By the way, the screws that arc electricity in my combustion always get the residue from Aquanet ( best fuel comes from the old lady department at Wal-Mart ) and its hell to clean out from all the little things that stick out of the side of the screw. Will nails work jsut as well as screws? they seem like they would be alot easier to clean...
I wouldn't use nails. They aren't threaded, so they'd probably be more likely to fly out if the cannon was somehow over-pressurized. What I would do is screw in the screws, then take them out, and thread them in from inside the cannon so that the heads of the screws form the spark gap. Then, you can clip/grind/whatever the part of the screws outside the chamber, so you have the benefit of easy-to-clean spark gaps, with the added safety of threaded screws!
Or you could just use a clean burning fuel, such as propane... I've actually heard that starter fluid burns pretty clean, as well...
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:20 am
by Gippeto
Ah, yes... the old "flaming boulder" thing. The obsession of many a young man.
Oh-well, they are your friends, so do as you will.
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:21 am
by viskaren
Hmm how about i use nails and a roll of duct tape lol
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:24 am
by Hubb
viskaren wrote:Hmm how about i use nails and a roll of duct tape lol
That would actually work...and you'd get ghetto points.
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:27 am
by viskaren
god if my internet would stop being mentally deficient i would attach these paint files
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:31 am
by viskaren
im still a private? jeez...
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:31 am
by MrCrowley
I'm beginning to like this guy, wish all new comers were like you
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:33 am
by viskaren
Heh thank you im just on a mental roll
-Would a spring powered cartridge work? like....eh i might have to use ascii to illustrate this lol
Merged:
the internet needs less pop-ups and more potato cannon trajectory and ballistics models
Merged:
a spud-shaped wooden box affixed to the barrel of the gun with like 6 potatoes lined up with a spring that pushed one in after every shooting....hmmmm....brb get paper....
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 1:55 am
by MrCrowley
Hey,
I just merged your tripple post. Sorry but we don't allow double, or tripple, posting on Spudfiles. It just keeps the forum cleaner looking and easier to read for gathering info.
viskaren wrote:By the way, the screws that arc electricity in my combustion always get the residue from Aquanet ( best fuel comes from the old lady department at Wal-Mart ) and its hell to clean out from all the little things that stick out of the side of the screw. Will nails work jsut as well as screws? they seem like they would be alot easier to clean...
Don't use nails and only use screws that are tapped through 2 layers of PVC, like where the coupler or cleanout overlap the PVC pipe.
Obviously you have run into the downfall of the "spray and pray" aquanet launcher...eventually you need to just rebuild the things, they get so gummed up. Design yourself an advanced propane model, take your time and build it right and it will last you a lifetime, typically with little or no cleanup or maintenance.
Edit: Sorry I basically echoed Pilgramman's response...
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 2:18 am
by Hubb
This link may help. It's Pete Zaria's how-to on an advanced combustion.
Ok it wont be a problem to rebuild one cause they are so easy to make. Sorry about the triple post i skimmed the rules beforehand but obviously didnt see all of them so ill re-read the rules and check out the links you guys gave me. thanks.
Edit- Zaria's plans look simple enough, albeit somewhat expensive. The only thing still causing me trouble is the propane meter, can you link me an explanation for this or something?
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:19 am
by Ragnarok
viskaren wrote:the internet needs less pop-ups and more potato cannon trajectory and ballistics models
Well, actually... I'm working on one at the moment.
If I pull my finger out and knuckle down, the Beta version should be available in a few days.
Posted: Sun Mar 09, 2008 11:25 am
by viskaren
Awesome, though im usually not mathematically adequate enough to know what all of the measurements are on my cannon.