# Tea-light stands: a Ø38 cup pocket on a column, at the height an engine needs

> How do I hold a tea light at the right height under or beside a Stirling engine?

- Category: Stirling engines › Stirling & thermoacoustic
- Kind: Hardware
- Basis: Tea light cup Ø38 × 16 from the tea-light-candles entry; heights from the assembled alpha V-twin and Ross yoke alpha engines on this site (cup top 15 mm below the hot barrel)
- Page: https://xemstudio.com/objects/tea-light-stand/ · JSON: https://xemstudio.com/api/geometry?object=tea-light-stand · Plain text: https://xemstudio.com/objects/tea-light-stand/sheet.txt
- License: dimension sheet CC BY 4.0 (Xem Studio); linked files under their publishers' licenses

**Exact dimensions.** Every file is drawn at true size with no printing tolerance. The holes and pins that meet another part are listed below under Mating features, with the fit each joint needs; open those by your printer's or process's clearance before making the part.

## Notes

- A Ø30 column on a 50 × 60 × 5 base carries a Ø44 head with a Ø38 × 8 pocket that takes the tea light's cup. The column stands 15 mm from one end of the base, so the base reaches away from the engine and clears its foot.
- H97: the alpha V-twin syringe engine, cup centred under the hot (+45°) barrel 5 mm in from its tip end, cup top 15 mm below the barrel. h185: the Ross yoke alpha, cup beside the hot barrel (axes 36 mm apart), cup top 15 mm below the barrel's tip end.
- The pocket is drawn at the cup's diameter exactly (see Mating features).

## Mating features (exact size; open press / slide / run / socket by your process clearance, leave designed and clamp as drawn)

| feature | exact | mates with | fit | files |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| cup pocket | Ø38 × 8 | tea light cup Ø38 | socket | tea-light-stand-* |

## Sizes

| stand | height_mm | cup_floor_mm | for |
|---|---|---|---|
| tea-light-stand-h97 | 97 | 89 | alpha V-twin syringe |
| tea-light-stand-h185 | 185 | 177 | Ross yoke alpha |

## Where the files are

- Long Earth Society: [Engine builds](https://longearthsociety.com/engineering/) — web, video — LES site

## Free STEP/STL (2 parts, CC BY 4.0, Xem Studio)

Index: https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/tea-light-stand/index.json

- tea-light-stand-h97: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/tea-light-stand/tea-light-stand-h97.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/tea-light-stand/tea-light-stand-h97.stl) — tea-light stand 97 tall: Ø38 × 8 cup pocket (floor 89 above the table), Ø44 head, Ø30 column, 50 × 60 × 5 base with the column 15 from one end
- tea-light-stand-h185: [STEP](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/tea-light-stand/tea-light-stand-h185.step) · [STL](https://xemstudio.com/files/hardware/tea-light-stand/tea-light-stand-h185.stl) — tea-light stand 185 tall: Ø38 × 8 cup pocket (floor 177 above the table), Ø44 head, Ø30 column, 50 × 60 × 5 base with the column 15 from one end

## Questions

**How high should a tea light sit under a Stirling engine?**

With the cup top 15–20 mm below the hot surface. The h97 stand does that under the alpha V-twin's hot barrel, the h185 beside the Ross yoke alpha's.

**What size pocket holds a tea light?**

Ø38 × 8, the cup's own diameter (cups run Ø37.5–39 across makers).

## Fits with

- [Tea lights, maxi tea lights and votives (heat sources)](https://xemstudio.com/objects/tea-light-candles/)
- [Build list: Alpha V-twin, two 10 mL syringes](https://xemstudio.com/objects/list-alpha-v-twin-syringe/)
- [Build list: Ross yoke alpha, two parallel 10 mL syringes](https://xemstudio.com/objects/list-ross-yoke-alpha/)
- [Alpha V-twin frame for two 10 mL syringes at 90°](https://xemstudio.com/objects/alpha-v-twin-syringe-frame/)
- [Ross yoke a = h = 20 for two parallel syringes](https://xemstudio.com/objects/ross-yoke/)