MM-5 Coffee Cup Engine Kit
( You may make submit credit card payments via our website: http://stirlingengine.com/product/25 )
Note: The coffee cup, tools, glue, and epoxy shown in the pictures are not included. The DVD has been replaced by written instructions.
This kit includes all the parts to build our original transparent MM-1 stirling engine that sells ready to run for $178.95.
Our Price: $118.95
Ready to assemble. You only need to purchase superglue and silicone sealant. You will also need a few common hand tools to assemble your engine. It's a pleasant two or three evening kit and a fun way to learn about Stirling engines. To enjoy a video clip or Flash animation of this engine go to:
http://stirlingengine.com/product/25
You may want to have a Spare Diaphragm on hand. This is the only wear part in the engine.
The United States Naval Academy has their mechanical engineering students build one of our kits.
If you want a very easy to build kit, we recommend our homopolar electric motor kit.
For video clips of the MM-5 running on a cup of hot coffee and on cold Breyers ice cream, go to:
http://stirlingengine.com/product/21
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The Stirling engine community Member Reviews:
Average customer review *****
Number of reviews: 32
matt rated this product ***** and wrote:
Comments from Matt Silberglitt
From: Mr. Silberglitt's physics class at Mora High School, Mora, MN To: model MM-5 designer and future builders We just finished to MM-5 and are watching it run. We did have a little difficulty with the seal around the cylinder. We used silicone caulk for everything except the reducers, which we attached to the crankshaft with epoxy. We also had trouble getting the pistons to move through the correct range of travel. We would like to suggest the following. 1. Leave the rubber tubing that goes on the Upper displacer rod a little longer than suggested. 30 mm would probably work well. 2. Get the piston side of the crankshaft adjusted first, then worry about the displacer travel. Put the crankshaft with the middle down (over the displacer). Attach the tubing to the diplacer's piston rod, with a bit rolled back (on top) so it is doubled over. With the displacer all the way down in the cylinder, snap the rubber tubing over the Upper displacer rod. Now the displacer will just miss hitting bottom. 3. We just noticed that the displacer, at its upper limit of travel, bumps into the piston, at its lower limit of travel. Is there any way to avoid this? If anyone figures this out, let us know! It's a great kit, and a great learning tool. Contributed by Matt Silberglitt.
publicaldo rated this product ***** and wrote:
Great father/son project
I bought an MM5 for a present for my son Sam's 10th birthday. He was little leary about it, but got into the details of construction. He ended up building about 90% of it himself, with dad pearing nervously over his shoulder. After about 30 minutes of work and 2 hours waiting for glue to dry, the little engine started up just fine and ran for 26 minutes on a cup of hot, not boiling water. We put an ice cube on top and restarted it, and it ran for another 20 minutes. We put it on a bowl of ice cubes, and it ran just fine backwards. Sam was pretty excited about it! The PDF instructions from the web are very readable and have just the right level of detail. This is a great kit, with the right amount of difficulty for a father/son afternoon.
norwoodmatt rated this product ***** and wrote:
Great quality!
I love it! The quality of the instructions and the quality of the parts are all very good! BTW, great product! Norwood Matt, Norwood-Near, Ohio
alistair.grant rated this product ***** and wrote:
It runs on my hand!
I've just built my coffee cup engine and it ran the first time! After all the horror stories I'd heard about non-working Stirling engines this was great, but even better, it runs on the heat from my hand! Not fast but it ticks over and is a real talking point. Many thanks for a great kit. Alistair Grant Carnoustie Scotland [Alistar has done an excellent job of assembling his kit! Running on the heat of your hand is not guaranteed. For suggestions from other builders on how to build a great MM-5 kit, read our model engines bulletin board. -- Editor]
henry rated this product ***** and wrote:
Comments from Henry Beitz
Like Matt Silberglitt from Mora I have the problem of the displacer and the piston kissing each other. Other than this one problem the engine runs beautifully. A solution that I intend to try is to put in a thicker gasket. Since this will not increase the volume of the airspace by much I doubt that it will effect the running of the engine. It will hopefuuly stop the two components from bumping in to each other. Contributed by Henry Beitz.
simon.waddington rated this product **** and wrote:
Lots of fun for all the office...
With a little tweaking of pistons worked first time. Runs just under 30 minutes from a cup of boiling water in a 75F office - the limiting factor seems to be warming of the upper part - if you take a can of compressed air and spray it upside down so the coolant comes out (not too much) it will run for another 15 minutes at least. We measured the RPM with a photodiode and oscilloscope - around 240 RPM over boiling water. Sitting on a 60W light bulb with the top cooled by air (as above) we got over 500 RPM - impressive!
slepp-stirling rated this product ***** and wrote:
Amusing to build, amusing to watch, fun to explain
I originally looked into Stirling Engines a number of months ago, and it ended up on my Christmas wishlist. I received the MM-5 for Christmas, and finished building it in about an hour on the 26th. I think I rushed a little bit too much, but I couldn't wait to get it together. In the process, I did bend the crankshaft a tiny bit, which causes the propeller to wobble a little as it rotates. My suggestion would be to attach the propeller and nut to the reducer prior to attaching them to the crankshaft itself. Since I had to screw the propeller onto the reducer, I applied too much pressure and that is how I bent the crankshaft (pulled down on it a bit, while attaching the prop). Other than that little mix up, the engine worked immediately on a warm cup of water and ran for a few minutes. When I ran it on a boiling cup, it ran for nearly an hour. A great gift for anyone who likes to see how things work, and especially if they are perfectionists. It is the perfect project for someone who wants to get it all exact, as the more exact you are, the better it is going to turn out. Now I hope to get the other models for my birthday.
amoran rated this product ***** and wrote:
Great Kits and Excellent Service
One hundred of our sophmore mechanical engineering students built MM-5 Stirling engine kits in the fall. The kits were great and the service was excellent. Building these kits was a very good learning experience for our students and we plan to do it again. --Professor Angela Moran, United States Naval Academy
KevinOM rated this product ***** and wrote:
MM-5 Ran on the First Spin
The kit was very easy to put together, minimal modifications needed. It ran after the first spin for 45 minutes, the water in my coffee mug had cooled off. I replenished the hot water and it is off and running now. I also notice it does not run at a constant rate but speeds up and slows down from time to time. Next I will try the ice chip heat sink trick after it stops. [Please read Kevin's assembly tips in the model engine forum under the heading, "Assembly Tips for MM-5 - ed]
pete.fisher rated this product ***** and wrote:
Worked perfectly the first time!
The good news is that I built it in about 2 1/2 hours yesterday and it worked perfectly first time. I think it's just a case of following the instructions carefully and being careful not to damage the parts, especially the piston membrane.
gordon rated this product Star Star Star Star Star and wrote:
Comments from Gordon McCall
Hi. I recently purchased one of your MM-5 kits and I am completely satisfied. The engine runs for 1 hour and 5 minutes on a cup of boiling water as shown in the picture. The minimum running temperature is 140 deg F at a room temp of 68 deg. For the displacer chamber I used 5 minute epoxy with out any problems. Why would this make a good gift? My answer to that is it is simple to operate because anyone can heat water. Not everyone wants to mess with alcohol burners required for the higher temp sterlings. Nice kit. Thanks. Gordon McCall Contributed by Gordon McCall.
For the remaining customer reviews go to:
http://stirlingengine.com/product
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