first mini... not sure about fuel

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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cenzo188
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Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:33 pm

This is my first mini combustion. I used an old pill bottle, a pen tube, and a BBQ lighter salvaged from my first conbustion (which failed). Only problem is im not sure what fuel to use. I dont want to rupture the medicine bottle (or its lid). Pix are below.
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chamber
chamber
top
top
the gun
the gun
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jrrdw
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Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:35 pm

Use butane out of a lighter. About 4 seconds worth.
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Fri Mar 07, 2008 5:47 pm

I agree with Jrrdw, use butane. My suggestion includes a can of said propellant and a syringe, hey presto- Metered fuel, works a treat.
Figure out your chamber capacity then you can figure out how much butane to use, something as small as your cannon would probably need around 5cc's of butane (the proper ratio for butane is 3.2%).

Happy Spuddin :)
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cenzo188
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Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:37 pm

hey, thanx. 4 cc's worked just fine. I shot a sharpened q tip a centimeter into my garage door!
now off to do more shooting
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the sharpened tip
the sharpened tip
the q-tip stuck in
the q-tip stuck in
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