permaculture

[Phil Vergamini <phil@inetserv.com>]

Someone asked about a stove-top fan in this thread.  In addition to 
the thermo-electric fan that is fairly popular with wood stove 
enthusiasts, there is a wood stove fan - the Heat Wave -  that is 
based on 200 year old technology - the Stirling engine - which 
efficiently converts heat energy directly to mechanical.  I got one 
in December of '05 and love it - although it is a bit on the pricy 
side - ~$170 - I got mine for $150 in December.  It comes with a 
lifetime warranty.  Contact info is below.

If you are interested in some of the research that is going on with 
this external combustion engine, just google Stirling engine and 
you'll be kept busy for a while.  As an example, research done at 
Sandia Nat'l Lab in Albuquerque, NM with two electrical generating 
companies in California and a manufacturing company in Arizona is 
being applied to creating a 1 GW production facility in California. 
The basic unit is a Stirling engine with the hot end sitting at the 
focal point of a parabolic mirror about the size of an old satellite 
TV dish.  The array will consist of a large number of these units. 
Another example is a unit planned by a New Zealand company that 
contains a Stirling engine in an appliance unit about the size of a 
kitchen dishwasher.  It burns natural gas and supplies both 
electricity and heat for a complete household.

The contact info for the Heat Wave stove fan is:

http://www.thermalengines.com/


Thermal Engine Corporation
105 A8 Commerce Circle
Madison, Alabama 35758

Toll-free order line:
1-877-573-4188

--
Phil Vergamini, Santa Fe, NM 
mailto:phil@inetserv.com          http://www.inetserv.com/