This Halloween Candy Mortar Is the Perfect Solution to Socially Distant Trick-or-Treating

With social distancing in effect, this Halloween may be much different than previous years However, with Paul McCabe’s Halloween Candy Mortar, you can still distribute treats to the neighborhood kids, at an impressive 50-foot range!

The device is a classic pneumatic air cannon, with an air compressor feeding a 2” length of PVC pipe as a tank, and a solenoid valve set up to release the air pressure and fire the candy projectile. An operator activates the mortar using a switch, which allows the trick-or-treater to fire the candy projectile via a homemade foot pedal. A bank of 9V batteries powers the rig, wired in series to provide 18V to the solenoid valve that would normally be used for watering the lawn.

During its travel down the mortar's 1.5" PVC barrel, the candy is encased in 35mm film containers, which would perhaps be the most difficult part of the project to source! Experimental data is included in McCabe's write-up, comparing pressure values and launcher angles to the distance traveled, and documenting trials with a parachute and streamer. As shown in the demo video below, it’s using air pressurized to 27.5 PSI. Notably, PVC pipe is generally not rated for air pressure, so, as with most – if not all – builds featured here, duplicate at your own risk!