Air Powered PVC Water Bottle Launcher

by Whitedude0728

13K119

Intro: Air Powered PVC Water Bottle Launcher

How to make a water bottle launcher out of pieces of pvc. Can shoot Very long distances. What you need is: About 2 feet of 1/2 inch piping, two 1/2 inch threaded to 3/4 inch corners, two 1/2 inch threaded joiners, 2 feet of 3/4 piping, a 3/4 inch end cap, a popped bycicle tube, and a 1/2 inch threaded ball release valve thing. Tools you will need are, a drill, and pipe glue. Optional parts are, a soda can for a blast deflector. If all that just confused you, just look at the picture.

STEP 1: The End Cap

This is important to make carefully because you do not want any leaks here. What you do is cut the plug piece out of the bike tube. Then drill a hole in the end cap that is just smaller than the tube piece. then use some kind of glue (I Used Loctite extreme repair)and put it on the tube piece. then hammer it into the hole you made on the end cap.

STEP 2: Making the Air Chamber

Once your end cap is dried, use pipe glue to glue it to one end of the 3/4 inch pipe. then glue the 3/4 inch to 1/2 inch threaded corner to the other end and there's the air chamber.

STEP 3: The Air Release System

To make the air release system, screw one of the 1/2 inch threaded joiners into the corner piece of the air chamber. then screw the ball valve onto the other side and put the second 1/2 inch threaded joiner on the other side

STEP 4: The Barrel

All you have to do for the Barrel is glue the 1/2 threaded to 1/2 corner piece on and your done.

STEP 5: Optional Blast Deflector

The blast deflector is easy to make and keeps you from getting wet. all you do is cut the bottom end of a soda can off and cut a hole in the middle of it.

STEP 6: The Rocket

any water bottle will work on the launcher. You can be creative with the fins and such.

STEP 7: Shootin Your RPB (Rocket Propelled Bottle)

To fill the air tank, first make sure the valve is closed. fill with a pump or air compressor by using the bike pump part on the end cap. Just as if you were filling a bike tire. I think the highest i've filled was 150 psi with a bike pump. You can then remove the pump or air source. fill the rocket half way with water and slide fully onto the barrel. You may want to wrap a piece of electrical tape around the barrel about one time where the lip of the bottle is when loaded so that all the pressure can release before the bottle shoots off. then just aim and spin the valve to fire.

10 Comments

El Diablo97 13 years ago

That tube piece is called a schrader valve.

Xenel 14 years ago

I need a water bottle launcher that shoots them without having to stick the pipe into the opening (It's for an awesome airsoft grenade).Is it possible to do this by making this gun but increasing the barrel size to fit the entire bottle?

Whitedude0728 14 years ago

That would work but you may need a bigger air tank to have enough pressure to be able to shoot the bottle

baudeagle 15 years ago

I believe that is a schrader valve you find them on bicycle tires etc.

bylerfamily 15 years ago

I have a bottle but it fits to loosely on the 1/2 PVC.Is that a problem with yours to?If so,how did you fix it?Great ible,by the way.

Whitedude0728 15 years ago

What kind of bottle is it? and there should be a tiny bit loose so what i do is wrap a piece of electrical tape around the pipe about one time so is has a tight fit and as the pressure builds it slides off the tape then shoots off.

Whitedude0728 15 years ago

I also noticed that smart water bottles are a tiny bit tighter than the normal bottles i use. But the bottles i've been using are arrowhead 1 pint and .9 fl oz. , and those dasani bottles, and ive used smart water bottles, but smart water bottles work the best