3 ms·
But are usable Stirling engines available? Dean Kamen's been promising a refined version for over a decade and has yet to release anything to production.
by pstuart 10y ago
But are usable Stirling engines available? Dean Kamen's been promising a refined version for over a decade and has yet to release anything to production.
- dougk16 10y agoNo idea about Stirling engines but you could always use other kinds of steam engines or turbines, albeit with lower theoretical efficiency. There's a very niche hobby for this kind of stuff, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJGpbvvJA2I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJGpbvvJA2I for example. The one thing that is problematic overall probably is the noise that any steam-based solution will make.
- semi-extrinsic 10y agoStirling engines are used in some niche applications. In particular, several Swedish and Japanese submarines are powered by Stirling engines running on diesel and liquid oxygen. The ability to run on a separate oxygen supply from breathing air is apparently a main advantage. NASA and DOE did some tests with Stirling powered cars in the 70's and 80's. They got up to 50 MPG. In the end, retooling, cheaper fuel and different UX when driving was the negatives that prevented mainstream adoption.