Sci-fi Propane Pop Gun Tutorial

I would not have guessed that this project would work until I saw it myself. It can be really tricky to get just the right amount of fuel into a small volume of air to create a flammable mixture, but the torch seems to work excellently. Check out my sponsor Audible through the following link to claim a free audio book: www.audible.com/nhil
Here is the original article that inspired this project: www.instructables.com/id/Propa...
The way this project works is that once the torch has fed a mixture of propane and fresh air into the vinyl tube, being ignited on one end causes the advancing flame front to push the not yet ignited fuel forward until it reaches the larger volume inside the soda bottle. Having a larger surface area inside the bottle allows the flame front to propagate much more rapidly, creating a loud pop.
An interesting effect I noticed was that the bottle occasionally created an invisible vortex ring which would slam into objects on the far side of the room. In a future video I may experiment more to create a way for those vortex rings to be made more consistently.
The torch used in this video is a Bernzomatic TS8000, you can purchase the same torch here (this is an affiliate link): ebay.to/1F2HEiM
The vinyl tubing is 5/8" ID by 7/8" OD. I used a 24oz soda bottle with a standard cap size. #NightHawkInLight
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Check out my latest video: "How To View Invisible Air Currents With Lasers"
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[@hacksmith]

Wow, that's brilliant! This could be amazing for someone's cosplay costume!

[@runeraid1561]

Fancy meet you here!

[@hacksmith]

The RuneRaider NightHawkInLight is one of my favorite channels!

[@TheRandomness707]

Great for Hank Hill.

[@calebgames3476]

It's funny that you say that lol i used it for mine

[@ltnugget]

I was looking to see if anyone has ever made this before because I made one three years ago and thought about uploading it..... I should I have uploaded it three years ago

[@TheKingofRandom]

Woah awesome! My mind just did a backflip. :D

[@RealBadWolf]

Grant Thompson - "The King of Random" Your videos followed by NightHawkInLight are the best ever!

[@debug9424]

Kman Meteor Ex eaquo! no following

[@lordmeme8432]

Man you are so awesome!!

[@genieknight6858]

Dude your my idle

[@lordmeme8432]

ikr

[@SafetyLucas]

Crazy Russian Hacker and KipKay take note: *great content, gives credit to original poster, and the ad doesn't take up half the video!*

[@firecatflameking]

So true >_>

[@SafetyLucas]

*****​ He definitely tailors to the less critical audience. Those who would rather have OK videos frequently than amazing videos a few times per month. I think he just asks how it works in the comments so that he can engage the audience a little bit more. In fact, he recently said how does it work "sciantificly"? and so I posted a dumb response written in terrible grammar and it got >242 likes. Lol. I just wish he would give some credit to the people that he shamelessly ripped off. Sorry for the lengthy response.

[@TonyyStarrkk1994]

Magneto! Don't bother asking him to give credit in the comments lol. He copied one of Grant Thompsons videos once, and I pointed it out, and Grant replied saying he doesn't mind. I mean I suppose it doesn't really matter if he doesn't give credit, but sometimes he copies unique ideas that only one specific KZbinr has ever come up with, and even then he won't give credit. In those instances its a bit annoying. Also, I highly doubt he knows anything about the experiments he's doing. Sure, he can play it off as trying to provoke comments from viewers, and make more money, but its pretty obvious he has no clue. The guy just watches tutorials online and replicates them. Ive never seen him create his own experiments, like nighthawk, and Grant do in their videos. The guy fits into a niche though. If you insult him in the comments, I promise you, you'll get more fifth grade insults in your inbox than you can count, and they'll all be from fifth graders. I suppose not knowing works to his advantage, because it makes his videos simpler, which in turn serves the majority of his subscribers well.

[@SafetyLucas]

***** yep, he definitely has a place on KZbin. Its just not the same one as TKoR, or NHiL, or Household Hacker, or NurdRage, or any of the other sciency people.

[@TonyyStarrkk1994]

Magneto! lmao

[@TheBackyardScientist]

Propane Pop Gun + Vortex cannon barrel = ??????? Im going to try this!

[@acoolsardine7728]

Hi from five years ago

[@mason8852]

Hi from 5 years ago

[@TheBackyardScientist]

Easily the coolest thing ive seen you do!

[@crisp.6341]

first

[@harvs.1527]

"I sell propane and propane accessories." ~Hank Hill

[@DIYPerks]

Wow, VERY cool! Reminds me of Dubstep Guns.. only this is REAL :D

[@peterbrownwastaken]

That is completely outrageous! Thanks for sharing!

[@DaveHax]

Wow, that's so cool!! Great video I love it!!

[@MeisPip]

2:03 that whistle xD

[@HybridLibrarian]

Very cool project, looks amazing!

[@BetterDeadThanRed99]

this would look freaking awesome wrapped around a pvc potato cannon!

