Sunnytech Mini Hot Live Steam Engine Model Education Toy DIY Qj-05 (QJ-05)

Terrific engine. Works well, solidly built, better quality parts. Works with 90+ alcohol. Excellent for school project/presentation or attractive enough for your desk. Pleasantly surprised.

Very cheap, simply does not work. To start out it arrived nearly completely disassembled. every nut was loose, not even hand tight. Once everything was tightened up, it never once rotated under its own power. The steam just leaks from everywhere. I adjusted everything i could. Didnt work. I even soldered the mating surface between the block and pot because it was so out of wack the steam just eased right out. The flywheel is too light. Stay away. I never write bad reviews but this one deserves it. So now its just a paperweight and truthfully its not even good for that because its so top heavy.

I bought this because of my complete satisfaction with Sunnytech's miniature Stirling Engine. The Stirling Engine is absolutely perfect. The steam engine does not come up to the level of the Stirling Engine. Part of this is simply due to the fact that heating air is much, much easier than boiling water, so the amount of wait time until the engine begins to run is considerably longer for this engine. However, the small alcohol burner that comes with this unit is extremely fragile -- my first one broke as I was filling it (maybe cracked?). Sunnytech replaces this at no cost. Sunnytech offers a brass alcohol burner as a separate item and I purchased two of these, but have not yet had an opportunity to try them out. The little glass burners may cause safety issues also because the wick holder does not fit tight, and if some alcohol spills out, there could be a fire. The little steam engine will start up and run very well with a little encouragement, but it is very hard to fill the boiler, even using the little syringe packed in the box. There isn't really any good way to tell how much water enters the boiler because water will spill out of the syringe when filling the boiler through the very small hole in the boiler. The hole is also in an inconvenient place on the boiler. Once water is in the boiler and the unit is working, there is no way to tell how much water remains. Also, there is no way to empty the boiler except to unscrew it and pour out the remaining water. It is not difficult and there is a wrench supplied to do the trick, (watch for the clear gasket) but it takes time. Do not even think of putting anything but DISTILLED WATER in this machine. The orifices for the steam are very small and using tap water will undoubtedly cause the unit to fail in very short order. It isn't clear whether this unit requires lubrication as the Willesco engines do, and the instructions packed with it are not very informative. So, bottom line -- this is a really attractive little unit and is perfect as an educational STEM toy. I bought it for my mechanically inclined granddaughter, but I would never allow her to use it without my close supervision (she is 10). However, I think it would be very foolish and dangerous to let a 10-year-old use any of these alcohol-fired heat engines without close adult supervision.

It's not high on manufacturing standards, but it's a workable little engine that runs at a pretty good clip. I used denatured alcohol to fuel it, and distilled water. Mine came with a little plastic squeeze bottle suitable for the alcohol, and a hypodermic syringe perfect for adding water to it. You'll probably need only 3 ml and you'll have plenty of water in it. Use some oil (I used 3-In-One household oil) to lubricate the slide valve, flywheel shaft and piston. You don't need very much wick at all to get a decent flame. Light it, close the fill valve, and wait a minute or two. Give the flywheel a little spin, and it will take off. Note that it's not balanced, so it vibrates a fair amount and it may start to walk away. Always wanted a live steam engine since I was a boy, and it didn't disappoint!

Water overflows, no steam, no turn.

Great educational toy. The design is robust and likely to be trouble free for years to come. Basically you fill the chamber with water, and the burner with alcohol, lite it, and let it run. I never cease to be amazed with the steam engine. The only obvious engineering flaw is there is no flat surface to grab on to when unscrewing the water cylinder so you have to be gentle yet unscrew it forcefully if you tightened it at all hard. Overall, this is great for virtually any age person with curiosity.

This thing is a lot of fun. It works really well, but you do need to keep it oiled. Makes a great desktop toy

The thing barely even works the seal isn't very good on it and it leaks Steam I can't get it to seal up no matter how hard I try it's not worth the money Better Off selling it as scrap what a joke