Potatoes are not only delicious vegetable. It is also a real weapon in skillful hands. Piterstory met with Ural design engineer Andrey Pavlov and figured out how to turn potatoes into "bullets" and shoot them 300 meters.

Andrei
Design engineer

We assembled a potato cannon about two weeks ago with a friend. Actually, this is the idea of ​​my friend Nikita. At first, I didn’t react too positively to it, but it turned out to be very interesting to shoot from such a gun. After a shot, for example, a powerful bang is heard, which you don’t expect from this design. At the same time, the gun has very strange ballistics - it is absolutely impossible to predict in which direction the potatoes will fly, therefore aimed shooting We didn't hit the targets.

I don't know if there are any potato cannon shooting clubs in St. Petersburg, but I have come across sites of similar communities in the USA more than once. American enthusiasts will "upgrade" their guns. For example, they put on them the automatic supply of shells.

How to assemble a potato gun?

Andrei
Design engineer

Almost anyone can assemble a potato gun - some special knowledge this case is not needed. In addition, there are enough guides on the assembly and operation of the gun on the Internet. For example, my friend and I assembled one in an hour and a half, while spending about 500 rubles on materials. To assemble the gun, you will need several plastic pipes from any plumbing store, self-tapping screws, construction tape and a piezoelectric element from any lighter.

How to launch a potato at 300 meters?

1. A potato (or other suitable vegetable) is pushed into the barrel of a cannon with an impromptu ramrod.
2. A little combustible material (for example, combustible aerosol or propane) is fed into the combustion chamber, the combustion chamber cover is closed.
3. The shooter ignites a combustible mixture of aerosols and air inside the combustion chamber using a piezoelectric element from a conventional lighter.
4. The combustion process begins inside the combustion chamber, the gas mixture expands in volume and pushes the vegetable projectile out of the gun barrel.

Andrei
Design engineer

The projectile can fly both five and three hundred meters, depending on how it is loaded. In addition, my friend and I came to the conclusion that after each salvo, the combustion chamber must be ventilated from combustion materials, otherwise they mix with the combustible mixture and the explosion does not occur. By the way, it will not work to increase the flight range or the power of the shot by increasing the concentration of aerosols in the combustion chamber - due to the lack of air, the explosion simply will not occur

Andrei
Design engineer

Naturally, we did not shoot from the cannon either at people or at animals. But we must remember that a cannon, even a potato one, still remains a cannon. For example, when shooting at a wall from five meters, the potatoes will be broken literally soft-boiled. Therefore, when handling this "weapon" it is necessary to observe safety measures.

1. When assembling the gun, I do not recommend using adhesive tape, glue and other similar materials, since the gun can simply be torn apart during firing. We used self-tapping screws as a fastener, and we used adhesive tape only to ensure relative tightness;
2. Before firing, it is advisable to check once again how well the moving parts are fixed, for example, the combustion chamber cover. We had a case where the lid was blown out by an explosion;
3. It is better to shoot in a deserted area, since a shot at a wall from five meters breaks potatoes into small pieces. For example, Andrei and his friend launch potatoes in the Gulf of Finland.

Not just for fun

Oddly enough, but the system of launching vegetables into the air can be of practical use. For example, similar mechanisms are used at football matches - to launch T-shirts into the stands of the stadium. In addition, potato weapons can be used to scare away birds, which is used by some farms, and to simulate the effect of a shock wave in laboratory experiments. An analogue of the potato gun is used even in aviation industry- with its help, testers test aircraft engines for a collision with birds. True, in this case the gun will be called chicken or duck.

Probably few people do not know what a potato gun is:

potato gun(English "potato cannon", "spud cannon", "spudzooka") muzzle-loading gun powered compressed air, or due to the energy of the mixture of combustible gas and air formed during ignition to give the projectiles high speed. Designed mainly for recreational shooting with potato slices or other objects.

Attention!!!

This device is very dangerous if used inappropriately.Never shoot at live targets, and generally use common sense.meaning. No one but you is not responsible for your own actions!!!

