Odds and ends

[tufty]

The umbrella's a beautiful touch. You're on form, Mark.

[Mark]

Today I tried just an aluminum beer bottle with a 1/2 inch hole drilled in the bottom. I didn't touch the cap and/or put a short snorkel on it like before. It's so light that when I lit it, it flew out of the water. Also if you put the normal amount of fuel in without a weight at the narrow end , it ejects an impressive jet of flame and a large amount of fuel in one burst. With hose clamps for ballast it ran well enough for a minute and a half without harm to the cap. The bottle cap was still rock solid factory tight. The bottle without ballast or snorkel really zips around if you hang onto it for the initial whoosh and then release it, but you can only put a small amount of fuel in it this way. The empty bottle weighs about an ounce on my cheapy scale. And it can run poorly on other occasions. So many variables to keep up with.
The Pepsi can didn't do too well, this was about the third one I toyed with. They don't run for long and the combustion quite fragile. The squid passenger went round and round but the effect wasn't spiffy enough. I was trying a tongue-in-cheek Project Squid suggestion/allusion.
I wanted the Peacock can to work, it was one of those 7.5 ounce/222ml sizes and would have looked cute with enhancements.
"The variegated "trellis" design on the cans features what the brand called an "on-trend peacock which can be found everywhere this spring, from the set of the upcoming The Great Gatsby movie to the latest home decor accents." It also reflects a dusk blue color featured in Pantone's spring fashion and color report, complementing the Diet Pepsi logo." And jam jar boats. ha
http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2 ... 32913.aspx

[Mark]

This short whipped cream can was my longest running boat, almost 5 minutes of putt putting although it didn't run fast like my best snorkelers. I sleeved a ~1 inch snorkelette over the necked nozzle portion I drilled out. I would be hard pressed to repeat that long run though, it's not reliable and it has it's moods. The snorkel seems to improve the rough running but not by much.
The Coke can runs fast instantly for 5 seconds under water and then cuts out for some reason. I put a hose clamp and 2 wires on it to hold it down.
http://fresh.amazon.com/product?asin=B000R49ATQ

[Mark]

Here's a ~8 oz stainless steel flask I bought on eBay long ago modified for putt putting. After burning some fuel the snorkel starts to become almost flush with the water level.
Small Flask Putt Putt Boat with Snorkelette
http://youtu.be/xJ03k_6-jvw
http://www.oempromo.com/product/Flasks/ ... 184490.htm

[Mark]

Late this afternoon I ran a dollar store aluminum bottle with the 3/4 inch quasi-pipe thread in the neck with a piece of copper tubing adapter/fitting. Before I had used a plumbing pipe adapter and plumbing pipe nipple for snorkel. Being so heavy necessitated two large 8 inch heavy nails for ballast/counterweights. But with the copper fitting I could sleeve some aluminum tubing in the non-threaded end of the adapter instead of using plumbing pipe nipple. And for ballast I used 3 short lengths of inconel tubing.
The run today was my very best. The snorkeler spun around in the water "purring" but slinging water out the bowl it was going so fast. It was kind of loud echoing off the house. The steady combustion was just like this clip only appreciably louder. The new aluma snorkel was also about 1.75 inches longer than what was used with the snorkel jet featured below. I actually thought the sound might be disturbing the neighbors. It was a crazy cyclical noise as the boat really flew around and around throwing a goodly amount of air, reminiscent of control line flying. Amazingly the aluminum snorkel didn't melt but the shiny, solid copper fitting developed an almost silver patina from the heat. I haven't any footage of the run, I wasn't expecting this effect. But another day perhaps. The weather was very close to ideal, the humidity below 50%. That won't happen again for many months now that summer is approaching. It's been the most mild spring that I can remember with a blessedly North wind today. I hate the hot humid summers.
Snorkel Jet Putt Putt
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLFL7GJcj-I

[Mark]

Where have I heard this before? "A mind of their own ..."
Maybe World's Fastest Putt Putt Boats.YT.mpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOE3qIslu24#t=3m44s

Just wondering why jam jar boats/snorkelers aren't every bit as loved as typical putt putt boats? I bet you could make a quiet jam jar boat too. Yesterday I had a long whipped cream can putt putt so softly for almost a minute, so softly you could barely hear it.
"No moving parts ..."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOE3qIslu24#t=1m33s

[Mark]

I ran a rolled edge/pushed in neck aluminum beer bottle this morning. The sun so bright I was going blind with the bigger bowl in the yard so I shot it in the little bowl. The glare off the edge of the stainless steel bowl annoying.
So the bottle cap is from a twist-off glass beer bottle and it snaps on nicely to the rolled lip of the aluminum bottle pry off cap design . The snorkel is hardly optimized but it works and was made from all-thread lamp tubing with two nuts to hold it on. The first run was really spiffy but since I tire of getting ready for the shot and it doesn't work I didn't have my camera near. I was just sort of experimenting to see if it would function. I don't recall posting a beer bottle where the thrust is from the neck end, but I've run them before. In any case, this neck was formed using a hydraulic jack and the curvaceous head of a flashlight to sleeve over the neck. An 8 inch nail/spike was used for ballast. Because I was tired/careless, the camera out of focus. If you turn up the volume, the throaty idling sound/growling it makes when slowling down is kind of funny.
Recall the bottle is now ~2.5 inches shorter than an unaltered one.
Bottle Boat Variation on a Theme
http://youtu.be/k3ZeWmUURQs

[PyroJoe]

Nice work, these latest ones have been awesome. Did that last one run out of fuel?

