I use a Gardena coupling for my launcher. I pressurize it using a Dutch bicycle valve. The assembly is easy to see in the following pictures. For now I don’t use a safety release mechanism, but as soon as I got my parachute stuff fully under control I’ll put some time and effort into the launcher.

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Part of the innertube with the valve holder.

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Cutting away the excess rubber.

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This is how to assemble.

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Full assembly.


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The valve holder goes into the Gardena coupling at the left. At the right it pops out and one can assemble the whole valve.

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The result.

In my launch video’s you can see I put the Gardena on top of a small base plate with two long spikes that is easy to push into the soft Dutch soil. A spike sticking up sort of holds the rocket upwards while pressurizing. To depressurize the system I just need to unscrew the valve nut. The most right nut at the right in the picture directly above. More info on Dutch bicycle valves can be found here.