"But if I find a choice 5-inch - it's real small, about two-thirds the size of mine, I'd get that," he says. "But they're real hard to come by, especially out here."
Steve's interest in old engines dates to his high school days. He didn't began collecting and restoring until 1991, though, when he got his first engine at a swap meet.
"It's been a lot of fun," he says. "I've learned a lot of history along the way. I got into it because of the machinery, and I've loved the machine work, but there's so much history with all of it, and I've really enjoyed that."
"I seem to be becoming a diesel fanatic," he says. "I've just picked up my third one. They're really no different than a gas engine, but they have a mystique ... I'm still looking for a nice horizontal hopper cooled, but they're hard to get in California."
Still, when it comes to picking favorites, the Rider-Ericsson remains high on Steve's list. The hot-air engine, he says, never fails to draw a crowd at shows.
"People look are it, and they're just amazed," he says. "I understand that: I look at it running in the driveway, and I just shake my head."
EARLY ENGINE DESIGN HAD LITTLE POWER
"The Stirling Cycle engine is a very old design dating back to 1816, the brainchild of the Rev. Robert Stirling (1790-1878). The design is simple in its theory, but the mechanics by which this is accomplished can sometimes be a challenge to explain. Suffice to say that a contained quantity of air in the engine's cylinder is repeatedly heated and cooled by being moved from a heat source to a cooling source and back again. Since air expands when heated, and contracts when cooled, a usable pressure pulsation is generated which is applied to a piston, connecting rod and eventually a crankshaft in order to produce work. The heating of the air is usually done by a wood, coal or gas stove as part of the engine. Cooling can be accomplished by water, as in this example, or air. The pressure generated by these engines is very low, which makes them very safe (especially compared to steam). However, that low pressure translates into low horsepower output, which eventually contributed to the demise of these engines, even though many were built prior to 1900. It is interesting to note that there is a resurgence of interest in the Stirling cycle theory, and many contemporary engineers are looking, once again, at the Stirling's potnetial."-from Steve Gray's website:http://www.thegrid.net/segray/gasengine.html
For more information: Email Steve Gray at segray@thegrid.net
On the web: http://www.thegrid.net/segray/gasengine.html