SpudFiles

ok so I put together a shirt cannon going off of some specs I found online. This is what I built http://kipkay.com/wp-content/uploads/20 ... uncher.pdf I also watched two different videos in which this gun was made (by different people) and they don't seem to have the problem I'm having.
Now I'm thinking its a valve problem and I need to mod the valve but I'm just making sure that if I mod the valve I will be getting what I want (since I already made up the electrical trigger) . I built this style cannon because I wanted to shoot a couple shirts before I had to re-pressurize the main holding tank, but what I'm getting is if I only shoot from the "shooting air chamber" the shirt barley gets out a few feet, but if I use the same pressure and use both tanks (shooting tank and main holding tank) it launches the shirt ok (still think I could get a little more distance). so basically at this point I have a one shot cannon and I wanted a multiple shot on a single charge. oh yea I do get the honking valve.

thanks Danny

That design is very ineffecient and low range by design. The restriction to go to a 1 inch valve severly limits flow. If you want shots further than about 30-50 feet, consider a much larger valve, and mod it.

When you up the effeciency of the valve, you can get by with a smaller firing chamber which uses less air. My marshmallow cannon with a 2.5 inch barrel 3 feet long can launch shirts about 200 feet on 100 PSI.

well with using both tanks at 50 psi its getting a little over 100' distance with about 25+ foot of elevation, which is'nt all that bad for what I want, a little more distance would be good but according to things I found online with this design just over 100' distance at about 45psi in shooting chamber is what I should be getting not using both air chambers.

How the shirt is rolled and secured does affect the distance. Roll for a relatively snug fit so little air blows by.

here is a video I found on youtube he is shooting from the "shooting" chamber only and getting good distance and getting some honking ? mine is shooting like this but only using both air chambers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAfiRQaI ... detailpage

I would modify the valve and get rid of that whole u shape where the pvc ball valve is and make it a strait shot. You are restricting air flow in this area which is why your performance is limited.

the U shape and ball valve shouldn't be used during firing, thats just to transfer air from the storage tank to the shooting tank.....

Hey if you want to really improve your gun and its flow you should try a
1 1/2 inch diaphragm valve like matty and I use. Push on the link to see it.
http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/my-sole ... 24294.html

ohhhh now I see. Still I would modify the sprinkler valve for better performance as technician suggested. If its still not strong enough than you need a better and bigger valve. Also I dont know how much air pressure your using, but those bell reducers are not pressure rated. Some tend to frown upon those things around here!

Thats because getting plastic shrapnel in you is no fun

thanks. yea I know about not being pressure rated, going off other things I've found on this design I "SHOULD" only need to put 40-50 psi in the shooting tank to get the shirt to do 100', and putting 70-80 psi in the "reserve" tank should get me a couple extra shots, so the max that this will see is prob arround 80 psi, which by what I've seen arround here thats very low pressure...LOL

Hope it works well. DO you know how to solvent weld properly or not i'm just curious.

well I have done my share of PVC pipe work over the years for water and air, 1/2" through 4", and cant remember ever having a problem with my glue joints.....

Try this: http://www.ipexinc.com/Content/Registra ... Code=en-CA

You may learn a couple things. I certainly did, and will probably check it out again today for a refresher.

so a quick update. I modded my valve and now it shoots like I want it to !!! At 40psi. in just the shooting chamber I got a 145' x about 20"-25" of height shot !!! and I can now get multiple shots out of one fill