Watch: How to Build an Engine That Runs on Hot Air

Most folks have heard about steam engines, but there’s another type of external combustion engine that’s safer (due to lower pressure), and a small one can be made relatively easily using a pair of soda cans and a few other odds and ends.

It’s called a Stirling hot air engine, and it’s powered by a small flame. This 2-minute video shows you how to make it:

What’s it good for, you ask? Well, it might be just the thing for living off the grid, at least for a little while. This video from the same YouTuber shows a better Stirling engine, which generates electricity to power a light and will also turn a pretty large fan. And on a windy day, it can be used as a wind generator to produce electricity.

Pretty cool!

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.