potato launcher

[jaymode]

I have to do make something for physics that will launch a waterballoon and was thinking that a potato launcher might work, but was not sure. I was thinking of using some pvc pipe and using hairspray and a grill igniter to launch it. But then I thought that the balloon would burst, so what if I put cardboard behind the balloon, would it still break?

it would be similar to this but would use hairspray and a spark.
http://www.balloonbazooka.com/

 

[KYREDP5]

Use a Pnumatic one.

 

[BSN_mt]

look up info on watermellon and pumkin cannons, they can shoot them a couple of 1000 yards i believe and they have to deal with that issue. You may want to go with someting like a scok though, just as a guess. Kind of like a fabric wad on a black powder rifle.

just a thought. You may also need to have some sort of lubricant on the barrel or you will probably roll the ballon on it self and pinch it and pop it.

Have fun.

 

[RyanJayG]

ah, I've built many a potato launcher in my day. we even built one out of 1/4 wall 3" pipe for a barrel, used acetylene and O2 for fuel, and a spark plug to ignite it. needless to say we hid behind the truck when we fired it. not to mention the 6 foot blue flame that erupted from it. we never found the ammo again.

 

[ELEmental59437]

Use a Pnumatic one.

I disagree, whenever the opportunity to play with fire arises it must be used. Screw the hairspray, go for natural gas. And if someone else is going to be launching it, fill the balloons with gasoline.

J/K....

 

[PaulMP3]

I have a funny story about a potato launcher.

to make it short;
My friend made one a while back (probally about 14) saturated it in hairspray. Couldn't get it to work. So to hide it from his parents he put it under his bed, month went by, and he had a horrible smell in his room. his dad found the gun, with a dead mouse in it. The mouse got killed by the hair spray. What a bad smell that must have been. rotten potato + dead mouse=(blarf)

 

[Natey]

Here's my Potato Launcher.

Coleman lantern flint.

Taper the ends until they're sharp. This cuts the potato into a plug.

Remember, Use HIGH TEMPERATURE GLUE!! You don't want that thing to blow up in your hand! Also, Starter fliud(for a car's carburetor) works much better than hairspray.

 

[RyanJayG]

not as well as acetylene and O2 though

 

[jaymode]

Here's my Potato Launcher.

Coleman lantern flint.

Taper the ends until they're sharp. This cuts the potato into a plug.

Remember, Use HIGH TEMPERATURE GLUE!! You don't want that thing to blow up in your hand! Also, Starter fliud(for a car's carburetor) works much better than hairspray.

seeing as you have one would a water balloon work? Has anyone ever tried it?

 

[RyanJayG]

no, it would obliterate a water baloon... you'd need to put somthing behind it to fire it. but that projectile would be dangerous to aim at people

 

[Midnight22]

so how can i make one? i have access to tons of pipe cuz of my construction job...and i have a butane torch... what else?

 

[RyanJayG]

build it just like Natey's its the easiest one to build

 

[tonkabui]

gas powered potato launchers will destroy water balloons. sorry. we tried in santa barbara. the engineers made one that could launch potatos from the cliff (70 ft. above sea level) out about 200 yards. they used a bit of butane and an electric starter. it was fabulous. at night, you could see blue flame shoot out the tip. anyway, we wanted to see if it could shoot other things, so we used a banana. it was pureed. then we stuck in a water balloon. it got destroyed even before it left the tip. it turned into a water canon though. it was pretty cool.

 

[therizzzo]

I had one in HS and college. I always thought that starting fluid was the best. With 02 and acetylene in a close second. Hairspray is just adequete, and too messy. Never tried butane, seemed too weak.

Be careful with starting fluid though, I used too much once and the endcap of the 6" chamber blasted off when I hit the ignition. yowza!

 

[RyanJayG]

you don't want to use acetylene with PVC though. and if you thought that starting fluid was better, then you had too much Acetylene, and not enough O2

 

[jaymode]

ok. So i guess I gotta scrap the potato launcher idea.

Does anyone know of anything that I could build to launch waterballons????? I need to be accurate and go a good distance.

 

[RyanJayG]

monster sling shot

 

[Natey]

Yup. Get some surgical tubing and an egg-poaching pan(or any small pan with two handles). We were picking off boats from the Harbor Jetty with one of those contraptons.
(rofl)

 

[Midnight22]

not to sound like a moron, but that dude in ur avatar is funny as hell natey, who is he?

 

[RyanJayG]

dood thats cheech!