Party Popper dissection (disposable pneumatic)

[iknowmy3tables]

hello folks I recently bought some disposable confetti cannons to see if they could be used to launch nerf footballs in airsoft mil sim events. you can see a video of my test here
[youtube][/youtube]


it seems to work pretty well, but I decided to take them apart and document what it looks like on the inside here

there's a metallic chamber with the compressed gas twisting it will fire the party popper

at the base of the cardboard barrel there's plastic insert that holds the hinge of the cap mechanism and prevents the metal bits from launching with the confetti. given this isn't designed to be reused, the "valve" is probably better described as a twist of cap for the pressure chamber

here I've carefully reassembled the mechanism to it pre-firing condition. the metal flap is attached to the plastic wall and will separate from the chamber with a 90 degree turn, it's holding down a rubber cork that seals the chamber and gets launched with the confetti.

this brings up the question if I put a schrader valve in the bottom of the chamber can the party popper be reusable? it could save me a good amount of money given these cost about $3-4 dollars each

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

Nice little analysis! It's basically a clever implementation of the "valveless" concept, I don't see why you wouldn't be able to put in a schrader and reuse it. The only annoying part in practice would be having to recover the cork every time, not always practical inna woods.