[Mark]

It may be that the cap lets a droplet of water in when it skirts the surface. I've noticed they don't seal air tight and a few bubbles can be seen if you hold the neck partially under water. They're also fussy about the angle they float at, too much or too little and the fueling is thrown off - truly a balancing act. You'd be surprised how much the stern lowers from start to finish. You can have the snorkel/bottle junction angled safely above the waterline but as fuel burns the stern rides lower and lower. Also it's best to hang onto your boat when starting if they whoosh strongly, sloshing fuel feed. If you put in too much or too little fuel, they don't like that either.
There was still fuel in the bottle when it stopped. On my other boats such as a spray starch can, I use a 3/4 inch pipe thread adapter and the engines will cut out if the snorkel/can junction touches the water. The threads don't seal air tight to the tiny neck/rim of the can.

This was somewhat interesting. The paragraph on volatility and other parts worth reading. Perhaps not the whole picture but some points to ponder overall.
http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel_lib ... al1-2.html

[Mark]

I ran the beer keg on its side again with the same lackluster chuffing and then it expired in less than two minutes. This was enough however for it to circle a few laps in this "non-scientific looking" 8 foot diameter test pool. It did stay to the side hugging the walls not going off course at least. I was worried about the plastic sides melting somewhat but they appear fine so far. Perhaps I need more ballast/cooling because it runs much faster upright covered 2/3rds in water once it gets going. So I'm going to submerge it more and see what happens to the beer keg snorkeler angled to run as a jet boat.
I just now tested more ballast but I may have gotten some water in the tank just before this video was taken. I wasn't planning on filming it but after a minute I decided to and of course it stopped shortly after. I used a 4 inch diameter hunk of aluminum and a piece of brass bar stock for ballast. The keg with fuel and ballast weighed 32 pounds.
Jam Jar Boat Ballast Testing
http://youtu.be/CrtuP-8JMuE

[Mark]

Here's the sad performance of a simple jam jar boat in hot weather. On the plus side it's quiet and competes with a typical putt-putt boat in some respects. WIth a different fueling technique, it would do fine. In other news I ran one of those dollar store aluminum bottles with a ~6 inch snorkel but I couldn't get it to go straight. It spun around in tight circles. The noise it makes is just loud enough that it necessitates hearing protection. I made the mistake of lighting it one time in the pool with the exhaust pointed directly at my hand, singeing the hair on my hand and leaving some red areas where it lightly burned the skin. In cold weather it's even louder. At least it runs well enough in the 90 F water, but it's really fussy getting a good starting impulse. Often the bottle makes a sluggish whoosh so faint I wonder why I keep trying. But when it starts, listening to the steady purring combustion is addictive and seeing it whirl out of control in circles is entertaining in a funny sort of way.
Whipped Cream Can Jam Jar Boat
http://youtu.be/xQsMq1HVWIc

[Mark]

When I was about 11, I wore this scuba tank to go diving in Marathon where living one summer . Funny to be using it again after all these years. I never saw a more colorful world than the coral reefs in the Florida Keys.
This tank ran for a minute or so before I started recording and about three more after it stopped. It might make for a cute putt-putt boat if I can find some flotation for it and at least it's streamline. I was surprised how long it chuffed. It seemed like the black plastic bottom might melt but it appears fine, although it hasn't been inspected up close yet. I've only two pieces of 3/4 inch plumbing pipe so this is just a shot in the dark for snorkel length. A long time ago I tried this tank but it didn't sustain for long. Water cooling once again comes to the rescue.
Scuba Tank Snorkeler
http://youtu.be/ZNGzAIBxm5w

[tufty]

Mark - the man who can take anything hollow and make it resonate.

[PyroJoe]

It was neat seeing the tub fill up as the run progressed. Did you notice any differences as it filled?

[Mark]

It seemed to run pretty much steady the whole time. It was just a fluke that I tried the scuba tank having some leftover methanol from the beer keg experiments. It was watery and I thought it would be fun to do a whoosh bottle effect ala the scuba tank and I got some chuffing but it died after 5 seconds or so laying on its side. So then I figured what the heck, try some water cooling. The tank is roughly a 7" X 25" if you include the neck, kind of on the long side for a jam jar. The plastic SCUBA 10 HEALTHWAYS band or label and plastic base didn't suffer any heat damage that I could see although if you splashed water on the exposed part of the tank when running it would sizzle and boil the droplets of water. I found a similar stainless steel "vintage" tank on eBay. No worries about it rupturing, the tank/jam jar weighs almost 30 pounds on a bathroom scale I have. ha
Healthways Scuba 10 scuba tank
US Divers boot and K 3/4" valve
Steel 72 cf at 2250 psi
The # at the neck are:
DOT 3AA2250 HJ 225960 2-71 2-76 1-99 5-04 4-99
So it was made in 1971 and the last hydro is 2009
Stored with air but will be shipped empty
Sold as is as a collectible
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Healthw ... 4d0cc49a75

Scuba Tank Jam Jars - How it's Made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSwCmE_YKss

Aluminum SCUBA Tanks: How it's Made
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xO6G2f7960g

Interesting expose' on the difference between steel and aluminum tanks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbaFXRfV3B8