PeleusTech Stirling Engine Kit with Electric Generator - Hot Air Physics Science Kits Educational Model Toys

I bought this for my great nieces and nephews as a science project. The pictures showed wires coming from the generator. There were no wires in the kit. I made my own connection using alligator clips and stereo wire. It was enough for the light to work. After that they had a fun time playing with it and trying to figure out how it works.

Mine came with all parts in good condition. It could be assembled with the parts as is but some careful cleaning of rough edges with a rotery tool would make it nicer. Overall I got my money's worth and I'm satisfied with that.

* The hot cylinder wall was shipped broken. Not a big deal. There are replacements. The replacements are also chipped, but whatever. The displacer piston is also cracked. No replacement for that.* The power piston's shaft scrapes along the cylinter wall. That's going to sap all your efficiency as it tries to overcome this friction.* Missing generator belt and electrical leads.* Oh, remember that extra friction from that shaft I mentioned earlier? That won't be a problem. The displacer shaft is too long, compared to the U-mount. From the pictures you can see that the displacer piston at full extension has the shaft at the left abut the mount, but the right is not yet in line with the center. In other words, you get "stuck" and unable to complete rotation.* Fortunately I bought a second unit. Unfortunately you can see the misalignment even more obviously from the second unit.This isn't a simple case of "shipping malfunction". The unit itself simply could not work. If any of you previous "positive reviewers" actually got your hand on working units, then future customers can at least know that no matter what, at a minimum there is a quality control issue. (but more likely just don't even waste your time.)

Good surprise : It arrived fully assembled.Bad surprise : one of the glass piston cylinders was broken and there was no replacement in the box.I gave it a test anyhow but it does not seem to work at all. Disappointing.EDIT : after some researching and tinkering i got it to work. Seems it was assembled incorrectly and the pistons were not moving in the correct phase. They should be offset by about 90deg. Instructions in the box are bad enough to be useless.

One of the wire from the motor was broken off and missing. The plate surface was scratched next to the motor

My quartz glass tube has big chips around the edges and the light bulb is not USB as shown in the pictures. The engine will run but not very long even with the burner still going. The light bulb flickers when the cheap alligator clips stay on. I understand the price point thing so I will keep it at that. You will be buying a cheap item that will satisfy a curiosity.

This nifty little working model is precision made of high-quality materials, with minimal assembly required. The clear glass cylinders allow a better understanding of the Stirling cycle. It also makes nice static display.

Works great. Original shipment had power piston assembly missing, seller reshipped a replacement quickly. Very pleased.