Potato canon !!!!!!!

[DekuScrub]

looking for insight. ive only made a couple of potato cannons one of which burnt off my eyelashes, one eyebrow, and half of my facial hair.

ive made a proposition with a few of my friends and it seems a competition is in order.

im looking for pocket aces.

i know the ratio of accelerant to oxygen is fundamental but i dont know what these formulas may be. im not walter white and i am no chemist. i was considering a 50/50 combustion chamber where i could just turn a valve and sufficient mixture is complete. but hair spray seems.......uncreative. (it also messes up your contacts because its uber sticky) i was considering propane. but that seems a bit overkill. im afraid of the chamber exploding or the volume depleting combustibility, ive noticed my grill dosnt like to start sometimes when there is too much propane.

(oh i plan on covering it it duct tape to minimize shrapnel and to make it look AWESOME!)

i dont need PVC shrapnel in my neck. so something too intense is out of the question even with scheduled 80 PVC. BUT I DO have a cracker. or rather a whipped cream whipper. if you dont know what that is its an apparatus that allows you to "crack" or release nitrous oxide cartridges. so i have that option at my disposal

im thinking this may be precisely the upper hand i need but im afraid of the explosive potential. then again i could be entirely wrong that this is a sufficient catalyst for some explosive force. mind you anytime i pretend to be smart its shit i learned from bill nye when i was 12.

so basically my concept is the standard potato cannon. but i intended on separating the combustion chamber into two parts with a valve. im also unsure of what accelerant would be ideal. even butane (lighter recharge canisters) seems like an option but like i said id like some more experienced opinions so i dont have to set up some test shots from a considerable distance behind some plexiglass

ready go.

oh yeah im sexy and you missed me /winning

 

[slim pik]

I do'nt know if this is applicable or not.When we were kids we would make a cannon using tin cans.We would cut the tops and bottoms out except for the can on the end which we left the bottom in.We taped them altogether to form a 4-5 foot long string.Pierced a hole at the end,poured some lighter fluid through the hole,rolled the cannon a few times,lit it at the hole,boom a nice pop.Never fired projectiles with it,we did it for sound effects.Simple but effective.

 

[DekuScrub]

nah that wont work for this but im sure ill try it sometime. we were messing around with dry ice bombs last week and accidentally developed a rocket. apparently juicy juice bottles are ideal for this because the plastic is too thick to burst and they have large caps

 

[DekuScrub]

and so no one else has any input? some of you must have made spud guns at some point

 

[Cainschams]

My friend has one. launches pototatoes about 300 yards. The barrel is about 8 or 10 feet long. He just uses aqua net with a grill lighter. Its really fun. Its even more fun when you have had a lot to drink

 

[Solid Snake]

http://potatocannon.nodice.org/

Have fun, be safe...

(remember, you never know what will happen when your (drunk and) having fun...)

 

[Hoj]

Ether is a great fuel. The kind you buy for quick starting engines in the arosole can.

 

[Dsignrguy]

Lightweights, all of ya!!!!!!

125psi compressed air.

 

[DekuScrub]

"Lightweights, all of ya!!!!!!"

SEE thats what i was looking for. from what i understand the compressed air is is more powerful and reliable for consistency. i have a 27 gallon compressor in my basement but i cant lug that around. otherwise i would have considered a compressed air build. we have some neighbors that already have an unsavory opinion of us and we dont have enough room outback to hold the event here.

so Hoj youre saying i can use nitrous oxide and have it be effective? any ideas on whats going to be most effective without blowing the thing apart?

"Have fun, be safe..." hahaha yeah i now know, if i hadnt set my face on fire i would just be shoving accelerants in there willy nilly.