Leaf Blower as propulsion source for "Flamethrower"

[Doctor Mamba]

First off, let me start by saying that I have never before made a "spud gun" of any kind, and that this post is very likely to reflect that. If I say or do something incredibly stupid, please cut me a little slack.

Now, what I'm essentially looking to make is a "Flamethrower" type of weapon for use in Airsoft. I'm looking for it to be somewhat realistic looking, have a high rate of fire, and be able to fire continuously for some time.

Here's what I was wanting to know: Would a modified leaf blower work well for this project? The blowers I'm looking at can blow at 200+ mph. Considering that what I'm attempting to create is a "flamethrower" type weapon, I'm not looking for something with great range and accuracy. I was thinking fifteen to twenty yard range in sort of a spread.

Please, spudfiles, give me your professional opinion here. Would modifying a leafblower give me the desired effects? If so, could you maybe give me some pointers as to how this could be done? My budget here is $200 or less, including the price of the leaf blower.

Also- For a "flame" effect, I was thinking of mixing red BBs with flour. Do you think this would look good, or would the flour just kind of ploof out the barrel and hang in the air (or worse, muck up the gun)?


As I said, I have no experience in creating spud guns, BBGMs, or Flour-chucking devices. Please take it easy on Ole' Man Mamba!

[Demon]

Also- For a "flame" effect, I was thinking of mixing red BBs with flour. Do you think this would look good, or would the flour just kind of ploof out the barrel and hang in the air (or worse, muck up the gun)?

The flour will maximally go 5 meters away and you will no more be able
to see in front of you.

Try mixing red bbs and red water(with colorant in it) like an sort of big water soaker shooting bbs and water at time.

[biged]

A leafblower pushes air, it cannot compress it. They are high volume low pressure.
Even if the airflow is funneled the air would back up and slow down the fan blades.

I am almost finished with a 6mm flamethrower.
All steel, 1/4" QEV "relay" valve, 1/2 hole vortex, blowgun trigger, sleeved feed, runs up to 290 psi, holds 8 lbs of bb's.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i110/ ... ower_7.jpg
Working on cosmetics and mounting system to a ww2 packboard. Also have to order a 5lbs co2 tank.

///ed///

[Carlman]

if one was to funnel the air channel down it would work just fine biged.

wont be very powerful but that is not needed in this situation.

[Doctor Mamba]

A leafblower pushes air, it cannot compress it. They are high volume low pressure.
Even if the airflow is funneled the air would back up and slow down the fan blades.

I am almost finished with a 6mm flamethrower.
All steel, 1/4" QEV "relay" valve, 1/2 hole vortex, blowgun trigger, sleeved feed, runs up to 290 psi, holds 8 lbs of bb's.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i110/ ... ower_7.jpg
Working on cosmetics and mounting system to a ww2 packboard. Also have to order a 5lbs co2 tank.

///ed///

Could you please explain what those things are? How long do you expect it to be able to fire for? Ideally, I want my flamethrower to be a skirmishable weapon that can last for a full round before needing to be refilled.
If you know of a good tutorial on how to build what I'm looking for, a link would be great!
Perhaps an on-board compressor would be doable? Since I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for, would you have any recommendations as to a portable compressor that could achieve the desired effects?

[POLAND_SPUD]

forget about portable compressors... they are either too heavy to be manportable or they have to low flow... buy a CO2 or HPA tank with a regulator.. that's the only logical solution

if other player don't mind getting wet you can build a flamethrower which 'fires' water... basically a kind of soaker...

it would be more like a flamethrower than your idea

[psycix]

You could mix the flour with something like food coloring dye or paint to give it a color.

Anyways, realize it are humans where this will be used on so dont let people choke in a cloud of flour or whatever (which now brings up the thought of using paint and other chemical stuff, people may breathe this in).
Also keep a minimal distance to prevent injury, getting stuff blasted into your face is not very... you know.
A watergun could be better.

[D_Hall]

One thought that pops into my mind....

Leaf blower: Powered by an internal combustion engine (hot exhaust) or an electric motor (good chance of arcing in there somewhere).

Flour dispersed in the air as by this system: An explosive mixture known to level entire factories and such.



Am I the only one who sees the potential for Bad Things?

[flamerz14]

D_Hall: seconded. Although the motor is placed away from the blowing funnel itself. Mythbusters did this with a vacuum cleaner and petrol, there was no way it would actually burn inside it. Although by some freak accident. Which does happen.

[biged]

Could you please explain what those things are?

I will do a write-up on the project in a week or so.
The QEV or "QuickExhaustValve" I modded to be trigger by the blowgun for continuous flow - hence it becomes a "relay valve" of sorts.
http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i110/ ... valve2.jpg
The rubber piston on the left is the one I cut from a 1/4" chunk of rubber. The one on the right is the stock one. There are 2 equalization holes drilled in it and a groove that allows better flow for the pilot. I tested about 20 different designs until I made this one which works lightning fast and allows for small exit volume without "locking open".

With the QEV setup, the volume the QEV puts out is x3 (estimated) that of a regular blowgun. I may re-plumb my .50 cal with an identical setup.

How long do you expect it to be able to fire for?

At 90 psi with a 5lbs CO2 tank, around 8+ minutes of firing time. (I'll have to test it.)

Perhaps an on-board compressor would be doable?

Battery operated would not be able to keep up with the volume (CFM) that would be used by the system. The compressor would overheat and especially if filling an expansion tank.

///ed///