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Speaking of Carbide

Brian G. NY

Brian G. NY

Well-known Member
The earlier post on carbide generators reminded me of the "carbide cannons" the farmers used to use in their orchards and vineyards in the Hudson Valley back in the 60s when I lived there. They were used to keep the birds away from their fruit.
I never looked at one up close, but I could hear them a mile away.
From what I understood, they did work off carbide and water but I don't know what was used for an igniter.
Later on the farmers began using electronic "screechers".
 
The ones I remember ran on a hot shot fencer battery. They also had a transformer/coil like the fence charger. They had an ignitor somewhat like those found on a kersosene space heater and a timer for the spark.
 
Neighbor back in the late 60's raised thousands of turkeys. Open lots. He used the carbide cannons to keep coyotes and foxes away. I think The varmits eventually got used to the booms and just ignored them while they had their turkey dinner.

Gene
 
I have one of those old Scare Away cannons Brian. There is a linkage hook up that when enough gas pressure is built up, it trips and has a flint wheel like a Zippo lighter that sparks and ignites the carbide gas. It has a megaphone type barrel and does make quite a boom.
 
Interesting to read about the bird scare cannons using carbise gas generators.
In the 70's, sunflowers were the big new money crop in ND. many farmers used scare cannons to keep the blackbirds outof the sunflowers.

Most of those I remember ran on propane.
A 20# BBQ tank hooked to one of those boomers would make a boom every few minutes for months unattended.
 
They worked fairly good for black birds in sunflowers. But they would get used to the sound after a certain length of time. Then they would fly in inbetween shots.
 
We call them blueberry cannons.
I have a few and they are kind of fun to play with at first, but the novelty wears off.
Birds get used to them, deer will continuse to brous beside them and neighbours will call to complain continually.
Now is it was hooked up to a sensor that knew when the pest was close ...
 
Paul, they did have a horn on them.
I can see how that igniter would work.
Very interesting.
Thanks for the info!
 
I recall hearing of a local farmer/rebel that had a bird cannon mounted and hidden in the back of his truck. He spent several nights cruising the back roads up in the hills with the cannon firing every so often. This drove the local Barney Fifes from the game commission just about crazy.
 
There was a rumored Klan meeting supposed to be around the home farm, a coupla years ago. I had a propane cannon, on the lone sour cherry tree we had, at the time, to keep the birds out of the tree. That propane cannon set at about a 15 minute interval, had the county cops running around in circles, looking for who was firing the shotgun!!
 
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