Air Cannons are not toys but..............

[DanHouse]

After reading the many comments regarding air cannons to fire a throwbag into the canopy I finally broke down and made my own. I am not bashful when rigging up things so money was no object compared to the wow factor possible. When I found this tire bead blaster that has a 9 liter chamber rated at 150 psi I was hooked. Not only a huge chamber but the handles work nice; an overpressure safety relief valve; glow in the dark pressure gauge then to top it off a push button release that has a flip up cover. Makes me feel like Curd Jurgens shouting “torpedo loose” when I press the button. Being a plumber it was an easy task to modify the 1 ½” Female pipe threads to accept a fitting to allow me to fit a multiple of barrel sizes. For throwbags I use a 41mm id barrel but too small for golf balls so another one at 44mm. For potatoes I have one at 53mm so I can fire the whole potato or sugar beets that are much denser. Of course I had to fire tennis balls so I have one from 2 ½” sch 40 pvc pipe at 66 mm. Now I found a 6” diameter dodge ball so I will need a big barrel to fire those or maybe tee-shirts at the next gathering.

My goal was to get a 12 ounce bag over 200 feet high so to test fire it I attached my 200 foot long throwline to a bag with a 16 ounce bag on the other end as a counterweight. At 100 psi it shot the bag the whole length plus lifted the 16 ounce bag up over my house so no need to try it at full pressure. I shot a golf ball at 50 psi and it landed 300-400 yards down range. The tennis ball at 100 psi when straight up out of sight and may have enter low earth orbit; not sure why someone at NORAD called my cell just then. Yes I am having too much fun and have order valves; pipe and handles to make a pvc air cannon to add to my battery of ballistic projectiles. Oh my!

 

[Analog]

Plans and parts list coming soon?

 

[Bart_]

You've definitely proved there's a lot of pent up energy in a high pressure air tank! I like the part about pulling the 16 oz over your house. Nice to see a familiar name.

 

[evo]

Golf balls are fun, I fill my pockets whenever working near a course!
Remember if you use a spherical ice cube the evidence melts

 

[DanHouse]

Plans and parts list coming soon?

Warning: These explanations are only what I have found possible for my own use. Following them comes with this warning that the user assumes all risks and liability. I know that the temptation to fill the chamber to its maximum and fire all sorts of projectiles will be too much to resist and you must treat this tool as a loaded gun at all times. Misuse may cause serious injury or death to user and/or others so consider yourself warned.

SKYSHALO Tire Bead Blaster for the Air Chamber: https://www.homedepot.com/p/SKYSHAL...ak3TNJKnHBrqOBhgTW9qhHXV-kiCJIArKYlM1mBE0GUDk

Barrel Modifications: The nozzle that comes with the unit screws into the chamber with non-tapered threads that is sealed with an O-ring. I found that the male thread adaptors used for each barrel would not fit well so I cut the nozzle off and forced it into a female adaptor secured with three screws. This will allow any barrel with a 1 ½” male adaptor to easily connect into new fitting. (see photos) Parts List: one) 1 ½” pvc sch 40 female adaptor and three screws.

Air Filler Modifications: the quarter-turn ball valve has a standard ¼” NPT air hose male chuck that I replaced with a Schrader valve so I can fill the chamber with a tire pump. Parts List: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJPCZS38?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title Hint: to fill the tank faster I removed the core and drilled out the fitting as it doesn’t need the core since the ball valve will be closed once pressurized.

Barrels: Let your skills be your guide as you can make work just about any pipe/tube that you can fashion a male adaptor to. I found that 1 ½” sch 40 pvc pipe has an ID of 41mm that will fit most 12 ounce throwbags but not 16 ounce or golf balls so I found a stainless steel tube 500mm long (18”) that at 48mm OD fits a regular 1 ½” pvc male adaptor but has a 44mm ID. Parts list: one) 1 ½” pvc sch 40 male adaptor and tubing from Ali Express https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256...st_main.5.2f5618029N0sqx&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa

Operation: The chamber boasts a volume of 9 liters (2.4 gallons) of air so even at 50 psi it fires projectiles to great heights so you can fill it up fast. You may even use a hand tire pump but I use a battery operated tire pump such as my Ryobi 18 volt tire inflator. https://www.homedepot.com/p/RYOBI-O...Pressure-Inflator-Tool-Only-PCL001B/327406129 For higher pressures it will take longer so I suggest using an air compressor of which there are many options.