Quick question(s)

DX · Post by DX » Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:38 am

Personally, I would consider anything north of the fall line in North Jersey, and anything south of the fall line in South Jersey. There isn't much of a center, at least geologically. http://nj.usgs.gov/gw/geology.gif

But anyway, prices vary for me by the size of the store. Large chains like Lowes have cheaper pricing, but local stores such as Home Hardware have more rare parts.

Specter · Post by **Specter** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:56 am

DX wrote:Personally, I would consider anything north of the fall line in North Jersey, and anything south of the fall line in South Jersey. There isn't much of a center, at least geologically. http://nj.usgs.gov/gw/geology.gif

But anyway, prices vary for me by the size of the store. Large chains like Lowes have cheaper pricing, but local stores such as Home Hardware have more rare parts.

wheres the fall line and what does a map about old rocks have to do with anything?

edit: about the silicone lubricants i have, one can says "for home and auto use" and the other says "all purpose". so i read the back of each can. The one that says "all purpose" says "Protects leather, fabric, plastic, rubber, glass, paint. Does not become hard or thicken over age." So i am going to use that one to lubricate the ball valve.
edit2: i just sprayed the smallest bit in and now its incredibly easy to turn, what a difference!

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 3:53 pm

The fall line is the same one in Virginia - between the Appalachians and the Atlantic Ocean, right down the East Coast. It's basically a "ridge" marking a change in elevation. To the west, you have the Piedmont region, which is dozens or hundreds of feet above sea level and quite hilly. To the east of the fall line, you have the flat coastal plain that are just several feet above sea level.

Anyway...it's not too surprising that metal ball valves in Bound Brook are expensive. I'm acquainted with the neighboring Mercer County (Princeton specifically), which isn't industrial at all.

Nice, sounds like the lube was a success! I'm going to try it out on my ball valve just for fun now, to see if there's any difference. Thanks for the tip.

Specter · Post by **Specter** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:11 pm

I just found something out about the lube. If you leave the valve in the closed position for a period of time(in my case overnight) it will create a vacuum and the valve will be hard to open , but once you get it open it will be fine. I had to hold it on the floor and put a ton of pressure on the lever to open it. So just to warn you if you think your valve is messed up.

DX · Post by DX » Sat Jun 09, 2007 4:26 pm

That happens with most ball valves, especially large ones. That's why I leave all my valves in a semi-closed position when not in use. Nice to see that the lube worked. I have an old PVC ball valve with the red handle as well, so I may try to lube it later.

Now I am really not sure what conditions are necessary for cheaper brass valve pricing. We've proven dense population to be wrong, and I don't think you need an industrial area either, just relative proximity to one. The two Lowes that I use are in Airmont and Orangetown, both in rather rural areas and neither in New Jersey itself. They have better selections and better pricing than the Home Depot in Paramus, which is a huge business town with 5 malls and three highways.

Specter · Post by **Specter** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:04 pm

i think i'm going to go to home depot to get the primer/cement pack, and the male adapters. Then all i would need is the 2" pipe.

I don't know where i can get a schrader valve. If they did have it at HD where would it be?

And for water balloons i can get 2 packs at walgreens for $5 (according to the site) and theres 200 balloons per pack
edit: i just found a coupon for the water balloons for $2 (NICE!) i think i should go buy them, it expires today

edit2: Ok well i bought the balloons, but they didn't accept the coupon. The lady there said that they couldn't take it because of manager's policy or something. O well, i tried.

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Sat Jun 09, 2007 11:20 pm

How could a vacuum be created? Also, the valve is entirely pressure balanced, so how could a vacuum make it hard to open?

Maybe the problem was caused by the grease congealing around the rim because the valve was closed...I don't know. Just taking shots in the dark here. That's a curious phenomenon though, as I've never experienced the problem.

Check the air or plumbing sections for a Schrader valve...although I doubt you'll find it. The best place would be an auto parts store, although bike stores and the like might carry the piece (in smaller selections, though).

Specter · Post by **Specter** » Sun Jun 10, 2007 5:09 am

i have thought of something about the water balloon filler that comes with the water balloons i got. Maybe it can be used as a homemade water gun nozzle. It screws on like a garden hose attachment and has a little on/off lever on the side. its basically a small plastic ball valve. You would probably still have to use a regular metal ball valve to hold the pressure just in case, even though i was able to use this thing on my hose at full blast(i don't know what pressure that creates). The thing is, the little valve doesn't put out a perfect stream so the orange part on the inside might need to be drilled a tad or sanded to make a more circular hole. but it may just work for a homemade.

