How to Make a Soda Bottle water Rocket

How to Make a Soda Bottle water Rocket

Video Transcription.

How to Make a Soda Bottle Rocket. Houston, we have a bottle. Prepare for liftoff with
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these simple steps. You will need 48" piece of 1/2-in. PVC pipe 2 2-liter soda bottles
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Pencil Round metal file Rubber o-ring Drill 1/4" bit 1/2-in. end cap PVC cement 1/2-in.
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PVC elbow Epoxy glue 1/4" hose barb mender Bicycle tire valve stem 1/4" inside diameter
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vinyl tubing Hose clamp for 1/4-in. tubing 1-in. PVC collar 12-in. piece of 1-in. PVC
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pipe Hacksaw 3 5/16" x 3" eyebolts Coat hanger 4 5' pieces of kite string Utility
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knife Duct tape Thin sheets of balsa wood Partner 3 stakes Hammer Bicycle pump and craft
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paint (optional). Children under 12 should not use the rocket without adult supervision.
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Step 1. Push one end of the 1/2-inch pipe all the way in to one of the bottles. Pull
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it out 1/4 inch, and trace the opening of the bottle on the PVC. Remove the bottle,
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file a shallow groove in the pipe along the line, and slide the o-ring into the groove.
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Step 2. Drill a 1/4-inch hole in the PVC end cap. Use PVC cement to fasten it into the
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elbow, and epoxy the hose barb mender into the hole in the end cap. Then, glue the open
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end of the elbow to the end of the PVC pipe opposite the o-ring. Step 3. Epoxy the threadless
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side of the bicycle tire valve stem to one end of the vinyl tubing. Attach the other
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end of the tubing to the hose barb using the hose clamp. Step 4. Glue the 1-inch PVC collar
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to the 1-inch pipe. Use the hacksaw to cut two semi-circular notches around the collar
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3/4-inch from the end. Make sure the ends of the notches are about an inch apart. Step
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5. Drill three holes in the 1-inch collar around the end opposite the notches and screw
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in the bolts about a half an inch. Step 6. With the hacksaw cut the bottom out of a wire
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coat hanger. Bend the two remaining arms down so they're parallel and about an inch apart,
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forming a narrow "U." Tie a piece of kite string to the hook. Step 7. Cut off the bottoms
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of two 2-liter soda bottles and securely tape the open ends together. Keep the bottle cap
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on one of them. Then create the balsa wood fins. Draw and cut out three parallelograms
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with 5-inch sides and 4-inch ends and epoxy one of the long sides of them to the bottle
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with no cap. Paint your rocket for a cool custom look. Step 8. Have a partner hold the
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1/2-inch PVC upright so the elbow is on the ground. Slide the 1-inch PVC over the 1/2-inch
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PVC so the collar is pointing up. Fill the rocket 1/3 full with water and slide it onto
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the 1/2-inch pipe until the o-ring forms a seal with the bottle. Step 9. Lift the 1-inch
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pipe until the collar is around the neck of the bottle. Then, put the coat hanger into
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the notches on the collar so it catches on the bottleneck and holds the 1-inch pipe up.
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Tighten the eyebolts to secure everything in place. Step 10. Tie the ends of each piece
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of string to an eyebolt and a stake. Then, hammer the stakes into the ground to hold
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the launch tube up. Step 11. Connect the pump to the valve stem and operate the pump to
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pressurize the rocket. Pull the string attached to the coat hanger to release the rocket and
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watch your creation soar! Did you know Michael Melvill made the first non-government funded
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flight to space aboard SpaceShipOne in 2004.