Balloon Tank Made Easier?

And for those south of the border, Harbor Freight does have one, not on sale and just a bit more by itself, but here is the link should someone be interested.

http://www.harborfreight.com/leather-punch-tool-97715.html

That's terrific! I had one of those tools at some point.. God only knows where it is.. or what happened to it! Another method I've used is a plier-style paper-punch.. to nibble a few "crescent-moon" reliefs through the wall of the tubing.

I don't know how many cc's this is.. but I figure it's between 5 and 7.



The capsule is a florist-shop item for cut-flowers. The wooden spool/plug works well for stretching the neck of the balloon over.. with a rubber-band for security. I figured; why not make it streamlined for use on a profile model.

I think I have one of those eyelet plier sets, I'll have to rummage around and see if i can find it.
Roddie, what size is that thread spool... or is that something you custom made?
Rusty

RknRusty wrote:I think I have one of those eyelet plier sets, I'll have to rummage around and see if i can find it.
Roddie, what size is that thread spool... or is that something you custom made?
Rusty

They're 1/2" dia. Rusty.. (.490" to be exact) I bought a bagful for use as beads when I built my sons abacuses when they were little. The spool's center-holes were probably 1/8".. but I drilled them out to .140" so they would slide freely on the 1/8" dia. music wire rods. For the balloon tank, I wrapped a few turns of masking tape around 1/8" copper tube until I got a tight fit. If you're interested in trying this style tank.. I'll set you up. I have more capsules.. and a bagful of spools. Let me know.

Roddie. I would like to ask you a question. I like your balloons and cannot seem to find them around here. Tried Wal-Mart, Dollarama, Dollar Tree, and E-Bay with no luck, as I did not know what to call that style of balloon. Would you by chance happen to have the bag they came in so I may know what they call that style, or even where you bought yours. I used up my last 2 in that style earlier this year. Mine were a water balloon (although I could not throw that 'rocket' full of water). Thank you. I went to my local florist shops to get the vials, but they were bigger than or smaller than yours, so I am using rolled up pop bottle cut down, which apparently works.

Roddie,

What do you use for a shut off when starting the engine?

RK Flyer

I can send you a pair if you PM me your address. They're about 6 bucks on e-bay and I have a few.
Rusty

Rusty, what do you call those? Plastic hemostats? Or are they some sort of locking pliers?

I forgot to mention earlier that I really like your design Roddie, it is nice and streamlined. I will definitely try it out. I have a piece of dowel I believe that will be the right diameter for the small vials available here. Stay tuned.

NEW222 wrote:Roddie. I would like to ask you a question. I like your balloons and cannot seem to find them around here. Tried Wal-Mart, Dollarama, Dollar Tree, and E-Bay with no luck, as I did not know what to call that style of balloon. Would you by chance happen to have the bag they came in so I may know what they call that style, or even where you bought yours. I used up my last 2 in that style earlier this year. Mine were a water balloon (although I could not throw that 'rocket' full of water). Thank you. I went to my local florist shops to get the vials, but they were bigger than or smaller than yours, so I am using rolled up pop bottle cut down, which apparently works.

New, I just found the bag.. The company that makes them is "Unique Industries Inc." out of Philadelphia, PA. The 5" x 9" bag reads; assorted colors & shapes 100 pcs. They may have come from a supermarket.. I can't remember. They are bigger around than the "animal-twisty" type though. You could probably buy small size latex exam gloves.. and use the baby finger to come close to the size. As long as it stretches over the neck of a stopper.. it should work fine.

Ah, ok. I had assumed that you bought a bag of that specific style of balloon, that is why i had asked. As I looked at the mixed bag here, I did not really see that style, but I may grab a bag for a look. I had heard of using a glove before, but had not tried it. Again, thanks for the picture as that picture gave me the inspiration to try the balloon tank and flower vial. But I now just saw and realized the ruler in the picture. After noticing that, the smaller available vials may be the correct size after all.

RknRusty wrote:

I can send you a pair if you PM me your address. They're about 6 bucks on e-bay and I have a few.
Rusty

Thanks Rusty, that's what I've been using just looking for something else!

NEW222 wrote:Rusty, what do you call those? Plastic hemostats? Or are they some sort of locking pliers?

