperature (No hot water) with 3 chilled stainless steel "whisky stones" on the top plate.
Flippin 'eck!
I know. Those fingers are horrific!
1st world poblems.
Maurice Beck .Sorry.
@techmoan really :o)
I mean How Could You? Using you own fingers on a uTube video, instead of some kind of robot or salon-perfect hand model (Like Linus, for a while now -lol)
Anyway, quite right. Your unkempt fingers are completely unsuitable for brief appearances on video of any sort.. and must be removed ;oP
In case there are any American's reading, this is #Sarcasm - ironically many of them seem not to understand that either.. xx Rj
its not like he can replace them and besides it is about the engine not a avon ad
Because of this video, I got my Stirling engine out and run it after 3 years because of a crack in the glass in the side of the engine that I thought was going to make it stop working, but it didn't! The crack wasn't wide enough to warrant pressure loss. It still works like it always did. I love your videos! Keep it up!
I've always loved Stirling engines. And Techmoan assembly videos. This is the kind of video that makes TH-cam worth watching. Great work!
My dad had a Stirling steam engine kit that he put together when I was a kid. We all enjoyed watching it work. ❤
I bought the KS90 Solar about 5 years ago, it's been running 24/7 on a dimmed 10 watt incandescent lamp for the last 3 years.
The bearings get an occasional wash in mentholated spirit every now and then, and a drop of 3-in-1 oil on the power piston rod where it goes through the brass bush.
*methylated spirit. Looks as though autocorrect won, that timel
RWBHere
Hahaha.. I think you’re right!
Your voice is the best music; your fingers are the best actors.
I first bought a Kontax kit about ten years ago. Later gave it to a friend. Today I have two: an old solar and a 1.5 year old Ross linkage. One or the other is always running on a wafer thin, small reptile heating pad.
Desktop ornaments rock and roll.
Thanks for your work! Or is that, play? Either way, you have endless friends in your fans, best TH-camr ever.
The tiny clicking noise of any Kontax engine is caused by the free play of the con rod at the power piston. A tiny dab of flexible goo, such as childrens school glue, will kill the click and slightly strengthen the running by removal of lost motion. Apply with a toothpick.
So happy to see one of the Kontax kits getting some exposure. I have a single chamber model that I purchased 5 or 6 years ago, and it has been happily spinning away using the waste heat from my wi-fi router. The only maintenance is a dusting and light oil once a year. It's one of my favorite curiosities.
If I put one on my pc it would probably speed it too much and explode because it isn't the best at cooling
I purchased the single cylinder copper model. Had a fun time putting it together. If you are a nerd, like me, you will love the precision of the machining and tiny bearings.
Thanks for not using music!
He never does... first TECHMOAN viewing?
Techmoan never uses music, but it's always an excellent idea to thank TH-camrs with unboxing and/or reviewing videos without music.
Even if they never used music ever on their videos!
So, here is one thanking Techmoan once again for not using annoying music! ;)
muzak
When I first glance at your comment I though you said "magic!"
Most stirling engine vids even use music with *whistling* :D
I built a similar sort of engine for the final assessment for the thermodynamics course of my electronic engineering diploma. didn't necessarily have to write a essay to demonstrate an understanding.
very nice kit, but I was a starving student. i used a cd spindle lid, some aluminium plate, PVC pipe, and lots of epoxy. the power pistion (small one) was cast from epoxy, and was a nightmare getting it free of bubbles. had to make pretty much everything a few times to get everything perfect enough to run (there really isnt much energy here), but incredibly satisfying.
obviously got full marks for that one
Came for the sterling engine stayed for the fingers.
How's your new fetish been treating you?
I thought that's what everyone was here for.
Stirling engine.
For those that complain, you can be sure they'll find something to do it about.
Great video, great project. I always wanted something like this sitting on a desk or shelf... Still working on the getting a desk or shelf.
Great video, but you should change the caption:
"Energy companies HATE this man for bu..."
Never do background music! One thing I really like about your channel is that you walk us through the process, give your videos personality
Stirling engines are such fascinating creations, how they take so little energy and turn it into so much momentum, and can run for as long as that temperature differential exists, they're great... :D
The thing is that they turn a very small amount of energy into a very small amount of momentum.
Yes, they are interesting and look cool but they produce only the tiniest amount of power, which is why they have almost never been used for anything in the real world.
They are actually used in submarines.
They used to sell Stirling engine cooling fans.... which were powered by a heat source. Huh?!
