Stirlingengineforum.com

This post may or may not cross the forum rules but here goes:

It occurred to me that a single piston stirling engine and a single piston steam engine look very much the same in shape and form and I was wondering if it is possible to design an engine with dc generator which will run on steam and on heat as a stirling and what the issues might be? The bonus of steam technology is having distilled purified water but the steam engines I have seen have oil valves that will contaminate the distilled water. I've found references to oil-less valves but cant actually find one (links appreciated). I've also heard it said that water in a stirling engine will ruin the engine and obviously you have the dangers of water expanding much quicker than air. A compact duel purpose steam/stirling single piston engine running off a small biomass stove that can be taken camping and provide for gadget charging, distilled water purification and tent heating would be a neat thing to have in an emergency. The stove could be a simple pocket rocket stove design with wood gasifier inside. Any thoughts on this brainwave or links appreciated.
.Wellington.

A steam engine and a Stirling Engine are not related, it would be as practical as crossing a cat and dog.
Just for interest sake, the son of James Stirling went on to design railway locomotives, you may have seen photos of engines with a wheel lay out like this ooOo, the single driving wheel was about 7ft diameter, quite a number were built, and used in Scotland in the 19th century.
Ian S C

Ian S C wrote:A steam engine and a Stirling Engine are not related, it would be as practical as crossing a cat and dog.

ok, shelved.....lol

Yer gotta give it a go, your not the first with the idea.
Ian S C

Ian S C wrote:Yer gotta give it a go, your not the first with the idea.
Ian S C

Well you say its not practical but for me my goal is to make an engine that is super flexible in fuel usage which can be called on in any situation to provide living basics like hot water, phone/tablet charging, drinking water, space heating. The CHP concept appeals to me and I like the benefits of stirlings silence but also the benefits of steams distilled drinking water and power output. prepare for a dogcat engine Mk.1 in the future....lol
Wellington.

There is a Hamster powered generator on Google (it's probably into the tenth generation of hamsters, or more).
Ian S C