What parts are needed for a potato cannon. How to make a potato cannon from plastic pipes

The potato cannon, as the name suggests, shoots ordinary potatoes. The design of the potato cannon is a simple system that can be made from. The principle of its operation is also quite simple. First, potatoes are pushed into the trunk. On the other hand, flammable gas is injected into the combustion chamber. As such, you can use hairspray. Then, with help, a spark is supplied to the combustion chamber. The gas-air mixture flares up and pushes the potato projectile out of the barrel.

When making a potato cannon, you need to pay attention to the reliability of fastening the combustion chamber cover. Otherwise, the ignited gas-air mixture may, instead of a charged potato, shoot the lid into your eye. Of course, you will not receive severe damage, but you may get a bruise or cut. It’s best to make the lid of the potato gun’s combustion chamber point away from the shooter.

To make a potato cannon, we will use sewer ones. They are light and durable, they can be made completely airtight, and also create almost any configuration and shape. The combustion chamber can be made from a sewer tee. We close the back part with a lid, placing it on epoxy glue. For reliability, you can screw small self-tapping screws with wide heads around the circumference, colloquially called “bugs”. The side branch of the tee will be used for gas injection. Therefore, it is advisable to choose a tee on which the covers are screwed using a thread in order to be able to quickly close the combustion chamber without putting much effort into it. We take a thin pipe and connect it to the combustion chamber using an adapter. We will also put it on glue for complete reliability. All parts for a potato masher can be purchased at a plumbing store. We cut a hole at the bottom of the tee and insert a stun gun into it. Fill the cracks around it with epoxy. The stun gun will serve not only as an igniter for the gas-air mixture, but also as a convenient handle.

Agree, this is a simple and effective design that anyone can do. The most difficult thing is, perhaps, to purchase a stun gun. I can’t think of any other mixture igniters that can be adapted to this potato gun design. Perhaps one of the readers of our blog will be able to suggest something simpler than the stun gun presented by the authors of the potato gun design.

Such a potato gun easily pierces sheet plasterboard from twenty meters, and simply tears a melon or watermelon from the inside into small pieces. Although, of course, you can’t call it, but it’s quite possible to shoot at targets for fun. Good luck.

The author of the site does not bear any responsibility for what you can do based on the information taken from the pages of the site. Anything you want to repeat, you do at your own peril and risk.

Probably few people don’t know what a potato gun is:

Potato cannon (English: “potato cannon”, “spud cannon”, “spudzooka”) muzzle-loading weapon driven compressed air, or due to the energy generated during ignition of a mixture of flammable gas and air to give the projectiles high speed. Designed mainly for recreational shooting with pieces of potatoes or other objects.

Attention!!!

This device is very dangerous if used for other purposes.Never shoot at living targets, and in general use common sensemeaning. No one except you is responsible for your actions!!!

There is a lot of information on the Internet on the topic of potato cannons. There are also many descriptions of how to make it (from pocket-sized to huge). But almost all of them lack a fuel dosage system, which affects its power, or their operation becomes unreliable. Ideas on how to make a simple but effective fuel supply system There weren’t many, but among them there was one that fit all the parameters. After testing on a small-scale model and then on the main gun, it showed good results. And so, I present to your attention the main detail of my upgrade:

Perhaps some of you have guessed what it is. If not, then this detail from a gas turbo lighter(only without ceramic straw):

It mixes fuel with air, which then burns with a beautiful blue flame :) In other words, the fuel, passing through a small hole, takes air with it, forming the correct fuel-air mixture. That's why it suits us. In theory, any gas burner with this operating principle should be suitable (depending on the scale of your gun). I chose faucets made from turbo lighters because it the cheapest and most accessible option.

My gun is made from sewer pipes ø30 and 50 mm.

It wasn’t done very carefully, but everything works great :) I used two mixers from lighters (two were enough, the combustion chamber is completely filled in 7-8 seconds).

