Potatoe Potatoe 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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jrrdw
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:00 pm

Don't forget to get that salad on video! :lol:
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Xxplosive42o
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:01 pm

jook13 wrote:Starman, you need to lighten up. Seriously. Part of the spudgun spirit is creating something cool out of materials that arent intended for it. I am sure people inventing pvc never thought "You know, this draining water thing is sweet, but I bet I could fire a marble out of this pipe faster than a bb gun."

I love to see a really nice and polished spudgun as much as the next guy, but I also like to see something new and different. Even if its not the most powerful or effecient.

Its a lot like my brothers asking me "Dude, why dont you just go out and buy a 300 winmag or something like that? They are way more powerful and about the same price as all you put into yours." The only answer I can come up with is "Because its badass and I can do it."

On another note, I have made a mini out of a pill bottle with a pop off lid. the lid never opened during firing. I seriously doubt a mini combustion produces enough ooomph to blow up a potato.



You have a point about the spirit of building... etc.

BUT, this whole thing just seems catastrophic to begin with. You cannot control, nor guess the amount of combustion it will produce. Why chance things and have one of those electrodes fly off and hurt somebody. YOU NEVER KNOW! Spudguns in general are not safe if you think of the concept! But we use the proper materials to be sure it is as safe as possible for ourselves and everyone around us. A hollowed out potato can be crushed with a couple pounds of force with ease. A pill bottle however has much more strength and elasticity to create a safer environment. This is just my opinion as I might be over-estimating the whole situation way out of proportion. Safety is my overall concern with making anything.

But to each their own! Cheers :P
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:48 pm

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FishBoy
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 8:58 pm

Honestly, who cares if it explodes; if you wear some safety goggles and don't hold it when you fire it, you should be fine, and I would like to see it done
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Fnord
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:06 pm

Quote from another thread (and the resulting diagram on page 1)...
For ignition, I would just put t[w]o pins into the tater and hook them up to a piezo grill ignitor
Err... anyone else see a problem with this?
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VH_man
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:21 pm

Guys, Its a potato....

Whats the WORST that could happen. Weve had combustions made out of paper mache here......
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SP00K
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:23 pm

I dont really see a prob with pins. Maybe the charge won't go through because of the ability of a potato to coduct electricity.

O wait. The pins would shoot out of the potato.
Last edited by SP00K on Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:27 pm

You were right the first time. :)
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SP00K
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:28 pm

O :lol:

My bad.
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FishBoy
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 9:58 pm

Lets think how we could solve that problem...

Wait, I got it, but it might be hard...

Put a wrap of electrical tape around the pin shaft :shock: :roll:

Edit- If he doesn't make this, I will.
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starman
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 10:45 pm

jook13 wrote:Starman, you need to lighten up. Seriously. Part of the spudgun spirit is creating something cool out of materials that arent intended for it.
Not today Jook. Not all potential spud materials are created equal...and PVC definitely != potato for cannon building material.... :roll:

Jackassness abounds in the world without giving it a forum on a serious cannon building site, really the premiere cannon site in the whole world! One of the reasons the site exists is to offer young and inexperienced spudders designs, methods and safe ways of building a workable cannon. You elevate Jackassness to the level of a serious cannon and you do a disservice to the hobby as a whole, and potentially encourage more unsafe behavior by already Jackass proned people.

Blowing up potatos, watermelons or pond frogs really doesn't matter to me...I'm all for it...done plenty of it myself....in fact I encourage it. We've all got(or had) some Jackass in us and that's a good way to get it out. Just don't bring a potato bomb into the combustion forums and try to call it a spud gun.
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Sat Dec 13, 2008 11:09 pm

I am entirely sure the results will further absolutely nothing except whether a potato is capable of withstanding a basic combustion :P

On which note I would say it depends on how much it's hollowed out.

Still, too much negative vibes in here, whether it bursts or not is irrelevant. If it went off on your head you'd be fine. It's a potato. At best you'll get a 35mm camera film case sized chamber which is probably ok for spitballs. Nowhere near enough to call it a bomb even if the cheap tabloid media got hold of the story.
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Sun Dec 14, 2008 1:25 am

I guess I don't understand why this is such an amazing concept. It's actually totally stupid and pointless. Is it some sort of hipster thing? Are you trying to be ironic by literally making a "potato cannon"? It just seems incredibly unimaginative, like something that a 6 year old would think was the funniest thing in the world. I don't think danger is a major factor personally, but why not make something worthwhile?

To me it doesn't take a genius to realize you can hollow out anything and potentially make a "cannon" out of it. I guess that's why we see so many pop bottle pneumatic launchers on the site. "oh wow I can so totally make a cannon out of this soap dispenser... so I so totally will!"

Oh and by the way, you misspelled potato. :roll:
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john bunsenburner
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Sun Dec 14, 2008 4:28 am

If this is serious you should be ashamed, if this is a more like a joke thing that i find it to be a great idea, and if you dont try then many, including my self, will instead. Just for the sake to seperate jokes from proper spud guns do not present this in the showcase, i think people will get pretty mad.
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Sun Dec 14, 2008 7:14 am

I would not worry that much about the two pins possibly flying out.
They dont have the surface area to gain such speeds.
A piece of duct tape should hold them for certain.

I dont see the problem of fiddling around with a spud on a boring day and showing it here.
Its creative and funny.
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