New Member - Test Fired my 1st potato today!

[SpudMcJim]

I just joined this forum and look forward to searching/reading/posting.

This weekend I made my first Spud Cannon and the test fire went great.
4" dia combustion chamber, 19" long effective (17" pipe cut length)
2" dia barrels, screw-on, 49" long and 73" long
Hair spray propellent (AquaNet)
BBQ piezo igniter

The test fire went over the trees in my backyard (~100ft) and deep into the woods (3 acres). Later this week or next weekend I hope to get out where I can measure the distance in an open field.

Is this Chamber to Barrel ratio reasonable for a hair spray cannon?

[SpudMcJim]

Today (Friday 7/12/2013) my friends and I had a chance to do some test firing!

With the 4 foot barrels we consistantly got 198-210 yards (600 ft) with potatoes. Then we put a little bit more hair spray in the chamber and we got 200-250 yards. The longest was with a 2.5" barrel (48") and a longer shot of hair spray. It went almost 300 yards.

While the 2.5" barrel was on the launcher, I put an old tennis ball in and it went about 300 yards but we didn't have a confirmed landing spot. That was the only tennis ball we had, so one data point.

I also tried a few shots with a 2" barrel 73" long (6 ft). There was some variation due to wind and tumbling, but it seemed to be good for 20-25 more yards than the 2" dia, 49" barrel.

Lots of fun!

[Blitz]

Looks like a nice clean build sir - needs some paint though. Gotta cover up those (albeit minor) primer stains.

[jsefcik]

Nice first build ! Add a chamber fan nd differnt fuel nd you will have more fun

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

[youtube][/youtube]

Hairspray is for women and homosexuals.