Important:

No liquid (liquefied gas in liquid form) should enter the mixer, otherwise it will stop functioning normally (the proportion will no longer be the same)
You need to make sure that the air intake openings of the mixer are not clogged with dust and other debris.

Small scale model (made from reinforced cardboard tube from cling film, a lighter and a piece of IV tube; projectile - cardboard tube, range ≈ 10 meters)

The advantages of this system:

the power and reliability of the gun increases
the piezoelectric element began to work the first time
there is no need to ventilate the combustion chamber after each shot

Well, how can there be no downsides?

Minuses:

it is necessary to supply the gas-air mixture before installing the projectile, which is not very safe (it can be solved by modification - making a small hole in the barrel near the combustion chamber, the power will drop slightly, but what can you do for safety)
You should only use the gas with which the gas burner worked

P.S. I have not conducted normal full-scale tests of the flight range of a large potato cannon projectile, but the correct mixture of fuel and air is a 100% guarantee of success. As soon as I test it, I’ll post it in the comments.

If you have any suggestions or questions about this system or the potato gun itself, write in the comments or PM me.

Thank you for your attention))

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Potato cannon

The potato cannon is such a national American pastime. A cylinder with a slightly larger diameter is attached to a durable pipe with a diameter slightly smaller than a typical potato and a meter and a half long. A potato is inserted into the pipe “from the barrel” (in this case, since it is larger than the pipe, when stuffed, the potato is peeled off and becomes tightly ground, and the juice acts as a lubricant), and an “active element” is introduced into the cylinder on the other side - a little gas from the cylinder or some kind of aerosol. The lid is screwed on at the back, on which a piezoelectric element from a gas lighter with a button on the outside is attached. Then it’s simple - you press the button, the gas explodes and the potato flies away. Depending on the type of “active element”, the flight range will also change. With ether, the potato flew almost 200 meters!

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Popular Mechanics magazine has 2 tutorial articles on making potato cannons: and Hooligan Inventions: Cheap & Fun. Here is one of them:

Vegetable artillery: We are preparing a cannon

Our readers love weapons very much. Among them there are many people who are familiar with first-hand various types weapons: designers, testers, military personnel, as well as those for whom sport shooting, hunting or studying weapons history has become a favorite hobby. However, among those who want to read and talk about weapons, there are also those who have never in their lives held in their hands anything worse than a water pistol. This is, of course, a mess. We decided to arm all loyal PM fans to the teeth. Every month we will tell you how to use available materials with your own hands to create something that shoots far, flies high, burns well and delights those around you with a deafening roar and festive fireworks, having first tested each recipe from your own experience. We decided to start with an artillery weapon that has long become a classic in America and is rapidly gaining popularity all over the world - the potato cannon.

Pressure deficit

The first and, perhaps, the most serious obstacle for us on the path to our own potato cannon was the total absence in stores and construction markets of the capital of pressure water pipes made of polyvinyl chloride, the main building material for homemade artillery. The only PVC products that are widely available everywhere are sewer pipes and fittings of any diameter, configuration and even color. You cannot shoot from them - these pipes and their connections are not strong enough to work under pressure. The nature of the general concern of sellers with sewerage problems while completely ignoring the water supply system remains a mystery to us.

In our area, water supply is often laid from metal-plastic or polypropylene pipes. In terms of their properties, they are not inferior to PVC, the only difference is that polypropylene pipes and fittings cannot be glued together; to connect them, an expensive welding machine with a whole arsenal of special attachments. Do not fall for the persuasion of sellers who claim that polypropylene can be welded with a lighter. We have seen from our own experience that, even with a powerful gas burner, it is impossible to reliably and evenly connect such pipes, therefore they are not suitable for building a cannon. For the sake of experiment, we made a carriage from polypropylene pipes.

