Hairspray more powerful than propane

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maka_velli_005
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Mon May 09, 2005 11:51 pm

I have been doing some field tests and the results are really wierd. Maybe it's just me. I have a .88:1 C:B ratio combustion launcher. The chamber is 4" SCH 40 @ 18.5" long and the barrel is 3" SCH 40 @ 36.5" long. After doing some math I figured my chamber volume to be 232.25 cubic inches. This cannon is propane injected so my meter pipe is 12" long with 3/8" diameter. The volume on that is 1.477 cubic inches. So doing even more math I figured the correct amount of PSI of propane to use is 64 PSI. Anyways after firing with the propane I wasnt very impressed with the performance. So I thought maybe I will try hairspray. The difference was very significant as the hairspray was much louder and the projectile shot a lot harder and farther. I dont know wheather I am doing something wrong with the propane measurments or what is wrong but I definitely noticed a much better performance with the hairspray. I would appreciate some help with this because I spent some time building a propane meter. I mean propane is supposed to be more powerful than hairspray, right?
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CS
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Tue May 10, 2005 3:06 pm

In the tests ive done ive found that hair spray is the weakest fuel. Propane had a better overall rating then starting fluid but it had the farest shot. So i think starting fluid is the most powerful with the right mixture. Did you use the same exact ammo? I use golf balls because you know that they have the same density, size, aerodynamics, shape, and so on because they are the exact same. But i dont know what you used for ammo because i dont see how hair spray could be more powerful then propane unless like what you said that you didn't know if you had the right mixture. Ive found that propane is the best fuel overall even though its not the most powerful its alot more realiable and easier to measure. One more thing did you use some NASA hairspray or something just wondering. What ammo did you use and thanks for the post.
maka_velli_005
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Tue May 10, 2005 5:32 pm

I used a taped up ball until it fit snugly in my barrel when doing the tests. But it seemed to me that the propane was less powerful than the hairspray.
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CS
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Tue May 10, 2005 9:46 pm

Try using golf balls and a 1 1/2" barrel. Because you dont wrap the tape the "exact" same way every single time. Because the only variable you want to change is the fuel but if you use a piece of ammo that changes as well as the fuel your infromation wont be accurate. Sorry if it sounded harsh. But that doesnt mean that your wrong.
propanepower
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Thu May 12, 2005 7:38 pm

my personal opinion if i may add it is that your spark is not hot enough to ignite the propane to its full potential. i had this problem until i switched to an automotive coil for a spark
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maka_velli_005
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Thu May 12, 2005 8:39 pm

propanepower wrote:my personal opinion if i may add it is that your spark is not hot enough to ignite the propane to its full potential. i had this problem until i switched to an automotive coil for a spark
Dude you have to be a moron. I use a stungun ignition. I solved my problem. It was because my chamber was too large. The fuel wasn't mixing right with the air. I added a chamber fan and wow what a difference.
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Thu May 12, 2005 10:04 pm

Who you calling a moron did you see that fools cannon! The only thing you had to do with your cannon when the chamber was to big is a multiple sparks and that should of fixed the problem (and a chamber fan).
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