I promised Luigi that I'd post again on this when there was more to share, and this makes good on that threat.
I think I've managed to eliminate about 2/3 of the plumbing and a lot of the built-losses of the earlier design with another (sleep deprived) go-round at whole business.
If it works as expected, it'll open the door for a no-fluids version with a 'hard' piston that'll be suitable for generating electrical power
- a job for which the previous (wet) design just wasn't well-suited.
If you're interested, there's a new web page at
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's looking less and less like either an engine /or/ a pump. :)