The brass radiator provides efficient convection cooling for this hot-air engine, which runs on the Stirling cycle. The engine has two cylinders. The displacer cylinder heats and cools the air, while the internally connected power cylinder generates the force to run the engine. The heat to run the engine is supplied by a small alcohol burner.
One of the first large donations to the Miniature Engineering Craftsmanship Museum was the collection of famed model engine builder Rudy Kouhoupt. Rudy’s niece, Susan Alvaro, was kind enough to donate his entire lifetime engine collection for display at the grand opening of the museum in 2006. After retiring as a chemist, Rudy had a second career building engines and writing magazine articles documenting the process. Many people have built his models, but we have the honor of displaying all of his original prototypes. Rudy’s collection includes scale model engines, locomotives, tractors and more. Additionally, thirteen of Rudy’s model steam engines are hooked up to run on compressed air to demonstrate their function.
