KS160 Aluminium Extra-Large Engine

Extra-Large and Super Efficient Low Temperature Stirling Engine

The extra-large Kontax KS160 Low Temperature Stirling Engine features aluminium chamber plates, super-lightweight flywheel spokes and a solid brass rim, all styled in an elegant and efficient manner. The engine is designed in a gamma configuration, with the power piston and displacer disc connected at a 90° offset on either end of the central axle. Extra-large plates give this engine a very efficient surface area to volume ratio, which allows operation at very low temperature differentials.

Eco-friendly

This KS160 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 can run on almost any heat source. Typical sources include hot coffee or tea, warm sunlight, TV digibox and the human hand. As long as one plate is 5°c to 10°c warmer than the other the engine will run. It doesn't matter which plate is warm, as long as the other is cooler. If you warm the bottom plate the engine will run clockwise, if you reverse the temperature differential and warm the top plate the engine will run anti-clockwise.

How does it 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 crank arrangement and moves the air from the warm side to the cool side and back again over and over.

The Stirling engine is named after its inventor, Rev. Robert Stirling, who patented his idea in 1816.

Heat Sources

• The engine can run on strong direct sunlight. The top surface will be the hot side and the bottom the cool side and the engine will run anti-clockwise.
• The engine can run on hand heat. If you have a warm hand in a cool room the engine will run from the heat of your hand.
• Placing the engine on top of a freshly made cup tea or coffee (NOT BOILING) will provide enough energy for it to run at a relatively high speed for up to 30 minutes.
• Placing the engine over a bowl of ice will provide enough temperature difference for operation. Similar to solar operation the top surface will be the hot side and the bottom the cool side, and the engine will run anti-clockwise. You can also place a dish of ice on the top plate for clockwise operation.

Main features:

• Extra-large engine
• Will run on a 5°c to 10°c temperature difference
• Extremely low friction self-lubricating graphite piston
• Built in flywheel balancing
• Main chamber pillars thermally isolated with nylon screws
• Regenerating displacer disc

Materials

• Stainless steel connecting rods and ball-race bearings
• PEEK connecting rod bushes
• Micron precision borosilicate glass cylinder
• Micron precision graphite power piston
• Aluminium main pillar, hub and spokes
• Brass chamber pillars and flywheel rim
• Brass gland and cylinder holder
• Aluminium plates

Dimensions

• Plates - 168mm diameter, 3mm thick (6.62" x 0.12")
• Displacer - 138mm diameter, 12.7mm thick (5.43" x 0.5")
• Flywheel - 140mm diameter, 5mm thick (5.51"x 0.2")
• Power piston - 18mm diameter (0.71")
• Overall height - 230mm (9")

Assembled

The engine is despatched fully assembled and ready to go.

Instructions

Click the image below for PDF operation and maintenance instructions for this engine.