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Model Stirling Walking Beam Engine Assembly Kit |  | Brand: Mechanical Models
Category: Home Improvement
Buy New: $179.95
as of 11/20/2009 20:17 CST details
Seller: LittleMachineShop.com
Rating:  4 reviews
Media: Misc.
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Operating model of a walking beam Stirling cycle engine | | • | All parts are fully-machined | | • | You assemble the model |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This is a working Stirling cycle walking beam engine. The completed model is 8 1/2" long, 3 1/2" wide, and 6 1/2" tall. The base is 12 1/4" long 6 3/8" wide. This kit includes the wooden base. These assembly kits are not strictly bolt-together kits. Some parts press together (an arbor press is the correct tool, but with care you can use a vise). This kit requires that you drill one hole during assembly (a hand drill can be used).
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| Customer Reviews:
 Beautiful junk January 1, 2008
Jim Lewis (NJ USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
The kit looked so nice out of the box I bought a second one for a co-worker. The problem is, as others have said, the instructions are as bad as they get. And the design is so poor that getting it to work would probably take about as much time as a properly designed engine built from scratch. Many parts do not slide or fit well. The one star is for looks - it's a great mantle piece ... so long as no one asks you if it runs.
 Starhunter February 11, 2007
StrerlingEnthusiast
8 out of 9 found this review helpful
I agree with the two reviews. As a kit goes, this one needs improvement. The instructions are terrible. However, with a minor bit of work the engine can be made to work. Here is what I did to get the engine to run.
I used a C-Clamp to press the crankshaft pins into the brass crankshaft pieces.
I installed the crankshaft and the holders on the metal plate and made sure the crankshaft rotated with minimal resistance.
I installed the aluminum piston housing into the rectangular block using a vise. Heat would have helped, but i brute forced the assemblies together. I drilled a 13/64 hole into the block to provide an air inlet into the cylynder.
I used a brass washer on the vertical support for the walking beam. I had to hammer the washer until it was thin enough to provide a tight fit and allow the slot of vertical beam to align with the piston and the crank. I did this to ensure the vertical assembly was rigid when the walking beam rotated.
I left the heating element off and adjusted the rods connecting the crankshaft to the walking beam and the displacer until the piston and the crankshaft rotated easily when I rotated the flywheel.
I installed the heating element (using gaskset sealer) and used 3 and 1 oil on all of the friction surfaces.
I used Heet for fuel (methane) and rotated the flywheel counter clockwise. Once the the engine heating element is hot enough, the engine runs until the fuel is exhausted.
I was able to get the engine to work. The kit build quality is low in that it does not work when assembled right out of the box, but if you are up the challenge you can make it work. I am glad I bought this engine because it tested my abilities to overcome a faulty kit.
I agree in spades. Just junk. August 27, 2006
hal lewis (santa barbara, ca USA)
14 out of 14 found this review helpful
I agree with the previous reviewer. I'm an experienced machinist, and have made hundreds of kits over the years, including some fine steam engines. An assembly kit should be a piece of cake. This was the worst set of instructions I have ever seen, and I really think that I (and the previous reviewer) deserve a full refund. Lots of things don't fit, the instructions are a joke (and sometimes simply wrong), I fitted the cylinder by freezing the inner part instead of barbecuing the outer one, but the same problem, etc. But I missed the little note about drilling the 5mm hole that is hidden on page one (that precision drilling alone makes the description "assembly kit" dishonest), so I now have to disassemble the thing to drill the hole, and that may not be possible (that's the part that's frozen in place). It's a piece of junk, and their policy of not helping customers who get stuck with it is appalling. I truly believe that Amazon should bounce them, if Amazon wants to keep its own reputation for integrity.
Assembly Kit? March 23, 2006
Leroy Cubicciotti (Buellton, CA United States)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
I define an assembly kit as a collection of parts which fit together properly, accompanied by clear, complete instructions for assembly. The Model Stirling Walking Beam Engine fails on all counts. The eight page instruction booklet consists mainly of plan views and an exploded view of the engine, plus a parts list, and only three pages of written instruction, titled "Making and Operating Instructions," comprised of only 12 steps. Here's an example: "Make sure the linearity in assembly to avoid rubbing against part #21 and affect the movement of models." Right! Or "The hole of part #37 must cooperate well with part #39. Then the flying wheel will not wiggle in models running." Once you figure out the tortured syntax, you must face the fact that many of the parts don't fit together as indicated. Parts which should move freely are too tight a fit. Parts which should be a press fit won't fit together at all. One finned aluminum part, called the "radiator" is supposed to slip on over the "driving cylinder." No way! I finally heated the radiator in my barbeque and then it slipped on over the cylinder just fine. It would have been great if the instructions had provided a clue. The most testing operation is carefully hidden in a small cutaway drawing on page one. It shows a 5 mm hole the builder must drill at a 30 degree upward angle, connecting the driving cylinder and the air supply cylinder. I think this should have been done during manufacture, but if not the requirement should certainly be highlighted in the instructions. I found what should have been an enjoyable project unecessarily frustrating, and my finished engine doesn't even work
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