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IndustryArena Forum > Hobby Projects > Steam and Stirling Engines > Low Temperature Differential Stirling
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Results 141 to 150 of 150
  1. #141
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    10
    John, to make your dish an oval or any other shape for that matter, just cut off what you don't want! You just have to make sure you have enough aperture area left over that it will be equal to the 10' dish surface area. The bottom line is that if you are set on a dish you want the energy focused on a point, to focus on a point you need a dish. So calc. the area of a 10' circle and compare to a 12' circle with 2' cut off the top and bottom.
    Now who has the Stirling Engine. If I had an engine, I would have built a dish. And like you I wanted to keep the profile low, so I thought about the modified dish, but sunlight is energy and I'm collecting. I'm using a trough, real low profile.
    But if I had a Stirling.............

  2. #142
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    1425
    Hi Peteach.
    I guess it's just the aesthetic thing that drives me to making it more complicated than necessary.
    Re a trough, the problems of steering it was my original reason for sticking with the dish, but since the interest in stirlings got me here, the small area focus is now upermost in my mind.

    Regards
    John
    It's like doing jigsaw puzzles in the dark.
    Enjoy today's problems, for tomorrow's may be worse.

  3. #143
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    10
    John
    I too wanted dish/stirling. But my hopes of having an engine of a useful size anytime soon have faded. But everything I learn building the trough I can apply to the dish. If/when I can get a stirling, I'll switch in a minute.
    At least now I'm refining something I know I can finsh.

    Pete

  4. #144
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    10
    John
    I too wanted dish/stirling. But my hopes of having an engine of a useful size anytime soon have faded. But everything I learn building the trough I can apply to the dish. If/when I can get a stirling, I'll switch in a minute.
    At least now I'm refining something I know I can finsh.

    Pete

  5. #145
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    1425
    I've just been given my first commission -re the solar/stirling - by my wife.
    "Build something to recharge all our rechargeable cells for free. At least it will be a start."

    So, I'd better make a start on the dish. It's going to be a simple 3' x 2' sheet of 1/16"ply cut and pulled into dish, a la Mercator projection for a globe, suitably modified. Spray adhesive and cooking foil for the reflector.
    Sort of 1/3 scale model for proof of principle.

    John
    It's like doing jigsaw puzzles in the dark.
    Enjoy today's problems, for tomorrow's may be worse.

  6. #146
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    10
    John
    Don't waste your time. The sun comes up every morning. With it comes all the heat you could want. But you don't want heat, you want electricity. Heat is easy. People have been harvesting solar heat for forever, there is nothing new to learn about solar heat. You need to concentrate on converting that heat to electricity. That's the hard part. Build a convertor. Your real proof of concept would be getting some useful electric current from heat. Building a dish or trough is rewarding and fun, but you can get heat on your stove top! Build a converter, I'll tell you how to power it.
    I was going to give you some tips on constructing solar collectors. But that would keep you from solving the real problem.
    That's why I'm collecting just heat. I'd love electricity, but Stirlings and Tac's are not available parts at this time.
    Build a converter!
    I'll give all the heat you want!

    Have fun,
    Pete

  7. #147
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    1425
    Hi Pete.
    The concept I need to prove is that I can build something that works
    I have already started to acquire the magnets etc aimed at a generator of some sort, starting, as we're here, with a stirling to convert the heat to movement.
    However, I have another thread going on thermoacoustic stirlings which might be a more appropriate place to discuss that development.

    I don't want to get away from Nick's original thread topic here.

    What do you have in mind when you use the term "converter" ?
    John
    It's like doing jigsaw puzzles in the dark.
    Enjoy today's problems, for tomorrow's may be worse.

  8. #148
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    10
    Hi John
    Prove that you can make electricity from heat.!!!

    Converter: I stole that term from NASA, to refer to the gen-set, or the engine / generator combo that will CONVERT the heat energy source to electricity.

    Thirteen pages later, I've lost the thread!
    But I don't remember seeing anything about low temp stirlings either.
    Should we take this somewhere else?

    Pete

  9. #149
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Posts
    1425
    Hi Pete.
    I started this thread ......

    http://www.cnczone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50725

    .....where I'm hoping to move towards high temp stirlings, so perhaps we should continue there.
    Regards
    John
    It's like doing jigsaw puzzles in the dark.
    Enjoy today's problems, for tomorrow's may be worse.

  10. #150
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Posts
    3498
    I am really curious if some one make it DIY producing upto 400watt??
    http://free3dscans.blogspot.com/ http://my-woodcarving.blogspot.com/
    http://my-diysolarwind.blogspot.com/

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