Free piston valve golf ball cannon (Richmond, TX)

jmccalip · Sat May 18, 2013 1:02 pm

Take it off my hands, it's been sitting in the garage for years. Taking up space...

See previous posts for pics of build. It's MISSING the piston, which you will have to lathe yourself. Pretty easy just use some 2" HDPE stock.
4" PVC, 7' air tank.
All sch40 or sch80 build. No DWV in sight.
Sleeved SDR-21 barrel in 2" sch80.
Will fire golf ball through two pingpong tables at 60psi. The ball will travel beyond eye-sight.
It's a little dusty, so you might want to wash it down.

Edit: for the truly lazy. It's obviously more dirty now. But it has always been kept in the garage, never exposed to UV rays.

PISTON YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE.

jsefcik · Sat May 18, 2013 7:47 pm

If u pay shipping ill glady add it to my collection:)

jmccalip · Sat May 18, 2013 8:08 pm

Nice try, no way in hell I'm paying to ship it. I could just throw it away.

Must be over $100 to ship this thing.

Check out my YouTube SpudGun Channel! · Sat May 18, 2013 8:12 pm

You might want to do some tests before you ship it out (if you can find a way to seal the barrel temporarily) and whoever receives it should also do some tests. I have PVC cannons that have been sitting in my garage for as long as five years and I am quite apprehensive about using them ever again. I've tested them as recently as a year or so ago but I took every safety precaution when doing so.

jmccalip · Sat May 18, 2013 8:43 pm

MrCrowley wrote:You might want to do some tests before you ship it out (if you can find a way to seal the barrel temporarily) and whoever receives it should also do some tests. I have PVC cannons that have been sitting in my garage for as long as five years and I am quite apprehensive about using them ever again. I've tested them as recently as a year or so ago but I took every safety precaution when doing so.

Apprehensive? Are you apprehensive about the PVC under 40-60psi in your house? My house in those pictures had 20 year old plumbing with no issues. So do millions of other homes. The gun is meant to operate at low pressures(under 60psi), hence the large size. I don't have the time to test it. If y'all don't want it, don't get it. Someone will take it or it's going out in the trash.

.

Check out my YouTube SpudGun Channel! · Sat May 18, 2013 9:02 pm

Calm down. Safety is our priority here and if you're not concerned about how safe your cannon is, I can at least raise a few points to look out for the members of this forum.

First of all, low pressure is a different story. I think things get a bit more serious when you're pushing 100PSI+. I'm glad I raised the issue as members who might be interested in your cannon are now aware that it is for low-pressure only (which was not previously stated).

Are you apprehensive about the PVC under 40-60psi in your house?

Considering there is a fair amount of wood between me and the pipes, no. Also, I can be fairly sure that the PVC under my house hasn't been unduly knocked around whereas my cannons have been through enough to have had their structural integrity possibly weakened.

All I asked for is that you test it to make sure it doesn't bloody blow up on the guy who you send it to. No need to be defensive about it. I assume you live in the States so you probably want to avoid getting sued as well.

jmccalip · Sat May 18, 2013 9:10 pm

Well, considering it was build completely from at least sch40, it could be for higher pressures if you wanted...I just have a general rule of no higher than 40-60psi for PVC, period. I do not care.

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pvc-c ... d_796.html

Looking at the chart, 4" pvc has a max operating pressure of 133 psi. I want AT LEAST a 2x safety factor...

This is a really fun cannon even at 20-30 psi. It's enough to have fun launching golf balls/tennis balls 100's yards into the air

Check out my YouTube SpudGun Channel! · Sat May 18, 2013 9:13 pm

jmccalip wrote:Well, considering it was build completely from at least sch40, it could be for higher pressures if you wanted...I just have a general rule of no higher than 40-60psi for PVC, period. I do not care.

Sch40 does not indicate that the pipe is pressure rated. Most of the fittings on your cannon look rated but you might want to check that the pipe is also rated if you have not previously done so.

jmccalip · Sat May 18, 2013 9:16 pm

MrCrowley wrote:
jmccalip wrote:Well, considering it was build completely from at least sch40, it could be for higher pressures if you wanted...I just have a general rule of no higher than 40-60psi for PVC, period. I do not care.
Sch40 does not indicate that the pipe is pressure rated. Most of the fittings on your cannon look rated but you might want to check that the pipe is also rated if you have not previously done so.

True. Well it's painted, but It's not the crap cellular core PVC. I believe it said 220psi. It was years ago, but I'm sure if I drove 20 miles out of the way to source pressure 4" fittings from specialty plumbing shops, I surely spent the time making sure the pipe was rated.

jsefcik · Sat May 18, 2013 9:26 pm

Sorry I didnt see the other part,, I thought it was just a valve sorry, , hows it free if the person has to pay 100 bucks to ship it

jmccalip · Sat May 18, 2013 9:27 pm

Free to pick up. I live right next to Houston. Should be someone here I reckon. 5 million people...

jsefcik · Sun May 19, 2013 9:40 am

I wish I lived closer , that thing is an animal

Technician1002 · Sun May 19, 2013 10:54 am

I gotta ask, What happened to the original piston?

jmccalip · Sun May 19, 2013 11:39 am

Technician1002 wrote:I gotta ask, What happened to the original piston?

Lost it in move! The valve portion was always unscrewed when not in use, so of course the piston was removed too. And it got lost...

millons70 · Sun May 19, 2013 5:22 pm

How much for shipping?