Why not to use acetylene as spud gun fuel.

[Extrusion]

I think this video will probobly sum it up for anyone who would ever think of using it without doing some reserch.

[ProfessorAmadeus]

fun........

[Blackspire]

Haha, drayton valley is an hour or so away from where I live. Damn drunken canadians .

[Torch]

Now I know why to never use that in a cannon..

[Extrusion]

Yes it is way to strong for any PVC cannon or metal for that matter, it would just explode and the potato probably wouldnt even leave the barrel.

[frankrede]

They are using a lot of it and it is in a plastic bad.
Acetylene cannons have been built.

[Flying_Salt]

Wow nice explosion...
I've also heard rumors about bug spray?

[Velocity]

I don't believe that acetylene cannot be used in a welded steel cannon. This has been done many times before, at mixes about 1X

[Extrusion]

Well this is just demonstrating what it is capable of someone new might come here knowing nothing about spudguns and build one and run out of hairspray then think o wait my dad's welder has gas ill try it wich wouldnt be good.

[spudmonkey]

that looks like fun, i think ill have ta try that, maby with a 3 leeter

[Extrusion]

Ive done Oxygen and Acetylene in a 2 liter bottle i poked a small hole in the bottle stuck a fuse in it filed it with Oxy Acetylene burried it until the only thing out of the ground was the fuse lit it and ran like a mother it blew a nice sized whole in ground and the bottle went like 60 feet in the air it was quite fun (and loud).

[reaper613]

acetylene just makes the potato go farther, just use a sch40 steel gun with pressure rated wealds and youll be fine

[joannaardway]

I don't truly understand why acetylene is so feared. (Was that plain acetylene or oxy-acetylene?)

If someone had done that with a bag of propane, I don't imagine the results would have been much different.

In fact, I suggest you try it with a bag of propane - just see how different the effect is.

The biggest problem with acetylene is the low ignition energy, which makes it likely to trigger by accident.

[Extrusion]

Ok it is feared because it detonates you saw what happened to the bag it went BOOM if i tried that with a bag of propane (Wich i might do and tape it.) it would make a large fireball not an explosion because it doesnt detonate.
PVC wouldnt be able to handle the shock of the acetylene detonation therefore exploding and sending PVC shards flying in all directions.

Hope that clears some stuff up.

[joannaardway]

Why should the PVC fail, rather than the spud moving?

I know of someone who has achieved use of acetylene, repeatedly, in practically unrated pipe, in a launcher worth costing about $10 of your US bucks.

It hasn't failed on him, so why should properly rated pipe fail on you?

If you contain it deliberately in a fixed volume system, yes, then maybe you've got a problem.

It is clear, beyond any doubt, that most of the internet stories about acetylene are urban myths. The force of the detonations described is simply impossible - and I've done the maths to prove it. The descriptions of the damage are beyond even nitrogylcerine explosions.

And nitrogylcerine produces 10,000 times it's own volume in gas. Even oxy-acetylene cannot get close to that.

Back to your detonation point, and thinking again, I've seen similar effects from lots of different things, mostly revolving around butane.

I've seen bangs not much smaller (relatively) than that from deodorant sprays in latex balloons.

Ok, so perhaps it's more impressive when you're on site, but I still can't see it.

If you show me the video of the propane, and it's so so so much more feeble, then maybe I'll agree with you, but regardless, most of the fear about acetylene is based around false truths.