I came across the Stirling engine today and thought it was nearly the perfect prepper power source.
It is an external combustion engine, that uses hot and cold temperatures to produce motion.
There are lots of DIY plans for making them, and they are very easily scaled, as your needs require.
There are also sites you can simply buy a pre-manufactured one from.
What makes these a great option is the variety of renewable "fuel" sources, including both solar and wood, making them very versatile.
post more info as you get it pls. i never heard of it before. but sounds interesting.
Never heard of it before... turned to a trusted news and science website;
http://www.howstuffworks.com/stirling-engine.htm
very neat concept.
Stirling engines are generally limited to being pretty little desk ornaments, I haven't yet come across one that is capable of converting any serious amount of energy, or at least enough to do any real work. If I wanted to look at generating a bit of usable electricity directly from a heat source I would imagine something like a peltier-device would be much more practical and efficient. A lot of people with little 12V fridges probably already have a peltier device and just didn't realize it!
Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling
Philips I believe made a sterling powered electric generator back in the 50's. I know there are some large commercial units out there now but I haven't seen a generator in the 5KW to 10KW range. If anyone knows of any links I would be most interested.
http://www.appropedia.org/Stirling_motor
http://www.ohio.edu/mechanical/stirling/engines/engines.html
Russell Coight....outback legend
Stirling engines are generally limited to being pretty little desk ornaments, I haven't yet come across one that is capable of converting any serious amount of energy, or at least enough to do any real work. If I wanted to look at generating a bit of usable electricity directly from a heat source I would imagine something like a peltier-device would be much more practical and efficient. A lot of people with little 12V fridges probably already have a peltier device and just didn't realize it!
Have a look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling
The peltier device requires electrical input to produce hot or cold, and have very poor efficiency ratings.
You are referring to a thermoelectric Generator . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_generator
And straight from the article
Usually, thermoelectric generators are used for small applications where heat engines (which are bulkier but more efficient) such as Stirling engines would not be possible.
A stirling engine would certainly not be a primary power source, but the flue gas of a wood stove, gasifier, or any other method of heating would operate it to produce enough power to add to a battery bank charge.
Here is an example that could be expanded upon.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXsFAB77Mzo
Phuqd that is a good demonstration. The lore of a sterling engine it that it can be easily powered by wood. A resource that we are not likely to run out of any time soon. That was a tiny 12v generator. At 0.1A it would take a very long time to do any real charging. However it was only a demo. There must be some commercial enterprise that sells useful sized sterling engines that are capable of doing some real work however I have not found one yet.
The bit that you guys are missing is that to make the stirling engine work you need a massive temperature difference between the hot and cold side, in that video to achieve 2W the guy had to use a gas torch for the hot side and water cool the cold side. The main drawbacks I see is that waste heat (like flue gas) is not giving you enough temperature differential and you have a mechanical device with lots of moving parts to deal with.
The solid state peltier device may only be 5 to 10% efficient, which is actually very very good, but it's maintenance free, no moving parts and super easy to set up using just about any waste-heat source.
I believe there are now even some camping pots and pans that have built in peltier generators, allowing you to charge electronic devices while cooking.
You could power a sterling engine with a rocket stove. That would be fairly efficient. Using peltier diodes stil need a hauge temperature difference but does not produce much usable current.
Here is a great example of someone who uses a stirling engine, as part of a wood stove setup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPVCLpnTnvI
As I said, this is not stand alone power, it would be supplemental.
I am not a fan of putting all of my eggs in one basket, and I am working towards a bit of solar, wood, bio-fuels, etc... diversified supply options.
They are cheap to build, low maintenance, and a cloudy, not windy day, it could be a nice supplement to solar panels and wind mills charging a battery bank.
Here is a great example of someone who uses a stirling engine, as part of a wood stove setup.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPVCLpnTnvI
As I said, this is not stand alone power, it would be supplemental.
I am not a fan of putting all of my eggs in one basket, and I am working towards a bit of solar, wood, bio-fuels, etc... diversified supply options.
They are cheap to build, low maintenance, and a cloudy, not windy day, it could be a nice supplement to solar panels and wind mills charging a battery bank.
The only thing you want to watch out for in videos like that is that there does not appear to be any energy harvested from the system, for guys like this building little engines like this in their workshop the challenge is to just get the engine to turn when you apply heat, even then if you read the comments on any stirling engine video you will see them saying that it is very difficult and fiddly to get the engines just to turn.
Have a look at this 25W thermoelectric generator by comparison: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfQdd70B8IU , apply heat, generate power, too easy. If anyone ever builds a commercial stirling engine that works and actually generates real power from a wood stove I will commit to eating my words. (and hat)
Commercially-built home Stirling systems are on the way:
http://www.microgen-engine.com/
and here: http://www.whispergen.com/productspec_en.php?fm=whispergen&fp=Product%20Specs
The Whispergen looks especially appealing- many homes in Canada already run NG, a conversion to propane wouldn't be difficult, and one source provides heat, hot water and residual electricity!
Of course, Europe seems to be leading the way... wonder if they want a Canadian distributor...
In a non SHTF situation what if you ran the hot side using a Fresnel Lens and ran a coil of cold water (creek water if in the great out doors?) by the cold side before sending the water to a sprinkler/soaker hose for the lawn/garden?
In the winter the Fresnel Lens would still work on sunny days and snow or ice could be used on the cold side.
Quite frankly I would rather put my money into solar panels but I'm just tossing ideas out there for alternate power with the smallest detectable signature possible.
Than= I’d rather be rich than poor.
Then= I first became hungry then I ate.
There = She is there now.
Their = They have their things.
They're = They're going to the mall.
To = They came to the house.
Too = That's too bad.
That sounds feasible, below the radar
I was speculating on my future small cabin's rocket mass stove.... to attach a permanent large diameter pipe on the backside of hot stove (with a thermal gate )to access when needed, the hot side of the engine piston, and the drivetrain/mechanics, and then the same diameter ,insulated pipe direct to the outside. They work proportionately best with opposing extremes of temp.,
This could be enclosed to dampen the sound , even though they are relatively quiet.
On the other hand, it could be installed outside of the wall under a cover, and quieter on the inside
As far as i know, they use a stirling engine/generator in the expensive mobile mini homes at sustain.ca and add around 5-7000 to the cost of the trailer with all the connections..