Spud Cannon Attempt Failed

[lax1089]

I recently put together a PVC Sched 40 spud cannon following one of the guides on this site. I used a 1.5" diameter barrell which is about 3.5 feet long. The combustion chamber (attached to the barrell through the reducer) is about a foot long and its diamter is 3". The other end of the combustion chamber has a "female" piece that has threads on the inside. The "male" cap screws one to the "female" piece enclosing the combustion chamber. I used PVC Cement Glue to fasten the pieces together.


For the ignition system, I used a BBQ igniter. I attached a wire to each charge (posative and negative) and then attached the wires to screws which i screwed in the combustion chamber (making sure the ends of the screws inside the combustion chamber were about 1/6 of an inch apart. The spark between the two screws which occurs every time I press the igniter button leads me to believe that is not the problem.

The fuel I am using is White Rain Extra Hold Aerosol Hair Spray. I spray that in the combustion chamber for about 5 or 6 seconds, screw on the male peice so it is tight, and press the igniter BUT NOTHING HAPPENS. The potato is in the barrell about 4 inches from the reducer by the way.

Ive spent a lot of time on this and I really would like to get it working so any tips or advice would help. Thank you.

[pyromanic13]

try spraying LESS in.

[lax1089]

holy shit it worked i love you and if i was a lady i would make sweet love to you

[benstern]

^^^^WOW^^^
that was extremely gay

[ProfessorAmadeus]

Oh ben i will make sweet love to you even though im a man.
EWWW THATS GROSS!!!

[MrCrowley]

well your sig does say you like nuts....just what kind of nuts are you into these days?

[ProfessorAmadeus]

Pecans, Walnuts, Peanuts, cashews.

[frankrede]

Haha guys obviously no has read my signature:D
5-6 seconds of spray is too much, try just a spritz, but obviously you did.

[Flying_Salt]

Yeah that's way too much hairspray, that'll gum it up pretty good. I used to have the "magic hairspray touch" so I would always put in the exact amount oh hairspray, but now it doesn't seem to work. I would put in one second, pause, then another second. One day it worked every time, but now I can barely get my gun to fire.

[MisterSteve124]

My cannon needs 10 full seconds of spray for it to shoot. So the less is better doesn't always work. But thats probably because its over 7 feet long.

[frankrede]

Use dual ignition.
Have a lantern lighter and a barbeque pzeizo installed.
So if one fails you can try the other.
With my latern lighter i can use any fuel mixture and get it to fire.