I know Stirling engines have found some limited use in the past and may even be used to this day for very specialised applications but it seems to be a common misunderstanding that they produce almost free power because it takes only a small temperature difference to make the flywheel turn.
Unfortunately, as soon as you put any load on them, they pretty much stop. This is the same with the nodding bird novelty toy that you have probably all seen. It looks impressive that the bird can keep going apparently powered by nothing more than a glass of water. Unfortunately, the power produced, just like one of these Stirling engines, is absolutely minuscule.
You cannot say anything about the power production of Stirling, because it depends on the construction and environmental conditions. There are big generators based on Stirlings that exist and operate, they look similar to reflective satelite antenna and Stirling is placed in the focus point of it. The efficiency per square meter is much higher than the photovoltaic systems and the construction doesn't need rare earth materials. So far they're just more expensive because of the precise mechanics, much like in standard sombustion engines, and they are not mass produced. But I can see that eventually they could got cheaper and potentialy replaced the existing PV cells.
This engine is not perpetual motion of course but I like it 'cause it takes advantage of wasted energy and/or existing elements that provide for temperature gradients. Thanks for posting. Good on ya mate.
"Im glad that there's finally something good to watch on Sky tonight" :D Great video, I really enjoyed it.
That burn could run the Stirling engine for hours.
I read from wikapedia about the third made working sterling engine ever made James Sterling made it for a foundry, as a water pump.
The engine worked, only 40 rpm, but apparently had amazing power, with a 12 inch wide cylinder bore! It had 700,000 pounds of pressure and was a wapping 21 horsepower engine!
The first Stirling engine made was used for a quarry until unfortunately became overheated.
Brilliant vid, Mat! Really enjoyed!
Don't listen to the negative Nancies! You let them know they bother you when you mention their bad comments. This your channel and if they don't like it, they can find another. I think you do a great job and any errors or negatives I might see I keep to meself. Why? You're a decent human being and deserve the benefit of the doubt!
Keep doing it well, Mat!
Peace, love, and respect!
*Disclaimer: this is my opinion alone and I take responsibilty for it. I invite civil discourse but please, no derogatory comments from the peanut gallery. If you cannot say something nice or constructive, please skip replying to my comments. DBAD. Thank you.*
Jay Newton -Insert poorly thought out insult here.-
For real though... These videos just make me happy. The negative viewers are something else. I just don't understand the arrogant commentators.
Much respect.
Me too, Darrell! I just wanted Mat to know and never apologize for being Mat.
Peace!
I'm sorry I got the grammar wrong, Anvilshock. I'll correct. In the meantime, perhaps you'll like my disclaimer since you missed it the first time. I have also blocked you from commenting further.
Have a nice day!
*Disclaimer: this is my opinion alone and I take responsibilty for it. I invite civil discourse but please, no derogatory comments from the peanut gallery. If you cannot say something nice or constructive, please skip replying to my comments. DBAD. Thank you.*
Blocked. DBAD.
Jay Newton loser fanboy spotted
Don't let them get to you people are just afraid of work so much that they don't like working hands! Keep up the good work man love watching all this old stuff and I like how you work on it not afraid to get down and dirty.
this video was enjoyable. thank you for giving us the cream of the process and for the high production values you place on your work.
ALSO there is a submarine that uses a sterling engine and its one of the most quite and stealthy subs i know of :)
Be happy with your hands you use them for whatever works of art and putting things together.
Could one replace the flywheel with a small vinyl record and play it back?
no because the Flywheel powers it between the strokes by momentum and vinyl records don't have weight or momentum
Lol suomest
Stirling engines have always fascinated me. I always wanted to get one of those old Stirling engine fans that runs off a candle that they used to sell before electricity was widespread, but they are rare and expensive.
The kit could have added an output gear or used a magnetic flywheel.
The gear wouldn’t hurt the balance of the engine when used as a demonstration piece, but another gear can be meshed against the output gear to extract some mechanical work from the engine.
Magnetic flywheel does not disturb the balance either, being an alternative material for the piece, but by placing a coil next to the magnetic flywheel you extract some electric work since it becomes an alternator.
Given the efficiency of modern electronics, this Stirling engine might have enough output to power a quartz clock, through a small rectifier and a coil next to the magnetic flywheel.
The problem isn't the balance, it's that it has a very low power output, just barely enough to keep itself moving.
