Questions about Potato guns!

[Ultimator]

Well I was laying in bed this morning and somehow I came up with a design for a potato gun. Now, please don't answer unless you know what you're talking about, but I have a few questions:

Would this even work?
What diameter should I use for the Barrel?
What diameter should I use for the Dump Chamber?
What pressure should I run this at?
Where do I find the right Valves to do this?

And also, could you generally give me an idea of how I should put it together? I.E. Should I clean the fittings before I put them on, and what should I seal them with?

Thanks for the help!

[Sparq]

You have to be careful using CO2, since the cold can make PVC brittle. That said, I have seen working CO2 cannons.

As for assembly (assuming you plan to use PVC), you should clean the fittings. You will need both PVC primer and PVC cement. Prime both fittings and allow the primer to dry, then apply the cement and push the fittings together, twisting them as you do.

When you get the primer and cement there will be more detailed instructions on the can.

[Ultimator]

Should I use an expansion chamber?

[Sparq]

It would probably help with the potential freezing problem, but having never used CO2 as a power source in my cannon, I can't say for sure.

[pbguy888]

A reg would probly work better than an x chamber.

[ICOM]

Why not use the spark and hair spray way. Easy and works great. You have two screws drilled in at the bottom almost touching. Then a grill starter on the screws. You spray a lot of hairspray at the bottom and then cap it. Then right away press the starter.

[Thordic]

Dude if you are using Co2 and PVC you need a regulator that will bring the pressure down to under 200 PSI. Around 100 PSI would be the safest.

[Sparq]

Yeah, actually. I never go over 100psi in my cannon, for safety reasons. As for the combustion cannon method, that is generally less powerful and always less reliable.

[Ultimator]

The vertical max flo reg I will be using can handle pressure under 100 psi. I'll start off using about 60 psi then slowly increase the pressure. Should I be able to find all of this stuff at Home Depot?

EDIT: I could also use my max-flo tank (HPA) to do this. Would it be more safe? When do I know to turn the fill valve off (the one connected to the regulator)?

P.S. Thordic your sig is nasty

[Twisted Greed]

The spark and hair spray method works the best and you its super cheap

[PaInTbAlLeR476]

friend made one out of a pvc pipe a valve a remote and a co2 tank. He would close the valve gas up the c02 wait a couple seconds turn off co2 point cannon open valve
It was fun

[Brak]

dont use PVC. its not rated for pressure that high, use metal plumbing

[Thordic]

Schedule40 PVC is rated at 300 PSI. It'll hold 100 PSI just fine.

[Tenks]

hey bro...let's do it and test if it's work!!! we will post the pictures of it to let you see what it look like.

[bluefan101]

I've had a cannon that I've used for the past at least 10 years that works fine on short burst of CO2. I ran a hose, similar to a dishwashing line (probably about 5 FT), from the CO2 tank to a plumbing fitting. I then attached that fitting to a 3 or 4 inch diameter pvc pipe with rubber cement. Everything is basically held together with screw clamps. Like I said I've used this one for about 10 years and it works fine. It takes two people to operate, but it works fine. It may not be the safest, but it is the easiest. It will launch a potato across an empty parking lot and I've never had any problems with too much pressure. I'll get a picture up this weekend.