stirling motor driver/holder

myminifactory

I have one of these wonderful ringbom Stirling motor models. They're fascinating because they run already at hand palm temperature, but you need to hold them in your hand or put them on ice to get them going. I have nine on my desk just because it's great to see them. But sometimes I'd like to make them run while I'm doing something on the computer. This led me to think about using a Peltier element, which can be heated electrically. So I made this Stirling stand with an integrated Peltier element, a switch, and a jack to connect a USB power supply. The Peltier element I have draws 6A @ 15V, but that 70W would definitely destroy my beautiful model for sure. However, when using the 5V from the USB adapter, there's only a max of 1A flowing, and it'll go lower as it gets warm. With this 5W, the Stirling runs perfectly. Yes, yes - I know that driving a Stirling with electricity is somehow unconventional, but.......