scared of propane???

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.
pellethunter
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Fri May 07, 2010 5:52 pm

new to this sight and kinda new to spud guns...question is how scared should I be of using propane in my gun???
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Hubb
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Fri May 07, 2010 5:57 pm

None. Propane will only combust when it has an appropriate mixture with the air. Then, it will only generate up to 120 psi in the chamber for a very brief period of time.

It's actually quite safe when used appropriately. If you have any questions on the safety usage, consort the wiki and it will guide you.

And welcome to Spudfiles.
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saefroch
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Fri May 07, 2010 6:11 pm

Propane is safe so long as you do not have a freakin' huge leak and an open active ignition source. A can like you ought to be using is no more dangerous than a can of hairspray.
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hi
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Fri May 07, 2010 9:23 pm

Its not even much more powerful, the ingredient that is in spray cans that makes the cannons go bang is propane... :wink:
"physics, gravity, and law enforcement are the only things that prevent me from operating at my full potential" - not sure, but i like the quote

you know you are not an engineer if you have to remind yourself "left loosy righty tighty"
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starman
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Fri May 07, 2010 9:35 pm

Don't be scared. It's by far the fuel of choice for serious spudding. You need to work out a metering and injection method but after that you never look back...I promise you.

Take a look at Trip Thunder..an admittedly high end but prototypical combustion cannon.

Setting up fueling in these is so easy, I'm frankly not sure why anyone fools around with spray products of any sort beyond the initial curiosity.
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mark.f
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Sat May 08, 2010 6:04 am

As well, propane metering can be done with tools as simple as a torch head and a syringe. You can even use larger "turkey baster" syringes without markings if you have a graduated cylinder to initially calibrate it.

I had a nice write-up on my web site, but I let the hosting expire, so any questions are welcome. :)
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Technician1002
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Sat May 08, 2010 11:07 am

Simple metering is posted in the Wiki.
http://www.spudfiles.com/spud_wiki/inde ... Fuel_meter
It looks like the other methods for metering using a pipe and ball valves can use a little update. Anyone want to add advanced metering to the wiki?
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mark.f
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Sun May 09, 2010 10:57 am

Technician1002 wrote:It looks like the other methods for metering using a pipe and ball valves can use a little update. Anyone want to add advanced metering to the wiki?
I could probably add a bit tonight. I expect it'll receive about a dozen:
23:06, 10 May 2010 Ragnarok (Talk | contribs) (8,165 bytes) (...no No NO!)
though...
iknowmy3tables
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Sun May 09, 2010 1:13 pm

saefroch wrote:Propane is safe so long as you do not have a freakin' huge leak and an open active ignition source. A can like you ought to be using is no more dangerous than a can of hairspray.
a giant leak isn't even that dangerous, If you've ever accidentally ignited you spud gun while injecting fueling into the chamber you'll know that's it's not much worse than a puff of hot air at most it'll make your eyebrows feel crispy
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saefroch
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Sun May 09, 2010 1:15 pm

Personally I like to avoid the shocking fireball and crispy eyebrows, thank you very much.
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