Water Balloon Launcher
 

I made some plans out to kill time. And I want to know if I am on the right idea. My goal is to make a 150+ yard water balloon launcher. But I am not good with the technical details, so if you have any better ideas to tweak it let me know. Unfortunately you have to click the link...

http://www.geocities.com/punx1325/BalloonLauncher.jpg

I clicked your link but I got the typical yahoo/geocities "page not available" message so I don't know what you have in mind. It's not a railgun is it? ;)

But almost every day, I see teenagers in our playground launching water balloons about that far with a large slingshot. It's usually a few boys trying to hit the girls to get their attention. This slingshot has thick rubber bands about 4ft long each side with a large pocket in middle of back and a heavy loop at each end. Two guys hold the looped ends, one on each side, by stretching an arm straight up while holding the loop, so they make the arms of the slingshot. A third guy puts a water balloon, usually about 6" to 8" diameter, into the pocket and pulls back as far as he can or as required by the mathematical calculation of trajectory and target location. I've seen these balloons fly over 100yds since the boys like to hide inconspicuoulsy on the far side of the playground and lauch balloons over the football field over the tennis courts, onto the basketball courts where the target girls get splattered. Now that I think of it, their screams and giggles are exciting in a tilted kind of way ;)

If you need more high tech and more distance, maybe we should study methods used for pumpkin chuckin. There's an annual contest in Delaware State, USA where pumpkins are shot as far as possible and I think the record is over 5000ft. The launchers fall into classes like pneumatically powered, steam powered, spring powered, catapault types, etc. Check out this link if you want to launch balloons from San Diego to NYC ...please aim a bit northeast since I'm near Philadelphia PA.

http://www.worldchampionshippunkinchunkin.com/

Thanks for your help BadNick. After running around all town looking for surgical rubber tubing I gave up. California sucks, they can't sell the water balloon launchers anymore. Since I am going to Delaware next week, I have found a company that makes them there. Because everything is legal in Delaware.

http://www.kitestailstoys.com/catalo...nlauncher.html

I made a CO2 powered cannon that can launch water balloons easily over 200 yards, its pretty fun...if you want details and/ or pics PM me or email me, paintvader@aohell.com, (no just plain aol.com) and make the subject really visible if you e-mail me, cause i get about 100+ spams a day.

yeah i always figured i could modify my pneumatic potato gun to launch waterballons or anything around that size. 130 psi is a serios kick in the ass.

my CO2 launcher runs at about 1800 psi...just a little more than 130...thank you black iron!

I made it! the design changed a lot because I got lazy and cheap. Using the surgical rubber tubing and some old jeans i made one a lot like the one you can buy for 20 bucks. I'll tell you tomorrow how it does. I'll try and get some pics up if I can find my digital camera.

Tubing usually can be bought at any pharmacy...did you try that?

You can just buy the water balloon launcher. I used to have one, and we could shoot a tennis ball sized water balloon at least a hundred and fifty yards (it went over my neighbors house, and the house behind it).


They are only fifteen or twenty bucks.

I just use my pnuematic potato cannon to shoot water baloons. Its great fun but you have to get it just right or the balloon will explode before it exits the barrel

yeah, I was wondering about that... do you use batting or wadding or anything? or does the water balloon take the direct force of accelleration?

i was just at sports chalet today in southern california and they sell both a recreational 150 yards and a competition model 200 yards ,water ballon launcher.

The water balloon gets the full force... thats probably why so many break ;) it doesnt take much psi at all and the balloons fly FAR.