Shooting a Can of Berry Cider with an Exploding Pellet in Sub-Zero Temps - Video

[SkeeterHawk]

Hello again, Airgunners!!

It is insanely cold outside, so what did I decide to do? Shoot an airgun in it, of course.

Here is a link:

It is just one shot, but a nice one. I shot a can of berry flavored cider, which is really red in color, with a Tracker Raptor exploding pellet over fresh snow. I had to do it fast before the can froze, but I got it done. I'll check where the liquid came out tomorrow to see if it froze before hitting the ground and if it made any cool looking patterns...or something.

Shoot Safe, and Stay Warm.

 

[willy]

Does your mom no your doing that stuff???

 

[Mike_Lenardon]

Does your mom no your doing that stuff???

 

[SkeeterHawk]

Does your mom no your doing that stuff???

Too Funny!! No, and my wife doesn't either. She'd think I was nuts, going out in this weather to shoot an airgun. Perhaps she's right?

 

[heavy-impact]

I was expecting a colorful cloud of vapor or a double rainbow or something.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

I was expecting a colorful cloud of vapor or a double rainbow or something.

Good to hear from you @heavy-impact ! Sorry your avatar got pulled... I wasn't offended by it, for what it is worth.

Yea, it is -9F outside, so I was hoping for something a little more dramatic...like the people throwing coffee in Siberia. At least it popped. It was getting a little dark too, so the exploding pellet looked pretty cool.

 

[woogie_man]

You need much colder weather for boiling water to sublimate right to vapor. Have done it before when it was like -50* or colder when I was in high school.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

You need much colder weather for boiling water to sublimate right to vapor. Have done it before when it was like -50* or colder when I was in high school.

Where I am, we don't get much colder than we did today. I know that once you hit -40, most electronics stops working, so I was a little worried for my camera too. We have some security cameras at a property we are working on that die at +41F...which isn't too useful IMHO.

 

[woogie_man]

Where I am, we don't get much colder than we did today. I know that once you hit -40, most electronics stops working, so I was a little worried for my camera too. We have some security cameras at a property we are working on that die at +41F...which isn't too useful IMHO.

lol.... if that were true most of the stuff up here would stop during the winter months

I do know my truck took a little bit to turn over this morning. Was out shooting the HPS30 two weeks ago when it was -30 below. Just wear decent clothes and you will be fine.

 

[heavy-impact]

Good to hear from you @heavy-impact ! Sorry your avatar got pulled... I wasn't offended by it, for what it is worth.

Yea, it is -9F outside, so I was hoping for something a little more dramatic...like the people throwing coffee in Siberia. At least it popped. It was getting a little dark too, so the exploding pellet looked pretty cool.

It's still good entertainment, everyone likes explosions.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

lol.... if that were true most of the stuff up here would stop during the winter months

I agree. I had no clue anything besides Basil were so temperature sensitive, let alone security cameras.

Just wear decent clothes and you will be fine.

I don't know if there is a "hack" but it is next to impossible to handle pellets with thick gloves on. Even the trigger is a little hard to manipulate.

It's still good entertainment, everyone likes explosions.

Thanks! And blowing stuff up in the snow is even safer, eh? I'm still trying to figure out a way to put a Firebird out to get completely covered in snow, so I can blow it up...but I will have NO CLUE where it is, so I will probably miss. I was considering gluing a small dowel just below the impact point so it will (hopefully) stick out of the snow and I have a chance of hitting it. Thoughts? I'd LOVE to see a huge cloud of snow get blown all over the place.

 

[heavy-impact]

Where I am, we don't get much colder than we did today. I know that once you hit -40, most electronics stops working, so I was a little worried for my camera too. We have some security cameras at a property we are working on that die at +41F...which isn't too useful IMHO.

Open your electronics, dry them well and give them a coat of conformal coating. Back in my computer drag racing days we had to coat the motherboard to protect from ice when cooling the processor with liquid nitrogen.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

Open your electronics, dry them well and give them a coat of conformal coating. Back in my computer drag racing days we had to coat the motherboard to protect from ice when cooling the processor with liquid nitrogen.

That is an interesting idea! It is really dry here (Typically about 16% RH), so that may not be the issue, but the conformal coating would give a layer of insulation over the components, so any self-heating would be more retained...which could definitely give you more run time.

TBH, I was afraid that the mechanical zoom on my camera would freeze quickly. Thicken up any lube that is in there...

 

[woogie_man]

Yeah special lube is helpful to keep from freezing. Though up here there are precautions that are taken to make sure things work.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

up here there are precautions that are taken to make sure things work

Yes, that is a "trick". I designed a pump controller for oil rigs that had to be outside in ND, AK, and even in Mexico, so the design specs were to perform from -40 to 140F. The colder one was WAY more difficult because the LCD would freeze around +20F, so I had to encase it in insulation and put a small heater in there with it. We had an engine there running the hydraulic pump, so I was proponing running the engine exhaust through my housing when a thermal switch turned it on, but that got shot down. Crazy!!

 

[woogie_man]

Yup! Work on a few compressors and generators last week. And with the biter cold the oils and greases jelly and solidify quickly. We remove most lcd screens and use either a remote unit, or make the display a quick detach and keep it in the shop somewhere safe.

Being cold really screws with things for sure. The rifles typically don't do to well in the extreme cold. Typically hand warmers are used, or I like using a pair of my electric socks to keep the bottles warm

 

[heavy-impact]

Yeah special lube is helpful to keep from freezing. Though up here there are precautions that are taken to make sure things work.

Silicone oil is pretty temp stable.

 

[SkeeterHawk]

We remove most lcd screens and use either a remote unit, or make the display a quick detach and keep it in the shop somewhere safe.

Good plan. That was what I wanted to do. I wanted to build an app for a tablet, and then Bluetooth to the rig from the cab of a truck, but we didn't have the budget or the time for that development. Bummer! I just used a couple of high wattage resistors for "heaters", and insulation. That was cheaper than the more practical version you proposed.

Silicone oil is pretty temp stable.

Good point! That's about all I personally use when I rebuild my guns; however, I can't really use a water-trap on my cheap compressors, so even at 16% RH, there will be some water in my system that will freeze in no time.

 

[heavy-impact]

Yup! Work on a few compressors and generators last week. And with the biter cold the oils and greases jelly and solidify quickly. We remove most lcd screens and use either a remote unit, or make the display a quick detach and keep it in the shop somewhere safe.

Being cold really screws with things for sure. The rifles typically don't do to well in the extreme cold. Typically hand warmers are used, or I like using a pair of my electric socks to keep the bottles warm

These come in many sizes. https://www.amazon.com/Coliao-Adhesive-10mmx93mm-Elements-Polyimide/dp/B0CM6F1CV9/
Power them with a battery pack. LTO cells work well in the cold. https://www.ebay.com/itm/385950457981
These items are just examples to give you ideas.

 

[HogKiller]

Hello again, Airgunners!!

It is insanely cold outside, so what did I decide to do? Shoot an airgun in it, of course.

Here is a link:

It is just one shot, but a nice one. I shot a can of berry flavored cider, which is really red in color, with a Tracker Raptor exploding pellet over fresh snow. I had to do it fast before the can froze, but I got it done. I'll check where the liquid came out tomorrow to see if it froze before hitting the ground and if it made any cool looking patterns...or something.

Shoot Safe, and Stay Warm.

Should have been a Bud Lite. Just a thought, why waste something drinkable?