Polished KONTAX Ultra Low Temp Stirling Engine

What is a Stirling Engine?
Stirling engines are devices for converting small temperature differences into motion. As long as one plate is warmer (about 5°c) than the other then the engine will run. It doesn't matter which plate is warmer, as long as the other is cooler. If you reverse the temperature differential, and cool the plate that was warm, and warm the plate that was cool then the engine will run in reverse. The Stirling engine is named after its inventor, Rev. Robert Stirling, who patented his idea in 1816.

How do they work?
Stirling engines work by cyclically heating and cooling the air inside the main chamber. As the air heats up it expands, and as it cools down it contracts. This expansion and contraction drives a small piston which in turn drives the flywheel. The clever thing about Stirling engines is that the mechanism for cycling the heating and cooling of the air is built into the engine in the form of the displacer, which is driven by the flywheel and moves the air from the warm side to the cool side and back again over and over.

Eco-friendly
The Kontax KS90 polished stainless steel Low Temperature Differential Stirling Engine is the ultimate eco-friendly device, showing with one spin of the flywheel a clean and simple way of converting waste heat into motion. Because these engines rely on a temperature difference for operation, they will run on almost any source of warmth. Typical heat sources include hot coffee or tea, warm sunlight, CRT monitor, TV digibox and the human hand.

Efficiency
Because Stirling engines have a theoretical 40% greater efficiency than photo-voltaic (PV) panels worldwide energy companies are investigating using them as a way to provide energy in a more sustainable and environmentally friendly way. Such companies use our full range of low temperature engines to demonstrate the principles behind generating electricity using Stirling engines.

In 2007 we were visited by the President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (ImechE), Mr John Baxter. He was very pleased and impressed to find out that such a beautiful and precise Stirling engine was being manufactured by us here in England.

Mr Baxter was so pleased with our engine that he decided to feature it in his series of lectures given all around the world to senior figures in the alternative and clean energy industry.

ImechE have taken 80 of our engines for Mr Baxter to give as gifts to dignitaries as an example of the quality of engineering and manufacturing still being done in England.

The Institute are very happy to promote and endorse our engines, and we are able to prove their endorsement should anyone wish to verify it.

In addition to this honour, our engine has also been endorsed by the Glasgow  Science Museum in Scotland, where they will be displaying it alongside the original 1800's engine designed and built by the Rev. Robert Stirling.

A large number of schools and universities all around the world have bought our engines for educational use, the transparent chamber and cylinder make it very easy to explain the Stirling cycle to students. A partial list of the universities and educational institutions who have either bought our engines or who have had students who have bought our engines:

• Oxford University, UK
• Cambridge University, UK
• King's College, University of London UK
• Faculty of Engineering, Imperial College, University of London UK
• Dept of Chemical Eng. & Chemical Technology, Imperial College London UK
• University of Wales, Aberystwyth UK
• Durham University, UK
• Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Manchester UK
• Science Museum, London UK
• University of Western Ontario, Canada
• University of Toronto, Canada
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA
• University of Canberra, Australia
• University of Paris, France
• University of California, Los Angeles, USA
• Dept of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester UK
• North Carolina State University, USA
• Dept of Mechanical Engineering, Stellenbosch University, South Africa

Technical details:

• 82mm (3.25") diameter brass flywheel rim with aluminium spokes.
• 80mm (3.6") diameter polished stainless steel plates.
• 127mm (5") overall height.
• 9.5mm (0.375") diameter piston.
• Airtight seals made with high strength precision screw threads and nitrile O rings.
• Stainless steel screws throughout.
• Both connecting rods are positively located using low friction PET and stainless screws.
• Micron precision Borosilicate glass cylinder and Graphite power piston, the best combination for this application.
• Ultra low friction demagnetised and degreased bearings, NO lubrication required.
• Fully CNC machined, giving crisp, clean tidy edges all over.
• Engine parts ultrasonically cleaned before hand assembly.
  

Buying guidelines:

Operability - We ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that every engine we sell will run as advertised. If your engine struggles to run as advertised then we ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that we will offer all possible help to you until it does. All our engines are individually packed in supportive packing foam and rigid cardboard boxes, which ensures safe arrival of your engine.

Feedback - 99.9% of transactions are completed satisfactorily to our buyers without any further help or assistance from ourselves. If you are unhappy in any with with your purchase please contact us and allow us to help resolve the problem BEFORE leaving negative or poor feedback. We want you to be completely happy with your purchase, and will ALWAYS do all we can to help to resolve the problem, but we can't help if you don't contact us.

UK Delivery -

• UK deliveries are sent either same day or next working day via Royal Mail 1st Class, with a Royal Mail quoted delivery time of 1-2 working days. Weekends and bank holidays are not classed as working days. 1st class deliveries cannot be considered lost until at least 14 days after despatch. There are no tracking numbers for 1st Class deliveries.

Outside UK Delivery -

• Deliveries to addresses outside the UK are sent by either Royal Mail Airmail Small Packets or Fedex, depending on your selection at checkout.

  Airmail deliveries are sent either same day or next working day via Royal Mail Airmail, with a Royal Mail quoted delivery time of 5-7 days. Weekends and bank holidays are not classed as working days. Random customs and security inspections can extend this by another 14 days. Airmail deliveries cannot be considered lost until 28 days from despatch. We must stress that the vast majority of engines arrive inside 10 days all over the world. There are no tracking numbers for Airmail deliveries.

  Fedex deliveries are sent same day or next working by a 2 working day worldwide service. Weekends and bank holidays are not classed as working days. If you buy after 11am GMT on Fridays your engine will be despatched the following Monday. If you pay for Fedex you MUST provide us with a telephone number that Fedex can call if they cannot find your address. Failure to do so could seriously delay your parcel. A tracking number will be emailed if you choose Fedex, but in most cases the engine will arrive before the email.