Combustion Mortar concept

[Dgealy]

Stick with me on this, because I don't have any pictures.

My idea is for almost a real action type combustion mortar, where all one has to do is drop the projectiles down the barrel.

THE PROJECTILE:
The projectiles would be 1.25" PVC. They would be composed of a glued cap, 1.25 " sch40 pvc, and a slip fit coupler. The coupler would hold an aluminum foil burst disk. Each projectile would be filled with air and propane.

THE MORTAR:
The mortar would be a 2" sch40 PVC tube with a camera flash circuit at the base. The two wires leading from the Capacitor would be even with each other, so when the projectile falls, they would both make contact with the aluminum foil, generating a spark, and igniting the propane and air in the projectile.

[tghhs]

sounds fun

but argh won't ur ammo cost more than ur gun?

[Dgealy]

Yup. But the gun costs about 3 to 4 feet of 2" tubing and an end cap. The projectiles are a cap, a coupler, and a foot of tube each. Basically, this costs near nothing.

I was thinking of using this for airsoft or paintball, but then I realized people wouldn't want large PVC chunks falling on them.

[tghhs]

yeah ok. well i can't wait to see it.

and i reckon ur right about the largh chunks of pvc falling on them. lol that would suck a heap!

[Radiation]

Sounds like your "chamber" in this case the round, is going to be very small so you're only talking about a few yards (25 or less) of range. Generally I don't like making guns that can't shoot further than I can throw the projectile. Plus the expense would be astronomical and each mortar round has it's own unique opportunity to fail...

Question, how are you going to fill each round with the proper mixture of propane and air?

[inonickname]

Sounds pretty crude... The projectiles would be awfully expensive. Instead of a camera flash why not have for example a glad wrap burst disk and a sprakler down the bottom to pierce the projectile and light the mix. You could get a few shots out of the sparkler.

(I don't think this is against the rules- it's not an incendiary projectile as the sparkler stays still. Hows it really different from using a hole and a match to ignite the gun? Correct me if I'm wrong)

[Dgealy]

The aluminum foil makes the connection between the two electrodes, making a spark. Or just making it hot enough to ignite the mix. but yeah, the range probably isn't all that good.

[inonickname]

The aluminum foil makes the connection between the two electrodes, making a spark. Or just making it hot enough to ignite the mix. but yeah, the range probably isn't all that good.

Yeh..except it makes a spark outside the chamber unless I'm wrong? Which is no good...