Spud Gun Ignition ?? What do you use ??

Normark

Normark

Joined
Nov 7, 1999
Messages
6,651
Hey Guys...

I'm rebuilding my Spud Gun and I'm sizing up the possibility of using a 250,000 Volt Stun Gun with dual sparking electrodes inside the main chamber for ignition...

I'm using a Piezo ignition right now, but I'm not too happy with it...
The heat inside the expansion chamber is melting my Piezo and at $15 a crack I don't want to keep replacing it constantly..

So this is why I'm thinking of moving up to stun gun ignition..

I'm just wondering if anyone here has built a higher tech spud gun than just a standard ordinary Piezo ignition system??

These things are a Blast to shoot and I'm getting Taters to go several Hundred feet up at a pretty decent speed.. I Absolutely would not want to be hit with one...

Anyone got any better ideas for a Good reliable, portable ignition system ???

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
I'm still in the dark ages with a wheel and flint from a gas lantern...:(
 
I've used both the piezo lighter out of a gas grill and the wheel and flint type. Neither one last very long but I never spent the money to try any thing else. Try out some lemons in the spud gun, they work great, pack in there really tight. They are pretty expensive though. Back when I was in high school one of my friends that worked at a restaurant got a whole garbage bag full of them. Made for some great fun.

Jamie
 
Spark plug?

Rip apart a small, old 2-stroke motor and take all the ignition pieces. Use a cordless drill to spin the crank.

Pulse-jet builders do it all the time.
 
What do you guys use as propellent. I have tried gas from a butane lighter refil can? Never had any luck. Neither have the guys in the office.

Where do I find instructions as to how to build and operate?
 
I've done a few stun gun builds. They all ignited with far more success than any other build I've done (the majority of which were piezo grill button systems). I would highly recommend it. The electrodes in the chamber will still dirty up eventually, and require some cleaning to get back to their full ability, but it's really an easy system.

The only caveat is you should remember to take a set of spare batteries out into the "field" in case you go low. The stun guns I used all were pretty good at letting you know when they were getting low: the crackle of the arc would sound slower and slower in pulse.

EDIT -
Tim,
good off-the-shelf propellants are Aquanet hairspray, and RightGuard aerosol deodorant. As for finding instructions, Google will give you endless hits off of phrases like "Spud guns", "Potato guns", etc. There are a few sites I've seen where people take it to an extreme level with custom machined parts, etc. Making one out of materials at your local hardware store takes little savvy, however. You don't even really need the instructions so long as you have a general concept of how they function.

I haven't used spud guns in years, but they are a lot of fun.
 
my son built one using a piezo connected to two self tapping screws screwed in at a angle so the two points almost touched .
 
Tinbasher said:
my son built one using a piezo connected to two self tapping screws screwed in at a angle so the two points almost touched .
Click to expand...

This is what I did with my spud gun but I dont remember what grill ignitor I used. Anyway I also put a valve on the side underneath where the screws touch, this is wear I spray in my propellant and then close the valve. That has worked very well for me. Why a valve? Much easier to open a valve and spray in gas than to constantly be screwing in and unscrewing the back, so the threads do not wear out as fast. If you use metal straps that thave the screw tighteners you can use two to 4 of those to hold a handle onto the thing as well. You can run the ignitor down through a hollow wood or pvc handle and have the button seated there so its almost like a bazooka.

ALSO for ammo, I no longer use potatoes....well i dont use them as often. I use golf balls. How you say? You create a sabot out of the top of 20 oz soda bottles, you leave the lid on and you cut just as it gets wide on the bottle. You seat the golf ball in there and put it down in like you would any other ammo. They are so light and go so fast I dont always see the ones I shoot....scary fast.
 
