08/08/07 - Sadly, the Goldenrod 140 is not made any longer. I will NOT offer any more for pumps for sale. I have some inventory that is reserved only for the Bigfoot Launcher bundle. The Little Foot Launcher will not be bundled with a pump, so the new price reduction will reflect that change.
02/04/07 - The Little Foot Launcher & Modified Goldenrod 140 Air pump make a perfect duet of "fly me to the moon in a water bottle". To count every part, there is about 86 parts total in a Little Foot. This is a very cool looking device, nothing really too simple, yet elegant too, but not too complicated, and made to blast a million water rockets into space. Nerds love it. It's made of mostly schedule 40 x 1/2" PVC fittings, schedule 80 x 1/2" PVC fittings, and schedule 80 x 1/2" PVC pipe.
Basically I'm taking stock plumbing parts and turning them into precision sliding triggers, pivoting supports, and air tight seals. The most costly expense is the 54 plastic machined parts. These parts will not work as I buy them. They must be improved or reconfigured on a lathe or a milling machine.
Last year, I pressurized a soda bottle on Monday, and set it aside, without launching it. Three weeks later, I found it still retained all the pressure.
I have some advice to those needing the last air pump they will ever need to buy.
BUY THEM NOW, WHILE YOU CAN! This is a military spec air pump that has been tried and true. It has been tested under the harshest condition, and proven robust from beginning to end.
Dutton-Lainson's management has decided to end the production of Goldenrod 140 pumps. The costs to produce them, increased minimum quantities, and increase cost of buying the quality raw materials are giving the management unfavorable numbers compared to other, more profitable products they make. So, production has ceased. Many of us (including Dutton-Lainson employees) are very disappointed in this decision. But the decision comes from the top.
I do some after market upgrading to this dandy pump by improving it’s ability to check air 100% rock solid and putting a quality high temperature hose measuring 12-1/2 feet long.
In my shop, we call this BIGFOOTING. We find the best product on the market, and upgrade it to better quality standards. BIGFOOTING is a word we been using for 25 years. We get good at BIGFOOTING, it’s like second nature. I will share more about other products that we BIGFOOT later.
So, now is the time to purchase a BIGFOOTED Goldenrodod 140 air pump.
Little Foot Water Rocket Launching Systems include the Modified Goldenrod 140 Air Pump.
03/08/06 New developements. The Little Foot Launcher Go to LITTLE FOOT LAUNCHER web page.
06/01/05 - I've been working in Copenhagen, Denmark for last 6 weeks. I built 39 giant puppets for a Hans Christan 200 year anniversary show here in my shop and shipped them by ship. So, I had to go to Tivoli Gardens Theme Park (link) and install the puppets and make final preparations for this extraviganza show. The show will run 109 nights.
Now that I'm back, I'm building launcher again. Shipped another launcher yesterday.
02/01/05 - Still working on last batch of pre-paid orders. Still holding off before accepting an new orders for now. We want to ship everything first and then build up some inventory. One thing is I want to get in some of the components that we use and test them carefully before accepting them for use with the launchers.
I was able to work on this web site and fix broken links and missing graphics. I found a couple achive backups of this site that helped restore some of the pages. Seems like this page has turned into a BLOG, rather than a list of newly added pages. However, there are many pages planned (about 50 more) and I will probably still use this page to list them.
01/17/05 Shipping almost the balance of all orders where the funds were deposited! It's been all uphill getting to this point. I haven't run out of steam! I have one more Launcher w/ pump to go.
After that, I will start LAST stack of orders. These orders were all on "hold" and the funds have not been cashed and deposited. If you order was in this stack, you will be hearing from me, trying to confirm if you still want the launcher, if your email and delivery address has changed at all. If you happen to be reading this page and you are one of these customers, help me out and let me know if all the contact and shipping info is current, or needs updating.
01/12/05 - I shipped more units this week. I managed to make another improvement tweak that will be on other future models. I feels good to get more orders delivered. We still have more to ship.
