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Cooling fan 'hot air engine', Stirling engine fans;
By Andy Eisemann
Need a cooling fan but have no electric power?
There is
one, its a Kyko Stirling cycle Engine fan.
Stirling engine fans or hot air
fans, a cooling fan powered by lamp oil and very efficient.
This unusual machine is not an antique.
In fact
it's a modern day version of a rare antique the British made Kyko, or Ky-ko.
This copy
was being commercially produced until as recently as 8 years ago in a third
world country where
electricity
was
still in short supply. Powered by paraffin
oil (lamp oil or kerosene) the Stirling cycle engine fan
is very efficient
running 36
hours per litre of paraffin or lamp oil. Stirling fans are very
well engineered,
a practical fan with a sturdy hot air engine that runs for
hours without electricity!
Stirling fans are solidly built, very reliable,
and cheap to run.
SPECIFICATIONS
Weight, 10kilograms
Bore
2inches, stroke 1 and a half inches
Speed,
450rpm (tops)
Power source, double wick kerosene lamp
Running time, 36 hours to 1 litre
Height,
40inches to top of chimney, 34 inches to top of guard
Fan, 4
blade in 24inches diameter guard
Cast iron
engine with ball-bearing crankshaft
Two-cylinder, one power piston, one displacer cylinder.
Photo of the Stirling cycle engine fan - Click to enlarge
Would you like to know more about Stirling fans - or possibly own one?
Many enthusiasts may be familiar with, for example,
Dr James R Senft's model
version MORIYA.
However, an array of companies built hot air fans
commercially: the Lake Breeze,
to name just one.
Many of these fans were similar
to present day electric fans, in that they were
portable designs for individual
use.
They can occasionally be spotted in older (or very authentic) motion
pictures.
Ceiling fans were also built, often belt-driven from a fairly sizeable
hot air engine.
In the gas lamp era one of the KyKo's competitors in the
non-electric fan market was the American made
Lake Breeze, similar in
operation though much smaller in size hence less air flow.
As the availability of electricity spread, electric motors took
over the task and the
manufacturing of hot air fans ceased.
Or did it?
You see, electricity hadn't got everywhere around the world quite yet.
As a result, hot air engine fans were still being commercially made in
Pakistan until as recently as 8
years ago.
This Stirling fan is a modern version
of the original KYKO or Ky-Ko brand hot air fan sold in
England and around the
British Empire for around 90 years.
From the front the Stirling engine fan looks like any modern electric fan,
but from the back the hot air
engine shows
clearly in the shape of the housing,
not to mention the tall exhaust chimney intended to take heat
from the burner up
and out of the air stream.
This Stirling cycle engine runs the fan using paraffin oil (aka lamp oil, aka kerosene) and is very efficient.
Historical Advertisement from London Times,
1938
Kerosene powered engine fan;
Of all the commercially produced Stirling Fans,
the
British made "KY-KO" was one of the most popular.
This "KY-KO" machine is identical to the original, except for the following improvements.
Below; This is a close-up of the Stirling cycle engine with
the crank case door open;
How We Managed to Get Hold of These Stirling cycle
engine fans;
After a great deal of research and several journeys to Pakistan, I had
at last made contact with the He informed me that he was no longer commercially manufacturing these Stirling
cycle engine fans. For this idea to become a reality, all I needed was to find enough committed
enthusiasts to bring up the I was inundated by enthusiasts worldwide all eager to know how to obtain
one or several of these rare What Enthusiasts Have to Say About Our Machine
"Two Stirling cycle engine fans fans arrived
safe and thoroughly packed. I had one up and running. DICK A. CRAWLEY
"Wish I knew about your full size machine before I bought a very expensive
tiny working model of it: MIKE K.
"Now it's assembled and it runs beautifully. ROBERT M.
"When fired up it had more of a kick than expected. Have already thought
of various adaptations ARTHUR B.
"Arrived in perfect condition and works just fine. JON C.
Would You Like To Have One - In my enthusiasm of having these machines manufactured,
I made sure to order extra units for I feel that with the low cost of manufacture, these units are excellent value
and with the small numbers Click
Here for Order details & contact info. Click the Links below to see more
pictures of the Left Side View
Right Side View Front View Back View
engineer responsible for these marvelous mechanical creations.
However if I was committed to finance the setting up of his tooling and place
a large enough order with him,
he would do me a once only production of a Stirling fan.
numbers for a minimum order. I contacted 12 engineering magazines worldwide
on my plight of the Stirling cycle
engine fans. They were excited to hear what I was doing and all graciously
published my editorial.
Stirling cycle machines. The response exceeded my expectations and we went
straight into manufacturing.
All enthusiasts that received these machines from us were very happy.
They certainly put out quite a breeze and I am pleased with the way it runs.
I'm now looking forward to using them in earnest when it gets a little warmer."
West Sussex, England
which incidentally cost me substantially more than your machine
and it's not half the machine of yours.
Good value !Very pleased with the Stirling cycle engine fan."
Sydney, NSW, Australia
Thank you for all the trouble you took to get hold of these machines."
Hannover, Germany
using the basic engine unit."
Argyll, Scotland
What a thrill to have been part of this venture with a Stirling cycle engine
fan.
Every one who has seen it so far can't believe this piece of old world engineering.
Thanks again for starting this venture. I couldn't be happier with my purchase."
Akron, NY, USA
Or Know More about the Stirling engine fans?
myself.I still have a limited supply in storage.
If you would like to own one of these amazing pieces of machinery or would
like to just know more about
Stirling engine fans, please contact me for further details as I'd be
happy to help.
produced, these machines should become quite collectible.
Stirling cycle engine fan.
