# For the newbies in this...



## TheOneAndOnlyKelly (May 7, 2009)

Myself very much included

Can someone provide a definition to some of the terminology involved. And also what we would need to get to get started at a basic level. I see this stuff all the time when I go looking but have no clue. Thus explaining my lack of pneumatics in my haunt...

Specifically...
BORE
STROKE
SINGLE/DOUBLE ACTION
What sort of PSI are we talking about...?
What is the most basic things we would need to acquire to get started...

For an example, If I wanted to lift a coffin lid a couple of inches or so and did not want to hear a bunch of hissing, what sort of parts to get?

I'm sure I'm not the only one that needs this info :jol:


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## DarkLore (Jan 25, 2009)

When people ask about stroke, bore, and size...they want to know how big the cylinder is. In pneumatics, size matters. A thicker cylinder can push more weight, this refers to the bore or diameter of the piston. 

The stroke length is the length of the rod that shoots out. A long rod is needed for trash can pop ups.

Valves depend upon the type. It involves whether air press out only, or also pushes back to reset the cylinder. Two way refers to both directions of air. Otherwise you have a rod that
pushes out but relies on escaping air to reset. 

The more air escaping or exhausting, the faster the reset. Flow controls allow for closing up the amount of air coming through a tube. If less air can move then the rod moves slower. 

I will add a few links.


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## halstaff (Nov 18, 2009)

Dead Things did a great multi part video tutorial on getting started with pneumatics. You can check out the thread here - http://www.hauntforum.com/showthread.php?t=30092


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## DarkLore (Jan 25, 2009)

Frightprops.com has good examples and diagrams of pneumatic valves.

http://www.frightprops.com/pneumatics/solenoid-valves.html

follow the links to diagrams. If you go to the sticky on 'use of prop controllers' in the technical terror forum, there is an illustration of a basic pnuematic setup.

One thing I found confusing is knowing the size of the ports. I will label the
recent thread re pumpkin creep with an illustration to show how it is setup.


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## gooffy87 (Oct 18, 2011)

I second that, fright props videos really explained everything really well. Here is a suggestion, unless you want to spend a whole lotta time and probably more money finding cheap parts and having to "make" things fit and scrap things that arent what you thought they were, i would go with a kit from fright props or monsterguts. Great tutorials and parts that really take out the guess work, especially if you do not have power tools or the kno how. Just a thought.

P.s. alotta the stiff you need is not available at local hardware stores(fittings, cylinders clevis. Mounting equip), unless like i said, you are ready with some imagination and power tools to make the stuff work. Good luck!


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

I have to agree with gooff87. Get a kit for your first pneumatic. That way you see what is involved. After that, you can piece things together as you see fit. 
For the hissing sound you don't want on a coffin, you can use mufflers on your solenoid(air valve) and turn the sound track up for your prop.


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## Palmdale Haunter (Mar 3, 2012)

Also to decrease the hiss you can add some tubing to the exaust side of the valve and run it a few feet and point it away from the viewing angle...


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## EverydayisHalloween311 (Oct 14, 2011)

Stupid question. I don't know the first thing about pneumatics. What kind of compressor do i need? Like does one compressor run all props? What would be the cheapest most effective compressor to buy like from walmart or am i way off on what i need? lol


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## Cole&Jacksdad (Jan 20, 2011)

I use one of these http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...angId=-1&keyword=air+compresser&storeId=10051 It may be little overkill, but I also use it for many projects through out the year. I don't have any trouble running everything with it(air cannon, coffin jumper, automated drop panel, ankel tickler, barrel pop up, am I missing one?). It is also quieter then the oilless compressors. If you really need to know which one you need, you need to figure out how much CFM's(cubic feet per minute) of air you need. If you are just running one pneumatic prop, I think one of the smaller pancake compressors should work. If you have an air cannon or ankel tickler, those take a ton of air and an auxilery tank should be used and I'm not sure if one of the small pancake compressors can keep up.


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## jdubbya (Nov 6, 2005)

MacabreRob said:


> Myself very much included
> 
> Can someone provide a definition to some of the terminology involved. And also what we would need to get to get started at a basic level. I see this stuff all the time when I go looking but have no clue. Thus explaining my lack of pneumatics in my haunt...
> 
> ...


I was glad to see this post. I have zero understanding of pneumatics but want to incorporate them into my display next year. Figure I can start learning now and have something decent put together by next fall. I too was thinking of a coffin lid lifter. Good to see all the informative replies.


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## Thisaintmayberry (Aug 23, 2010)

Check out the Wolfstone site for a pretty good tutorial on pneumatics
Http//Wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/Navigation/Halloweentech.html


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