KUHFIB (Now with video of FEAR firing a 10x mix)

Harness the power of precision mixtures of pressurized flammable vapor. Safety first! These are advanced potato guns - not for the beginner.
Killjoy
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Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:16 pm

KUHFIB- "Killjoy's Universal Hybrid Fueling and Ignition Box" AKA: "The Box"


Overview

Well I've been working on this for the past couple weeks now on and off, and was much suprised as to how well it came out.

I got the idea to do this right after DYI finished his Universal Fuel Meter. I liked the use of gauges, but I decided I would spend the extra bucks and go digital, since this would replace all fuel meters and ignition set ups for all my present, uncompleted, and future Hybrid cannons (at the moment there are 2 in various stages of completion, along with FEAR which is being rebuilt).

Now to what really matters:

Specs:

-Housed in a steel tool box. Constructed with 1/16" steel plate and 1/2" particle board.
-Capable of fueling up to 20x propane/air mix.
-300PSI digital pressure gauage with +-1% accuracy and 0.1 PSI resolution.
-50kv ignition system using 2 camera flash capacitors discharged through two ignition coils connected in parallel.
-All componants except compressed air source housed in box.
-4' long 1/4" fueling hose rated for 5000psi.
-All electronically controled.


Pictures

The Box
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The Internals
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Everything Packed Up
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The Control Panel (With Functions Labeled).
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The Key Switch
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The Digital Gauge (With Backlight On)
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The Firing Trigger
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The Meter Internals
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The Ignition Set Up and 12 Volt Power Source
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The design is pretty basic and the pictures show almost everything, but if you have any questions about how it works or something just ask.



Notes: All the controls will be labeled once I get a labeler, I will probably get it tommorow when I go get my 200psi air compressor.
Also, I still need to finish adding the wires that connect the ignition system to the cannon.

Oh and here's a sneak peak picture of my 20x hybrid rifle which will put The Box to its full use.

Image
Last edited by Killjoy on Fri Jul 11, 2008 3:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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frankrede
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Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:23 pm

Amazing work!
Thats really cool!
I might have to do something similar, how much did that digital pressure gauge run you?
How much altogether how much did it cost you?
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Killjoy
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Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:32 pm

Hey thanks frank.

The gauage cost me a little over 80 dollars and I got it from mcmaster.

The switches that open the valves are momentary, so I hold them down until I reach the desired pressure and then release them, closing the valves.

It cost me around a 160 bucks.
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starman
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Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:34 pm

Very nice Killjoy!! What model electric valves did you use and where may I ask did you acquire them?

The rifle is looking interesting as well. Do you have an ETA on that thing.
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MrCrowley
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Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:36 pm

Damn nice, very professional looking.

The hybrid looks pretty interesting too, how long 'till its done?
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Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:43 pm

There's only a couple hours of work left on it, I need to rip the fuel meter off and replace it with a quick connect fitting, and I need to rebuild the spark gap. I also want to shorten the stock and reinforce a few things. It does work though, but I could never get anything over a 4x mix to work.

Unfortunantly, I've got full time work for the next couple weeks so it could be a few more weeks before I finish it.

Edit:
My bad starman didn't see your post.
I'm not sure what the brand is, I found them at a salvage yard for a government lab and I think I paid like 15 bucks for the both of them. The big brass one can take upto 600 PSI and the smaller one for the fuel can only handle 175PSI, which is why it's isolated by that ball valve.
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starman
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Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:16 pm

Killjoy wrote:I'm not sure what the brand is, I found them at a salvage yard for a government lab and I think I paid like 15 bucks for the both of them. The big brass one can take upto 600 PSI and the smaller one for the fuel can only handle 175PSI, which is why it's isolated by that ball valve.
Crap, I'm finding most solenoid controlled valves are ridiculously expensive. I'm looking for some at a reasonable cost from a reliable supplier...not Vito on Ebay... :?
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 12:59 am

Yeah I know the prices are insane. I was going to buy mine new but couldn't afford it, but fortunantly I stumbled upon a couple at the salvage yard.

The cheapest one's I've seen though are at surpluscenter.com .They're still in th 50 dollar range, and most have a 100 psi max rating, but there's a couple for 10 or 12 bucks so it's worth a look.

If you're willing to work with AC valves though, they have some good ones cheap. There's a 500PSI 24 volt AC valve for 7 dollars here that might interest you:
http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2 ... atname=air
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frankrede
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:57 am

Killjoy wrote: If you're willing to work with AC valves though, they have some good ones cheap. There's a 500PSI 24 volt AC valve for 7 dollars here that might interest you:
http://surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2 ... atname=air
Hmm, would a rectifier solve that problem?
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 4:00 am

Well, no. A rectifier wouldn't convert DC to AC, it can only convert AC to DC because AC alternates. You would have to use something like a power inverter (like the ones you can get for a car). I'm sure there's other ways but I can't think of any right now.
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psycix
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 6:28 am

Wow that box has awesome looks!
What a great idea to build a fuel meter like that.
VERY clean build, and its one hell of an useful thing.
It may have cost you 160 bucks, but this is like the only fuel meter youl'l ever need so its worth the cost.
This is a 5-star fuel meter! :D
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 6:52 am

HOLY HE** that is inspiring!

hmm you just got me to run of and get some parts to clean up my meter and make it so i can remove it from the gun :P

great work!
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:39 am

that is bad arse! love it. the box would really freak out the average civilian, sure wouldnt want to carry it to the airport lol. might need to register it with the ATF... j/k. really nice work.
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:41 am

Great job Killjoy!

I've been wanting to integrate my fueling and ignition systems together, and this has given me some good ideas. I don't think I'll be converting to digital gauges though, I like having as little to break down as possible.

And that rifle looks vicious, I look forward to seeing it in action. It doesn't use a burst disk valve, does it?
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Sun Jul 06, 2008 11:09 am

wow that looks insane! I really want to build a hybrid now.
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