There is a set back in opening the web site for taking more orders. I just found found a stack of orders with uncashed checks that got misplaced because of the 4 hurricanes. We had to do an emergency evacuation because of water pouring inside the main building. I was fortunate to have some neighboors help. This stack of orders was just found and safe. So I will be notifing these people and let them know I have their order(s). Some people had called and I couldn't verify that I had the order, so this solves that mystery.
For the guy that wanted me to make 10,000 launchers, I don't think I will be able to fill your order for a long time. Presently, I am only person making these launchers. With a 20 hour build time on each unit, this would be an overwhelming project to take. I would have to seriously change the manner of which these are manufactured.
10/18/04 - We shipped two units today, bound for Sauk Rapids, MN. We will be sending others that have already paid. So, if you have already paid, your launcher is in progress and soon shipping. We are recovering from hurricane damage, and it was a great feeling to get back in the situation to be able to finish some more launchers. The next two launchers go all the way to Belgium.
After all existing paid orders have been shipped, I will open up the order form on this web site for accepting new orders. I've been getting phone calls for those wanting to order, please be patient. I noticed the h2orocket web site had about 268,713 hits last month, using 3 gigabytes of bandwidth, wow. So, looks like we better hurry and ship all our order to take care on the next wave of new orders.
The two units shipped today have a brand new feature that I call "Water Bleed". After you fill your rocket with water and air pressure, you now have the ability to bleed off some of the water to lower the water level. This is very useful if you have marked the rocket with a predetermined water fill line, and you want to use that line for consistency for data collection reasons. I will post a web page regarding this soon.
You can still lower the air pressure also if you over pressurized the rocket. This would be for those that use less than 100 psi air pressure. I know some schools limit air pressure at 80 psi.
I don't think I've mention this before, but recent launcher system have a new feature I call "Adjustable Steel Flange". The flange is installed in a manner that it can be easily raised, lowered, or tilted or leveled on four axis. Factory installation is set for optimim performance, and you will probably never have to change the settings. However, since we are sending these units all over the world, it is possible that some bottling company do not follow common manufacturing tolerances we are accustomed to in the USA. The adjustable steel flange will allow you to tweak the Bigfoot Launcher trigger alignment to match your source of plastic bottles, if they are non-standard in dimension.
The Bigfoot Water Rocket Launcher is still improving and offering you more features found elsewhere. This is a top end water rocket launcher system, all hand made the old fashion way with craftmanship. I must say, these launchers just get better and better. We've had to overcome so many obstacles to make sure this is the best that it can be.
We are still continuing to sell the Dutton-Lainson Goldenrod 140 modifed Air Pump. Price is $50 for each pump and $15 for UPS shipping and handling ($25 for 2 pumps). We add 12.5" of quality high temperature rubber Goodyear hose to this pump, add a nice brass check valve (and brass fittings), and we remachine the mechanics of the internal pump on a lathe to give a more positive seal. We also repack the pump with a quality marine grease. If you have been searching for a good pump, this is it. [more info about Goldenrod 140]
10/11/04 - We were hit hard during hurricane season. Charlie, the first hurricane, was a direct hit. The whole neighborhood was damaged, but I suffered the most damage. The entire front porch is gone! The main building had 25% of the roof blown off. Two outside storage building distroyed, and the main garage was lifted off the foundation and will have to be rebuilt. The water system was shattered. A small addition to the main building was also distroyed. The bathroom roof lifted up and pealed back.
I will always take hurricane warnings much more serious in the future!!! Presently I have many ropes over the remaining building, anchored with 5 foot steel stakes, holding down what remains of my property.
I have good news. The launchers are ok. The orders and paperwork are ok. We hope to ship all remaining orders in Dec or Jan.
Right now, I am patching and securing what remains, so that when the weather improves, I can rebuild. We are working of some outstanding work orders that are extremely important and vital for me and the company I work for. So, I'm taking care of the major priorities. It will not be a fast process. The launchers are very important and will be dealt with as soon as we can get to them. There is three of us now working here, which is a big help.
Actually, all four hurricane did damage. What are the chances of being hit 4 times in a matter of 8 weeks?? It happened, I can testify to that!! WOW, what a mess to clean up. I have my work for this year multiplied many times over.
