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Clare VanAusdal preparing for second quartz window test.
I have recently noticed several companies and individuals claiming to have working Stirling projects and are experts in this field. I have worked on the most advanced Stirling technology out there and have seen countless millions of dollars spent on these projects. It makes it difficult for me to believe that these companies and individuals are in a stage of advanced developement. Most of the projects that I was involved with were funded by different governments and utilities. These projects were well funded and have been going on for over 25 years. I am not saying that all of these groups don't have on going projects, I am saying that I would be extremely careful and would make sure that I asked all of the right questions before I invested my money in any project. I worked during the hey day of the Arizona Public Service Star Center, testing many types of alternate energy projects, Dish Stirlings have been the most difficult and after thousands of hours of operation there are many things still to learn. If you are interested in investing in a Stirling project, I reccomend that you ask for a demonstration of an operating engine. If the engine has not been built yet then you are talking a lot of development time and money. And it has been my experience to see someone get started on a project and not realize all the intricate complexities and burn through a lot of capitol. If you look at the top two contenders Stirling Bio Power and SES, they have both been at it for a long time and they are still at limited production and are continuing development on their engine designs. This means that anyone coming into this arena will have to go through a serious learning curve. Believe me, there is a big difference between what someone can put on paper and someone who can produce the real deal. Wait till you start blowing seals or heater heads. I would look for the following:
• Number of hours operated
• Kilowatt hours produced
• MTBF (mean time between failure) etc.
Even if someone does have an engine, it doesn't mean that it will work with the application desired without considerable expense.
This is not an application for the faint hearted.