" Steampunk Hot Air Engines " Introduction

Introduction
After a career of 32 years in the computer technology of Hollerith machines, including the mainframe computer, I had the opportunity to retire. But what to do next?

My next door neighbour had been an ardent model builder for 25 years already and was highly experienced. Try to build a hot air engine which runs on a tea-warmer he advised me.
Since he had just built a Stirling engine that fulfilled these conditions and ran particularly well, this was a challenge for me.
Under the supervision of my mentor and the colleagues of the hobbyclub. I succeeded in building my first trial engine to run on a tea-warmer.

It is a model built in accordance with the principles of the first Hot Air Engine by Robert Stirling in 1816, for which invention he obtained patent.
It is a brass model described in the publication Heissluft Motoren by Udo Mannek.

It gave me a sense of satisfaction and pride to experience this engine running, though initially it was technically not at all perfect. Encouraged by the positive responses of the members of the hobby club and the reactions of the public at the model exhibition in 2002 in the Netherlands as well as other shows, I soon launched a new project.

After that the production of hot air engines went very quickly. The engines numbered 1 to 23 and the Stirling LTD (Low Temperature Difference) engines have been built within a period of about 7 years.

I have tried to modernise the designs by making more bolts and screws invisible.
The designs are determined by the leftovers of brass and bronze, frequently available at the scrap dealer.

The intention of these vertical hot air machines is to demonstrate the possibility of setting a heavy mass in motion by means of a difference in temperature, using very little energy (heat).
At the same time I think its very important to demonstrate the different drive techniques of our hot air engine builders over the last 200 years.

Having built about 23 hot air machines of brass and bronze I have also started to construct a number of Stirling LTDs, which will run even when there is only a few degrees centigrade difference in temperature.

It requires an entirely different method of construction. Here it is especially important that everything runs very smoothly and is perfectly aligned. It is satisfying to experience such a big Stirling LTD engine running by the warmth of your hand. The intention is to regard all these machines as kinetic art objects. I achieved this by centralizing the movement of the hot air engine and by unifying the design technically and artistically.
Last but not least, one of my objectives is to bring a love for technique to the attention of the youngsters.

passion..or will it become an obsession ?
Jos de Vink