Thank you all, many time over for being so patient. You all are truly wonderful. Gary
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05/11/04 - Both "Grapevine" and "Orono" should be launching by now. Next launchers go to: "Bowen", "Haim", "Sauk", country of Belgium, Jefferson", "Barclay, all in order: Others follow.
We are not accepting new orders presently.
We are sold out for this season. When we build up inventory, ready to ship, we will post pricing on the www.h2orocket.com web site.
We already tested a prototype a new super launcher, with some rather amusing hydraulics. It out performs our prior model, hard to believe. As we build and test these units, we discover behaviors of the hydraulics of water and air. With our experience we've been able to learn how to tweak the launcher with new improvements. This will be a winning model and definitely, the top of the line launcher model, entirely hand build with several hundred parts at only $500.
We are contemplating offering a lesser costing model for the budget minded that simply want a basic model without all the launching options included. Then some components will be available as inventory allows.
Right now we want devote "our launcher time" to getting the launchers shipped to those great people who have been so patient. Thank you again for hanging in there and not biting my ear off, and sending kind words of encouragement and devotion via email. You will all get your launchers. We've actually discovered a better way to assemble, due to the new brass anchors. We learn how to seal the conduit even better to get a perfect seal, just by changing the order of how the unit is assembled. These are details that probably mean nothing to anyone out there, but is these little details we learn that Gerry and I can talk all day about. It's more of a personality we share in making mechanical and hydraulic assemblies. Hey don't go to sleep on me.....lol Mad scientists.
YOU WILL GET YOUR LAUNCHER, if I have already accepted your order. All orders prior to May 1st, 2004 have already been accepted and you will get product from us. - Gary
05/03/04 - We are officially SOLD OUT. No more new orders will be accepted. We want to clear up all existing orders by either shipping the order OR giving a full refund.
We are offering full refunds for anyone who does not want to wait any longer for their launcher. We know the school year is about to end. So please email for a refund at garye4@aol.com.
We regret the length in time it take to produce and ship these launchers. They are labor intensive to make and we have a high standard of quality which slows the manufacturing process even more. Getting components that meet our requirements has also been a problem. The quality of components are not as good as they were years ago, and we are rejecting too high percentage of components. This is raising our costs and killing our profit margin.
We want to return to time when we had an inventory of launchers, on the shelves, ready to ship. Then, when orders come in the mail, we can ship orders within a day or two. When we get to that point, then we will announce that we will be accepting orders again.
We too are very much discouraged in the delay between receiving an order and being able to ship. It's not good for public relations. And we want to improve that relationship, because it is important.
Our regular jobs have been so demanding, many weeks 60 - 90 hours per week, that finding time to produce launchers has been impractical also. There are no more hours to devote to launchers.
So, please do not place new orders for launchers at this time. Thank you.
Next launchers go to: "Bowen", "Haim", "Sauk", country of Belgium, "Misna", Jefferson", "Barclay, all in order: Others follow.
Thanks again for being so great in your calls and email.
NEW - One note about another new feature about the launcher. When you install the "5 inch riser", please note the large O ring on the bottom male thread. The O Ring is trapped in a groove that we machined in the "male adapter". When you thread the riser into the brass anchor, you will have to look thorough the flange. Watch the O ring as it comes in contact with the brass anchor. Twist the riser until the O Ring comes in contact and it slightly squeezes between the anchor and the male adapter. This is another new feature that make a solid air tight seal. The O ring gives a 2nd pressure seal that is very positive. I will be adding photos to illustrate the above.
ALSO: we have a NEW horizontal leg set. Use it for launching wheeled vehicles. This is included in the launcher system.
ALSO: Starting with "Bowen" launcher, we will be installing the 3 brass anchors with a BRAND NEW CUSTOM MADE STAINLESS STEEL WASHERS. I special ordered these washers, made to my dimensions, inside, outside, and thickness, and the material. This is another improvement in function, longevity, and cosmetics. It will not rust.
Another launcher got done today! Yippee. Maybe another tomorrow. Then it will be HAPPY EASTER everyone.
