Pointers For a Newb Building a Hybrid

Harness the power of precision mixtures of pressurized flammable vapor. Safety first! These are advanced potato guns - not for the beginner.
User avatar
D_Hall
Staff Sergeant 5
Staff Sergeant 5
United States of America
Posts: 1922
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:37 pm
Location: SoCal
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 44 times

Donating Members

Fri Oct 14, 2011 8:13 am

Yes.

(And other words so the forum software doesn't complain about too short of a message.)
Simulation geek (GGDT / HGDT) and designer of Vera.
User avatar
Moonbogg
Staff Sergeant 3
Staff Sergeant 3
United States of America
Posts: 1735
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:20 pm
Location: SoCal
Has thanked: 164 times
Been thanked: 101 times

Fri Oct 14, 2011 10:51 am

Do you feel inclined to share details on the piston design? Is it the check valve type or isolated pilot? Will the pilot exhaust upon firing? Barrel sealing or spool type with ports? I'm curious to see what type of valve you are confident in regarding reliability etc as I am working on one myself.
SpudBlaster15
First Sergeant 3
First Sergeant 3
Seychelles
Posts: 2400
Joined: Wed Oct 18, 2006 11:12 pm
Has thanked: 2 times
Been thanked: 10 times

Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:06 pm

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Cras nec placerat erat. Vivamus dapibus egestas nunc, at eleifend neque. Suspendisse potenti. Sed dictum lacus eu nisl pretium vehicula. Ut faucibus hendrerit nisi. Integer ultricies orci eu ultrices malesuada. Fusce id mauris risus. Suspendisse finibus ligula et nisl rutrum efficitur. Vestibulum posuere erat pellentesque ornare venenatis. Integer commodo fermentum tortor in pharetra. Proin scelerisque consectetur posuere. Vestibulum molestie augue ac nibh feugiat scelerisque. Sed aliquet a nunc in mattis.
Last edited by SpudBlaster15 on Wed Jul 14, 2021 9:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
D_Hall
Staff Sergeant 5
Staff Sergeant 5
United States of America
Posts: 1922
Joined: Thu Feb 07, 2008 7:37 pm
Location: SoCal
Has thanked: 7 times
Been thanked: 44 times

Donating Members

Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:25 pm

Moonbogg wrote:Do you feel inclined to share details on the piston design? Is it the check valve type or isolated pilot? Will the pilot exhaust upon firing? Barrel sealing or spool type with ports?
Granted, I've not followed all the piston valve hybrid designs so it may or may not have much in common (ex: not sure what you mean by a 'check valve type'). That said...

The pilot will exhaust on firing. I'm not 100% sure how well it will work, but the overall design of the gun is such that it should allow me to quickly/easily rework the design. So if it doesn't work 100%, I can address that later.
I'm curious to see what type of valve you are confident in regarding reliability etc as I am working on one myself.
Pretty standard piston stuff, really. But rather than spend a lot of time coming up with an exotic piston, I'm spending a bit of time coming up with a robust/effective bumper. At least, I hope I am. :D
Simulation geek (GGDT / HGDT) and designer of Vera.
User avatar
Moonbogg
Staff Sergeant 3
Staff Sergeant 3
United States of America
Posts: 1735
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:20 pm
Location: SoCal
Has thanked: 164 times
Been thanked: 101 times

Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:05 pm

Yes, the bumper is a huge deal I agree. Good luck and I look forward to your cannon's progress.
03cumminsguy
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:29 pm
Location: Tallahassee, FL

Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:09 pm

Thanks again for all of you guys help.

As far as the modified union goes. What parts are involved in that setup. And whats the difference between the two metering systems. I was planning on using ratcalc and fuel tool to help set up my metering.
User avatar
MrCrowley
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10078
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:42 pm
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Been thanked: 3 times

Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:22 pm

As far as the modified union goes. What parts are involved in that setup
In this photo, the union half on the left usually has a tapered lip protruding out from it, if you use an angle grinder to grind down the lip so the union face is flat, it is much easier to get the union to seal. If you do this modification, it helps if you have this modified half attached to the barrel as it provides more surface area for the disk to be forced against.

