Im gonna have some fun this weekend :D

[Stephen H]

mum was cleaning out the kitchen this afternoon so i went to see what i could find :D... the picture explains it all

[Bruno Ogorelec]

Ohmigod... have you purchased enough methanol? I wish I were there.

[Stephen H]

im gonna go get a litre afterschool. what you think about the shape of those longish ones at the back?... they look awsome but could just be to tall!

[Stuart]

Just remember what your mum says: "It's always fun until you poke someone's eye out!"

[Stephen H]

yea, never said anything about blowing up someones eye :P

[steve]

From my limited experience with jars I can claim with some certainty that all but the ketchup bottle will run. I think the tall ones in the back will also run based on the fact that I have gotten a snapple bottle to run and it's shape is somewhat less ideal then what you have there.

good luck!

[Stephen H]

i dunno why... we could not get anything to go... we got it to rev up for a few secconds soooooo many times but we couldnt get it to sustain for longer then like 2 seconds... we tried bigger and smaller holes... mabey it was the meths.. last time i did it we had meths that had a best before date of 1995 that we found in my friends bathroom!!

[Mark]

Did you try a jam jar? Just kidding, but the standard canning jars are a plus because the lids seal well, unlike some pickle jars or jars that require the lids to be turned just a fraction to lock on.
It really helps if you have low humidity and cool air too in addition to dry methanol and the proper proportioned jar along with the right sized hole. And you need some mojo and voodoo. If your jar is hot after a failed run, you must let it cool and air it out well.
Mark

[Stephen H]

ill tell ya it was bloody cold enough!!!! about 30 mins drive away there were pieces of hail about the size of golf balls that morning!!

[Mark]

Well if your jam jar had been running, wouldn't it be funny to see a piece of hail snuff it out and lodge in the hole in your lid. It could be a first. Well, I guess it was cool enough although I've seen hail in summer, kind of exciting. Since we can eliminate the temperature as a factor there are only 6 or so other variables to consider in your no moving parts jar engine. Here's some of the things I thought of although there may be others.
Good fuel
Good jar size
Good jar lid that seals
Good hole
Good dry air
Good cool air
Good low altitude
No wind, jars don't like breezes
Dry lid, jars don't like droplets of methanol left around the hole when starting!
If you use a torch to light them, this can often choke the effect too. Using a subtle flame is best. With my little jam jars a propane torch can suffocate the hole before it has a chance to get any new fresh air. It also creates too much turbulence, before you can withdraw the flame you've killed the cycling.
And too much fuel in the jar will cause sloshing and kill the effect too. You only need a little bit of fuel, enough to barely cover the bottom.
When I first read of Reynst and jam jars, I was able to pull off the effect that fateful day in summer, but when I went to show my brother it took a ton of tries and I was getting frustrated. But in winter here, it's as effortless as waving a flame over the hole on the first try. And they like this cold weather, they run eagerly then. My big 2.5 gallon snorkler glows red hot which is strange in a way, that is, in cold weather it runs red hot, in hot weather it runs but doesn't glow. Here is a semi-glow augmented by night.
Mark

[Mark]

My piglets or snorkelers as I often refer to them as. They are nothing more than large jam jars with tubes attached. I've run them as jars without the snorkels, just by using a reducer in the center hole of the tank instead of a long pipe.
Mark

[Stephen H]

thanks for that. it could well just be the wind... although it wasnt windy the breeze could of been a bit to much.. i have exams at the moment so i will give it ago when these are over!