A week-long search led us to a specialized store, where we were able to purchase two three-meter sections of PVC pressure pipes, designed for pressure up to 10 atmospheres, as well as all the necessary fittings. Let's say right away that building a potato cannon requires creative flexibility: the lack necessary materials on sale may dictate serious design deviations from the original design. In particular, based on the available parts, we equipped our gun with a removable barrel, and made the breech part non-removable. This design has an advantage over the traditional one, with a threaded plug at the rear of a non-separable gun: the gun can be loaded from the breech, rather than pushing a projectile through the entire barrel. On the other hand, screwing a heavy barrel into place is more difficult than a small plug. To prevent gas from escaping from the breech during assembly, you need to act very quickly.

Finally, obeying the will of circumstances, our gun turned into a howitzer. Guided by the availability of strictly defined fittings for sale, we purchased pipes with a diameter of 63 and 90 mm (internal diameters 55 and 80 mm, respectively). At the same time, the barrel length turned out to be equal to 18 calibers, which allows us to classify our gun as a howitzer.

Remembering the spring holiday, we dedicate our creation to beautiful ladies. Meet "Barbie from Hell", the most formidable weapon emancipation in the spring/summer 2008 season! A lacquered pink cannon on a gold carriage will make you look stunning

Working with light

Along with the pipes, we purchased a special glue for PVC, as well as a solvent necessary for degreasing the surfaces to be glued. To say that these liquids smell bad is to say nothing. When working with toxic drugs, you should never neglect a respirator, goggles and gloves: PVC glue causes irritation to the mucous membrane of the eyes and respiratory tract, and can damage the skin if in direct contact. It is better to glue in a well-ventilated area. Otherwise, assembling the potato cannon is very simple. When sawing off the required sections of pipes, you must try to ensure that the cutting angle is as close to straight as possible - then the joints inside the gun will be smooth, which promotes uniform combustion of the mixture.

The ignition system of our gun is based on an ordinary kitchen piezoelectric lighter. This is the most accessible, but also the most capricious type of ignition. Mechanical lighters from kerosene lamps, which we have not come across for sale, and stun guns, which themselves are weapons that are dangerous to use. A piezo lighter produces a very weak spark, which is not always enough even for ignition gas mixture. The reliability of the gun's operation depends entirely on the location and condition of the ignition electrodes.

The second critical factor in the performance of a gun is fuel. First of all, we tried the hairspray recommended in one of the recipes. The heads of the screws screwed into the plug of the breech of the gun acted as electrodes. The tests were carried out in a barbaric way - by vertically installing the breech in the middle of the editorial office and trying to set fire to the gas injected there. The first portion of varnish flew into the air in the form of a large fireball, making a long howling sound. The audience was impressed, and the cannon fired varnish a second time for an encore. But the third time did not happen: after the combustion of the propane-butane base, the unburned part of the strong-hold hairspray covered the inner surface of the combustion chamber and the electrodes with a thick layer. The ignition stopped working, the varnish demonstrated its complete failure as a fuel.

Tests of the deodorant also did not give the desired result. Finally, in a sports store we came across the ideal fuel - a pure propane-butane mixture in cans for a camping burner. Such fuel burns completely without contaminating the electrodes. We were able to achieve truly stable operation of the gun only by sharpening the electrodes for better spark formation and moving them to the center of the combustion chamber. For a weak piezoelectric lighter, sharpening the electrodes and finely adjusting the optimal distance between them is not just desirable, but a vital procedure.

Goodbye potatoes!

Finally, the day came for the first field tests of the potato howitzer. We have installed firing position in a vacant lot, about a hundred meters from the metal fence, to which they hoped to throw a potato. We disassembled the cannon, tightly installed a potato into the barrel, cut with a special caliber - a piece of pipe identical to the barrel with sharpened edges (by the way, if you make the cannon non-removable, you can sharpen the barrel itself), generously injected gas into the breech, wrapped the barrel, optimistically plugged your ears and pressed on the lighter button. “Zilch,” the gun whispered plaintively and sluggishly moved the projectile half a meter down the barrel.

It was all about the quality of the mixture. For gas combustion, oxygen is required, which is contained in the air. Only a combustible mixture with an optimal gas to air ratio can ignite. The situation was getting more complicated cold weather(it was -5 0 C outside), at which the gases mix less well. Our personal experience showed that for a good shot, a second press on the button of the spray can is enough. After each salvo, the combustion chamber of the gun must be purged to remove combustion products and refill the chamber with air. For purging, we specially took with us a pump with a long hose.

