Office of Steam Forum for Model & Toy Steam Gas & Hot Air Engines
The Regular Stuff: Chat, Buy, Sell, Off Topic, etc. => General Discussion - Model & Toy Steam Engines – Stirling Cycle – Flame Lickers – Small Antique Originals => Topic started by: crazydoug on February 22, 2021, 11:15:26 am
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Adjustable speed Stirling/Aluminum flywheel update:
I assembled it finger tight and no joy...from other posts They said the glass tube need to be tighter than finger tight but I did not want to put much torque on this little model. There is an o-ring in the bottom that should seal on the face but not quite getting deep enough and not wanting to damage in case have to return so I sealed that thead with Teflon tape...now it sort of trys but still no joy...back apart and looking it over I noticed my displacer was quite stiff before it would move...thought it should be free moving but never had a glass tube Stirling...put it all back togather and tried running but still no joy...left the fire burning and was head scratching and starting to think about what a hassle return shipping would be...suddenly hear a small "pop" and the displacer plunger moved about 3/16 of and inch!! Forgot I left the fire running for close to 2 min!!
Well, gave it a flick and off she goes!!
It appears my engine is set up slightly tight...the heat must be expanding the glass slightly or soften the o-rings or both....but the more I run it the better it gets, my speed valve is working better than most videos I have seen, can get down to around 80 RPM and top speed looks faster than 2500! All estimated at this time. I still am slightly miffed at the loss of brass flywheel...but this little engine is staying with me!
It's a joy to run, at certain speeds it makes nice engine noises, then other speeds it sounds like a fancy sewing machine....still faster yet and is starts to make sort of whizzing sound yet very quiet and smooth.[attachimg=1]
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At that price it sure is a nice little engine Doug :)
How´s you own mechanical condition by the way, are you getting nearer to kicking in the door to that workshop of yours again?
Hopefully the end of april will finally see .y shop again, but then it will be engine show season!
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Like shadetree, I also ordered from enginediy and received mine today. Same 12 days from order to in my mailbox in Minnesota. Seems like enginediy is a safe company to buy from.
Mike
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I can’t even ship an engine across the country for that price... they’re selling the engine with shipping and sending it across the world! :o
This is the Chinese way of doing business. Watch out! But, I respect the quality. The mass-produced parts are really great. I have a simple Stirling engine myself, which needs a cup of hot coffee or tea as a source of energy (heat). Put on the table when friends are visiting us, it is an eye-catcher.
Jürgen
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Hello Bruce! My source for low price is engineDIY. I can not yet recommend them as this is my First order BUT...I do have a tracking number showing progress towards me so that's a Thing! Lol
enginediy price is 29.99 and there running 10% off plus free shipping for the month of Febuary (you have to enter the coupon code) at checkout. It is shown on there homepage.
I am curious where you found the $25 price as I am kicking myself for not ordering 2 units as I now have a few ideas for a modifyed unit I want to try!
Anyone ever ordered from enginediy before? Looking at that site it looks like a clone of enginelover (the scam site).
Enginelover has taken down all their images on their site.
My order from enginediy arrived today!, and is mostly correct. It was quite well packaged and took 12 Calendar days to arrive which is about the best I have done on free shipping from China.
My only slight beef is a second item I ordered is different from photo on site, it is one of the newer adjustable speed stirling engines some of us have admired. Mine is the third variant I have seen! The first one was polished brass flywheel, second was brass with black painted spokes and knurled on the outside diameter. Mine is back to smooth flywheel but Aluminum rather than brass. I would have prefured the more valuable brass metal...BUT...I suspect Aluminum will achieve a higher engine speed. It requires light assembly and IF it runs well, I will keep it. Here are some photos, I will report back after I get the stirling up and running.[attachimg=1]
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Hello Bruce! My source for low price is engineDIY. I can not yet recommend them as this is my First order BUT...I do have a tracking number showing progress towards me so that's a Thing! Lol
enginediy price is 29.99 and there running 10% off plus free shipping for the month of Febuary (you have to enter the coupon code) at checkout. It is shown on there homepage.
I am curious where you found the $25 price as I am kicking myself for not ordering 2 units as I now have a few ideas for a modifyed unit I want to try!
Anyone ever ordered from enginediy before? Looking at that site it looks like a clone of enginelover (the scam site).
Enginelover has taken down all their images on their site.
My package from enginediy cleared customs on this side of the pond and last was seen in "Lost Wages" NV hub.
We should know in about 3 days if enginediy is legit.
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Was having some fun running my low buck stirling engine this weekend. The burner built right into the base offers a clean look but the only throttle is short wick vs long wick. Even with the wick trimmed at lowest level it would burn properly the engine still has strong RPM...just for fun I empty the base burner and used my Peanut Rider burner instead, by just letting the very edge of flame touch the displacer bulb I can achieve an Idle speed of approx 120 RPM a very relaxing pace.[attachimg=1]
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At that price it sure is a nice little engine Doug :)
How´s you own mechanical condition by the way, are you getting nearer to kicking in the door to that workshop of yours again?
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It Will run on very small flame and the first time I ran it I had way to much wick exposed...it was really speeding but burned 1/2 tank in a couple min.