You can tell this kit is definitely from the UK when their first unit of measurement to tell you how hot is hot enough to operate the machine is a cup of hot tea. Cool video, Stirling engines fascinate me and I did not expect to see something like this here. Don't be bothered by the complaints people make about the state your hands are in, mine aren't much better and I'm quite a bit younger than you. Working on things for years upon years tears your hands, simple as that.
Ahh techmoan on a nice Thursday afternoon, feet up and kettle on. Cheers for the content as always, sir.
Tape tip I didn't know either. Top notch videos! Glad you and your hands are still making them for us :)
I bet the company would sell a lot more of these kits if the Flippin 'eck mug was included.
included mug and a set of new shiny fingers would make sales go ballistic!
I used to be grossed out by TH-camrs fingers all the time. Then I had a good look at my own on a camera in a similar setting.
People who do work with their hands simply get such fingers. Nothing wrong with it. I see you even have a badge of honour in this one!
Fascinating and entertaining as well!! I love all sorts of Stirling Engines! Thank you for a very informative video!
There's nothing wrong with your hands, ignore the haters. I for one really enjoy your videos - with or without hands.
I like that you dont blast your vids with a ton of music during these build vids you make. Makes for a nice chill video to watch before bed :) (P.S. your hands look fine)
Scuffed up hands. That's called being a *real* human being. And the whole reason I watch TH-cam channels like this one. Thanks as always, Techmoan!
When I see those fingers, I know my time is in "good hands" ;)
I love British humor. And you execute it brilliantly throughout.
It's not about how fingers look, it's about what you do with them that counts.
*Tries to look all smart and sagely, fails dramatically*
Maya Posch , what does techmoan do when he's not making youtube videos? Ive wondered this fir a while.
That's what she said.
Nothing wrong with those fingers. I had a mate who once had his fingers mistaken for a cooked sausage at a barbeque; they were honestly that scarred and discoloured!
Maya Posch you are hot.
Maya Posch counting on your fingers ?
I once saw a Stirling engine being used to distribute heat from a wood stove in an Amish general store. It was satisfying to learn how it worked.
Techmoan, your fingers are great! Ignore the fingerphobes
Have you seen big Clive's?
The Letter Ten Buy glasses and look again.
BigClive, Locklab, even Clint from LGR and what's his name The 8-Bit guy all have slightly destressed fingers, and I don't mind, it reminds me that these are, in fact, normal, everyday people, not super stars and models!
Body shaming knows no bounds!
I got the KS90 from aliexpress for my grandpa as a christmas gift, but frankly he stepped on it.
I then got a proper beefy one costing like $100 and it's legit all metal and best of all grandpa proof ;D
Well, I have TH-cam channel mostly about Stirling engines and I am making these models :).
Quite the niche youve got there...sub'd
Thanks for not adding the horrible background music that's usually on assemble things videos.
Silniki Stirlinga i modelarstwo
I think about subtitles. Maybe someday in future second english-spoken YT channel.
Thank you for clarifying that it isn't able to do much in the way of actual work. A lot of people don't really get that.
Mat, I can’t believe you’d be so selfish as to not get a hand transplant for the sake of your viewers! 😂
We’d have to call him Andropov if he did that!
Shows where his priorities are, sheesh!
Or at least wear really thick gloves to shield our eyes for the horror!
I’ve been watching these videos for years and can honestly say I’ve spent more time hearing Techmoan talking about people complaining than I have reading comments from people complaining!
Seriously does he delete all the negative comments? I never see any of them!
What a lovely piece of engineering - Ordered :-)
Matt you have real man hands and fingers, keep up the good work.
A beautiful kit, thanks for sharing.
I'm pretty late to this comments section, but I have the 1 cylinder ross yoke one in black and it also has the plastic screws. I'm pretty sure it's to thermally insulate the top and bottom plates to increase the temperature differential.
Working hands are a badge of honor (ok, "honour"). Haters gonna hate, but whatever. Great video as always.
I don't know who watches how to videos just to look at peoples hands under HD definition, but it is proof of your experience. Those others are just watchers not doers, and they are looking at the wrong shit, when they watch a how to video and only focus on peoples hands. I watch your video and never looked at your hands once, until you had us focus on it, but i looked at the reason i came here, Stirling engine.
Such a beautiful Kit. Would Love one for my desk
tyler stewart The Techmoan effect will probably mean they're out of stock for a while...
