Fireball Gun

Originally posted on: March 13, 2014
⚠️ Note: This post is over 10 years old. It was originally published on March 13, 2014. It may contain outdated information on my skills, or reflect my views at that time, which could differ from my current perspectives.
If you want to be more like Mario or Luigi, you don't need a Fire Flower, because this project is for you. My friends and I were working on fixing up a FIAT x19 I had picked up for $100 with a blown head gasket. We had lots of break clean around, and my friend asked if I had ever seen how flammable it was. He proceeded to demonstrate by holding up a lighter and making a giant fireball with the aerosol can of cleaner. I was blown away (no pun intended) by the display of yankee-pyrotechnics.
A week or so later we were in the hardware store picking up parts for the fiat project, when I found a "spray-paint helper" utility, which was essentially a gun that clamps onto spray paint cans. If it fits on spray cans, what about break clean cans, I thought? I picked one up for like $5 and tested it out when we got back to the garage. Sure enough, this simple bit of plastic attaches to a break clean can and gives you a nice pistol / trigger form factor. I decided the next step would be to add a lighter to it, and make a complete fire-ball solution.
Below are the pics, with the mods I made. Unfortunately, this is a pretty old project and I no longer have the device. It got lost during one of the two moves since. I don't have any footage of it, but it's pretty impressive when it goes off. Oh, and, DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME. THIS IS A REALLY STUPID IDEA. BREAK PARTS CLEANER IS HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH AND NOT SAFE FOR LIFE!
... carrying on ...