a taser is absolutly THE best way to go w. spud guns. shoot some screws into the chamber and wire them up in parrallel(sp?). depending on the length of your chamber 6 stagerd scrws should work fine, this will disturibute the spark through the whole chamber instead of just in one spot. then disasembale(sp?) the taser, wire it up and maybe make some type of gun type trigger for coolness factor. basically you dont want to make holes for the prongs and just hold the taser in your hand, thats not cool and dangerous, plus the exlplosion will lose power as it seeps through those holes. also THE best fuel, apart from propane which is alot more work, is starter fluid, the kind from the autoparts store, not for charcol grills. when using starter fluid all the fuel you need is the shortest press of the sprayer you cn manage, then lightly blow in the camber. just a little, to help w/ the fuel air mixture. using this type of setup your spuds should go a couple hunderd yards and easily penetrate wooden fences.

this is sooo cool, finally something i know about, hope this helps.
 
http://www.advancedspuds.com/stungun.htm

this is a good site for info and some good pics. the link i posted concerns taser ignition. the one i had was a bit more elaborate but the same idea.

i would post pics but i dont have it anymore. was shooting it in the park and was aproached my a gentelman that after some talking and demoing he offered me a $100 bill for it right then and there. it was a hell of a deal so i couldnt say no, and havnt made one scince.
 
Hey Guys....


ColdOne said:
what about wiring a starter off of a BBQ? They handle some serious heat and keep working.
One thing about using a stun gun is that they are illegal in canada. Source: http://www.canlii.org/ca/regu/sor98-462/part82989.html
Click to expand...

Yaa the electrodes can handle the heat really well.. The Body of the button doesn't handle the heat worth $hit..

I'll never build another with the button sunk into the expansion chamber..Only mistake I made with this spud gun..

As for the Stun Gun...

Yaa I know...
It's not a Stun gun anymore once I'm done with it...

Rusty Toyota said:
Spark plug?
Rip apart a small, old 2-stroke motor and take all the ignition pieces. Use a cordless drill to spin the crank.Pulse-jet builders do it all the time.
Click to expand...

Too complicated. I don't even like the idea of having to carry batts with me...

Tim-Gabz said:
What do you guys use as propellent. I have tried gas from a butane lighter refil can? Never had any luck. Neither have the guys in the office.Where do I find instructions as to how to build and operate?
Click to expand...

Tim...

The best fuel I've found is propane... Cheap, Easy, Clean and gives a Great punch...
The problem with these other fuels is that your spud gun starts to stink, they get sticky inside and excess fluid is always running out of them..Spray your electrodes by accident and the ignition would work..This may be why it isn't working for you..

Also if you use too much fuel, ignition won't happen, not enough oxygen.

TOTC...

ThinkOfTheChildren said:
I've done a few stun gun builds. They all ignited with far more success than any other build I've done (the majority of which were piezo grill button systems). I would highly recommend it. The electrodes in the chamber will still dirty up eventually, and require some cleaning to get back to their full ability, but it's really an easy system.

The only caveat is you should remember to take a set of spare batteries out into the "field" in case you go low. The stun guns I used all were pretty good at letting you know when they were getting low: the crackle of the arc would sound slower and slower in pulse.
I haven't used spud guns in years, but they are a lot of fun.
Click to expand...

OK Cool...
That's whats going to happen then..

Now a couple of questions!! LOL
Normal wire should be Ok to connect the electrodes with Eh ??

I'm planning on running the wiring inside so it doesn't look like crap, but have to keep the electrodes close to the end of the chamber so they can be cleaned...I'm not quite sure how to stagger the electrodes though, especially proper spacing..

I'm also going with a Exhaust/Mixing fan and one way valve, as well as direct propane feed and throw valve,, but won't be metering the fuel.


