This is our first Stirling engine with gears. Part of the nano engine family, rather than having a crank or ross yoke arrangement to connect the pistons this engine has gears. Using gears provides some interesting advantages. Firstly it allows the con-rods to remain fairly parallel which in turn reduces friction. The gears also act as a second flywheel smoothing the running of the engine. Gamma Stirling engines are naturally unbalanced as they have 2 different sized pistons that are not in phase. Adding two relatively large masses (the gears) as a dead weight has improved the vibration characteristics.
Overall this engine is compact, blisteringly fast with an interesting gear arrangement.
As with all the nano range it comes with a special burner, you just light the burner, let the engine heat up and then give the flywheel a small flick to start. The engine has borosilicate glass cylinders which can withstand high temperatures enabling you to glimpse inside the engine.
A low-friction graphite piston was utilised which is self-lubricating and requires no maintenance. A brass heat sink disperses heat from the cold side, while the rest of the engine is made from anodized aluminium.
This beautiful engine will run at over 2000 rpm on a tiny methylated spirit flame.
