Adding Multiple Sparks In Combustion Chamber

Voice your input! Discuss anything to do with SpudFiles.com or community it's self. Constructive discussions only. This is a place to express thoughts about making the community better.
PhantomCougarJT5
Recruit
Recruit
United States of America
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:12 am
Been thanked: 1 time

Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:59 am

I have been using PVC potato cannon for about 2 years and I decided I wanted to make it shoot further. I use a grill igniter/spark plug wired up to 2 screws inside the combustion chamber to ignite the hairspray. One way I knew would make it shoot further was to wire a certain way with more screws to make it spark in different locations in the combustion chamber so the hairspray will burn faster. Does anyone know how effective this will be? And is adding multiple sparks safe to do because it increases the pressure and I don't want the combustion chamber to explode.
User avatar
jackssmirkingrevenge
Five Star General
Five Star General
Posts: 26183
Joined: Thu Mar 15, 2007 11:28 pm
Has thanked: 547 times
Been thanked: 326 times

Donating Members

Wed Feb 24, 2021 10:33 am

Welcome to the forum!

Multiple spark gaps will give you a marginal increase in power, but nothing that will really be perceptible.

The best way to consistently increase power is to stop using hairspray and properly meter Propane or MAPP gas.

Here is way you can do it easily with a syringe:

hectmarr wrote:You have to make many weapons, because this field is long and short life
User avatar
Moonbogg
Staff Sergeant 3
Staff Sergeant 3
United States of America
Posts: 1733
Joined: Mon Oct 13, 2008 10:20 pm
Location: SoCal
Has thanked: 154 times
Been thanked: 100 times

Wed Feb 24, 2021 12:47 pm

PhantomCougarJT5 wrote:
Sat Feb 20, 2021 8:59 am
I have been using PVC potato cannon for about 2 years and I decided I wanted to make it shoot further. I use a grill igniter/spark plug wired up to 2 screws inside the combustion chamber to ignite the hairspray. One way I knew would make it shoot further was to wire a certain way with more screws to make it spark in different locations in the combustion chamber so the hairspray will burn faster. Does anyone know how effective this will be? And is adding multiple sparks safe to do because it increases the pressure and I don't want the combustion chamber to explode.
In a hairspray cannon, it has been shown by a youtube channel called smartereveryday that adding two sparks to a hair spray cannon doesn't help anything. In a metered propane cannon with a chamber fan, it has been shown that adding a second spark increases performance by only a small amount. The biggest performance gain comes from adding a chamber fan and measuring the fuel accurately. I think I got all that right.
jimmy101
Sergeant Major
Sergeant Major
United States of America
Posts: 3198
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2007 9:48 am
Location: Greenwood, Indiana
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 15 times
Contact:

Thu Feb 25, 2021 12:28 am

What Jack said.

Plus, more than one spark increases the spark gap, that means the gaps need to be smaller if you are going to use the BBQ piezo.

BTW, multiple sparks must be wired in series, not in parallel.
http://www.advancedspuds.com/multiple.htm
Image
User avatar
Blitz
Corporal 2
Corporal 2
United States of America
Posts: 627
Joined: Sat Apr 07, 2007 1:48 am
Location: Illinois
Been thanked: 3 times

Sun Apr 11, 2021 12:14 am

For what it's worth, my big gun used conductive copper tape made into strips, but then again I used two stun guns for ignition. It made a noticable difference.
Post Reply