Stirling Engine Vehicle

Inspired by a trip to a 19th century industrial museum, I got this as a gift for a nerdy friend who works as a mechanical engineer thinking that the unusual nature of a small external combustion engine, especially a Stirling engine, would be fascinating to him. The application of movement from the power produced by the engine is a cool bonus that adds a wow effect for anyone who sees this thing in operation. We first tried it with a small jack-o-lantern candle and indeed the engine churned along at a good rate, then when we let the wheels touch ground the car took off accelerating to roughly a walking speed but then it slowed down as the wind bent the flame and cooled the glass around the power piston. This actually made for a safety feature in the sense that an uncontrolled fire burning car driving across the house is slightly disconcerting at first. Next we tried the included lamp with 91% isopropyl alcohol and the engine after a brief warmup roared to life churning at a great speed, and when allowed to roll on the ground, accelerated and sped away with enough heat to continue going fast until it ran out of floor space rather than heat. It's stunning how much power can be derived from a single flame, especially when no effort has been taken to maximize efficiency with reflective heat shrouds or sinks. My friend said this was one of the coolest gifts he'd ever received and when he took it into work his co-workers were amazed and intrigued by the little Stirling car that could.It's clear that the working parts are machined with great precision and quality although the non-powered wheels came with one issue: The axle is held to the wooden base by some bearing cases and brackets and the bearing cases had slid out of the brackets causing the axle to wobble. Once these were reinserted into their brackets the issue was resolved and hasn't resurfaced.It should be obvious that with the fire and burn risk this machine is totally inappropriate for a child or moron adult, but that aside, what a fantastic gift!

The media could not be loaded.  I purchased the Stirling Engine Vehicle as a Christmas gift for my nine year old grand-nephew. My wife thought he was a little young to handle the open flame. In hindsight, she was probably right. (Lesson learned: always listen to your wife!) I thought, nah, this would be a great learning experience for him. The attached video says it all. It's a hoot! Like they say, for the purchase, there's Amazon Visa, the pure joy and amazement, PRICELESS!

The working model of a sterling engine demonstrated in a wonderful way how heat is converged to work.The model is very well built and very beautiful.

Very cool science project! Using the most simple engineering tools this thing fires up and takes off! All you need is some rubbing alcohol to get started! The tech doesn't scale up quite as well as I had hoped(replicating in a larger model), it works great at the form factor given.

I wish I could give 11 stars. This was proclaimed the Best Gift Ever by my train loving son. Please heed the warnings... This vehicle is literally ON FIRE as it rolls, but it does not roll too quickly. I need to mention when I received the vehicle, it looked like I had received the model, and I talked to Rex amd he talked me off the ledge. Class outfit, terrific product... But do rememeber the thing is ON FIRE!Thank you and Blessings

This is an amazing little machine. Lubricate it a bit, but some alcohol in the fuel container, light it up, give it a spin and the engine starts to spin faster and faster. Put it on the floor and it chugs away from you. Be careful, this could burn your house down.I wish there was a way to steer it remotely. Also the alcohol is a bit messy because it escapes from the container and the fire gets a little out of control. i hear sterno might be better.

I bought this engine for my husband for Valentine's Day this year. I does really move across the hard wood floors. I especially liked the price point. Some of the engines I have purchased for his collection cost four times as much. He loves it!!! What do you buy a man who has everything? A Sterling engine.

This was a gift for my husband : he has always wanted to have a Stirling engine. He absolutely loves it ! It's very well make and of high quality. This is not a toy: it's a real sterling engine using alcohol that is lit for the heat source to run the engine. It arrived assembled and nicely ran across the concrete garage floor. Fun!