A glimpse of whats coming

Boom! The classic potato gun harnesses the combustion of flammable vapor. Show us your combustion spud gun and discuss fuels, ratios, safety, ignition systems, tools, and more.
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Moonbogg
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:30 am

Hi,
This is my new design. Its nearing completion but is still a work in progress. I can't decide if the first version will be stainless or painted steel. I would love stainless, but it all depends on how much my buddy quotes me. Current barrel shown is a .8:1 C:B ratio. I wasn't going to post yet, but I am too excited to not post a preview.
Fully welded construction with removable chamber flange for fan and spark strip access. Innovative (I think) bracketry system for much cleaner, and much more secure structure definition. Anyway, i'll post more later with section views and actual drawings detailing all the goodies and electronics of the inside and all when shes done. Then, when she actually gets manufactured and assembled, i'll certainly post pics and video of the real thing to compare. Wish me luck.
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starman
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:46 am

Looks good so far. You do know this can be easily built with PVC without going to the expense and trouble of metal construction....unless you just want to of course. Still a lot of effort for a tater shooter.

Were you designing for removable/replaceable barrels? A metal camlock would work very well here. Also, be sure to include the volume of the U in the rear as part of your chamber space.

Chamber looks bigish relative to your barrel...at least in this depiction.
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Moonbogg
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 2:56 am

The steel construction is worth it to me and probly to others as well, at least for the peace of mind. If you drop a PVC gun, you risk it failing from a friggin crack, sunlight etc. Most of all, I like the professional build quality that is to come of it. Custom structure definition and no loose ends. Very clean and STRONG. You could pass this tater shooter down to your friggin grandkids. The chamber looks long because it is tube and not pipe. The chamber might look large because it is long and skinny, because SCH40 is much fatter than steel tube. I considered camlocks and they are not out of the question. As it is, the chamber has a 2" male adapter, so barrel changes are no problem. I will include a simple slotted bracket on the front flange to slide up and down to accomodate support for any barrel size.
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Moonbogg
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 3:08 am

Look at this sexy baby. She'll be on the gun for sure.

http://www.lambind.com/switches/trigger ... hy15.shtml
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SP00K
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:20 am

IT WOOKS WUNDAFOOL :P
TurboSuper
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:56 am

You should add a coupler for a burst disk, would give you some headroom in case you want to build a hybrid someday. Get the most out of that steel.

Looks good so far :D
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Radiation
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:30 pm

A few design obsticals you will need to figure out, weight is going to be a problem. Thats a lot of metal! You are going to have a lot of fun learning about electrical isolation. Assuming you're doing this design right you'll be using a high voltage ignition source and not some cheesy BBQ ignitor. High voltage + metal inclosure = Don King permanent hairdo! I'd love to see you pull this off, but if you are doing it, do it well! :)
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D_Hall
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Sat Dec 20, 2008 10:32 pm

Radiation wrote:You are going to have a lot of fun learning about electrical isolation. Assuming you're doing this design right you'll be using a high voltage ignition source and not some cheesy BBQ ignitor. High voltage + metal inclosure = Don King permanent hairdo!
And yet, an automotive ignition system is trivial. Me thinks you're making it harder than it really is (and yes, I've done it... it's trivial).
Simulation geek (GGDT / HGDT) and designer of Vera.
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Radiation
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Sun Dec 21, 2008 1:16 am

I didn't say it would be particularly hard. I just was pointing out it will take a little more doing than tie average gun. no chicken little here my friend. :P
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Moonbogg
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Thu Dec 25, 2008 12:19 pm

starman wrote:Looks good so far. You do know this can be easily built with PVC without going to the expense and trouble of metal construction....
Damn voices of reason. It was fun to design, but its gonna cost so freakin much i'm afraid to even bother getting quotes. The metal might be useful for a stronger type of gun, but for a guy like me, you can beat the simplicity of a simple propane gun.
I'm considering a really well thought out and designed PCV gun, maybe with clear chamber and really clean construction. I'd use Cellcore ABS, but it doesn't come clear and a clear chamber would be awesome, like "The Nuker"
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