Specter · Post by **Specter** » Tue Jun 12, 2007 10:18 pm

well, i just got back from Home Depot. I bought the rest of the parts for my canon. The 2" pipe, i also had to buy 1" pipe because there was no use in getting it cut down, the cement/primer pack, and the 2- 1" male adapters for the valve. It cost me a total of $16.31 USD including tax. I also got a schrader valve from an old bike tube (which was in fairly great shape) there was no other way to get it off the bike except by cutting it (which i didn't tell anyone and hid it in the garage haha)(it was a really old bike)

So now i'm ready to build this thing. I have the pipe, the fittings, the glue, and the balloons. I don't know when i'll do it, but i hope to have it done by friday.

edit: im actually going to start now. My dad has a small miter saw (or w/e it is) that hes going to let me use to cut the pipe, instead of a hand saw.

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:17 am

Sounds good. Good luck with the build! Just remember to prime and glue the PVC properly and you're set. Prime a few seconds before, twist after gluing, wipe off excess primer, etc.

A miter saw is essentially just a saw that's designed to cut at right angles to surfaces - great for PVC (no slanted or jagged cuts). There's also such a thing as a miter box, which is just a few pieces of wood at right angles that let you use a regular handsaw to make nice cuts.

Specter · Post by **Specter** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:49 am

ok so i cut the pieces and dry fitted them to see how the thing looks. IMO it looks beastly, haha. i took a couple photos. Again, these are pictures of it DRY FITTED, and before the schrader is attached. I made it in-line style because i didn't have the money in my budget to make it over-under. That's why its so tall. The barrel is 4 ft long, the PC is 1 foot, then valve setup comes out to ~1 foot (total ~6ft). Sorry if pics are large, i couldn't figure out a way to turn them sideways in Photoshop without it messing up, but they are not full size. i cropped them)

Pic 1. Standing up (approx 6 ft tall):

Pic 2. Valve setup:

Pic 3. Air chamber(w/o schrader):

So tomorrow i am going to prime and cement it all together. and add the schrader valve. Please leave comments about what you think of my cannon. And maybe tomorrow if its not raining still, i'll take pictures of me holding the "bazooka". Also i guess i'll release the name of my launcher now (as you see the abbreviation in my sig) AfterBurner.launcher 1

Edit: also what can i use to lubricate the barrel? wd-40 or the same silicone lube i used in the ball valve. (my dad suggested soapy water?)

Specter · Post by **Specter** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:54 pm

I put the schrader in the end cap. Can anyone tell me how i should glue it in? Should i use the PVC cement? Should i prime it first then glue it or what? Please let me know so i can finish this project. Thanks.

pitchure:

-spec.

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:06 pm

Looks good.

You can probably use anything to lubricate the barrel...the sabot (like a tennis ball can or a Pringles can) should be loose enough to not need any lube though.

According to the Douchenator article, you don't need any glue if the hole you drill is perfect. So try it with no glue first, and if it leaks, then use epoxy or something.

In the future, drill a hole in the side of the endcap, so that it goes through both "layers" of tubing - the pipe and the fitting. The flat faces of round endcaps are quite thin.

It should be okay though. Just screw in the valve with pliers and see if it seals. Good luck!

C-A_99 · Post by **C-A_99** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:39 pm

I personally would put the schrader valve to the side of the endcap instead of the bottom because most of the time, the launcher will need something to stand on, and putting it there can damage the valve.

Don't forget a torque arm for the ball valve, it at least improve opening times (and therefore performance) a bit, though not as much as other valves.

DX · Post by DX » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:22 pm

I'm not sure if a schrader valve cut from a bike would seal nearly as well as a new one bought from a store. For that one, you will need to use glue, not only for the above reason, but because of the placement. As others have said and as in the Douchenator article, valve placement at the side of the cap enables the valve to screw in twice as deep. That depth means the valve can screw all the way until the flat head area hits the PVC. There is no chance of that leaking, hence why glue is not required in that position. Glue is definitely needed with that valve [which doesn't appear to have a wide head] positioned in the center of the cap.

This whole method will cease to be a recommendation in the guide for the G4 version of the Douchenator.