Hiya, just wondering if anyone has played around with these yet?

From my initial investigation, it would simply take a 12v fuel pump from a RC petrol craft, some sort of resevoir, a glowplug for ignition and an appropriate dispersal nozzle, to turn the fuel into a vapour.

Even on Flyweights, the hardware wouldn't be more than about half a kilo, and with half a kilo of fuel (which would last roughly 30 seconds non-stop) the mass and volume is pretty manageable.

I know that flamethrowers are, frankly, rubbish, but they are certainly ooh-inspiring for watchers, and at 1 Kg or so mass budget, would fit easily within many feathers.

Thoughts?

Andrew
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Struggling from the ashes of a fallen civilisation
..Phoenix Rising

no liquids.
or more commonly, nothing thats going to stay a liquid.

IE use butane.
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Mechanical engineers build weapons, civil engineers build targets

Yep, I've read in a few rulesets that the fuel needs to exit the vehicle in an aerosolised, gaseous form before being ignited. I was thinking of maybe meths or kerosene
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Struggling from the ashes of a fallen civilisation
..Phoenix Rising

Couples of the arenas have elevated floors so best to just use propane/butane.
Less likely to start fire under arena floor with gas and yes I know there heavier than air etc
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Satisfaction is proportional to effort and results.

BTW, Sorry to put a fire extinguisher on this, ;-\

Sidetracked checked with their insurance co. and the word is that cover for flame-thrower equipped robots would add ~$700 to the premium for the weekend, so unfortunately they are a no-go for Sidetracked based events..

Other events may or may not permit flames according to the owners.
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Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people

Fire extinguisher; nice Well, there is little (read as zero) chance of Pyro getting to the Eastern States any time soon, but your point is well made. The flame aspect is really just for visual show, and should be fairly easy to dismantle if I did decide to travel, given the robot is primarily a rammer with a lifting arm.

Of course, that is the plan; who knows, it may be totally different by the time it is completed.
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Struggling from the ashes of a fallen civilisation
..Phoenix Rising

i got a quite reliable flamethrower working using a butane can, servo to squirt it through a nossle and a remote controled dog anti bark collar for the ignition. hasnt been battle tested yet tho im optimistic

Cool what is the weight of the collar? And could it be stripped back. Thinking for ant or beetle.

Steve
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Steven Martin
Twisted Constructions
http://www.botbitz.com

u could probably strip it back maybe lose 10 or 15 grams its got a vibrator so thats heavy ant wise

How would you attach nichrome to a power source? I am thinking of bolting nichrome to a conductor, but I don't know what sort of conductor would be best at surviving the heat.
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So even the rain that falls isn't actually going to fill our dams and our river systems

Its impossible to solder Nicrome wire, its mostly attached by crimping, rivetting or with a screw like you suggested. Copper has quite a high melting point and if you cover the wire up to the contact point with glass braid and keep the copper out of the flame, it should work just fine. I suggest raiding a junk toaster / microwave / oven / heater for some high temp wire - those appliaces often have handy contacts in them as well.