We calculate the equation of state of strange quark matter and the interior structure of strange quark stars in a Dyson-Schwinger quark model within rainbow or Ball-Chiu vertex approximation. We emphasize constraints on the parameter space of the model due to stability conditions of ordinary nuclear matter. Respecting these constraints, we find that the maximum mass of strange quark stars is about 1.9 solar masses, and typical radii are 9-11 km. We obtain an energy release as large as 3.6 × 10 53 erg from conversion of neutron stars into strange quark stars.