How many holes are too many?

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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Fri Sep 28, 2007 8:46 am

shiftyguy wrote:Soda bottles and cans are not legal for sale here in PEI Canada....

But Thanks for the Idea.
I think he means pressurised cans such as nos and co2.
"Soda Bulbs" That's what he thinks you guys mean.
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Fri Sep 28, 2007 9:50 am

Multiple holes really shouldn't be a problem in a standard combustion as long as you are talking about screw size holes and not 2"ers.

Holes in the chamber, where there isn't two layers of PVC, should be fine, again, as long as you are talking about screw size holes and not a 2"ers.

It is pretty easy to patch holes in pvc... For example, to patch a hole in a 3"ID chamber, cut a 2 or 3" long piece of 3" pipe in half (so it looks like a C in cross section). Boil the piece in water for a couple minutes then pull it out and press against a piece of scrap 3" pipe and plunge the whole thing into cool water. PVC has a very low heat capacity, so even when boiling water hot you can usually handle it with bare hands, though you'll need something to reach into the boiling water to grab it with. Once the PVC has cooled, remove it from the scrap pipe. It'll probably spring closed a bit but that's OK. (This technique will enlarge the patch pipe so the new ID is about the same as pipe OD, it can also enlarge the patch ID to the OD of a fitting.)

Get a big-ass hose clamp and your PVC primer and glue. Clean and prime the "C" and the pipe. Put the "C" in place and quickly get the hose clamp on it to hold it. You want the hose clamp fairly tight but not so tight that all of the glue is squeezed out from between the two parts. Let the glue dry for at least 12hrs, 24hrs would be better. Remove the hose clamp and, ta da, you've patched your chamber. The patch should be more than strong enough for a standard combustion.

This same technique could be used to reinforce the chamber for spark electrodes if you are paranoid about weakening the chamber. This technique is also handy for increaseing the wall thickness so that threaded components have more plastic to bite into to create a better pressure seal.
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shiftyguy
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Thu Oct 04, 2007 7:49 am

Just an update on the cans and bottles here on PEI. This topic has gone a bit off tipic but what the hell.

Carbinated beverages in cans or plastic bottles are not leagal here. We are only permitted to use glass recyclable bottles.

Sounds strange but it has been like it here since the early 80's.

no caned beer here only bottles.....
Chickens should not load your spud gun!
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Thu Oct 04, 2007 3:36 pm

shiftyguy wrote:<snip>
no caned beer here only bottles.....
That would be awesome!
I hate canned beer.. beer in bottles has a much better taste
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