IN printed edition It is impossible to quote the comments with which we saw off the potatoes flying across the sky far beyond the fence, into the unknown. According to our estimates, the shell flew at least 200-250 m. Judging by the lack of response comments, nothing vital was happening behind the fence, and we did not deny ourselves the pleasure of firing a few more volleys. Therefore, we consider the above scheme to be fully operational and confidently recommend it to readers! We ourselves sit down to design an advanced gun with dosed fuel injection, multi-point ignition, forced ventilation of the combustion chamber, a quick reload system and a muffler, in order to talk about it in one of the future issues of the magazine.

Safe salvo is our choice!

We remember well one instructive story. For test purposes, the breech stood vertically in the editorial office. The ignition electrodes located at the very bottom of the combustion chamber could not ignite the combustible mixture - apparently, the gases were mixed at the bottom at the bottom. Many of us have more than once approached a non-working cannon and, looking inside, looked at the spark. At one fine moment, after numerous “idle” ignitions and without the slightest refueling, the cannon suddenly went off, spewing out a ball of burning gas. Fortunately, at that moment no one was admiring the spark. Since then, we have lost all desire to look inside a gun without protective glasses and the use of a full arsenal of protective equipment has become mandatory.

Glasses. During operation, anything can happen, from glue or aerosol getting into your eyes to an explosion of a poorly assembled gun. Gloves. Hands must be protected from toxic glue, electric shock from a piezo lighter, and burns from burning gas. Earplugs. The potato cannon can shoot very, very loudly. Earplugs help protect against eardrum damage. Respirator. PVC glue irritates the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract.

The editors are not responsible

When work on the howitzer was in full swing, we learned that several of our readers, each of whom ate the dog at the production of the real military weapons, also tried their hand at creating a potato cannon. One of them made a working apparatus, but quickly lost interest in the vegetable hobby because the implement was unstable. The second received burns while trying to fire a gun with a poorly secured chamber plug, resting it on his stomach, and then, when adjusting the ignition, he lost his eyelashes and eyebrows, trying to examine the spark in the combustion chamber with gas residues. The experience of our readers suggests that building a potato cannon is not easy. engineering problem, fraught with a number of dangers. When creating a weapon, you do so at your own peril and risk. Safety rules are the first thing to consider during the work process.

Basic safety rules

All work must be carried out by adults or in the presence of adults.
Use only flammable liquids recommended in the instructions. Stay away from gasoline, alcohol, ether, liquid oxygen, " quick start“- these liquids can easily tear the plastic body of the gun.
Use only building materials specified in the instructions.
Take any changes to the design of the gun as seriously as possible.
Carefully follow label directions for use of adhesives, solvents, and other chemicals.
Keep all containers with flammable liquids (glue, solvent, propane-butane, paint) at least 10 m from the implement testing site.
Before each shot, make sure that there are no people or animals in the line of fire.
Warn others about the planned shot.