For those that ask, there is only have one style BIGFOOT LAUNCHER that we sell.
It improves as we develop it to new higher levels of quality. Presently we are selling a launcher that is better than one shown on web site. Right now we are busy with existing orders. We are not promising delivery time for new orders. We promise that you will get it.
Please do not schedule water rocket events UNTIL after you receive your Bigfoot Launcher. We are not a factory. We make them as time allows. We may fail to deliver your launcher in time for your next water rocket event, if you scheduled one.
We are two men (I'm the old one) that are water rocket scientist, imaginaries, inventors, cobblers, photographers, engineers, laminators, and machinist, and have too many inspirations on how to improve the earth. Our ideas have become our jobs. We enjoy making the launchers. Every batch of launchers improves in design and is stronger or some way better. We are selling ever evolving prototypes. The improvements and solid building of the launcher is more important than building large quantities of launchers. We are committed to making units that never need repairs with normal wear and tear.
We thank all the girls and boys for giving us ideas for making the launcher better. We also thank the "man-childs" who are an additional source of "how things can be lost or broken". All you input helps us the build the most versatile, and strongest launcher in the world.
We have too many reports of simply lost parts. Please remember that you need to keep the launcher and it's parts and boxes together and MARK IT. We find it discouraging to spend so much effort making each beautiful part and then hearing that they were misplaced and lost. We don't like to hear of our "work" being lost. Of course we will sell you replacement parts.
Have you ever seen a Naval submarine fire a rocket up thorough the water and into the sky? Did you know you can use the Bigfoot Launcher UNDERWATER? It's the "POLARIS" effect. It's fun. Imagine the suprise of someone walking by a swimming pool, when a rocket breaks thu the water and into the air, creating a big splash. Very easy to set up and to pull the trigger with a long string. LOL
Each launcher is hand made. There are only a handful of products in the world made in the "MANNER" of which our launcher is made. It's an act of love to build each one. It's not about clocking in and clocking out of work and getting paid. It's about hand building something made from raw materials like; plywood, paint, steel, brass, plastic, latex, and rubber. We make a pretty cool product from these raw materials!
Children will have fun while learning. Surely the Bigfoot Launcher will contribute to many young minds today that will be defending our world from terrorist activity in the future. To have the upper hand in war, we have to be better trained and have a better understanding of the basic and advance laws of physics, science and math. This is one of those devices that aids to learning.
Who can use our launcher? Anyone can use a Bigfoot Launcher. You can use it with basic rocket materials and basic building skills, or you can make this as complicated as the space shuttle. You can build a rocket in a few minutes with duct tape and cardboard for instant gratification and have an average flight of 200 - 300 feet. Or you may want to be in the middle with well built rocket made from kits or good inexpensive longer lasting materials and average 500 feet. Or, you can spend ridiculous hours building rockets that break 1,000 feet. It's entirely up to you what level of rocket scientist you want to be.
The whole PARACHUTE DEPLOYMENT is extremely tricky and requires crafty minds. The satisfaction is awesome to see a rocket perfectly deploy a parachute and the rocket slowly floats down to ground level. It's better than chocolate covered vanilla ice cream, believe me.
We build the launcher to last a long time. Some may exist for 100 years (hopefully the parts don't get lost). In the year 3004, someone may ask about those really cool water rocket launchers made in 2004. They will say it was a "good vintage year" for water rocket launchers, just like some vintage wines.
I only hope the soda bottle manufactures don't try to reinvent the plastic 2 liter soda bottle, which is my favorite size for water rockets.
I'm out of here...Chinese dinner tonight with my daughter...yumm.
03/03/04 - We are now shipping! We've worked out all the problems with defective parts. Lucky we caught the problems BEFORE shipping. It really pays to test EVERY unit before shipping. We have 30 launchers rolling off the assembly line.
Photo shows our new gauge testing setup. There is an air tank below. There is no compressor on this tank because a compressor would alter our ability to have consistant pressure.
The HEIST test gauge wonderful. The face is so large, I can read any irregularity on pressure. There is 1 inch of space between each 10 psi reading. The face reads in increments of 1/2 PSI. This is a nice piece of equipment!
