SpudFiles

K so i just finished building my cannon, installed the ignition today but the glueing was all friday night. Everything for sure has cured and so today i finished it up.

Upon installin the ignition (bbq ignitor) i saw there was no spark in the CC.

1) Took the screws out and checked if there would be a spark. No spark still. Thus, there was nothing wrong with the chamber itself interfering with the spark.

2) Took screws off the wires and checked the spark. Spark was seen. Thus my problem is the screws impeding the electric flow.

Here's the question. WTH do i do if none of my screws work in making the electricty flow down and accross each other in the chamber? Am i using wrong screws or is there a simple alternative without buying anything else?

if you screwed it in cant you just unscrew it? are you sure that they arnt to far apart? if they are really long maybe there just isnt enough power. you could always put new screws in and leave the old screws in.

There is a possiblilty that the screws you are using are covered in some type of coating.

In this case grind the surfaces the BBQ igniter is wired to, as well as the tips of the screws. Shorting the spark gap may also help.

Well i got it working now. It seems i didnt line the screws up properly. The gap is small enough. when i touch the screws and sort of push them togetherr it works but otherwise it doesnt work. Any way to make this more consistent so i dont hafta stick my hand in the CC?

Some things to try;

1. Get the gap smaller, a 1/16" gap would be a good starting point. If you still have problems then make the gap even smaller.

2. Pointy electrodes will spark a greater distance than will blunt electrodes. If you can, either use deck screws (very sharp points), or take your screws out and file'm to shape points.

3. Check your wiring. The BBQ ignitor is a pretty weak device. You need good solid connections between it and the electrodes. The wires should be kept well separated to keep the spark from jumping from wire to wire through the insulation.

if you start losing your spark or it won't spark i would fiddle about with it first and then use a file to wear the metal down a bit, it works for me