[@TheChipmunk2008]

+poweredbyaaron99 Make this happen

[@MrHws5mp]

That looks amazing. You could make a really cool steampunk gun out of that by wrapping the tube into a spiral, replacing the bottle with a more elaborate "can" and dressing it up appropriately.

[@ykjt91]

Your production quality was great even back then, but has definitely improved with time :) Keep up the awesome work!

[@lorez201]

I'm really glad I subscribed to you. All projects you show are worthwhile and interesting, and your videos are all so well-made. Keep up the good work, man.

[@maxman1260]

I would just like to say that your channel is amazing. This summer I plan to try a lot of your awesome projects, including this.

[@jakegarrett8109]

That's pretty cool and simple, amazing how slow propane's flame propagation is in this demonstration.

[@M3iscool]

This is one of my all time favorite projects by you.

[@uhlmule5068]

I watched this on this channel. I couldn't resist trying t out. It worked like a charm, had a blast with it especially at night. Oh, and it's cheap too!

[@noahspreizer2134]

My family and I spend a weekend or two and make a few of the things you post here. Giant Bubbles, Ninja Punch, and the spotlight are our personal favorites. thanks for the inspiration, keep it up!

[@LifeOfPabs]

WOW the flame going though looks so awesome!!

[@FieroGTXX]

One of the best diys I've seen

[@iguanian]

In case you are curious about modifications - I tried to use a tubing adapter to bring the 7/8" tubing down to a 3/8" one so I could work with smaller tubing to save on fuel and also have different sized flames swirling around. While gas was going through the tube, flame did not propagate past the adapter.

[@SpecificLove7]

Very cool project

[@locus_of_magic217]

Your channel is awesome! I adore all of your projects, and I will try to one of them this week. =) (Also, just as an aside, I really like the way you do the adverts. I like the way you continue to show useful things that don't necessarily need commentary while you offer useful advice about products from your sponsors. The ads aren't intrusive at all, and they even manage to seem friendly.)

[@Nighthawkinlight]

+Rachael Hudson Thank you!

[@ChrisCameraMan]

I liked the Grant Thompson style cross promo for your other video. Seamless transitions

[@zynaxsoft]

Simple yet beautiful

[@JustinKoenigSilica]

Now make it look like a proper weapon! Looks cool already, but now make it look amazing!

[@formylovechannel]

Absolutely love this, thank you for this video!

[@Pyromancers]

You just gave me the greatest idea ever man thank you! You are gonna love this!!!!

[@GREENPOWERSCIENCE]

FANTASTIC PROJECT!

[@johnathonpalomares9210]

I built it for our winter Klondike camp in January. Awesome!!!

[@chunnygoat]

That's so funny cuz I follow instructable. & I found you which I have since been following for quite some time now. It's pretty cool KZbin and Instructables United

[@mat2468xk]

Woah, this is just plain awesome.

[@MrWillvin]

Awesome project

[@tyjohnston5889]

"Do not use inside you could DIE!" *Whole video's inside a garage

[@electronicsNmore]

Very clear and well presented video. :-)

[@timopomer]

that looks really cool

[@SciTechGeeked]

Man you are awesome.! Keep up the good work.

[@HugoMasters]

You are awesome dude :D GJ and i'll wait for moar!

[@TwilitArchon]

It would be interesting to figure out just how much time you need between activations to let the tubing cool so that it won't melt with continuous use. I could see something like this being used in decorating/float design/lots of other applications on some kind of timer. Very neat.

[@GabeNewellDFTBA]

That looks really cool!

[@user-bn8il5yx6f]

Use it to burn the console industry down, GabeN!

[@GabeNewellDFTBA]

Nathan Hart Why the hell not?

[@Lilysmile510]

Awesome video!

[@raymondverret2142]

This concept is rather simplistic. However, you have room for major improvements in the design and the power available on the open market. I look forward to your next upgrade. Thanks.

[@arpansingh4502]

Came to comments and MAN 4 epic KZbinrs in a row lmao

[@MyStonerMind420]

This is cool my dude, I may give this a go.

[@LordDragox412]

***** Cool! Now you can shoot joints out of your hands, like a bone pellet gun! :D

[@HouseholdHacker]

My mind is blown!

[@bariskoymen6086]

Si

[@AbKelp]

Any new videos coming soon?

[@Thenmxgangatthejumps]

This is AWESOME

[@franmisantone3230]

pretty cool gotta give this a shot

[@AppleTechBeast]

That was so awesome that I'm going to share it.

[@joinmyclanplease1389]

that is literally the coolest thing ever!

[@dodgert6024]

im going to make one for a fire work start but in going to try and see if i can split the flame into a smaller exit feed

[@taiya9969]

i love this project

[@wksjunior95]

I think I found my decoration for next Christmas!!!

[@TrollFaceTheMan]

Very cool NightHawk!!

[@Karlfalcon]

Fascinating.

[@bearscookies9645]

Damn, you should have posted this before Halloween...

