Despite what I have been telling people and what other websites might be promoting, WD-40 is no longer a useable let-alone reliable substance for propellant. I have been suspicious for almost a year now, and have only now come to the conclusion through test and experience that WD-40 will not ignite when subjected to spark or weak flame. Allow me to explain:
For all the years which WD-40 had been in use (before Sept 97) it had Ether on its ingrediants list. That's the element which made it volatile, therefor so useful to us. However, due to this content of Ether, WD-40 had to be shipped in special crates and trucks, designated to the transport of "dangerous" substances. This is not only slow but costly. Around Sept 97, the company who makes WD-40 found that they could replace the Ether content with something (I don't know what) that would continue to do the job, yet in contrast was not at all flamable. Killing two birds with one stone, WD-40 could now be shipped around the globe in ordinary transports, saving mucho deniro. But now us spudgunners are stumped for ideas because we've lost one of the best (and cheapest) propellants.
To prove my theory, I found a very old can of WD-40 as well as a band new one (this was about May 98.) I then absolutly filled up my combustion chamber with NEW WD-40. I sparked it 25 times exactly; nothing. I then misted two shots of old WD-40 into combuster. On the second spark, the PC came to life, lauching the spud very far. So please!!! If you have access to old WD-40 guard it with your lives...thanks for reading this.
This is by far the most common of the propellants. It's both inexpensive and more or less effective. You might save money, and it is possible to find powerful Hairsprays (I've heard that Suave brand is quite potent). It isn't as powerful as other possible propelants, but some, Not All, gum up the entire combuster simply because, well, that's what it's designed to do. If you don't have very much money, this is probably your best bet. You can also try mixing Hairspray with other known propellants. Using a combination of 90% Hairspray, and 10% WD-40 one can achieve quite a now power spike. Ultimately in some instances, hairspray makes your combuster smell really nice =]
No, no the stick or gel deodorant stupid. There are deodorants which come in pressurized cans. They are about equivilant to hairspray except that it does not tend to mess around with your barrel or threads. But be careful! Make sure that you are using the deodorant and NOT anti-persperant. The latter will leave a slimy residue ALL over your gun, which ultimatly begins to gimp it up so read the lable before you buy.
Oh and, by the way. The propellants go in order from (what I think is) wimpo to bloody lethal.
Butane can be aquired quite easily. There are re-fill cannisters in every home hardware type place. From what I've heard, and seen from a butane stove, its compression spike isn't that impressive. I would imagine that it would provide a medeocure punch, and certainly perform as well as old WD-40; or even a mixture of WD-40 and Hairspray. Although I believe Butane to be non life-threataning (I've concidered its use many times), too much certainly has the potential to break something; especially if the spud cannot escape the expanding gases fast enough.
This here propellant is a nasty one. I'm sure that some of you have seen what happeneds when propane tanks are punctured and then somehow ignited...not funny. Absolutly, for sure if you used too much propane in your combuster, the pressure would rise too high too quickly and the pipe would give up; game over. However if you did hit on the right amount, I can only imagine that the spud would be sent hurtling off. I can only speculate that propane is of the ideal dangerous propellants. I think that its compression spike is quite nasty, meaning that it expands into superheated gas very rapidly. Again, I am not suggesting people attempting this, unless you have a death wish. If anyone HAS tryed it, please Mail Me with what you think and your stats/observations.
Here he is, captain of the bad boys. When discussing Ether, there are two varients: Engine Starter, and pure Ether. Both are very, Very dangerous and even the smallest factor can turn the usage of Ether into a death sentance. Ether's compression spike is phenominal!! It expands at such a rate, that if your spud were to not move fast enough (due to weight or length of barrel) the Ether would have no trouble in busting open your entire cannon. The amount of Ether also depends on whether or not you live or die; meaning too much is a bad thing and you may only get once chance at experimenting. Ether is Not safe, that's just it. It is highly volatile, very unpredictable and extremely powerful. Why do you think people use it to start engines??? (hint: it is flamable and has a powerful explosion.) Please don't use it. However if somebody reading this has played with Ether, I would like to know what it is like. Please Mail Me with what you think and your stats/observations.
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