How to Build a Potato Cannon
For those who want to do more damage than one can manage with a BB gun but don't want to wait a week for a background check, there is always the Potato Cannon or Potato Gun. This cheap and quickly built PVC device can easily entertain a group of bored, destruction-crazed people for an afternoon or two. This guide will explain how to make and use a Potato Cannon.
- Difficulty:
- Moderately Easy
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Drill
- 3 feet of PVC pipe
- PVC y Junction
- PVC Screw Port & Plug
- PVC Plug
- PVC Tape
- PVC Cement
- Barbecue Lighter
- Potatoes
- Aerosol Hairspray
- Ramrod
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-
1
Use your PVC tape to connect the 3-foot length of PVC pipe and the top of the y junction. Smear the junction with PVC cement. Wipe off the excess cement.
-
2
Connect the PVC Screw Port and Plug to the end of the y junction opposite the three foot length of PVC Pipe. Tape the two pieces together and Cement them in place. Set the cannon aside.
-
3
Strip the barbecue lighter of it's plastic housing and disassemble it entirely. Look for the igniter mechanism. It should look like a length of sheathed wiring with a bare metal tip connected to a pressure switch. Keep this and dispose of the rest of the lighter.
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4
Use the drill to bore a hole into the center of the remaining PVC plug slightly larger in diameter that the wire of the igniter.
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5
Fit the igniter into the hole in the plug. Make sure the sparking tip extends all the way past the plug. Cement the igniter in place; be careful to not get any cement on the end of the igniter or it won’t spark. Let the plug dry and then tape around the front and back of the plug to make sure the hole in the plug is completely air-tight.
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6
Cement the plug in the remaining hole of the y junction on the Potato Cannon. The pressure switch should be raised on the exterior of the cannon and easily triggered. With the cannon itself complete, let it dry for at least a full 24 period before firing.
Firing A Potato Cannon
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1
Shove a potato into the open end of the potato cannon. Use the ramrod, a broomstick will work fine, to push the potato all the way down to the bottom of the three foot length of PVC.
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2
Unscrew the plug in the back of the Cannon. Shake your can of hairspray and spray it into the back of the Cannon for a few seconds. You don't need much for this to work. Quickly screw the plug back in place and make sure all the seals are tight.
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3
Take careful aim away from breakable objects and living creatures, and then press the igniter switch. The cannon should fire the potato out at high velocity with a hollow thump. Now that you know that your Potato Cannon is functioning properly, have fun!
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1
Tips & Warnings
Use large potatoes so no air can pass by the potato when the cannon is fired. If this happens then the potato will not be expelled.
If you use gasketed PVC pipes you won't have to use cement or worry about waiting for it to dry.
Never shoot at anyone with your potato cannon. They are easily capable of breaking bones and causing internal injuries.
Be careful not to use too much hairspray, this chemical is highly flammable and can sometimes blow apart the gun if the chamber is too full.
Related Searches
Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.umiacs.umd.edu/~dave/htimage/potato-gun1.jpg
Comments
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Thinking about making one of these for the 4X4 events.
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darktrojan00
Nov 25, 2010
bro same thing happens to me.... I discovered that the problem might be "air" the butane might be displacig air from the chamber and remember you need oxigen for itto blow up... I discovered it worked when I opened it up "after having the butane allready inside " and just blew some air into it with my mouth. Im gonna try hair spray next and see if im right about the butane sucking... -
crasez58
Oct 22, 2009
you dont have enough air in your chamber you need to spray less and hair spray works better
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iketricktor
Aug 17, 2008
I constructed a potato cannon with a friend. It is airtight and everything, and we used butane as our gas. However, it doesn't fire. We spray the butane in for a second or two, seal the chamber immediately, and hit the sparker, but it doesn't fire. When we opened up the chamber to check the sparker, the butane blew up in our faces. It doesn't seem to ignite without the chamber open. Why?
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iketricktor
Aug 17, 2008
I constructed a potato cannon with a friend. It is airtight and everything, and we used butane as our gas. However, it doesn't fire. We spray the butane in for a second or two, seal the chamber immediately, and hit the sparker, but it doesn't fire. When we opened up the chamber to check the sparker, the butane blew up in our faces. It doesn't seem to ignite without the chamber open. Why?