If your local hardware store doesn't have the exact parts delivered, don't worry. You can probably use multiple parts (eg gearboxes, couplings, etc.) to achieve what the parts listed do.
Muzzleloading firearms uses " packaging material" - pieces of fabric to wrap the shells and form a good seal with the barrel. The same concept can be applied to potato guns if others are using ammunition that cannot be cut. The possibilities are endless.
Try new ammunition! Potatoes are plentiful, but if you live near a walnut...
After cutting the pipes, remove the burrs with sandpaper or a file.
There are many instructions on the internet, just Google "Potato Implement Instructions". There are many uses for this tool, so have fun and experiment, but be safe and smart!
The screw is inserted into the barrel where it connects to the combustion chamber and will interfere with the cartridges, causing it to ram too far into the chamber.
The volume of the combustion chamber is proportional to the force of the shot, a long chamber produces an ineffective compression wave, make the combustion chamber small and thick.
If you've never worked with PVC, buy some scrap PVC and some cheap connectors so you can practice joining before building your grenade launcher. Give each glue line a quarter turn as if you were pushing them together.
Too much propellant gas is just as bad as having too little. If too much oxygen is moved, combustion will not occur. Through trial and error you will learn to use the optimal amount of fuel in your individual design.
Pipe terminology is often confusing. Here are some abbreviations used: FIPT - Internal thread; MIP - External thread; NEST - miss nest; MISS - unbraided pipe, use glue to protect the joint; PLUG - a man puts on a grommet, etc.; Overkill - outside the diameter; ID - in diameter (PVC pipe measurements are usually measured in ID, so the overshoot will be greater than 2 inches).
If something needs to be tightly closed, use duct tape. It starts out as tape, but after you use the gun the tape turns into a very sticky glue that keeps things closed.
The world of plumbing can be confusing and disorganized, so don't be afraid to ask the store staff for help.
The initial ignition in the combustion chamber must be close to the center of the chamber to form an effective compression wave and transfer the explosion energy.
To get maximum flow through the valve, read the valve directions. This often involves turning a knob or cuff on a valve.
Follow the instructions on the glue, and glue liberally on both the pipe and socket. Do not use glue or adhesive on threads; wrap in a couple of layers of Teflon sealing tape.
The longer the trunk, the more power combustion will accelerate the projectile. A barrel that is too short will waste power. However, if the trunk too much long, the expanding gases begin to lose pressure and the friction of the projectile in the barrel begins to slow it down. Find optimal length for your own configuration, trial and error.
Christie's glue, recommended below, is a strong one-step glue, but requires you to work quickly. Plan carefully and be ready to join as soon as you apply the glue.

Our readers love weapons very much. Among them are many people who are familiar with various types of weapons first-hand: designers, testers, military personnel, as well as those for whom sport shooting, hunting or studying weapons history has become a favorite hobby. However, among those who want to read and talk about weapons, there are also those who have never in their lives held in their hands anything worse than a water pistol. This is, of course, a mess. We decided to arm all loyal PM fans to the teeth. Every month we will tell you how to use available materials with your own hands to create something that shoots far, flies high, burns well and delights those around you with a deafening roar and festive fireworks, having first tested each recipe from your own experience. We decided to start with an artillery weapon that has long become a classic in America and is rapidly gaining popularity all over the world - the potato cannon.

Pressure deficit

The first and, perhaps, the most serious obstacle for us on the path to our own potato cannon was the total lack of pressure water pipes made of polyvinyl chloride, the main building material for homemade artillery, in the stores and construction markets of the capital. The only PVC products that are widely available everywhere are sewer pipes and fittings of any diameter, configuration and even color. You cannot shoot from them - these pipes and their connections are not strong enough to work under pressure. The nature of the general concern of sellers with sewerage problems while completely ignoring the water supply system remains a mystery to us.

You can find some materials for a potato cannon right in your kitchen. Don't neglect your protective equipment. 1. PVC pressure water pipe 63X1000 mm. 2. PVC pressure water pipe 90X400 mm. 3. Fittings. 4. Piezoelectric lighter. 5. Wires. 6. M4X40 mm screws with nuts (electrodes). 7. Travel cylinder with a propane-butane mixture. 8. Potatoes. 9. Glasses. 10. Gloves. 11. Headphones or earplugs. 12. Respirator. 13. Paint. 14. Purge pump. 15. Carriage of arbitrary design.

In our area, water supply is often laid from metal-plastic or polypropylene pipes. In terms of their properties, they are not inferior to PVC, the only difference is that polypropylene pipes and fittings cannot be glued together; to connect them, you need an expensive welding machine with a whole arsenal of special attachments. Do not fall for the persuasion of sellers who claim that polypropylene can be welded with a lighter. We have seen from our own experience that, even with a powerful gas burner, it is impossible to reliably and evenly connect such pipes, therefore they are not suitable for building a cannon. For the sake of experiment, we made a carriage from polypropylene pipes.