On the Internet there is a lot of information on the subject of potato guns. There are also many descriptions of how to make it (from pocket to huge). But, almost all of them lack a fuel dosage system, which affects its power, or unreliability appears in operation. Ideas how to make a simple but effective fuel supply system There were not many, but among them was one that came up in all respects. After tests on a small scale model, and then on the main gun, she showed good results. And so, I present to your attention the main detail of my upgrade:

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

It mixes the fuel with air, which then burns with a beautiful blue flame 🙂 In other words, the fuel, passing through a small hole, captures air with it, forming the correct fuel-air mixture. Because it suits us. In theory, any gas burner with this principle of operation should be suitable (depending on the scale of your gun). I chose mixers from turbo lighters because it the cheapest and most affordable option.

My gun from sewer pipesø30 and 50 mm.

Not done very neatly, but everything works fine 🙂 I used two mixers from lighters (two were enough, the combustion chamber is completely filled in 7-8 seconds).

Important:

• liquid must not enter the mixer (liquefied gas in liquid form), otherwise it will cease to function normally (the proportion will no longer be the same)
• you need to watch that the air intake holes of the mixer are not clogged with dust and other debris.

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

The advantages of this system:

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

Well, how about without cons

Minuses:

• it is necessary to supply a gas-air mixture before installing the projectile, which is not very safe (it is solved by revision - to make a small hole in the barrel near the combustion chamber, the power will drop a little, but what can you do for the sake of safety)
• use only the gas with which the gas burner worked

P.S. I did not conduct normal full-scale tests of the range of the big potato-cannon projectile, but the correct mixture of fuel and air is 100% the key to success. As soon as I test it, I'll write it in the comments.

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

Thank you for your attention))

How to make a potato gun or Apple Gun with your own hands. It so happened that in the year of construction, apples were more affordable than potatoes. Construction gas gun interesting project but first a warning. You build the gas gun at your own risk and assume ALL responsibility for the construction, use, consequences of using this device, as well as for any damage caused. The authors used the device only to scare away crows and birds destroying crops on suburban area. Since the prices for the essential product potato this summer went off scale in the country, apples that fell from trees were used to test the gun, which did not change the properties of the device in any way, though it gave it the name Apple Gun. During the construction of the Apple Gun structure, the experience of building potato guns (potato guns) accumulated on the Internet was summarized. The simplest and most budgetary scheme (less than 1000 rubles) for building a gas gun with your own hands was chosen. During testing, it was found weak sides and made some improvements. Buying cannon parts will take longer than building it.

How to make your own Apple Gun

Details and tools. In the hardware store in the plumbing department we buy the following parts:

- drain pipe diameter 50mm length 1 meter;

- adapter 50 - 100 mm;

— connector 100-100 mm;

- revision 100 mm, you only need to buy an expensive revision for outdoor use Brown, yes, it will be more than half the cost of parts, but the gun will be safer (details in the text);

- a plug of 100 mm, it is also better to buy brown for reliability.

Check that all rubber seals must be in place, they are included in the part kit. On the details must not be no mechanical damage or impact marks. Handle items with care after purchase.

It is also necessary to prepare a sealant, gypsum screws with a wide head at least 30 mm long, reinforced tape, a kitchen piezo lighter, two pieces of copper wire in good insulation, electrical tape.

From the tool you will need a screwdriver, and preferably a screwdriver. Drill with a drill with a diameter of 1.5 mm. Adhesive thermal gun. Wire cutters.

Revision 100 mm

Parts and tools

Apple Gun Kit

Apple Gun build order

The assembly order is slightly different from that shown in the photo and video, but experience comes in the process. But first, it’s better to practice assembling parts without sealant in order to assess your strengths and gain assembly skills.

1. Lubricate with sealant inner part connector 100 - 100 mm behind the rubber seal as shown in the photo. With our own hands we connect the part with the revision. We move the connector inward until it stops.

2. Lubricate the second side of the connector with sealant and insert the 100-50 mm adapter. Decide on the location of the trunk. The adapter should rest against the end of the revision - this is a must.

3. Lubricate the revision flange with sealant and insert the plug.

4. In the same way, insert the 50 mm barrel pipe into the adapter until it stops. From the expanding part of the pipe, immediately remove the rubber ring of the seal.

