My First Propane-ful Powered Combustion

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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j_diz
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Mon Nov 28, 2005 9:56 pm

Here she is...my first propane-metered combustion cannon.

Simple stats:
4" x 24" SCH40 PVC 220PSI rated chamber
2" x 48" SCH40 PVC 280PSI rated barrel
Detachable barrel for breach loading and portability
Detachable BBQ Ignition (safety first, right?)
4" 12V chamber fan.
20" of 3/8" pipe for the propane meter

Low down:
This entire cannon was built with information learned here on SpudFiles and also at BurntLatke.com - THANKS! So anyone can do this if they give it the proper time and have some patience....and use your head!

The most difficult thing to see in the pictures is the ignition - I ran some copper wire inside the chamber and the ends are right in the middle of the chamber. The wire is attached to two bolts and the bolt posts are sticking out of the chamber and that is were I attach my BBQ igniter. I remove it when it is not ready to be fired and it is not in the pix.

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Propane setup


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The naked cannon...dry fitting


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Dry fitting the propane meter


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Chamber fan - note the little black box with a small power switch


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Painting and final fittings


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Built a nice, sturdy mount with 3" PVC....


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And there she is, in all her glory. The white 1/2" PVC is holding all the batteries for the fan as well as providing a lift point to get it off the mount.

Currently firing spuds ~300 yards or so - excellent accuracy and a supreme BOOM!

Next up...pneumatic....
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TalonXxX
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Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:11 pm

:shock: WOW! that is one sweet a$$ looking cannon!! Absolutely love it! Congrats on the work you did, especially for a first propane metered combustion. I must say it looks very clean and I can't think of anything I would change on it... love the PVC stand you made for it! Very clean as well and just looks so cool... maybe paint would finish it up a bit nicer... keep up the great work! post more pics!! kill shots too :twisted:

ps. do you live out in the country? looks like ur backyard is heavily forrested...
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j_diz
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Mon Nov 28, 2005 10:39 pm

Live in the northern Georgia, out in the sticks - nobody cares about noise...

As for not painting the stand yet, it is one of those work-in-progress things. I am adding a few things to it before the paint job...I built a stand-off for the trigger so I am not right on top of it when I fire it - still trying to find the right spot. I want to add a small table top of sorts on the back side too.

Once it is finished up, I can post the update. But here is the trigger location, plus you can get a better idea of the electrode posts for spark points in the chamber.

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Thanks for the compliments!
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saladtossser
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Tue Nov 29, 2005 1:26 am

amazing man, i am in aw here.

btw, the so called "regulator" ur using sucks, i have seen that b4 in canadian tires.
"whoa... I thought pimpmann was black..."-pyromanic13
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drac
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Tue Nov 29, 2005 7:26 am

YEah, that's a flow regulator, not a pressure regulator. Pressure regulators cost about 20 bucks and have a large black handle that locks in place.

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That's a pressure regulator, I made the same mistake when I first bought a reg.


BTW, I love the gun. On the stand, it looks like some sort of anti chinese tank gun.
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j_diz
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Tue Nov 29, 2005 7:11 pm

That would explain a lot.....I wondered how an open/close valve regulated anything - but the packaging said it was......oh well, lesson learned......Thanks.
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j_diz
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:04 pm

Quick update - the mount has been painted now.....I think she is ready to roll.....
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longshot1068
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 2:59 pm

S.U.V.M.
Spudgun, Urban Vehicle Mounted

Looks good sitting in the bed, if it had a subdued paintjob it would look like some crew served tactical weapons system. like a TOW mounted on a HMMWV(Hummer).

That is a really excellent job, nice and cleanly built and painted. nice work.
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TalonXxX
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:07 pm

You definately put a ton of work into this project and it shows! This is definately the BEST gun I have seen in a while. And I don't say that about every gun that I see... it has to be evident that some thought and time went into it. Craftsmanship on this one gets an A+ from me. Again, nice job :D
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j_diz
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 3:15 pm

Well, thank you all - needless to say, this little project went WAY over budget - however....COMPLETELY worth it....
The wife begs to differ though...
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Cronic
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 4:00 pm

First congratulations on making this BEAST! And another thing your work desk is so TIDY man that's also something to congratulate you for :wink:
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drac
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:24 pm

Don't you scare your neighbors with that giant gun in the bed of your truck? :lol:

Very nice.
DriftingRz
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 6:44 pm

that is one of the best guns ive seen, nice to see some Georgians in here, where do you live in georgia, im in McDonough real close to stockbridge in Henry County
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saladtossser
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 8:08 pm

put a fake camera on it, and tilt it up/down left/right with a pilley, make it do dry fires automaticly
"whoa... I thought pimpmann was black..."-pyromanic13
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drac
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Mon Dec 05, 2005 9:32 pm

saladtossser wrote:put a fake camera on it, and tilt it up/down left/right with a pilley, make it do dry fires automaticly
Dry fire is pneumatic i think. Blank shots are for combustions, i do believe.
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