stirling machines

Question:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->>Are ther any peolple here that use stirling machines? How do they work? >>Where to buy them (in europe)? I am looking for usage-reports as well. >>Rutger >Good luck Rutger. Nothing much "off the shelf" aside from toys and >pieces. ("Some machining and assembly required.") The closest thing to >a practical machine that I’ve found is somewhere on this page of links >(which is a good collection anyway): >http://www.ucolick.org/~de/StirlingEngines.html >It is odd that they seem to be mostly regarded as a cute novelty if >people know anything about them at all. They seem so elegant, and so >well-suited to various cogeneration situations, possibly with multiple >heat sources, given a little creativity. >Let me pose the question to the group: >What might you pay for the ability to generate (for the sake of >discussion) 100 – 200W of useful electrical power from a Stirling? >1 – 2kW? > STM (www.stmpower.com) has a beta commercial unit (25kWe) at around > USD30,000 FOB Ann Arbor, Michigan. > A couple of others that I know of have some products "off the shelf". > Look in http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/english/others.htm#high_comm > for links. > regards, > ac.

Hi, AFAIK, the closest one might get to something that would work and produce some "useful" power ~400-600 wats is the Viebach stirling kit which comes as a bunch of unfinished castings. I have not used this kit, but others are building systems around this set. In a telephone chat with Mr. Viebach, he indicated that this system is used for educational purposes in trade schools, and that longevity is not one of its strong points; but it might be start. At the extreme high end of the spectrum, Sunpower makes a 2.5kw generator that IIRC, is only available in prototype/techology transfer applications. Very impresive though (60,000 hrs). let me know if you find anything newer… as I am trying to decide on an engine for use with olive kernel firing. regards, nicolas boretos

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Are ther any peolple here that use stirling machines? How do they work? > Where to buy them (in europe)? I am looking for usage-reports as well. > Rutger > Good luck Rutger. Nothing much "off the shelf" aside from toys and > pieces. ("Some machining and assembly required.") The closest thing to > a practical machine that I’ve found is somewhere on this page of links > (which is a good collection anyway): > http://www.ucolick.org/~de/StirlingEngines.html > It is odd that they seem to be mostly regarded as a cute novelty if > people know anything about them at all. They seem so elegant, and so > well-suited to various cogeneration situations, possibly with multiple > heat sources, given a little creativity. > Let me pose the question to the group: > What might you pay for the ability to generate (for the sake of > discussion) 100 – 200W of useful electrical power from a Stirling? > 1 – 2kW?

STM (www.stmpower.com) has a beta commercial unit (25kWe) at around USD30,000 FOB Ann Arbor, Michigan. A couple of others that I know of have some products "off the shelf". Look in http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~khirata/english/others.htm#high_comm for links. regards, ac.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Are ther any peolple here that use stirling machines? How do they work? > Where to buy them (in europe)? I am looking for usage-reports as well. > Rutger > A New Zealand company makes the WisperGen and is marketing it in other parts > of the world: > http://www.whispergen.com > It appears that if you wait this may be available sometimes soon…we > hope… > BG Group and Rinnai join forces for home heat and electricity generation > product 08-01-02 > Press Release > BG Group plc and Rinnai Corporation of Japan have today announced a joint > project to complete development of MicroGen, an innovative gas appliance to > provide heating and electrical power for the home from a single unit. Under > the agreement, the companies will invest up to US$40 million in the > development of the product through to launch. > Building on advanced technology pioneered by BG Group in the UK, the > partners expect to market the technology in the UK in 2003 and worldwide > thereafter. Rinnai will be BG Group’s sole manufacturing partner and will > provide marketing support in key target markets. > The expected capital investment over the next two years will be US$4 million > (Yen 500 million) for moulds and tooling; US$14 million (Yen 1,800 million) > for facilities; and the remaining expenditure for product design, > development and testing. BG Group and Rinnai will share this investment on a > 50:50 basis. > Sean Sutcliffe, Executive Vice President, BG Group plc, said: "We are > delighted to partner Rinnai. We believe that there is a large market both in > the UK and globally for this type of innovation and we are moving ahead to > take our technology to the next stage of commercialisation. This agreement > highlights the continued success of BG Group in developing new markets, in > growing new businesses leveraged from core assets, and in building on the > environmental benefits of gas." > Mr. Naito, Chairman of the Rinnai Corporation, said: "We are proud to be in > partnership with BG Group for this innovative new approach to micro > co-generation in the home. It continues our corporate focus on > technologically advanced and environmentally friendly gas appliances > offering convenience, efficiency and safety for domestic users and will > allow us to continue to expand our business activity on a global basis. We > are very confident of consumer acceptance of the benefits of this new range > of appliance which will appeal to a broad spectrum of users." > The MicroGen system uses technology that converts the energy in natural and > liquid petroleum (LP) gas supplied to the home into whole house heating, hot > water and electricity. The system uses energy normally wasted by > conventional boilers to drive the novel Stirling generator, which produces > electricity directly for use in the home. > This new appliance represents an alternative to fuel cell based micro > co-generation systems and has been derived from the evolution of existing > mechanical and electronic technologies. This means that the product can be > produced inexpensively to provide between 15 kilowatts (kw) and 36kw (50,000 > to 120,000 British Thermal Units per hour) of heating capacity plus 1.1kw of > electricity. > Product design will allow either floor or wall installation and the unit > will be marketed to home and small commercial users, replacing conventional > heating, boiler and other hot water systems. At the same time electrical > power will be generated to reduce electricity costs. > Environmentally, BG Group has calculated that the average UK home, using > this new appliance, could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by around 1.5 tons > per year while substantially reducing overall energy costs by up to

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