5. Leave the structure alone until the sealant sets.

Application of sealant

Compound

6. Be sure to connect the parts with self-tapping screws! To connect with self-tapping screws, we drill holes in the attachment points with a thin drill and screw self-tapping screws into these holes. It is necessary to tighten carefully so as not to turn the self-tapping screw in the plastic during the final twist. The installation locations of the self-tapping screws are shown in the photo. The barrel is screwed with two self-tapping screws, the connector with the adapter and revision is connected with 6 self-tapping screws. Special attention give a stub. Due to the short walls, it is necessary to fasten through a rubber seal. When fastening with four self-tapping screws, an undermining of the fastening was noticed. Stub fastened with eight screws. I recommend wrapping the extended part of the Apple Gun and attaching the barrel with reinforced tape, the cap is screwed on with adhesive tape!

The barrel is fixed with self-tapping screws

Fastening the connector

Plug fixed

The procedure for finalizing a piezo lighter

We do not bother with any electronic ignition. We will not use electronics and batteries. The device should be simple and reliable, and it is - a piezo lighter. The device works and does not misfire; the whole world uses it. You just need to have experience and a desire to bring this spark inside the volume. The cheapest kitchen lighter (37 rubles) is taken as a basis. Believe me, the piezo knot on this or gold lighter with diamonds is the same.

1. We disassemble the lighter.

2. We remove the piezo node, carefully handle the extension wire coming out of the piezo node.

3. We are preparing two extension wires, it’s good if at least one wire is high-voltage (cut off from the horizontal transformer of a broken TV).

4. We connect the extension conductors to the piezoelectric element and isolate. There should absolutely be no twists or loops on the conductors. These are additional inductances and capacitances that will weaken the spark.

5. We assemble the piezo lighter, strip the ends of the conductors at a length of ~5 mm and place them at a distance of 5 mm from each other. We click a lighter - a juicy spark should slip. If not, then somewhere something was collected incorrectly.

Piezo lighter disassembled

Installing the ignition system on the Apple Gun

Ignition system

The main mistake in the construction of potato cannons is the supply of voltage inward through metal elements. As a rule, after several shots, such a gun falls silent for a long time due to the loss of a spark. This design devoid of this shortcoming. At a distance of 40 mm from the end of the plug, we drill two holes and insert the conductors there to a length of 40-50 mm. We fix the wires in the holes with hot glue. After the glue has set, we form a spark gap and check the spark. The suit will skip with a characteristic sound. For safety, the conductor entry point is tightened with reinforced tape in two layers.

Apple Gun Tests

The most crucial stage of checking the mini gun. As fuel, the next bottle of freshener was found on the shelf. The design is budgetary and the use of another type of fuel was not provided.

Fundamental rules

Work only outdoors away from people, buildings and flammable objects. Work only in protective equipment, especially eyes. Do not point the device at people, animals or structures. Do not look into the barrel with the inspection cap screwed on. An apple released from the device may cause damage (break the glass) or injury. In the event of a misfire, immediately unscrew the lid. Always remember that the device is made of plastic and can be destroyed, the directions of the cover and plug are especially dangerous. After each shot, inspect the device for damage or misplaced parts. If there is even suspicion of damage, stop testing.

1. Checking the ignition system. The shot comes from explosive combustion in the chamber of a mixture of air and gas. It is important to keep the proportion a large number of only cotton will give gas, a large amount may destroy the cannon or not work at all. The required amount of gas is determined only empirically.

2. Install the gun on the flyer or support with the direction up. We puff a small amount of freshener into the chamber and, without twisting the lid, give a spark, a flame should escape from the neck.

3. Let's blow the gun or wait for the removal of gases. We warn the nearest environment about a loud sound. Add gas and tighten the lid tightly all the way! Checking the safe direction of the shot. Spark. Happened? If yes, check the design. If not. Open the lid and without looking inside, give a spark. If it caught fire, it means that more gas was added than necessary or the gun was not purged. If it does not catch fire, we blow out the gun. We give a spark. We check the presence of a spark and the preservation of a spark gap of 5 mm. Attention! The gray screw caps already fly off well on blank shots. On tests, the gray cover flew 15 meters, was found after 3 days, the rubber seal has not been found so far. Effective blank shot at night.

potato gun

Production time: Up to two hours

Materials at hand: ████████░░ 80%

One day I noticed a large foam canister in the garbage heap. At that time we were fond of potato guns and I decided to make myself a small gun from this balloon, and the brand of foam, as it were, hinted at making something similar - "Gold Gun". A silencer was immediately made for the gun, but the article turned out to be too large and I took out the silencer. At the back of the gun, a bottle neck with a cork for purge and refueling is inserted. The design turned out to be quite complicated, but absolutely calmly done at home.