Wow.. thank you so much for sharing your experience.... I'm a Stirling engine nut...and this cutie in kit form is on my 2020 Christmas list..... thanks again. Kind regards Dave...
what? you need access to the internet to get the instructions for this thing? hidden costs. guess it’s time i open up that old america online cd-rom i have laying around somewhere.
I might have a few copies hanging around on 3.5" floppy if you need it. LOL
look at this CITY BOY and his cd-rom
DashCamAndy I have mine on a record
@@amnottabs mr fancy pants rich guy with his COMPACT DISC! Ooh look at me i can read data with LASERS! La di da!
Michael Kevin Millet
Of course you need it, to get a set top box to power the damn thing!
Thanks for the set top box tip, that’s where mine now resides.
Great as always! Some beautiful machining on those metal components.
I bought one of those eBay cheapies - a single cylinder one with a flywheel resembling yours - for about $20. No bearings, but a few tiny drops of synthetic oil does the business. Runs great on a cuppa tea. I even tried a couple of ice cubes on the top plate and that worked too. Not as attractive as yours, but one could enter the Stirling engine club for a lot less!
Your hands are the hands of a working man. Hold them up with pride.
Or buy working hands hand rub so they can be taken care of better.
I think "gloves in a bottle" is an alternative in your location.
I wouldn't want to assemble some acrylic/glass/polished kit with lotion all over my hands. Talk about fingerprints. Just get some nitrile gloves and solve both problems, even if one of them wasn't worth considering.
But really, as someone who works with a lot of solvents, I've learned my lesson after having cracking, bleeding hands and paper-thin thumbnails. Wearing gloves allows you to avoid solvents and it keeps your hands clean of any oil/dirt/grease/etc. Cleaner hands = less aggressive soap requirements. It's done more for me so far than lotion.
Dream Services International the creams are for after you work not during. They also aren't supposed to be protecting your hands just help to make them heal faster.
Yeah, I know that. I mean, I have a tub of the same stuff you recommended.
The 'two birds with one stone' comment was more of an obliquely comedic stab at whoever the hell thought his hands were unsightly.
I bring up solvent exposure because he mentioned alcohol. If gloves or other ppe can help prevent skin damage in the first place, I think it's worth it. Lotion won't fix your hands after scouring parts in MEK & toluene -- well maybe it'll help, but it's still going to suck until your fingernails grow out completely.
I know not all work scenarios are the same. Labor outdoors in the weather gets hard on the hands and wearing waterproof gloves tends to cause as many problems as it fixes. My general recommendation is that prevention is a good thing to seek when possible. There's no reason to not use both.
Just plain old olive or coconut oils work great for moisturizer; no need for fancy creams!
Well done job on the vid, good pacing and narration. I also respect the way you showed your errors in the construction, and the humor behind the whole process. BTW, personally I can't imagine anyone having so little of a life that they would complain about your hands or fingers, which looked fine to me. Very nice device when completed. Thanks for sharing!
I like the fact that you DON'T put any background music on. It often just distracts too much.
"I'm glad that there's finally something good to watch on Sky tonight..." LOL.
Techmoan is rapidly becoming my favourite TV dinner channel 👍
And next time tech moan will reveal how to build a 1.21 gigawatt flux capacitor. Great Scott!
"What the hell is a gigawatt?"
What a lovely thing that kit is. Nice to see that someone still makes things of that quality....
I never noticed your fingers before you mentioned them.
Now i only notice your fingers.
Part of his secret plot to get a hand modeling contract handed to him,, and I think he might win, hands down!
Nothing wrong with your fingers and hands. Thanks for taking the time to make the video. Really love stirling engines and would love to get one some day.
Ehhh, for 140+ pounds, I'd say... perhaps include a paper manual? I don't get the same assembly feel when I have instructions on my ipad, maybe it's just me.
Macro Cosmos Not just you... And at that price point, too...!
I live in kangaroo island, getting anything of "craftsmanship" or "precision" would mean paying as much postage as the item is worth unfortunately :(
One day when I go travelling, I'd get a local made one. For the one in this video, I'd personally print the instructions out and bind it!
when i assembled my anet a8 3d printer.... uhg!!
Hands of a working man! I love watching you assembling stuff... It inspires me on my Let's Assemble vids... Keep it up! Especially the puppets... I'm a puppeteer too for my church.
The way you deal with trolls is admirable and hilarious.
For whatever it's worth, in my mind your hands tell a story in itself and is something you should be proud of, never excuse yourself for having lived a life! :)
What a lovely piece of machinery...!
