DIY Throw ball cannon

[Logan Bryan]

So I made this this morning and tried it out. But was expecting better results. Around 80-90 psi with 12oz ball shot around 50 ft high with a little stuffing around ball because I think ball is to small. I was just gonna see if any of y'all had any suggestions because I've seen them shoot balls over 100' with less psi. I got a 14oz ball on the way maybe that is the ticket.

 

[Jehinten]

what size barrel are you using? I found that 1 1/2" is a nice size. You shouldn't need any packing material around the throw weight, just tamp the weight down before the shot. It will help flatten the weight out so that it seals around the inside of the barrel.

 

[Logan Bryan]

what size barrel are you using? I found that 1 1/2" is a nice size. You shouldn't need any packing material around the throw weight, just tamp the weight down before the shot. It will help flatten the weight out so that it seals around the inside of the barrel.

It is 1 1/2”. Guess the tampering is the key! Thanks

 

[jmcscrap]

Just shooting from the hip but how fast does the air dump out when you twist the valve? It could be that the valve opens a little too slow and the pressure is released over an extended period - like 1/10's of a second too slow.

 

[TimBr]

@Logan Bryan; Fair warning. I think the guy who made the first APTA's (Air Powered Tree Access), which are sold by TreeStuff, and whose name is Nick Bonner, I believe, had safety issues when trying to make those out of PVC. I think they blew up on occasion, which is why he switched to making them out of rigid
aluminum conduit, which is threaded.

It might be possible to have the PVC one's blow up in your face. Please be careful.

The APTA is only about $200.00, and the new ones have a fast acting, easy to turn butterfly valve in them. I think the APTA could last you your whole life without needing replacement, so as young as you are, it would be money well spent. Those are my impressions. Thanks for listening.

Tim

P.S. Here is the link to the TreeStuff APTA, with thanks to @bonner1040 for developing the product and making it available for purchase, and to @oldfart for his research and improvements to the product. It is well worth the money, for all of the labor and time it saves. The APTA is currently in stock and ready for purchase. Five star rating, with 52 reviews, currently. I have no connection with TreeStuff, other than as a customer, for the sake of full disclosure.

http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=11138

 

[TimBr]

@Logan Bryan; Also, something that I don't own but have been getting the opportunity to use of late is the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Ryobi-Portable-Inflator-Charger-Lithium-ion/dp/B071X16RBT/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1530935656&sr=8-25&keywords=18-Volt+ONE++Power+Inflator

It makes it really easy and quick to put pressure into the air chamber; so much easier and faster than the standard bicycle pump. It is pricey, though. I just thought I'd mention it because it is making the job of inflation so much easier for me, I thought you might like to keep it in mind as something to acquire in the future, when funds permit.

The inflator has a pretty big dial pressure gauge built right into it, but it should probably be checked for accuracy against another pressure gauge.

Thanks for listening.

Tim

 

[TimBr]

Also, here is a link to a video that's about 20 minutes long, made by @oldfart, AKA Tom Hoffmann. All of his videos are worth watching, in my opinion. Take care.

 

[Logan Bryan]

Just shooting from the hip but how fast does the air dump out when you twist the valve? It could be that the valve opens a little too slow and the pressure is released over an extended period - like 1/10's of a second too slow.

it is surprisingly fast I feel like. The plastic valve felt much quicker than the metal valve in the store to me.

 

[Logan Bryan]

@Logan Bryan; Fair warning. I think the guy who made the first APTA's (Air Powered Tree Access), which are sold by TreeStuff, and whose name is Nick Bonner, I believe, had safety issues when trying to make those out of PVC. I think they blew up on occasion, which is why he switched to making them out of rigid
aluminum conduit, which is threaded.

It might be possible to have the PVC one's blow up in your face. Please be careful.

The APTA is only about $200.00, and the new ones have a fast acting, easy to turn butterfly valve in them. I think the APTA could last you your whole life without needing replacement, so as young as you are, it would be money well spent. Those are my impressions. Thanks for listening.

Tim

P.S. Here is the link to the TreeStuff APTA, with thanks to @bonner1040 for developing the product and making it available for purchase, and to @oldfart for his research and improvements to the product. It is well worth the money, for all of the labor and time it saves. The APTA is currently in stock and ready for purchase. Five star rating, with 52 reviews, currently. I have no connection with TreeStuff, other than as a customer, for the sake of full disclosure.

http://www.treestuff.com/store/catalog.asp?item=11138

Yessir I am worried about the safety factor of the homemade version. Im going to wrap something around it to protect me if it blows up. I will own the APTA eventually. I have so little money in this I wanted to try it out and see how well it works. Thanks you sir!

