Stirling Engine Blog 6 January 16, 2013

The desk finally arrived (courtesy of Pat Kelly). I have set up the various bit of IT hardware and I've organized all of the engine wiring so that it is now neatly coming out the back and allows the unit to be operated with the enclosure in place. I think this is important as I do not want people interfering with the engine inadvertently or otherwise. The engine is now connected to its battery bank and the microprocessor once again has power which will enable me to troubleshoot the MicroMon problems discussed previously.

There are still a number of outstanding issues to be sorted out:

• Engine exhaust - I have bought a 90° gun barrel bend to connect to the exhaust. Pat Kelly says that he can thread a bit of tubing to connect to it. The exhaust ducting can then be placed over this and will be sufficient for removing exhaust fumes.   
• Coolant loop - I need to follow up with the plumbers on the status of the engine's plumbing arrangements. I will most likely go ahead with my own plumbing if this will not be in place by Friday.
• Header tanks - Both the coolant and diesel header tanks will need to be mounted on the wall above the engine. I will need to talk to Pat about the best way to go about doing this.
• Internet Connection - I need to get a longer CAT5 cable to connect to the test cell RJ ports. I may also need to get the ports activated for outside connections.
• Computer Software - I need to install Labview on the server 

Pictures of today's progress are shown below:

View of the test cell before organization

View of the engine wired up

Desk arrangement (note I moved it into the corner as it's neater)