Is the fly-wheel a bit wobbly (13:25)...?
I suspect they have more completed models because they sit around enjoying making them themselves, hehe.😂
Michael Berthelsen looks fine to me
I guess the wobble is caused by the _gyroscopic effect_ that happens when a rotating wheel sits on a rotating base.
It should not be a fault of the machine, but I think that doing this at high speeds for a longer time may wear out the ball bearings more quickly.
It's a little unballanced because of the screw used to secure the crank to the flywheel. THe forces are asymetrical and wobbles it.
Nice video, I'm glad you document your errors for people interested in building the kit themselves.
Apparently it is the fate of every bright young Mech Eng undergrad, the first time they come across a Stirling engine, to think “What a wonderful idea! Why hasn’t anyone scaled one of these up to do *real* power generation?” And then they go on to discover that available materials just aren’t up to the job.
But having said that, many years ago there was a New Zealand company called WhisperGen, which did succeed in producing units that could do practical power generation for a household, without all the noise of a regular generator. They had some contract with a UK electricity company to supply them to their customers. But then I never heard anything more.
... well, there's Kockum's 75kW system in the Gotland class submarines. I'm sure other applications are possible, but there are likely cheaper or more efficient options when you're not as space and emissions constrained. More details at www.stirlingengine.com/modern-uses/
Maybe use them in conjunction with other renewable energy sources for times when its not light out and not windy and could just help fill in the gaps and keep the batteries topped up? I duno just an idea.
I just recieved a single version for my birthday. Amazingly simple. 😊
Anyone who would say they don't like your fingers deserves to be given the finger... :)
On the Joe Collins channel, he received a complaint that he was breathing. Its amazing isn't it?
He could hire stunt fingers to do the work. :D
in Britain, the middle finger still means fuck off lol. its not some mystery to us.
Well to be honest his hands do look like he put them through a shredder.
I guess they expect sexy hand models to step in for him? 🤔
I love the sound... placing one on my old Mac Mini would enable it to reach light speed within mere minutes...
Upload 10 minutes of that thing ticking. ASMR techmoan :D
The sound of that little engine is just lovely!
Seiko, huh? Very nice indeed.
Background music? Nooooo !!
Your (err.. ceaseless) chatter IS the background music that keeps me coming back!!
Besides, somebody who can talk more than I can is good for my sense of self-worth. Keep it up. ;-)
This kit does not look expensive to me. It is a delightful thing that appears extremely well engineered. I have already got more than enough "stuff," but all the same, I am quite tempted .... ??
The ones who complain about your hands are the same ones who've never done a hard day's work.
I was in an AirBnb near Cheltenham and they had a little fan that had an electric motor that got it's power from the heat of the fireplace it was stood up on. Looking back at this, it's a similar concept but electrified.
Sterling effort
the amount of times i've heard this pun
(actual LOL here)
The Stirling engine concept is definitely fascinating. Thanks for sharing that one.
The Stirling engine concept when scaled up a bit ... actually quite a bit, folks build cars and boats and generators, etc, powered by rugged metal Stirling engines and a little firewood or charcoal to make them go... definitely fascinating concept.
that looks very steampunk like
A hand without scars.....is a hand that doesn't work.....keep up the good work👍👍👍👍
Serious question. How big of a Sterling engine would you need to turn and make 120v.
Dont know but the swedish navy has stirling engine powered submarines (with diesel engines for surface mode) that are so quiet they took out a us aircraft carrier multiple times without discovery during exercises a few years ago
I bought one of the single piston ones a couple of years ago. These are neat
"There's something to watch on sky tonight" ^^
ON eh :)
What an interesting video, useful tip re removing backing. Here's another tip to stop the finger moaners and leaving finger-marks~ anti-static / anti-skid gloves. A bargain at 99p
I love your fingers Matt.
Don't we all
He spells it "Mat"
I don't.
SteadyMTB Some say his fingers are magical and very skillful
I remember, back in the 1960s, there were all kinds of magazine articles about how Stirling engines were going to revolutionize outboard boat motors, the automobile industry, etc. It never happened, of course, but they are still fascinating engines.
Big Clive has worse hands
I’ve got to hand it to you, I doubt I would ever notice which Tubers had handsome hands or not so, lead alone remember which hands where who’s? Congratulation, tou’ve handily scored at least a 98% on the human digit fetishist rating scale!