[@loogielarva798]

I did it with a 5 gallon clear water jug & a propane tank, & the jug ruptured creating a deadly blast wave that killed an innocent bystander & injured both his Foster children, I had to flee out the window

[@drunksanta1427]

i wanna do that

[@carsonhunt4642]

Would have looked cooler if you had just wrapped it around the white tube tons of times to look like a coil gun

[@417angrybirds]

This is AWESOME!!!

[@kawaiisakifrontale]

I attached this to a plastic arm brace I made, so I’m basically a superhero now

[@eddiemuff0371]

Is it good for no scopes?

[@donkyuhbuhts540]

This is awesome

[@eduardofernandez8669]

Hey, pretty cool stuff!!!👍💪🔥

[@garchompy_1561]

would it be possible to use another gas that would burn orange then go between the two using different buttons to make a "portal gun" like affect? i think that would be cool AF

[@XanderXides]

DUDE! That's tight!!!

[@backwoodsboy19872011]

You got my gears turning with this one lol I am thinking it would be cool as he'll to incorporate your air soft machine gun into this design using this design as the pressure source I will have to give it a shot one day when I have some time to kill unless you decide to give it a shot first I would love to see the end result if you did :)

[@ErickRodriguesEckrs]

Demais!... um belo show

[@valerietrevino120]

this is so cool

[@bengarbutt9226]

You have so many popular subscribers !

[@THTerra]

This looks Amazing! o:

[@elishafore5019]

i think this would be really cool to add to your alcohol bottle rocket gun as the ignition.

[@NITESCIENTIST]

i made this and i ground up a charcoal piece and put the dust in the tube. it makes the flame a bright orange and ends with a shower of sparks and is a lot of fun to screw around with

[@kevino2139]

that's pretty epic, I wonder if you could put a ping pong ball at the end of the soda bottle?

[@RobKinneySouthpaw]

This is all kinds of cool.

[@arcaneire]

I think this would look even cooler with the the tube wrapped around the pipe and maybe one or two LEDs to finish!

[@cupbowlspoonforkknif]

So rad!

[@tommyb1two3]

Awesome!

[@mason8852]

This video did very good

[@tahyalamberttrex369effects8]

DOPE AF! Can you do that with more than one tube?

[@minitos1]

This is amazing :D

[@renatoespiritosanto1055]

That is cool!

[@joeymartins4347]

awesome!

[@TJChagas]

Damn this is amazing!! It is possible to add a ball of steel wool at the end? So if ignited before it got launched, it would make a nice fireball thrower with a lot of sparks! MAN, i gotta build one of those...

[@ltnugget]

It just might :)

[@SushiKing123NorskGaming]

Very nice vid! :D

[@user-kb4fm5hu3c]

very good

[@parkerbirch1635]

looked great, lmao!!! well done video

[@baywords]

Ohh i just saw your reply to the same question. You should deff see how long it will travel. Maybe spiral it, wrapping it in on itself into a spiral ring. Ignite it and maybe put a compass in the middle of it.. probably wouldnt do anything lol.. maybe.. but the spiraling effect would be amazing. Like twine it around on itself.

[@tacocat9916]

so what would happen if you, say, were to wedge a ball bearing or some other spherical object into the other end of the pipe? would it shoot out at a high speed or the tube will burst? I have an idea and I need an answer to this.

[@dandanoodledudeface2451]

great Halloween prompt.

[@ianfinrir8724]

I can totally see this in a movie as some kind of giant Death Star-like beam

[@loogielarva798]

it was like one of those sound wave vortex cannons it also blew all of the BBQ food of the table

[@nightchaser95]

This is really cool! :D

[@thegamingdragonryanjohanne8679]

Awesome.

[@USWaterRockets]

Is there a limit to how long the plastic tube can be? I'd like to do something like this for an Independence Day display, but on a larger scale.

[@Nighthawkinlight]

+USWaterRockets Any longer than 20' of tubing and I had trouble with the gas actually feeding into the tube. It would reverse flow and exit through the torches vent holes.

[@USWaterRockets]

Ok, great! Thanks for that bit of info. I guess I will either build to that scale.

[@trickpierce8196]

+NightHawkInLight in gonna put one on my go kart to look like this toyota supra with anti lag

[@Raycefan]

+NightHawkInLight, wait, so, if I understand what you're saying correctly, you mean much longer than 20' and the flame would go all the way, say, 16 or 18ft, THEN reverse and go out the torch vents? Because that might or kinda cool, too!

[@ScibbieGames]

Wouldn't it be ok if the tube just went upwards? Then it wouldn't go back right?

[@UCzq8yAIcJ0o9FFcCizoLri]

SICK!!

[@craftcraft37]

Amazing

[@spaceladjack3105]

Does the gun get more powerful if you just have the tubing head straight for the bottle in a linear fashion? I would assume it would fire much faster, maybe even instantly, but does it add to the power at all?

[@dodgert6024]

Do you think if you used a more open tube and just fitted the gap on the torch you could go longer length with out back fire

[@norxcontacts]

Holy shit dude, this looks like a lazer cannon!