Q&A for How to Make a Potato Gun

No. You'll blow the gun up and start a fire. It's not safe to use a liquid accelerant like gas.

The answer is probably yes, the potato gun can likely overheat. However, it's unclear just how quickly you'd need to fire the weapon to cause it to overheat. It's surely not a common issue in the potato gun community. If you feel the PVC pipe getting hot, just set the gun down on a heat-resistant surface and wait for it to cool off.

No. The amount of force a potato gun generates is not trivial. Potato guns can easily fire a spud up to 650 feet (200 meters). That kind of combustion will eviscerate a water balloon in the barrel. Use a slingshot for water ballons!

If you want a really slow and inefficient way to protect yourself, sure. A potato gun will hurt somebody, if that's what you're wondering. If someone breaks into your home though, spending 5 minutes to load a 5-foot long potato gun is probably not the best course of action.

Well, your gun will likely have a little bit less range than guns with longer barrels. You're probably going to get less range, too. The gun will still fire just fine, though. If you aren't entering any competitions, you don't need to worry about it.

Pretty much anything that fits down the barrel, apples, oranges, onions, etc. You can even wad some newspaper into the gun, pour some water in it, and shoot that. If you do use a potato, try sticking a glow stick in it at night and launching it for a cool "tracer" effect.

Clean your potato gun using soap and water.

Home depot or Wal Mart. They are very cheap and work well.

It's not uncommon for guns to become ineffective after prolonged use. If you haven't used it yet, then check your wires, what you are touching and how long it takes you to pull the trigger. If none of that works, just pull it apart and redo it, following instructions word by word.

If it fits snugly in the barrel, yes it will. If it's too small, use wadding.

Use a copper wire. They're conductive and great for electric fuses. They are available at hardware stores.

Just before the firing and loading of each round, take the back off, and wave it back and forth to force air into it, then load immediately after.

Yes. The potato will squish it, but it could damage to other things and make a mess!

Yes, that will work.

If your cannon can be handheld, then it would be able to fit on a vehicle. I'm assuming you mean "ram" as in ramming into things, in which case I would use a stronger set of pipes to avoid instant damage on impact. I would then attach a strong metal object to it, like a sledgehammer head, and drill a hole in it that matches the diameter of the barrel.

Yes. However, different flammable liquids have different expansion rates, so use caution when substituting aerosols.

You screw it into the combustion chamber. The igniter is wired as a trigger. You might have to turn it a couple of times for it to ignite.

This will run you about $30-$40, depending on the tools you have.

Yes! Make sure that the pickle is straight and you will have to shave it to change it to the size of the pipe.

Most likely not. Find your local hardware store, and it should have most or all of the parts.

Yes, but some glues will not hold as well as others, so you will need to experiment to find the best glue for your set up.

Yes, it will fire with half of its original force. Why? Because, if you are making all the parts half their original size (with half the hairspray), you will have half the power.

You can, but you would have to be very careful so that you do not harm yourself.

It depends on the size of the chamber (for the hairspray) and how much you have in it without losing oxygen.

Probably not a great idea. The best ammunition has its own lubricant (water in the potato, juice in a fruit, etc.). Also, you need to be careful about the weight - explosions take the path of least resistance, and if the object is harder to move than the wall of the barrel, it's catastrophic. Stick with the proven stuff, it's safer. Another word of caution: never put the cannon on your shoulder to fire; it could blow your head off. Schedule 40 PVC pipe has no pressure rating.

It will still work, you'd just have to find something else to fire that would match the barrel.

A push button igniter is a good choice. Drill a hole in a larger pipe that fits the igniter and use glue to seal.

Yes, you can use this. It is more powerful than hairspray, and something like WD-40. This will result in more power. It would leave less residue.

Yes, the length is important for the accuracy. When it has a longer barrel, you will have more accuracy. With a shorter barrel, there is less accuracy but a little more power (not that significant though).