SpudFiles

New to this hobby....please be patient I could not find the answer I am looking for after searching for after about an hour. I would hate to chalk this up to our inexperience and move on to something else, I would like to get this cannon running properly again.

My friend and I built a cannon and used a standard BBQ Push Button Igniter. The first 20 shots or so it fired everytime with very good range, we were happy with the way it was performing. All of a sudden it stopped shooting. Looking in the chamber the igniter would only create a spark every 20+ clicks. Does anyone know what caused this? Is the igniter saturated with fuel, is the igniter too hot to generate a spark?

Any help would be appreciated that tells us what the problem is and what we should do to fix it? (other ignition systems, etc.) Thanks....

Welcome to SpudFiles!

Hopefully when your checking for spark, it's with the cannon unloaded/chamber open and not looking down the barrel for a spark

Anyways I'd have to guess it's somewhere between the metal probes you have sparking inside of the chamber becoming wet/too saturated with residue to keep sparking consistently. Try wiping them down well and letting it all air out and see if it improves. May also need to bring the gaps a bit closer together. Personally, I've never had good luck even in BBQ's keeping those ignitors going for very long.

ever read about chamber fans? that may help with clearing out your chamber and mixing your fuel. Also don't worry about the fan is safe the pressure will not kill it, normally. keep the fan toward the back so that the fan doesn't slide.make sure that you have a switch to turn it on and off.

How close are the electrodes? You should have around 1/4" for reliable ignition. Could it be that theu have moved and are now too far apart?