I pulled off few needles, and it does take quite a bit of pressure before the needle finally pops off. There is no way we could remove these pressure gauge needles without this new tool. Without it, we would have surely destroyed the pressure gauges.
01/16/04 - We have a new employee! Jamie comes to us in very good timing to help Gerry and I get thorough this difficult time. Jamie is a dedicated bass player for a band called Lucid Fly (http://www.lucidfly.com). He needed a job that allows him to follow the schedule of his band concerts and rehearsals. So, we easily made an opening for him. He is a perfectionist and proven a valuable worker. Welcome to the crew Jamie!
01/07/04 - New Prices are now posted to reflect increased prices of shipping from UPS, and to cover cost of two new brass 1.25" anchors.
Here's the two pressure gauges. If you prefer one of these above the other, please email me at garye4@aol.com and tell me if you want kg/cm2 or PSI gauges.
I just got the new brass anchors yesterday ($600) and we will be using these on all launchers before shipping.
I've keep adding to this WHAT'S NEW section of the web site. It will take to much time away from work to add our progress in email form. For those of you eagerly waiting for your launcher systems, please come back to this page.
We are in the process of adding more manufacture procedures and tooling because of the need to calibrate all pressure gauges. I managed to reduce some steps with the new anchoring system, but with all the new brass parts, but it's evident that a near future price increase in the launchers have to reflect the new added brass components. Everyone that already has orders pending will be locked at pre-paid prices units. The new improvements are extremely important. I would not feel comfortable shipping units that have out of tolerance pressure gauges and also parts used that I knowingly have a better solutions that is not going to lead to problems if dropped upside down on plumbing conduit and components.
We also making a custom pressure gauge needle remover tool. We don't want to damage or disfigure those delicate needles.
Gerry and I are discussing what the new price should be. We need to evaluate the time and material cost increases (and time savings) on the units that are in process. For a while, we will not increase the pricing yet, until we've had tome to consider everything.
The bad news is that there is another delay in launcher production and shipping . Sorry again. It's for the best, believe me. You WILL thank me later. Especially those current customers in Malaysia, Belgium, and Australia.
The good news is that there has been a MAJOR breakthrough in assembly design. This is the most substantial improvement to the strength, longevity, and accident damage prevention to the plumbing of the launcher ever.
In the past years, there have been a dozen launchers that had to be returned for repair. The damage was caused when a student dropped a launcher upside down on the ground. The PCV male connectors, located on the top side of the launcher base, simply aren't strong enough to survive this impact. When this damage happens, the customer ships the launcher back to us for repair.
Basically, we went to 3 each solid brass bulkhead anchors that are 1.125 inches in diameter! It's heavy duty! It's not going to break.
I'll be adding a web page about this with photos and illustrations.We are awaiting the new Stainless Steel washers required to finish installation of the new brass anchors. In the meantime, we are removing all PCV male adapters to the brass manifold subassemblies. I don't want anymore launchers leaving here with PVC male adapters on the top side of the launcher.
This new design is going to be the new standard for all future launchers shipped out of here.
I found a deviation of 20 psi between our 0 - 100 PSI gauges. The gauges are made by US Gauge, which is aka as Ametek. I've left a message for them to call me, and that's been a week already and no response. They are a huge industrial company, and the importance of having accurate pressure gauges on water rocket launchers for school and science projects must not be a concern for them. However, it's a major concern to me.
Last week, I purchased 2 precision Test Gauges. They are pretty. They have been calibrated and certified as accurate instruments. One of the gauges has a 6 inch dial (worth about $200) and the larger gauge has a 10 inch dial (worth about $2,000). The calibration and certification was performed by Benchmark Calibration Laboratory. Here is their business card.
This is a photo to show comparison of size of 2.5" pressure gauge that is mounted on launcher system and the size of the new professional 10" diameter HEISE brand test pressure gauge. This bad boy is the new calibrated gauge that will be used to calibrate the gauges we already have mounted in the brass manifold launcher sub-assemblies.