 

[W^3]

So, I am happy to see this come up again, as I and many others have fought this battle and can tell you its not worth it. The pvc is not rated and although probably wont, could rupture. I spent 60 dollars building one and then more trying to keep it air tight. I didnt want to spend the money on a 200 slingshot that they piece out so you end up spending 300 by the time you have the whole setup. I have seen both the slingshot and the APTA work well, when I went down this rabbit hole they were out of stock and I did hear that the butterfly valve was not instant pressure release like a push button.
That being said, I searched and searched and came across http://jjpaintball.com I reached out to Frank who was making T shirt launchers. I wanted to send a 16oz throw bag 400' straight up and that was what I told him. He then informed me how he has made them for the USFS that were small enough to keep in a backpack and ruck with. They can get expensive but he was nice enough to sell me the canister/action/grip/trigger for less than the slingshot and I spent about another 30 dollars building the barrel (CPVC is much more expensive but rated for the pressure) I have only put 40 psi in it as I am fighting a hackberry w creeper all over it right now but it went 100' up no sweat. I cannot speak highly enough of how great Frank is to deal with and how well he has developed the launcher. Everyone should have one.

 

[Barc Buster]

@Logan Bryan; Also, something that I don't own but have been getting the opportunity to use of late is the following:

https://www.amazon.com/Ryobi-Portable-Inflator-Charger-Lithium-ion/dp/B071X16RBT/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1530935656&sr=8-25&keywords=18-Volt+ONE++Power+Inflator

It makes it really easy and quick to put pressure into the air chamber; so much easier and faster than the standard bicycle pump. It is pricey, though. I just thought I'd mention it because it is making the job of inflation so much easier for me, I thought you might like to keep it in mind as something to acquire in the future, when funds permit.

The inflator has a pretty big dial pressure gauge built right into it, but it should probably be checked for accuracy against another pressure gauge.

Thanks for listening.

Tim

Just a heads up on that inflator if you already have ryobi batteries the bare tool is only 20 bucks at Homer Despot:

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ryobi-18-Volt-ONE-Cordless-Power-Inflator-Tool-Only-P737/206159256

 

[TimBr]

@Barc Buster; Nice find, thanks for posting that. Now all I need to do is find a source for a $20.00 battery and charger combo. Ha!

Tim

 

[cliff_h]

Here's my DIY launcher. Air chamber is a 30" 1-1/2" galvanized plumbing pipe with a cap drilled for a Schrader tire valve to inflate. The Milwaukee BB2-100 1-1/2" Butterfly Disc Valve is from Grainger (about $45) is key; it opens easier/faster than a ball valve by far. A 1-1/2" galvanized nipple is wedged into the barrel, which is a 5-ft 1-5/8" ID aluminum tube I happened to have. I just unscrew it from the disc valve after the shot. The longer barrel seems to make it more accurate. Circular pieces of brown wrapping paper serve as wadding to help seal the 12-oz bag that fits the barrel best. Belled the barrel end slightly to make it easier to insert the throwbag. I use a 12V tire inflator usually to 100 psi. May attach a handle one day, but not really needed. The galvanized pipe is relatively cheap, and much safer than PVC. If you want more "ooomph" I suppose you could use longer/larger galvanized pipe for your air chamber; this one will top 100' easily.

 

[adaycj]

Just a few notes. When I ordered my APTA from Treestuff is needed to be assembled and they had some parts that were out of stock. The end of the long story is I never got one like I was promised. If your plan for one involves jobs for money already scheduled, I'd make phone calls first.

Since I had jobs to do I made one rather than execute alternate plans. A few notes about the pressure ratings. The PVC can be a problem. Most PVC pipe at residential building supply stores is rated to a few hundred PSI. There are a few problems with this however. One is that the rating is not listed as a working pressure, at least not on the pipe and specs I could find. One spec sheet said "burst pressure". Another problem is that the pressures seem to be for static pressure, not pressure that changes rapidly. Since the use here is mostly slow buildup and sudden release, maybe it doesn't matter. The part of the barrel behind the throw bag does see a sudden increase in pressure when the valve is opened, although the actual pressure will be less than the gauge pressure. Finally, the intended use for this stuff is in a fixed environment. It wasn't specified to be banged around in a truck or van, and dropped on the ground. As it ages and gets beat up it may be more likely to fail. Maybe that is true of anything.

I looked online for PVC pressure failures and found a few. They were mostly people using incendiary pressure systems, or much higher pressures. I was underwhelmed because it is hard to draw a correlation. There were also 30 million internet safety officers, but we all know how that goes.