The second 'modification' involves getting some rubber gaskets or o-rings and using them on the 'chamber side' of the union between the union face and the burst disk to get it to seal under pressure.
And whats the difference between the two metering systems
Volumetric metering involves making a small 'fuel meter' that can be shut off from the main chamber. The volume of the fuel meter is calculated and then you pressurize it with your fuel of choice to a pre-calculated pressure. That pre-calculated pressure of fuel in the meter is the exact amount needed for a particular mix once the fuel meter is 'dumped' in to the chamber.

Manometric metering involves fuelling directly in to the chamber. You may have a manifold of gauges and valves, that can be shut-off from the chamber, that aid you in fuelling the chamber. On my manometric meter, I fuel directly in to the chamber and a 0-15PSI gauge that can be detached from the chamber tells me how much fuel I'm putting in.

I'm not very good at describing the methods as I do so in layman's terms, perhaps SB15 or another member can better describe the chemistry behind both types of metering.

Read this also:
http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/hybrid- ... 13602.html
03cumminsguy
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:29 pm
Location: Tallahassee, FL

Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:33 pm

Thanks. So the 2 piece metal with nut is literally called a union? I am trying to find parts on line and as you could imagine metal union showed a bunch of people in black clothing and random metal band names. lol
User avatar
saefroch
Staff Sergeant 2
Staff Sergeant 2
Posts: 1679
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2009 8:47 am
Location: U.S.A.- See Map

Fri Oct 14, 2011 7:41 pm

A better search term is "stainless steel union," or some other metal name. Try that.
03cumminsguy
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:29 pm
Location: Tallahassee, FL

Sat Oct 15, 2011 12:54 am

Got another question for the spudding gurus. With a metal chamber. Wouldn't an electric igniter/stun gun arc to the barrel in turn shocking the unlucky holder of said cannon.
User avatar
Technician1002
Captain
Captain
Posts: 5189
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 11:10 am

Sat Oct 15, 2011 1:15 am

03cumminsguy wrote:Got another question for the spudding gurus. With a metal chamber. Wouldn't an electric igniter/stun gun arc to the barrel in turn shocking the unlucky holder of said cannon.
This shocks about the same as your car when the spark plugs spark from the center electrode to the side electrode and the metal engine block..

If you are not part of the current path, there is no problems. Same applies to your lawn mower and weed eater.

Be sure the ground lead of the spark source is connected to the metal chamber, or you can become part of the current path. That will get your attention if you do it wrong. :shock:
03cumminsguy
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:29 pm
Location: Tallahassee, FL

Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:26 am

So i could run two bolts through the side of the chamber like in an advanced combustion set up and be fine?
To clarify on my over and under statement I made earlier. I meant run the chamber under the barrel not just the fueling system.
User avatar
Crna Legija
First Sergeant 2
First Sergeant 2
Posts: 2333
Joined: Sun Jul 20, 2008 5:14 am
Location: australia

Sat Oct 15, 2011 10:38 am

I don't think so, most people make spark plugs in a threaded cap, i would drill tap the chamber for 1/8'' npt and put a CR10EK spark plug in there, the threads on that plug are very close to 1/8''npt but not perfect a bit of epoxy will make it air tight.
'' To alcohol... The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.”
--Homer Simpson

Add me on ps3: wannafuk, 8/11/11 cant wait
03cumminsguy
Private 2
Private 2
Posts: 23
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2011 8:29 pm
Location: Tallahassee, FL

Sat Oct 15, 2011 4:03 pm

for running a spark plug set up. would you use a grill igniter and wire it to the plug?
User avatar
MrCrowley
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 10078
Joined: Fri Jun 23, 2006 10:42 pm
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Been thanked: 3 times

Sat Oct 15, 2011 4:08 pm

Yes, or any number of other igniters.

We do have a Hybrid Showcase section with a little over one hundred examples to study that can answer questions like these :wink:

A search of "spark plug" using "search for all terms" in the "Hybrid Cannon Showcase" section will return some relevant results for you to look at.
Post Reply