A Car that Runs on Gunpowder

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You'd better hang on to it and keep your powder for the original purpose it was intended for and don't forget to keep it dry too! The more explosive the better...

It's been done......sorta.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE29MJOnTdE

The Dazist Allis tractor (built by Agnar Dazist - Allis was hie wife's name) produced in 1919 ran on gunpowder. It was a disaster but it did operate.

To reduce the heat problem the one of the cylinders were left idle - The firing order - 3-1-2-0-2-1-3-0-2-3-1- ......

The rear wheel had an eccentric hub.

A manual is available here http://pdfsearch.usrs0.com/pdf/Farm_Tractors_By_Owner/Jensales_Inc_Farm_Tractor_Manual_Catalog_Table_Of_Contents/29_pdf

Gunpowder can make cars go faster, usually just shooting at them works.

Have you tried the ATF?

Failing that you will have to take a shot in the dark.

It will need wheels for one. A chassis would be good to have too. Use a rocket like propulsion.

Have fun. Don't let others go in the way of your imagination. Make something yourself.

I admire your courage but question your logic because the cheapest gunpowder available is significantly higher in cost than any available fossil fuel, the risk to the operator is extremely high, and control of the reaction without suffering internal engine damage is nigh impossible.

In addition to the above concerns maintenance of the engine and gunpowder storage container would be extremely time consuming and expensive.

Maybe you could liquefy the gunpowder while maintaining the BTU content and ignition characteristics which would then allow adaptation and use of existing fossil fuel controls.

A lofty but interesting endeavor to say the least.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Liquefy the gunpowder? You mean like nitromethane?

Yep! It's been a while since I have been able to attend the winter nationals and witness the awesome power unleashed by these beasts.

I have always been curious what sort of fuel efficiency could be attained from the use of Nitro in an everyday automobile.

I would assume that in order to attain maximum fuel efficiency, hydrazine or another type of O2 scavaging chemical would also be required as an additive.

I am not at all sure that in today's environmentally focused economy an individual person or group could obtain the required permitting to experiment much less mass produce such an engine for use in a daily driver.

Maybe a complex mixture introduced as a gasoline additive?

Better to go with nitrous oxide injection....

http://www.enginelabs.com/engine-tech/power-adders/tech5-mike-abney-of-nitrous-express-solves-the-mystery-of-squeeze/

I would also keep an eye out for your governing authority, like the ATF here in the USA they don't appreciate regular people stockpiling gun powder or for that matter any large quantity of explosive materials! Whatever the reason!

Your idea is a very dangerous folly and should not be attempted, especially by YOU!

Is this another idea along the lines of AC to bias an amplifier?

Maybe goldfish to power a jet engine?

Del

(Damn, I meant to post anonymously.... please ignore my signature...you ain't seen me roight?)

Del is that you?

Now you made me snort tea over the keyboard

Del

Your post stimulated my neurons and it occurs to me that using gunpowder to fuel an engine is much akin to using egrets and other migratory birds to power jet engines.

In the past I have personally observed pilots making unexpected in-flight maneuvers in an attempt to gather as many birds as possible into the jet engine intake structure.

Some were all too successful which resulted in the engine(s) being over-fueled and the bird-to-air combustion ratio reaching extreme rich condition thereby causing the engine(s) to unexpectedly shut down.

Summation of the experiments conducted so far indicate that while the birds are at times plentiful and definitely flammable, the BTU content extraction method has not yet been perfected to the point that prevents internal engine damage and feather fallout contamination.

We are confident that with continuation of federal research grant funding a viable solution can be finalized somewhere in the future.

It is after all April Fool's day.

Given some of the previous questions on CR4 who can tell?

Its sometimes like its always April fool day!

No. The TV program Mythbusters tried numerous designs (3 I think) and all failed, some dangerously.

Won't work as a power source pushing anything, won't work as a fuel additive.

Apparently it CAN be made to work as a practical exercise, but it's a stupid, dangerous, inefficient, dangerous and illegal (in many if not most countries now days) way to move a vehicle.

The only reason it was looked into was because gunpowder was more common than alternatives such as steam, petrol, etc that were either less common or hadn't been discovered yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunpowder_engine

I had a joke about a new vehicle propulsion project being undertaken by a clueless major American car manufacturer in response to the EV and Hybrid market boom but I will leave you all to decide the punch line and who that manufacturer was.

Might as well be one of these!!

And this is what I use to power my daughters pedal scooter!

The one missing I believe I mislaid it at her last Girl Scout meeting.

Nothing like a crazy father chasing his daughter down the street with an open box of radioactive materials to motivate a child to pedal that much harder.

Wait, did you invent Jarts too?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawn_darts

Thank you for the laugh!
Jarts. Sadly no, I didn't invent them. They are fun to play with, just watch your toes. Or for that matter, any part of your body. But I guess nowadays the kids have so many holes in their bodies?!?! What's the difference??

That's why the cookies were so hot this year!

Greg,

I think you actually came up with a design that works. Propulsion and Repulsion! Nice!

Does that count as a rocket engine?

Have you considered a fuel/ air explosive instead? Much more powerful explosion (than black gunpowder for sure!!), being as the oxidizer is provided by the air you get a much greater energy density, and with a gaseous liquid fuel it will be easier to meter into the engine. Not only that, but you can then use conveniently available fuels such as diesel, propane or gasoline so that you can refuel just about anywhere!!!

But why am I getting this sense of deja vu.......

This really just reminds me of the Otto fuel used to power the engines for torpedoes.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_fuel_II

I have one big question: Why?

If you have a stockpile of gunpowder to process I can understand it somehow but convince your customer to go for a stationary system.

If it is a school assignment to prove that you can solve difficult problems: Fail.

Best appoach would be an ECE (steam or Stirling hybrid)

Then solve the burning rate separately. You need to have control over the burning proces, typically gunpowder doesn't need external oxigen to keep on burning, which is what makes the proces going so fast.

Driving around in old bangers? Remarkable!

....it will go like a bomb...!

.....it should go like a bomb.....!

He passed away with a loud bang

First he has to build that car . . .

Oh, this should end well. Make sure you finalize your Will first, before you pull the plug on your DIY IED.

It's been done...

I predict "Pink Mist"...

A sobering thought for you to consider:

Years ago I witnessed the aftermath and remains of a late 70's station wagon that had a stolen missile rocket engine attached to the top of it by some very enebriated young service men from Davis Monthan Air Base and U-of-A students who then in a not so remote desert site, proceeded to launch said vehicle.

Straws had been drawn with the short straw being the driver of the vehicle.

The vehicle traveled over 300 feet on the ground before becoming airborne the first time when it traveled for another 200+ feet then touched down momentarily and went airborne again.

Then at the end of a short flight the rocket engine exploded rendering the vehicle and the driver a scattered collection of debris.

My first logical thought after seeing the aftermath was; "I wonder what the driver was thinking when the vehicle left the ground the first time and just exactly when the realization struck that he wasn't going to survive the ride?"

My second thought was; "How will the surviving witnesses ever be able to live with the memory and consequences of their experiment?"

Please be careful and stay safe. Good luck!

I thought it was a JATO motor?

If only they had used a Volvo.

If only they had used a Cavalier.

I always run my cars on pavement. I know a lot of people who like to run their cars on dirt. I've never met anyone who runs their car on gunpowder.

How can u make it??

do you need a gun or a bag of gun powder?