SpudFiles

Hi, I was wondering what the best ignition (other than a stun gun) is for spud guns. I generally use 2 nails and the piezoelectric thing from a bbq lighter but I have heard that grill igniters work better. So if anyone knows of any other (under $20 ideally) ignition sources please let me know.

Potato Demon wrote:Hi, I was wondering what the best ignition (other than a stun gun) is for spud guns. I generally use 2 nails and the piezoelectric thing from a bbq lighter but I have heard that grill igniters work better. So if anyone knows of any other (under $20 ideally) ignition sources please let me know.

it is a gas lighter, it works on 220 volts. This is the best initiator I have used, it ignites almost any mixture. I need a battery, a boost converter and a capacitor, I took this circuit from the old camera.price about 1.5 dollars

there are still lighters. Powered by batteries, provides continuous spark while the button is pressed. Also a good initiator, but a spark is weak. Price 1 dollar

I might just go ahead and modify a cheap arc lighter.

Potato Demon wrote:Hi, I was wondering what the best ignition (other than a stun gun) is for spud guns. I generally use 2 nails and the piezoelectric thing from a bbq lighter but I have heard that grill igniters work better. So if anyone knows of any other (under $20 ideally) ignition sources please let me know.

"Work Better" is misleading. Either the spark works or it does not. Not working is a PITA but even a cheapo piezo, if setup correctly, will work basically all the time if the mixture is correct. A hotter spark won't increase the power of the gun.

The only times a more complex sparker might be needed is if you use multiple spark gaps or you are doing a hybrid.

For a combustion, the most important thing is getting the mixture right. Everything else is pretty much irrelevant if you can't get the right amount of fuel in the chamber.

I use one of these in my combustion cannon. I've used both 2(AA) batteries for around 3v input, and now a 5v input from a USB power block. Both work very well and it is dead reliable.