The mythbusters made a steam cannon that shot a 20 pound cannon ball about a mile at 60 psi.
What if we made one to go to 200 psi?
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steam cannon?
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by MisterSteve124 » Mon Dec 25, 2006 5:48 pm
You would need a really big area to fire it. But it really wouldnt be that hard just a valve and a high pressure tank with a barrel on it.
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by SpudMonster » Mon Dec 25, 2006 7:20 pm
Burst Disc. That's all I see as having the proper strength, heat resistance, and actuation time...
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by markfh11q » Tue Dec 26, 2006 7:58 am
That would be kind of nerve racking waiting for that thing to pop. How about a triggered burst disk?
Or, you could make a piston valve with steel seals like in an automotive piston. For the sealing face up front you could have lead or some other such.
Or, you could make a piston valve with steel seals like in an automotive piston. For the sealing face up front you could have lead or some other such.
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by MisterSteve124 » Tue Dec 26, 2006 10:28 am
Yeah but if you used a burst disk you would have to unscrew a huge metal barrel. I'm not sure what mythbusters used but theres was remote triggered. Why not just a remote actuated ball valve or butterfly valve.
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by Spudman07 » Tue Dec 26, 2006 12:03 pm
Yeah, they used a huge butterfly valve (I saw the episode last night). That cannon has great potential. They were worried about the valve failing from the heat, so they wrapped it in a wet towel. If you could somehow insulate the steam chamber extremely well, you should be able to make this thing happen.
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by Navigator7 » Tue Dec 26, 2006 3:01 pm
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="tahoma,verdana,arial" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by benstern
[br]The mythbusters made a steam cannon that shot a 20 pound cannon ball about a mile at 60 psi.
What if we made one to go to 200 psi?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Pressure is heat and vice versa.
100 PSI is about 300º give or take.
Also...as a builder of live steam engines and two boilers under my belt....
100 psi steam is kick ass!
I can't imagine a steam release at 100 psi...man would it sound good.
60 psi seems like a lot to me depending on the chamber and barrel diameter.
Any construction of a steam cannon would beg the installation of a steam whistle.
A steam cannon would be a great spectacle.
Flames, smoke, the smell of spitting steam, cold day operation would be nothing short of kick a$$!. There are many types of boilers. A Flash boiler, a monotube boiler and a water tube boiler strike me as suitable types.
I think a water tube boiler make the most sense... powered by a propane weed burner....only if your idea of a good time to set up, have a barbecue and spend all day shooting. A monotube boiler might out pace most people limits and getting steam up.
A flash tube boiler might work good for smaller spudding applications.
There are some real important issues to consider before just heating a pipe full of water:
Namely, a hot pipe full of steam at 60...0r 100 psi steam....suddenly released to atmosphere. The explosive power of a little water and hot pipes is very real! No different than propane, acetylene or other combustibles.
PVC of course is out for a building material.
All the principles of QEV valves, pistons and dumps still apply.
There are more things to consider. You always need to know where your water level is.
You need water dumps. You need a source of clean water. You need a water pump to fill the boiler.
The chamber could easily be a boiler.....but the dumping of the pressure is a huge concern of mine. That is exactly the phenomenon that pushed the diesel engine forward and has almost outlawed steam power in America. (Low or no water in boilers is a bomb)
None the less....a steam valve.....for steam chunkin:
<img src="http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j18/Navigator7/Waterdawg/WDa7.jpg">
[br]The mythbusters made a steam cannon that shot a 20 pound cannon ball about a mile at 60 psi.
What if we made one to go to 200 psi?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Pressure is heat and vice versa.
100 PSI is about 300º give or take.
Also...as a builder of live steam engines and two boilers under my belt....
100 psi steam is kick ass!
I can't imagine a steam release at 100 psi...man would it sound good.
60 psi seems like a lot to me depending on the chamber and barrel diameter.
Any construction of a steam cannon would beg the installation of a steam whistle.
A steam cannon would be a great spectacle.
Flames, smoke, the smell of spitting steam, cold day operation would be nothing short of kick a$$!. There are many types of boilers. A Flash boiler, a monotube boiler and a water tube boiler strike me as suitable types.
I think a water tube boiler make the most sense... powered by a propane weed burner....only if your idea of a good time to set up, have a barbecue and spend all day shooting. A monotube boiler might out pace most people limits and getting steam up.
A flash tube boiler might work good for smaller spudding applications.
There are some real important issues to consider before just heating a pipe full of water:
Namely, a hot pipe full of steam at 60...0r 100 psi steam....suddenly released to atmosphere. The explosive power of a little water and hot pipes is very real! No different than propane, acetylene or other combustibles.
PVC of course is out for a building material.
All the principles of QEV valves, pistons and dumps still apply.
There are more things to consider. You always need to know where your water level is.
You need water dumps. You need a source of clean water. You need a water pump to fill the boiler.
The chamber could easily be a boiler.....but the dumping of the pressure is a huge concern of mine. That is exactly the phenomenon that pushed the diesel engine forward and has almost outlawed steam power in America. (Low or no water in boilers is a bomb)
None the less....a steam valve.....for steam chunkin:
<img src="http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j18/Navigator7/Waterdawg/WDa7.jpg">
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by Navigator7 » Tue Dec 26, 2006 5:31 pm
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="tahoma,verdana,arial" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by benstern
[br]Uhhhh...........how does it work?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Just like any other piston cannon.
All steel and UHMW....which will take the heat.
It's a valve inside a chamber...so it is a barrel sealing piston valve.
It goes here:
<img src="http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j18/Navigator7/Waterdawg/WDa5.jpg">
It inside the white stuff.
[br]Uhhhh...........how does it work?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Just like any other piston cannon.
All steel and UHMW....which will take the heat.
It's a valve inside a chamber...so it is a barrel sealing piston valve.
It goes here:
<img src="http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j18/Navigator7/Waterdawg/WDa5.jpg">
It inside the white stuff.
- Navigator7
- Posts: 2635
- Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2004 12:00 pm
- Location: USA
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