Air cannon question.

[Commissar_Loki]

Alright, made an air cannon. Runs on roughly 50-100 PSI. Thus far I have only filled the dump chambers by hand (using CO2 and an on/off) and while this works great, it won't work on field. My only concern on field is recharge. I may be able to borrow a stabilizer, however filling roughly 24" long by 3" diameter with 100 PSI takes quite a long time, and tends to freeze things (Using CO2). With a Nitro bottle, I only get maybe 3-4 shots if I'm lucky. The cannon is complete as far as piping, just need electronics and a few stabilizing pieces to hold her together for more support. I'm just curious if you guys have any thoughts on how to regulate either Compressed air or CO2 quickly (less than 30 secs) whithout going over 100 PSI (The electronic solenoid has an over pressure relief at 150 PSI). ANY comments are welcome, and I need input, I want this running for Tippmann World challenge. I'll try and get pics once it doesn't look like a sprinkler.


-Butch

[Webby]

For filling, you have two routes, quick and a tad unsafe or slow and fool proof. It's really a toss up for most cannons, and for you it sounds like you want the fast track (same ideal I used).

My setup is a relatively simple one, an over-under design with dual ball valves, 4" x 36" Dump Chamber with 100PSI guage mounted via adapter, 1.5" x 60" Barrel, and an ASA Threaded adapter.

I have both input and output valves closed, I screw in my 48/3k tank into the adapter and let the brass lines pressurize. I slowly open the input ball valve, watching the guage as it reads the pressure increase. Since I have a large dump chamber, the 800psi input takes about 10 seconds to reach 100PSI. I close the input ball valve, prime the cannon with a shot, aim, and open the output ball valve, thus firing the projectile. Simple, effective, and all it takes is a sharp eye.

You can use the method that I mentioned in the above paragraph, except replace the output ball valve with your solenoid. Your dump chamber will be primed in mere seconds, but you must take heed as you are filling it as to not let the valve stay open long enough.

If that doesn't float your boat and you just want to let it fill, pick up an old school Maxflo, set it at 100PSI and attach it right before your input ball valve. That way whenever you want to fire you just open the valve, and let it fill the dump chamber without worry about overfilling it.