The photo shows I now have a little less than 1/8 inch wick exposed and I get nice mild speed and long fuel run now. The Stainless steel heated tip (displacement side) cools fairly quickly and as such with the small fire IS quite suceptible to drafts. The brass piston is quite heavy for small size and does create some vibration at speed... I may turn up an aluminum piston and/or counterbalance the piston on the Flywheel end to see if I can smooth her out some. It's so "NOT" finicky and pleasing to run.[attachimg=1]
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I can’t even ship an engine across the country for that price... they’re selling the engine with shipping and sending it across the world! :o
I KNOW!!....AND....I hate to say this, but it Runs way better than my Peanut Rider currently Does!... But I still love my Peanut Rider and working on getting it running much better.
PS: If your scared of China vendors/shipping or need one for a gift fast or just don't care about the price...you can get one of these to your door in 1 to 4 days from Amazon for $42.92 taxed and shipped..don't ask me how I KNOW ;)
It does have some very minor (fixable) issues but runs like a treat!
[attachimg=1]
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I can’t even ship an engine across the country for that price... they’re selling the engine with shipping and sending it across the world! :o
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Well, after seeing bigsky's post, I made an offer on a pair @$22 each....to my surprise he accepted. Think he may only have 4 left last I checked. Don't know if he will accept $22 or less on a single unit, but thought I would pass info along...get em while there hot forum members, at this price I don't think I could purchase New material (only) to build one! Thanks for the link bigsky.
Cheers!
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https://www.ebay.com/usr/goodshopstore?_trksid=p2047675.l2559
This seller has a few left for $25.06 OBO with free shipping. Mine's on the way... ;)
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Hello Bruce! My source for low price is engineDIY. I can not yet recommend them as this is my First order BUT...I do have a tracking number showing progress towards me so that's a Thing! Lol
enginediy price is 29.99 and there running 10% off plus free shipping for the month of Febuary (you have to enter the coupon code) at checkout. It is shown on there homepage.
I am curious where you found the $25 price as I am kicking myself for not ordering 2 units as I now have a few ideas for a modifyed unit I want to try!
Anyone ever ordered from enginediy before? Looking at that site it looks like a clone of enginelover (the scam site).
Enginelover has taken down all their images on their site.
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I like the burner built right into the base and overall style and most of all the price! I found one for US $26.99 with free shipping on my lunch break today and pulled the trigger.
I think this one "may" respond well to a few simple mods, now we wait.....
I couldn't find one for under $33 ,these would make a good project for the Grandkids.
Doug & Jim you did a good job on those ,nice paint work Jim.
Bruce, trying putting a few on your eBay watch list and the seller(s) may offer you a discount sometimes up to 25%. That seems to be happening a lot with engines from China on my watch lists.
Thanks Jim , I've been offered a discount many times from Chinese sellers , I did come across one seller that had them for $25 w/free shipping.
Hello Bruce! My source for low price is engineDIY. I can not yet recommend them as this is my First order BUT...I do have a tracking number showing progress towards me so that's a Thing! Lol
enginediy price is 29.99 and there running 10% off plus free shipping for the month of Febuary (you have to enter the coupon code) at checkout. It is shown on there homepage.
I am curious where you found the $25 price as I am kicking myself for not ordering 2 units as I now have a few ideas for a modifyed unit I want to try!
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I like the burner built right into the base and overall style and most of all the price! I found one for US $26.99 with free shipping on my lunch break today and pulled the trigger.
I think this one "may" respond well to a few simple mods, now we wait.....
I couldn't find one for under $33 ,these would make a good project for the Grandkids.
Doug & Jim you did a good job on those ,nice paint work Jim.
Bruce, trying putting a few on your eBay watch list and the seller(s) may offer you a discount sometimes up to 25%. That seems to be happening a lot with engines from China on my watch lists.
Thanks Jim , I've been offered a discount many times from Chinese sellers , I did come across one seller that had them for $25 w/free shipping.
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I like the burner built right into the base and overall style and most of all the price! I found one for US $26.99 with free shipping on my lunch break today and pulled the trigger.
I think this one "may" respond well to a few simple mods, now we wait.....
I couldn't find one for under $33 ,these would make a good project for the Grandkids.
Doug & Jim you did a good job on those ,nice paint work Jim.
Bruce, trying putting a few on your eBay watch list and the seller(s) may offer you a discount sometimes up to 25%. That seems to be happening a lot with engines from China on my watch lists.
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I like the burner built right into the base and overall style and most of all the price! I found one for US $26.99 with free shipping on my lunch break today and pulled the trigger.
I think this one "may" respond well to a few simple mods, now we wait.....
I couldn't find one for under $33 ,these would make a good project for the Grandkids.
Doug & Jim you did a good job on those ,nice paint work Jim.
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Seems like quite a bargain!
Runs great, too!
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Better than I would have expected for $30.
A good value.
Thanks for sharing the video Doug.
I may have to get one of these.
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I like the burner built right into the base and overall style and most of all the price! I found one for US $26.99 with free shipping on my lunch break today and pulled the trigger.
I think this one "may" respond well to a few simple mods, now we wait.....
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Come up nice painted and they are great runners, I filed off the Chinese characters on mine as well.
https://youtu.be/B3OnwEBEoik
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This is the latest arrival in the series of cheap, Chinese engines! This one came as a machined kit, which took about thirty minutes to assemble, and ran great on the first try. This one was under $30 from Banggood, and took only two weeks to arrive.
[attachimg=1][attachimg=2]
https://youtu.be/3Qb-lVlFwrA