Plastic hemostats. No teeth, just smooth jaws.

Glad you posted this I am about to put a engine TD on my Baby Clown and have been concerned about the use of a tank think this is what I will go with till I can get a better hang of the Bladder maybe this will get me some experience with the starting / running of a pressure feed , going out today to pick up my repaired Fender Deluxe Reverb Amp before this guy wants to try and buy it from me he said it was sounding Sweet !! Eric

Might save some time and effort just ordering a big pack of red caps off of ebay, and some end plugs from texas timers. IMO a neater solution.

NEW222 wrote:Ah, ok. I had assumed that you bought a bag of that specific style of balloon, that is why i had asked. As I looked at the mixed bag here, I did not really see that style, but I may grab a bag for a look. I had heard of using a glove before, but had not tried it. Again, thanks for the picture as that picture gave me the inspiration to try the balloon tank and flower vial. But I now just saw and realized the ruler in the picture. After noticing that, the smaller available vials may be the correct size after all.

I checked to see what other shapes came in that bag.



Kinda' makes me want to have a party! I got to thinking about my tube-capsule design.. and wondered if I could maximize capacity by using a hard pick-up tube (1/8" alloy) maybe 2" long.. and attaching a short length of perforated silicone line at the rear. I haven't measured the capacity.. but using the capsule will limit it.. as opposed to running the balloon in free-air. The capsules I'm using have an inside diameter of .540" (approx. 14mm).. so the 1/2" dia. wooden spool will fit inside with clearance to spare when the balloon is stretched over it. I used one of those tiny rubber-bands (the ones the kids are using to make bracelets) triple-wrapped around the balloon/spool. This assembly drops into the capsule with plenty of clearance. I had to shorten my balloon to a length that would fit the capsule.

This photo shows the type of capsule I used. The cap is a very flexible rubber with a star-shaped hole designed for a flower stem to fit through. The spool's feed-tube pokes through and is retained by the feed-line to the engine. Probably a good idea to drill a small vent-hole in the capsule itself, just incase the cap becomes airtight. The capsule is very light.. but also plenty rigid and easy to mount to a profile fuse using the common rubber-band method.



The spool-hole needs care in the correct sizing/sealing of the hard tube that passes through it.. and ideally; the balloon's diameter shouldn't exceed the spool's outside diameter. You could use another type of "stopper" (rubber or cork).. but be sure to vent the tube/capsule.. or else the balloon might not collapse.

Use a rubber band on the neck of the balloon. No spool needed. Those tiny silicone bracelet braiding bands work pretty good.

Phil

I've obviously got too much time on my hands this afternoon.. Here's another approach made from a water test-sample bottle that uses a very common water/soaker bomb-balloon.

Here's a step-by-step in photos..







Moisten the threads for the cap with saliva.. and the cap screws right on.. and seals tightly. Drill a hole in the cap slightly smaller than your silicone fuel-line.. and you'll achieve a compression-seal there when the line is installed.


Dry weight is .25oz. (7gr.)

The only thing I haven't done yet is to drill a vent-hole in the bottle and test-run it. VERY easy to make..

Something a little bigger.. and with some character..



This "nip" bottle holds a 9" round-size party balloon and has the needed vent-hole.

Now I need the last version. At least when I fly, I don't have to look no further than the 'site' to find something to help relieve my sorrows. Or did you actually fill the last one with nitro?

Thanks for the tutorial, and pictures. I just got in from shopping and got 3 of the vials posted, but I actually like the latter version and will have to give it a go. As I was out shopping, I was unable to locate any of the longer slender balloons. And now seeing your post allows me to try new things with what is available to me locally, in which I appreciate. Thank you.

Options are always nice.. This latest version is heavier (.6oz/17gr. dry) but has a lot more capacity.

Shown here with the cap's lock-ring removed from the bottle-neck.



You could save a little weight by cutting the bottom off the bottle. No vent would be needed.. and you'd still have a shield to protect the balloon. The cap-fitting's simplicity alone, is worth giving it a try.

Fitting. You wouldn't happen to be building that tank for this, would you?

That's 4.95 Around here the next size is 9.95 but nice bottle ,, the flower places probably have tubes with out a problem to set u up// party supply for the right balloon Eric