• Large can of polyurethane foam
• Plastic bottle
• steel wire
• wires
• Piezo lighter
• Small aerosol can
• PVC water pipe with a diameter of 35 mm and a length of 500 mm

• Hacksaw
• Screwdriver
• Drill
• File
• self-tapping screws
• Pliers
• Gypsum or alabaster
• Sandpaper
• small nails
• Scotch
• Insulating tape
• Gas stove or industrial hair dryer

How to make a small potato gun




The foam bottle has a large plastic mount at the very top, you need to get rid of it. Make a few cuts and use pliers to remove it


You can melt plastic with a hot knife









Cut off the neck of any plastic bottle




Drill two holes in it right above the rim and insert a piece of steel wire into them, bend the ends slightly down







In the bottom of the bottle, you need to make a hole along the diameter of the neck of the bottle. To do this, drill a hole in the center with a drill and expand it with a file.


Don't forget to bleed all the air out of the cylinder before drilling it!




The upper part of the can must be opened, the tube and everything superfluous pulled out and the hole widened.




Mounting scheme


The scheme of fastening the neck from the bottle to the cylinder. It turned out a little difficult, but 100% reliable.
The neck is inserted into the hole





1 - balloon
2 - Gypsum
3 - Neck wire
4 - Bottle neck
5 - Screw or self-tapping screw


• We drill holes and screw in screws. Next, insert the neck of the bottle into the hole and fill everything with plaster
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

  barrel mount

  
  

  The barrel of the potato gun will be removable, for charging and purging it is simply removed from its mount. The mount is the body of a small aerosol can, the diameter of which is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the barrel. The extra parts are cut off, and the sealing ring from the cycle chamber is glued inside
  

  

  
  

  This tube will also be attached to plaster, so you need to insert pieces of steel wire crosswise into it
  

  

  
  
  

  

  
  

  I decided that this was not enough, and resorted to a little trick. A plastic bottle tends to shrink when heated. Let's use this. A cylinder from a plastic bottle is put on the barrel mount, with an overlap on the combustion chamber. Also part of the bottle should stick out outside the mount
  

  

  
  

  Heat evenly, try not to overheat the plastic. Also avoid touching the plastic with an open flame!

  
  

  

  
  

  The barrel at the point of contact with the mount is sealed with adhesive tape and electrical tape
  

  I advise you to sharpen the edge of the barrel from the outside to facilitate the "cutting" of vegetables and fruits that the gun shoots

  
  

  

  
  

  Ignition system

  
  

  Inside the gun there should be two electrodes at a distance of several millimeters. We have a metal case, this creates small problems. I protected one nail electrode with three layers of heat shrink and glued it into the hole. The second electrode is just a self-tapping screw screwed into the gun body. Accordingly, the spark from the piezo will be fed through the wire to the first electrode and through the gun body to the second
  

  

  
  

  We connect and attach a piezo lighter to the body
  

  

Today, many people hear about potato guns. What is it and what are they for? The potato gun is a weapon, and with quite long range shooting. You can do it yourself. This article will tell you what tools are needed for this and how the gun works.

Principle of operation

The potato gun is very similar to firearms, only has a lower working pressure. In it, the projectile is also driven by a mixture of gases under pressure. Cannons can differ in how they project their projectile. We will talk about weapons in which the ignition of the fuel-air mixture occurs.

The gun consists of a combustion chamber, an ignition system and a barrel. To make a shot, you need to push the projectile, in our case, potatoes, into the barrel with a ramrod. Fuel is injected into the combustion chamber. It can be propane or some kind of aerosol. Now you need to activate the ignition system. Usually, a piezoelectric element from a gas lighter is used for this. The mixture ignites and creates hot gases. They expand under the influence high temperature and push the potatoes out of the trunk.

How to make a potato gun, we will describe below, but first you need to find out if such a tool is legal. Check the laws in force in your area. In some places, such weapons are prohibited, and their manufacture and possession face penalties.

If you are convinced that the potato gun is considered legal in your area, you can start making it.

