2inch piston bumper's??

[CooperJS]

Hey guys, recently built a 2 inch piston valve and was wondering what are some really good bumpers? I tried i tennis ball but that didn't seem to do much, and so i stopped using the cannon until i find a better solution.
The piston still sounds like its ramming really hard even with the tennis balls.
So are there any other options??

Cooper

[CooperJS]

Oh and the piston weighs probably a little less than a wood one, its machined from nylon

Cooper

[Technician1002]

I've had very good results with a bumper made from the core if a Poof brand foam football. In this photo, the bumper is next to the golfball.
The bumper is as big as the 2 inch piston.

[CooperJS]

oh yea that, looks good, is it a foam football with wire wrapped around it or something??
I found sound lego tires that are about 2 and half inches, that i can cut slits out to fit inside, they look pretty good and might work, but that foam football idea is really neat to, would there be any other types of bumpers?

[Technician1002]

There is no wire wrapped around it. I started with a shorter bumper and added length to it so the band in the middle is a flat piece of PVC like the washer between the bumper and the piston in the photo. The bumper was made by using a sharpened piece of pipe and screwing it into the football to saw it's way in. The two pieces are glued to the washer in the middle. This helps prevent it from bunching up. The bumper almost touches the piston in the closed position so when it is about half way open, it starts to slow the piston back down so it does not pound on the cleanout cap hard. It used to pop off the cap when it hit the end. The longer bumper has stopped that.

[mattyzip77]

I have used pieces cut from old flip flops, a.k.a. shower shoes, however if that does not work try a tougher tennis ball from a pet store, the ones for dogs. They are alot thicker. Its always good to replace bumpers on a regular basis though. Good luck!!

[CooperJS]

Im trying out the lego tires today to see how well they work, they look pretty good, and look like they would stop the piston softly, but if they dont work i will try some more tennis balls or maybe even packaging foam, the really soft stuff.

Cooper