Item 2007_008_A_001 - Stirling Hot Air Engine

1

1880: Originally installed at Taplow Lodge on the Cliveden Estate, Buckinghamshire. It is not known how long it continued to operate.
1991: Local enthusiasts began its restoration.
1995: The engine was able to run again.

2006: Transferred to the Waterworks Museum.

1880: Originally installed and housed in a cellar, it pumped water for household and garden needs from a deep well at Taplow Lodge on the Cliveden Estate, Buckinghamshire. Discovered by the National Trust in 1991, it was restored by local enthusiasts and began to run again in 1995 and until 2004, it is believed that the engine was run only once a year.

• English

Type: 1hp
Engine No. 483 (believed to be)
Pumping capacity: 1000 gallons (4.5kl) from a well 150ft (46m) deep per day.
Made to an Rider patent design.
Hot Air Engines work on the Stirling cycle. They normally use domestic fuel such as coal or coke but able to run on virtually anything that will burn from poor coal to kitchen waste. As they do not require a boiler they are simple and safe to run but were generally considered to be inefficient.

Bay S (Southall Gallery)

Hot Air Engines are also known as Stirling engines after their invention in 1816 by Rev. Robert Stirling, a Scottish clergyman. They were often found in kitchens of large houses quietly raising water from a well beneath. 1hp engines are believed to be the largest size of Hot Air engine manufactured.

• English