Potato Cannon Barrel Too Short?

[GeekFreak]

Well, first of all, i'm new here, so hello, hola, guten tag, and any other ways you can say hi. Second, this is my first combustion potato gun and I'm a little concerned about safety... I have a 3" wide by 8" long combustion chamber, and only a 12" barrel (at the moment). Would this be unsafe or would the potatoes not go anywhere because of the length? Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

[tape fist]

you will have to increase your barrels size if you want better performance but it will still shoot just not that far.welcome to spudfiles

oh and i almost forgot,any chance on some pictures?

[trigun]

Well I have to say welcome. I have to say that a 3" by 8" combustion chamber is roughly average. The best ratio is .8:1
With that being said... I need to know what size barrel you have not length. I'm guessing with that chamber volume that the barrel could probally be cut down a bit.

[GeekFreak]

Thanks for the quick replies! Would it be possible to remove the barrel after using PVC cement to connect it to the fitting? I just want to try the gun out tomorrow and maybe buy more PVC in a couple days.

[tape fist]

no you will have to find another fitting so that you may extend your barrel and i hope your using PVC primer to.

[trigun]

what size is your barrel
Then cut it down and buy either a female or male adapter of that size and cement it on the stub so that it fits flush with chamber face. This will allow multiple barrels to be attached now also.

[roboman]

Why don't you just try it? It's unlikely that it will blow up!

[GeekFreak]

I didn't use primer (my friend said I didn't need to) but I did clean the pipe with some paint thinner, among other things. My barrel is 1.5" wide.

[trigun]

Always use primer ( friends are usually wrong when it comes to building stuff that blows up ) It was smart to clean it however but primer is much more effective and safer

[GeekFreak]

I'm going to have to shoot my friend with it now... Anyways, it would still be fine without primer as long as I cleaned it, right?

[tape fist]

Dont say that its against forum rules to shoot any living thing. I know your joking but you still can get banned.

[trigun]

Well with a small chamber yes it should hold together fine but for future notice use primer. Dont shoot your friend !! The moderators will kill you even if it is a joke. With the .8:1 ratio a two foot barrel is all you really will need.

I would cut your current barrel to about 2" long. Buy a 1.5" female adapter and prime and glue it on. Then buy the correct length barrel and put a 1.5" male adapter on it and your good to go

[GeekFreak]

I guess I didn't read the rules, huh? Oops, I'm sorry.

[trigun]

Well I didn't want to double post and edited but you posted before i could so see my above post

[GeekFreak]

But I can just make the 12" barrel, and then cut it down and put the adapters + the right length barrel later, right? Oh ya, almost forgot, I'll post some pictures once I drill the hole for the sparker. I might spray paint it green, would that be cool or not?