SpudFiles

see im trying to build a launcher to throw a small water balloon about 100 feet. my design specs are to make a launcher as small as possible and as cheep as possible. although i have a 3000psi paintball HPA tank that i can use as a fuel source for the air. i have already tried to hook the tank directly to a barrel and have the valve release but that just results in the balloon flopping out of the barrel. i have noticed that when people use things like air compressors they still have a secondary PVC compression tank that the air compressor fills up before firing, my other question is can i use my tank to pressurize the PVC chamber or do i risk is exploding if the tank overfills the PVC chamber?

any ideas?

Just make a small 1 ich ball valve two inch barrel lancher, you'll get ranges of 200 feet at 60 psi

yes but how big would the chamber have to be and how ling would the barrel have to be?

also what about the question with the 3000psi tank, would it not burst the pvc chamber?

Does your HPA tank have a regulater and pressure guage? Yes you could blow up PVC pipe. The basic trick is to get a quick releasing valve so the air will exit the barrel at once or as close to it as possible.

Welcome to Spudfiles.

well yes the tank has a gauge, but not to sure if it has a regulator. and what do you mean by a quick release valve?

You need to spend some time studying in the Wiki. The button is at the top of the page, search "valves". The Wiki is the most usfull tool here I think...

After you learn about valves look through the showcase section to see how most spud cannons are configured. From looking at them you should easiely be able to come up with a build design.

Once you figure all that out feel free to post your design in the decussion section and then ask any questions you may have.

We do not spoonfeed here. You wont learn anything if we do...

build a coaxial piston valve/gun making the valve is really cheap and easy if you make the piston out of hot glue and stuff you have around the house. or if you check out my Hornet balloon launcher that might give you some ideas (i used a modded sprinkler valve) and it launches balloons 70-80m, dont copy it please

can you send me a link to it plz

il try but i have no idea how

edit:http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/hornet- ... 21002.html

that thing is huge though, im looking for a much smaller option, like i said i have a 3000psi compressed air tank(standard paintball HPA bottle), but for some reason when i run the tank straight to the barrel and use a valve i get like 2 feet out of. my main question is what is the purpose of having a secondary pvc compression chamber is i already have the psi output from my tank?

no its tiny compared to what i normally build

http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/viewtop ... tml#285333

If i were you i would build a small galvanized chamber feeding to a 3/4" QEV. Charge it up to about 500psi and stick on your waterballon barre;

I'm surprised that safety was not covered more. Anytime a distraction or failed control device can fail, (pressure switch, gauge, regulator,valve) an Automatic safety device is highly recommended. The safety can be one time or self rresetting. It must be automatic.

A compressor pop off valve or rupture disk of the proper rating should be used any time a source of pressure can exceed the launcher's maximum safe pressure.

Add wadding you won't ever get mire than 2 feet without it

There is a water ballong cannon on youtube, it uses a sort of plastic cup shape wadding to push the ballon and falls off after the shot.