A week-long search led us to a specialized store, where we were able to purchase two three-meter sections of PVC pressure pipes, designed for pressure up to 10 atmospheres, as well as all the necessary fittings. Let’s immediately make a reservation that building a potato cannon requires creative flexibility: the lack of necessary materials on sale can dictate serious design deviations from the original project. In particular, based on the available parts, we equipped our gun with a removable barrel, and made the breech part non-removable. This design has an advantage over the traditional one, with a threaded plug at the rear of a non-separable gun: the gun can be loaded from the breech, rather than pushing a projectile through the entire barrel. On the other hand, screwing a heavy barrel into place is more difficult than a small plug. To prevent gas from escaping from the breech during assembly, you need to act very quickly.

Working with light

Along with the pipes, we purchased a special glue for PVC, as well as a solvent necessary for degreasing the surfaces to be glued. To say that these liquids smell bad is an understatement. When working with toxic drugs, you should never neglect a respirator, goggles and gloves: PVC glue causes irritation to the mucous membrane of the eyes and respiratory tract, and can damage the skin if in direct contact. It is better to glue in a well-ventilated area. Otherwise, assembling the potato cannon is very simple. When sawing off the required sections of pipes, you must try to ensure that the cutting angle is as close to straight as possible - then the joints inside the gun will be smooth, which promotes uniform combustion of the mixture.

The ignition system of our gun is based on an ordinary kitchen piezoelectric lighter. This is the most accessible, but also the most capricious type of ignition. Its analogues are mechanical lighters from kerosene lamps, which we have not found on sale, and stun guns, which in themselves are weapons that are dangerous to use. A piezo lighter produces a very weak spark, which is not always enough even to ignite the gas mixture. The reliability of the gun's operation depends entirely on the location and condition of the ignition electrodes.

Goodbye potatoes!

Finally, the day came for the first field tests of the potato howitzer. We established a firing position in a vacant lot, about a hundred meters from the metal fence, to which we hoped to throw a potato. We disassembled the cannon, tightly installed a potato into the barrel, cut with a special caliber - a piece of pipe identical to the barrel with sharpened edges (by the way, if you make the cannon non-removable, you can sharpen the barrel itself), generously injected gas into the breech, wrapped the barrel, optimistically plugged your ears and pressed on the lighter button. “Zilch,” the gun whispered plaintively and sluggishly moved the projectile half a meter down the barrel.

Pink camouflage

An artillery gun is a complex engineering structure designed to decide the destinies of people. Of course, it should not look like an extra part from the sewer system. Decorating a cannon, giving it an appearance that inspires fear and awe, is mandatory stage construction, with an emotional intensity similar to painting a hot rod. Remembering the spring holiday, we dedicate our creation to beautiful ladies. Meet "Barbie from Hell", the most formidable weapon of emancipation in the spring/summer 2008 season! A lacquered pink cannon on a gold carriage will make you stunning, both figuratively and literally!

It was all about the quality of the mixture. For gas combustion, oxygen is required, which is contained in the air. Only a combustible mixture with an optimal gas to air ratio can ignite. The situation was complicated by cold weather (it was -50C outside), during which gases mix less well. Our personal experience has shown that for a good shot, pressing the button for a second is enough. After each salvo, the combustion chamber of the gun must be purged to remove combustion products and refill the chamber with air. For purging, we specially took with us a pump with a long hose.

It is impossible to quote in the printed edition the comments with which we saw off the potatoes flying across the sky far beyond the fence, into the unknown. According to our estimates, the shell flew at least 200-250 m. Judging by the lack of response comments, nothing vital was happening behind the fence, and we did not deny ourselves the pleasure of firing a few more volleys. Therefore, we consider the above scheme to be fully operational and confidently recommend it to readers! We ourselves sit down to design an advanced gun with dosed fuel injection, multi-point ignition, forced ventilation of the combustion chamber, a quick reload system and a muffler, in order to talk about it in one of the future issues of the magazine.