Looking For Practical Sterling Engine Design Resource

I have a similar desire, but probably haven't done as much research. Still (iirc) the last two links here (from my askRhk database) are among the most useful I've found so far.

A Stirling engine sounds nice, but getting one with any power seems problematic.

google [stirling engine design]

* [[http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://blog.steamshift.com/wp-content/uploads/moved/stirling_engine.gif&imgrefurl=http://blog.steamshift.com/2005/05&h=290&w=290&sz=5&tbnid=O9Nph48QjuBSpM:&tbnh=115&tbnw=115&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dstirling%2Bengine%2Bdesign&zoom=1&q=stirling+engine+design&usg=___QzTGCOpMq6Fb_ZGtkXhP_vaJyw=&sa=X&ei=OPpqTcCQJMKblgflirmAAg&ved=0CDIQ9QEwAg][picture]]--this looks like it could almost be made with something like pistons for a lawn mower engine


* [[http://www.spaceandmotion.com/inventions/convert-petrol-motor-stirling-engine2.htm][Stirling Engine]]--this looks even more robust, but I wonder if his efficiency calculations are wrong--iiuc, they should be based on absolute temperatures--he's not using absolute temperatures--just approximating absolute temperatures assuming that absolute 0 is -273 degrees or so, then the efficiency at 350 looks more like 20% (623 / 312)?? (I'm not sure what I'm doing here, just vaguely remembering a formula I saw for Carnot efficiency or something like that...I'm not sure how I'm going from 2 to 20*%*
'
Introduction

The Haselhurst-Stirling engine design is a high pressure (80 atmospheres) high temperature (up to 600 degrees celsius) design. It has a theoretical efficiency of 60% at 600 C and 35% at 350 C. (Solar cells have a maximum efficiency of about 20%, diesel engines about 35%).

To begin I will simply use a fire to heat the hot side (wood has about 4kW/hrs of energy per kg, and a fire easily reaches temperatures of 600 degrees celsius).
The cold side will be cooled to around 100 degrees celsius by running water (I have a lot of ponds and creeks on my property!). If it works then in the long term I would use solar energy to heat it.

...

Cost

The total cost should be about $2,000 Australian including steel and welding.
For a comparison, the *WhisperGen Stirling engine costs $20,000 dollars and is 1kW*.

Below are some further details (from my provisional patent application).
The Haselhurst-Stirling Engine

Stirling Engines are theoretically the most efficient heat engines available, where the efficiency is 1 - Tmin/Tmax (in degrees kelvin). Thus the engines are more efficient the greater the temperature difference from the hot side to the cold side.
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* [[http://www.cd3wd.com/cd3wd_40/vita/stirling/en/stirling.htm][UNDERSTANDING STIRLING ENGINES]]--a good article, but it was predicting commercial applications back in 1985 (maybe for 3rd world countries)--did that ever happen?
' <darn>
Solar Power

It is important to recognize that the Stirling engine is a
high-temperature machine. It cannot run well on the low
temperatures available from simple flat plate solar collectors.
It must use a concentrating, sun-tracking solar collector.
This device adds considerably to the cost and maintenance
requirements of the system. Also, such a device does
not make use of the diffuse component of solar energy, only
the direct component. So hazy sun is not good enough. Bright,
clear skies are needed before the concentrating collector
will develop the high temperature necessary to operate the
Stirling engine. For all these reasons, Stirling systems
using concentrating, sun-tracking solar collectors will be
much more expensive and will require more care in their
operation than those using fuel as their heat source.
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* [[http://www.stirlingengine.com/faq][the Stirling engine community : FAQs : One FAQ]]