Location of the spark

A place for general potato gun questions and discussions.
Smiley
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 10:43 am

Does it matter where the sparkers are located? Me and my freund made one and its not very consistent. Is it because of the mixture or the location of the spark?
keep_it_real
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 11:01 am

No it's not the location that matters, it's the mix. It's better if you have something inside the chamber like a computer fan or a chain (shake the gun and the chain mixes the propellant and air). For a more powerful gun, put the spark at the back so when the reaction gets to the barrel, the gas has nowhere to go but the barrel.
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rl93
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 3:50 pm

If you really wanted to do somthing good you would research.
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lukemc
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Thu Apr 19, 2007 4:48 pm

to answer your question no the spark is almost unreated to performance (granted there is a spark)

your fuel of fuel mixture is off try to find consistant ammo (potates most likely) and starting form one second gradualy increase the amout of time spraying to find opptimal performane. it verys with different fuels and im guessing you dont have a propane meter because you said your gun dosent work
"Those who are different change the world. Those who are the same keep it that way"
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ArticWolf
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 5:57 am

A propane meter would help a conciderable bit but like lukemc said your fuel mixture is off. And also like Keep_it_Real said a computer fan helps mix the fuel/air mixture so it can be useable and also make's the gun more powerful :twisted: (The chain thing is a little different though, but to each his own.) Any way hope that help's a bit
Juicey
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:36 am

Placement of spark doesn't tend to matter with performance, one thing you may want try as well when you get the mixture right, is created a multi spark gap. The addition of an extra spark will noticably increase the power of your gun. But make sure to find your optimal mixture for your fuel first.

Thnx for the explanation on the chain Keep_it_real, i've seen a chain in a couple guns on here and wondered what the heck it was for. Does that actually work as good as a chamber fan when it comes to mixing? I know that at least with a chamber fan it can help expel the exhaust after ignition while the chain won't seem to help.
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chaos
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 8:55 am

ok well i have tried two different locations on my combustion and found having it in the back of the chamber made it louder and less efficient, as you would have found if you had of researched it and i have also found that with a single spark from a bbq peizo placed in the center of the combustion chamber dramatically improved performance and also made it a tad quieter.

my opinion put it in the middle of the combustion chamber for best efficiently.

peace
chaos
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Bubba05
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:29 am

I concure with chaos on this one bloke you got to have it pritty much center in your chamber for max performance!
I've been fildling with differnt locations and i get the best results from top dead center!

Bubba
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chaos
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 6:48 pm

cheers bubba, along with having mi ignition point centered, a chamber fan fas added and increased consistency and performance again.
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Bubba05
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Fri Apr 20, 2007 10:18 pm

Yeah I'm looking into putting a chamber fan in my next cannon!
I want to make a golf ball launcher!!
I want to see what results i get with it when i riffle the barrel

Bubba
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