Required accessories

The parts that we need to make a gun can be bought at a hardware store. The cost of all parts will be approximately 800-1500 rubles. Thus, a do-it-yourself potato gun will not cost too much.

So what do you need to buy? Going to the store, write the following list on a piece of paper:

• Plastic pipe with a diameter of 10 cm, bent at a right angle - 1 pc.
• Plastic pipe with a diameter of 5 cm (1.2 meters) - 1 pc.
• Adapter from 10 to 5 cm - 1 pc.
• Cap on a pipe with a carving - 1 piece.
• Piezoelectric element - 1 pc.
• Sealant - 1-2 packs.
• Aerosol can with butane - 2-3 bottles.
• Potatoes - 1 bag.

Assembling the combustion chamber

When you have purchased everything you need, you are concerned about the question of how to make a potato gun. Well, let's start in order and make a combustion chamber.

First of all, we wind the cap on the end of the curved pipe, having previously smeared the thread with sealant.

We insert a narrow pipe into the adapter. She will play the role of the barrel of our gun. The design must be straight and have a strong connection.

A small hole should be drilled in the side of the resulting "shoulder". Here we have assembled the combustion chamber. The main thing in this work is to choose the optimal size. If it is very short, then the potato will fly out quickly, and if it is long, then the speed of the projectile will slow down.

We insert the piezo element

The piezoelectric element is a necessary thing, without it the potato gun will not work. Instructions on how to insert it are below.

We wrap the piezoelectric element with wire. There should be a small gap between its end and the spark generator.

Now we insert our "spark" into the hole that we drilled in the pipe. We process the hole with a sealant so that there are no gaps left and air cannot penetrate inside.

We screw a self-tapping screw into the chamber to a depth of 1.5 cm. We wind the wire from the piezoelectric element outside the chamber to it. When working, use a blue tape so as not to get an electric shock.

Now let's press the button. If a small spark runs through the wire from the piezoelectric element to the self-tapping screw, then everything is done correctly.

How to load a gun and fire a shot

Our finished potato cannon needs projectiles. To charge it, we take a potato, put it in the barrel and push it through with a ramrod. If not, you can use a narrow stick. You need to choose potatoes of such a size that there is a small gap between it and the trunk.

Everything, the gun is ready for battle. If you decide to shoot with a small gun, it is recommended to put a rag in the barrel. She will not allow the projectile to fly out prematurely, and the range of its flight will be large.

Now you need to choose a target. You can only aim the gun at the target, next to which there are no people and animals.

So, are you ready to fire? Then we unscrew the cap and spray the aerosol into the chamber for 5 seconds. Everything must be done very quickly. We twist the cap and press the ignition button. The potatoes flew.

Before next shot the gun must be cleaned and the above steps repeated.

Safety regulations

Shooting the potato cannon is pretty fun, but don't forget the safety rules:

• Never point the implement at people or animals. The most suitable place for shooting is an empty open field.
• The potato gun is a weapon! It can cause serious injury. It must be used with extreme caution.
• Check out existing laws. If such a tool is illegal, you will face penalties for using it.
• Gun tubes should not be glued together. Otherwise, with a powerful shot, it may explode.
• You do not need to load the gun if you do not intend to fire.
• At very high or low temperatures You can't shoot potatoes in the air. The fact is that plastic pipes can become fragile, which threatens both the shooter and others around him.

How to make a mini potato gun

To make a small potato gun, take plastic bottle with lid. You will also need a small syringe, a button from a piezo lighter, a wooden pistol grip, glue, wire and

We make a hole in the pistol grip and cut a hole for the piezoelectric element. We install the button and contacts and fix everything with glue.

We make two holes in the bottle with a knife at a distance of 0.5 cm from each other. We insert a wire from the piezoelectric element into them. When the button is pressed, a spark should run between the contacts.

Glue the bottle to the wooden handle.

Now we will make a barrel from a syringe. We cut it upper part and remove the piston.

We make a hole in the bottle cap into which we insert the syringe and fix the structure with glue. The mini potato gun is ready.

You can shoot from such a gun with small pieces of potatoes or berries.

So, we learned how a do-it-yourself potato gun is made. This process requires great care and accuracy. When firing from a finished gun, be very careful and in no case point the gun towards people or animals. You can only shoot at inanimate objects.