Quote:
Originally Posted by Jmulderig
We shoot about 100 feet with something like 20psi.
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In order to get much range at low pressure, you'll need to have large pipes and valves. On our air cannon, we use a 3/4" solenoid as the smallest point in the line. This means that we cannot use a tank designed for tools; the flow is not enough. We have a large (probably 8 gal) cast iron accumulator with about a 2" fitting at one end. We usually charge to about 40-50 psi, and have thrown t-shirts over the top of our press box with it at 60. Also, a large-bore relatively short barrel gets more of the energy to the shirt than long and narrow. We're currently using a 3" barrel about 20" long. The 3" barrel also works well with small foam rubber footballs.
We figured out a very simple way to prepare the shirts for the launcher that does not require any tie wraps or string or tape:
- Lay the shirt flat on a horizontal surface
- Lift the bottom hem a few inches, and raise (relative to the shirt orientation) until the fold is at the armpit.
- Lower the hem until the next fold is at the shoulder
- Repeat the two previous steps until you're out of shirt
- Fold one sleeve over the shirt body
- Roll from that sleeve, across to the other shoulder
- flip the other sleeve inside out and wrap around the cylinder, like folding socks.
This fits a large short-sleeve shirt in our 3" barrel nicely. A small shirt may require making the cylinder a little shorter, and an XL a little longer.