Air Cannon Construction

[RJ Productions]

There is a thread in the Halloween Tech Forum on Air Cannons. There were posts on building one using sprinkler valves and PVC.

I got on a bit of a "soapbox" because I feel VERY strongly against using such practice!! A Home Haunter builds one, using it maybe a
couple hundred times a season, but a pro haunter would use one a couple THOUSAND times a season which drastically increases the
chance of failure. You should NEVER use such inferior parts and procedures when the proper method is available and affordable.

With Ebay, Craigslist, Amazon and all the tools of the internet, real solutions are now affordable. You can build one for about a $100
if you shop wisely. Simple breakdown:

Solenoid: $24
Deltro valve: $30
Transformer: $ 8
Air Tank: $29
Connectors: $10

Total: $101

If you can't afford $100 for an air cannon, then maybe you shouldn't HAVE an air cannon...period!!

Sometimes people do not understand the possible implications of their seemingly simple actions.

You are on on the other side of the country from me. You build an air cannon with a sprinkler valve (designed to handle what, maybe
45 lbs of WATER pressure) now you rig into an air prop and apply 70-90 lbs of air pressure!!! It's called a receipe for disaster!!!

As the prop ages the plastic becomes brittle. If the air pressure becomes too much, you have basically created a concussion bomb!!!

Now you will injury an actor, a customer, maybe both. The newspapers will have a field day. I was one saying you had to use the right
components yet I'm now the one paying higher insurance rates and I have to remove most of my animations because now no haunt can
have a prop that doesn't carry a certified seal!!! Just think how much that new "certified" air cannon will cost now!!!

So a response was made on that thread that if I was complaining, then I should show how to build a good one.... good point!

So here's your sign..... I have an image of a large cannon using a 5 gal tank, an image of a small cannon and a video explaining the parts
of the small cannon. Print the images for reference and download the video..

Now if you want to build one, you have no excuse. You can do it right and it will save you time and money and possibly an injury!!

Also you should make sure no vendor sells you a prop using inadequate components. Believe it not there are still vendors (not many) that
will be stupid enough to use a sprinkler valve!! Makes you wonder what other short cuts they take on their props??????

This is not meant to undermine any vendor selling air cannons. Theirs will be more than $100 because you can wait on ebay and get the one
valve and one solenoid you need used or surplus, they need a lot so they will have to buy new ones at full price. It would more than double
the cost of materials plus their labor, so you see why a good one is $300.

So buy the right parts if you're building...or just buy a good cannon. The injury you save may be your own!!

Rich

[RJ Productions]

See you can even saw more! Harbor Freight has the 5 gal tank on sale until 5/23!!!
http://images.harborfreight.com/cpi/.../images/20.jpg

Reg. $29.00....Print coupon...only $19.99...NOW you're under $100!!!!

Rich

[krazedklownkilla]

how often will your air tak need to be filled up?

[hauntedkimmy]

It sounds in the video much like my hubby's Tippmann paintball gun shooting air through it....same idea I guess.

[hauntedkimmy]

...awesome tutorial BTW!

[xtremecreator]

Rich is Right!

I had a customer get hit in the leg with part of that valve and it put a softball size welt on him. I was shocked at the injury.

I was lucky that he had a good attitude about it and I gave him a 200.00 prop for his trouble.

Whew! Lucky Lucky Me

John

[Allen H]

The tank fills every time it fires, the noise they make is all of that air dumping out at once.
Allen H

[RJ Productions]

You notice how quick the refresh rate was on that little cannon. You really don't want to be nailing every customer that goes by. We try to train the actors to blast once, choosing their "victim" wisely! Since the cannons do use a lot of air, your compressor will work overtime if you get a trigger happy actor!! I perfer to use an actor instead of just a sensor because they can time it better, sizing up the group and possibly getting the best person for a good group response. IF multi-firing is a problem, put a simple control on it. Once it is fired, you must wait 20 seconds or so to be able to fire again. Makes the actor choose wisely!!!

Thanks Kimmy...I wanted to get something out quick and just watching someone screw fittings on a pipe didn't make much sense anyway!!! People can print the image, download the video clip for reference. So if you don't build now, you have it later. Or just email or post asking again!

I am by no means an "air cannon expert" it is merely a very important if not irreplaceable tool of a haunter. I hope my point is made. We as an industry have to take a stand and NOT condon actions that can ultimately harm us all. We have been lucky. It does not mean that the trend will continue!!! Think of it this way...using a sprinkler valve with compressed is just a ticking time bomb. You, your actors, your patrons, your family members all go through your haunt. And I know it sounds like I'm beating a dead horse here, but I know there is still some moron reading this who goes "what's the big deal? Mine works just fine!!!" What if it is YOUR child that is going through when the valve decides to fail?????? How do uou explain to your child that they can't see anymore because you wanted to save a couple bucks and use a sprinkler valve instead of the correct components!!!!! I am NOT being over dramatic here, this is a real concern. And if you do not understand it, please do us all a favor and find a different industry, hobby, passion.

So go forth my children, create or buy safe and effective air cannons! They are very effective in the arsenal of a good haunter!

[chuck weber]

Opinions, please.............

[X-Treme Torment]

I would say this is a much safer way of building an air cannon (just make Shure all your valves are tight) than with the pvc pipe version. I also think that if you are trying to save money and build an air cannon yourself with pvc you shouldn’t be in this business. Customer safety is the #1 thing. Not how much money you can save.