We will be implementing a system which will test each launcher's 3.5 inch gauge before assembly and shipping. Sorry again for delays in shipping existing orders, but I had to address this problem as soon as it was discovered.
12/02/03 - Hot Iron Thermal Forming web page is back on-line.
11/30/03 - new page added about REMOVEABLE FIN ASSEMBLY SLEEVE.
03/03/03 - WOW has it really been this long since I've updated this site? We've been so busy ... Yeah you've heard that one before. Actually since starting this site, sales for the Bigfoot Water Rocket Launcher System have been steadily coming in every week. I've hired an awesome machinist, Gerry Carr. He been building launchers for 2 years now.
It's so good not working alone. With Gerry, I have someone to talk to, bounce ideas off, and he's really exact on a lathe and milling machine. He doesn't complain about listening to my hundreds of oldies but goodies music cds.
I must say that we have made tons of improvements to the launcher system and the Goldenrod 140 modifed air pump. This web site currently doesn't do the launcher justice for what it is. It will take 50 web pages just to discuss all we've done. Soon I will be adding highlights about the improvements. You will be convinced that this is a rare precision, hand crafted, refined, brilliant product that leaves any other launcher in our vapor trails.
This site has changed hosting companies and when the web site was uploaded, somehow everything didn't get transferred. I apologize for that and will get all the links fixed. I also have been working on about 60 more web pages to add to this site about launching water rockets and making rockets. This site started just to be a resource for young rocketeers to learn about how to fly soda bottles, and it will continue to grow as a resource. But somehow I unexpectedly got drafted into water rocket launcher manufacturing full time.
This business of manufacturing water rocket systems came MOSTLY as a result of word of mouth from one school teacher to another. THANK YOU! Keep spreading the good word. Of course I understand if you are competing against other schools, you want to keep your winning advantage to yourself....ha.
Like the new photos on the front page? You'll be seeing more quality photos just as good as those....so stay tuned.
02/21/03 - We finally raised the prices of the launcher, pump, sales tax, and shipping. This site has unchanged since 1999, including the prices, and we just had to update. We've made so many improvements to both the launcher system and pump, and the prices in the past never reflected those changes. ALSO, my existing customers were tell me that I was crazy to sell the launchers and pumps so cheap. Some owners were saying that the launcher should sell for $500 or more and the pump for $75. I'm such a conservative, I raised the prices just a little bit.
10/09/99 - Coroplast Fins Template & Photo Of Rocket (Do-It-Yourself)
01/20/99 - Bigfoot's Optimized Cable Tie Mechanism reveiled - (Bigfoot Launchers)
10/21/98 - The NEW Riser for Bigfoot Launchers - MORE VERSATILITY!!!
09/02/98 - Chemically Shrinking Soda Bottles
02/20/98 - Schematic of Bigfoot Launcher Conduit
02/21/98 - Flowchart Of How to Use A Bigfoot Launcher
02/22/98 - Bigfoot's First Choice Water Rocket Design for 1998 (Do-It-Yourself)
02/24/98 - "O" Ring Internal Launch Tube eliminated turning outer trigger tube for seal (Bigfoot Launchers)
02/28/98 - Heat Curled Edges for stronger rockets (presently rough draft) (Do-It-Yourself)
03/17/98 - New REMOTE ABORT Feature (Bigfoot Launchers) & Reasons to Abort a Launch
Curled Edges for stronger rockets (Do-It-Yourself)
Do-It-Yourself Parachute Construction (Do-It-Yourself)
"O" Ring Internal Launch Tube for Vortex Tailpieces (Bigfoot Launchers)
"O" Ring Internal Launch Tube for 3 Liter Bottles (Bigfoot Launchers)
Retrofit trigger mechanism for 3 liter bottles (Bigfoot Launchers)
New simpler assembly for Vortex Tailpieces (Do-It-Yourself)
Introducing New "LAVA LAMP" rocket (Do-It-Yourself)
From Soda Bottles to Rockets, step by step (Do-It-Yourself)
Newest rocket construction tips (Do-It-Yourself)
Pneumatic Timer Deployment Device (advance level construction)