I'm not a "sky is falling kind of guy" but my pressure chamber and valve are metal. They are not rated as pressure vessels either. I used PVC for the barrel because I wanted it to be smooth, and the pipes at the store were not internally smooth at all. For now I "hip aim" and the PCV is above my head when I kneel. I also wear safety glasses. I may eventually try to find a smooth metal barrel. I can also get well over 100' with 80 psi.

 

[Rocketman]

Love the LPG idea, and it's perfect for outdoors. Sure beats pumping!

 

[evo]

how about old school and using aquanet? Butane works well too, never tried it with a throw weight, but certainly used items of the same weight or heavier

 

[southsoundtree]

I think that people have said that once you start exploding things, you have a weapon, in the eyes of the law, or sumthin.

 

[Rocketman]

Most combustion cannons only generate around 40 PSI, and a lot of noise. More power/range is usually created with a larger barrel & chamber/explosion/noise, but generates the same pressure, just more volume = longer push. Pneumatics let you have a controlled, reliable, repeatable performance. While I'm new to treebuzz, I have been making launchers, including those for launching weighted foam rockets, weighted tennis balls, and cornhole bags into the treetops, for Ham radio antennas, for years. Glad to help if I can.

 

[Rocketman]

Just a few notes. When I ordered my APTA from Treestuff is needed to be assembled and they had some parts that were out of stock. The end of the long story is I never got one like I was promised. If your plan for one involves jobs for money already scheduled, I'd make phone calls first.

Since I had jobs to do I made one rather than execute alternate plans. A few notes about the pressure ratings. The PVC can be a problem. Most PVC pipe at residential building supply stores is rated to a few hundred PSI. There are a few problems with this however. One is that the rating is not listed as a working pressure, at least not on the pipe and specs I could find. One spec sheet said "burst pressure". Another problem is that the pressures seem to be for static pressure, not pressure that changes rapidly. Since the use here is mostly slow buildup and sudden release, maybe it doesn't matter. The part of the barrel behind the throw bag does see a sudden increase in pressure when the valve is opened, although the actual pressure will be less than the gauge pressure. Finally, the intended use for this stuff is in a fixed environment. It wasn't specified to be banged around in a truck or van, and dropped on the ground. As it ages and gets beat up it may be more likely to fail. Maybe that is true of anything.

I looked online for PVC pressure failures and found a few. They were mostly people using incendiary pressure systems, or much higher pressures. I was underwhelmed because it is hard to draw a correlation. There were also 30 million internet safety officers, but we all know how that goes.

I'm not a "sky is falling kind of guy" but my pressure chamber and valve are metal. They are not rated as pressure vessels either. I used PVC for the barrel because I wanted it to be smooth, and the pipes at the store were not internally smooth at all. For now I "hip aim" and the PCV is above my head when I kneel. I also wear safety glasses. I may eventually try to find a smooth metal barrel. I can also get well over 100' with 80 psi.

I'm also not a "sky is falling kind of guy", and had friends build crazy big PVC cannons back in the day. And yes, some blew up, or came apart, but luckily no one ever got hurt badly. The consensus is that the PVC formulation has changed over the years, and the old 'good stuff' has gotten brittle from age. It appears the problem with PVC isn't holding it's rated pressure, it's the stress from filling, and dropping to zero, over and over. Like bending a wire, it will fail, and there is no set number of time before that can happen. Some 'Spudgunners' dropped to a factor of 10, 280 psi PVC cannot be cycled at more than 28 PSI for any length of time safely. this made for larger, heavier, more expensive, chambers. Wrapped with fiber tape, duct tape, denim, ect- a lot things that didn't work. We have seen lots of launchers in the paintball/airsoft realm, and there have been enough explosions PVC failures that PVC chambers, and even PVC valves, are banned from use as launcher parts, in these sports, worldwide. One guy may know what he is doing, but another guy found some 10 year old pipe, didn't clean/prep/primer/glue properly, and it's gonna blow. You can't tell by looking, but who wants to be beside that guy?
Ironically, a chamber made from an 2 liter pop bottle is safer than one made from PVC. We only use metal chambers, with a 10X or more safety factor. I don't have plans, but have parts, including several designed and manufactured exclusively for us. (Not sold in any stores! I always wanted to say that. LOL)

 

[Windwalker]

Mine is made from Schedule 80 pvc and has been pumped to 150psi with no issues. I have a 10" wood handle on the ball valve which makes opening the valve very quick. At 150psi it will launch to the top of any tree here in eastern Pa. and get the next two trees behind it. Normally run 90-100 psi and that is very adequate. I am on my third year with it with no issues. I use a Ryobi battery compressor to pump it up. It is very accurate and I seldom need a second shot. My shooter is 6' long, 2' barrel and 4' air chamber, 1.5" schedule 80 pvc.