The Miser engine type is the best conversation piece ever invented.  It will run on a cup of warm coffee, the warmth of your hand, or even an ice cream cone! Here is an engine that you can actually operate in bed with no danger of setting the sheets on fire!

This modified Heinrici stirling cycle engine doesn't need a fire to operate it. It has no valves, ignition system, carburetor, or exhaust. It will run on any heat source such as on top of a cup of warm water (coffee), from the heat of a light bulb if placed on top of a lamp shade, in full sunlight, on a TV, VCR, and a zillion other sources. It runs at about 90 RPM when held in the palm of a hand and much faster with the other heat sources. It will also operate in reverse from a cold source such as ice or snow. As can be seen, the possibilities are almost endless.

Folks who are not ordinarily interested in engines of any kind are always curious about this one. Unlike other low temperature engines, I designed Miser to actually look like an engine! Isn't that a novel idea! It is not as hard to build as it may look, but you can simplify the styling if you are in a hurry to get yours running.

Miser is built mostly from aluminum alloy bar stock and plate, while most of the smaller parts are of brass or steel. A few parts that can't be metal because they need to be good heat insulators are made from clear acrylic (so the works can be seen) or delrin. The HTF (Hard-To-Find) Materials Kit below contains the needed materials that may be difficult for most builders to obtain otherwise. They would also cost more when obtained from separate multiple sources even if the minimum order amount was not a problem. The plans are also available separately - see below.

The plans set consists of 10 sheets of quality laser printed CAD drawings and 2 sheets of construction and assembly notes.

Specifications: Flywheel Diameter: 5.2", Cylinder Bore: .600", Piston Stroke: .625", Overall Height: 7.4" Experience Level: 10