Enix...

enix said:
a taser is absolutly THE best way to go w. spud guns. shoot some screws into the chamber and wire them up in parrallel(sp?). depending on the length of your chamber 6 stagerd scrws should work fine, this will disturibute the spark through the whole chamber instead of just in one spot. then disasembale(sp?) the taser, wire it up and maybe make some type of gun type trigger for coolness factor. basically you dont want to make holes for the prongs and just hold the taser in your hand, thats not cool and dangerous, plus the exlplosion will lose power as it seeps through those holes. also THE best fuel, apart from propane which is alot more work, is starter fluid, the kind from the autoparts store, not for charcol grills. when using starter fluid all the fuel you need is the shortest press of the sprayer you cn manage, then lightly blow in the camber. just a little, to help w/ the fuel air mixture. using this type of setup your spuds should go a couple hunderd yards and easily penetrate wooden fences. this is sooo cool, finally something i know about, hope this helps.
Click to expand...


Yaa I'm starting to think that Stun Gun ignition is by far the easiest and most effective ignition system out there....

I'm also looking into spark strip ignition, but don't think it's durable enough, and pain in the ass to make..

The mixing fan as I understand it Really helps combustion. The stun gun will be wired into the gun, and won't even look like a stun gun when I'm done with it..
I'd like to keep all of the parts internal,, if I can...

Someone needs to make some aftermarket sights for these things.. I'm thinking of something like on the anti aircraft guns would be cool...

Mine is Very accurate...

I've blown the door off the kids playhouse and have knocked over the basketball hoop several times already...

As far as you building another Spud cannon,, Get at it Dude!!

Thanks for the help.

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
TOTC...

The electrodes should stay clean since I'm using LP for fuel Eh ??
Thats one of the Real nice things about LP..
Probably the all around best fuel going...

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
I used to have one with a 20' barrel. It fired used oil filters. I could launch an oil filter over 600 yards. I used acetylene as a propellant and I lit it with the same cutting torch via a small hole in the top.
 
Hey Eric,

Yea, just about any wire will really be fine, so long as you run it such that the spark doesn't jump outside of the chamber. Given the fact that I was able to pull it off, I'd say the overall thing is pretty idiot proof. I couldn't even tell you what gauge wire I used: just some scraps I had sitting around and then a lot of electrical tape for peace of mind.

And yes, your electrodes will probably stay pretty clean given your fuel of choice. Mine would gunk up given the fact I was using cheap beauty products which just so happened to contain primarily combustible materials. As for how I did it, I just ran screws into the chamber, then wired the stun gun to the screws.

I never got complicated or scientific enough to experiment with fuel blends, fans, multiple ignition points, or anything like that. I just set up the screws such that the arc was as close to the overall center of the chamber as possible. Hell, I don't even know if that's technically the most efficient.

My overall philosophy was that the more scientific I got, the more I tried to push the limit, the higher my risk would climb of a catastrophic failure. I don't mean that precision increases risk, I just mean that precision usually seems to go along with more extreme fuels, more extreme projectiles, etc. I figured that a simple spud gun with crappy fuel was a lot of fun and I wasn't in any large amount of danger. The stun gun was the most "technologically advanced" part of my designs, and only because I was sick of unreliable ignition.

I don't say that to dissuade anyone from pushing the limits, but it just never intrigued me enough.
 
Hey Guys..

Ash....

Yaa man something that shoots oil filters would be cool for knocking the shit out of stuff..But the problem is having to pick them up...

Taters and cobs of corn (which are Awesome BTW) husk or no husk don't have to be picked up..
I blast them out into the bush behind the house...

Then again a oil filter gun would be awesome to shoot at a scrap yard!!! :)

TOTC..

Yaa I'm not looking to push the envelope either..
I'm happy shooting spuds and corn on the cob.. Something else would be fun to dick around with but I'm quite satisfied with organic ammo..

Robert..

Yaa my uncle and his friends have an air powered pumpkin cannon with a 15 foot barell, mounted on a trailer with a compresser..

Very cool,, but the problem is finding a place to shoot it..
It will launch a pumpkin a Very long distance,, like measured in field lengths..

They take it somewhere to contests and such...

Another thing I want to get is a bowling ball mortor.. It shoots standard bowling balls..Very cool...

Will need a ATV and trailer to go pick up the ammo though!!

ttyle

Eric
O/ST
 
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