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Black powder (.4 g per capsule)
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Piston
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8 e-matches
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2 Brass NPT Plugs with two holes
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2 Brass NPT Plugs with one hole
- 4 Brass NPT Reducing Adapters
- 4 Burst Disk Washers
- Hot glue gun
- Hot glue sticks
Gloves
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Alligator clips
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Weighboats and popsicle sticks
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Teflon tape
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bricks/weights
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Vacuum chamber & pump
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Safety glasses
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Close toed shoes
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A very long wire
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9V battery
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Scale
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Fit check
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Reserve the blast chamber
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Black powder capsule integration procedure (24 hours before):
- Insert two ematches into the hole in each single-hole brass plug
- Insert one ematch into each hole of the double-hole brass plugs
- Fill the gaps of two plugs with epoxy (one single hole, one double hole)
- Fill the gaps of two plugs with hot glue (one single hole, one double hole)
- Wait for adhesive to dry
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Piston Integration Procedures:
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Using a 1/4 inch torque wrench, ensure that the bolts holding the piston together are tight (100 inch-pounds of torque). If the bolts are loose, the piston will lose pressure as it extends. (torque wrench adapter in piston box)
Integrate Firebolt into NPT Plug
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Use multimeter to check continuity of Firebolt e-matches (should be about 1.0-1.4 ohms) and twist the wires to short it. Two people should visually confirm that it is shorted.
Wrap the Firebolt with five wraps of Teflon tape.
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Use the 7/16 wrench to screw firebolt into the NPT plug as far as possible. Highly recommend using the threaded brass plugs since it is threaded all the way.
Repeat steps a through c for a second firebolt and plug
Integrate black powder
Everyone put on safety glasses. From now on, everyone within the vicinity of the pyrotechnics must wear safety glasses.
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Measure out 0.2 4 g of black powder and pour it into the other side of the each brass plug, holding over a weigh boat to catch any fallout. This should be close to filling the plug and may overflow slightly if you screwed the firebolts all the way in.
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Seal the opening by wrapping over the head and opening three times with Teflon tape. Make sure Teflon tape is flush on the inside.
Repeat steps a through c for a second fully integrated plug
Screw a fully integrated plug into the left side of the tee fitting (relative to the tee fitting orientated like a "T"). Tap the tee fitting several times and make sure no black powder falls out after screwing in the plug. If any black powder falls out, remove the plug and repeat the integration of black powder.
Repeat step (4) for the second fully integrated plug, but screw it into the right side of the tee fitting (again relative to the tee fitting orientated like a "T")
Wrap the brass plugs with three wraps of Teflon tape.
Insert one burst disk washer into each reducing adapter
- Screw the
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Compress the piston completely!
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Screw the entire fitting assembly into the piston NPT hole. Make sure that the fitting assembly is pointed up (in the direction of the bore) and rotate tee fitting until the side plug is as close to the body of the piston as possible.
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Test the piston by pulling up rod for 5 secs and checking that it is sealed
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Log Firebolts
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