Super Soaker 2000 serial numbers

General water gun discussion.
Wayne
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:03 pm

Super Soaker 2000 serial numbers

Post by Wayne » Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:16 pm

While cleaning out my garage I came across two large plastic bags tucked away in a dark corner. When I openned them I discovered that they contained the two Mark 1 Super Soaker 2000 guns my son and I purchased ten years ago. I filled them up and was delighted to learn they still work.

On the lower left side of the body, just behind the pistol grip, is a small serial number. One gun is marked 3017 and the other 3126. Can anyone tell me what these numbers mean as far as where they place these guns in the entire MK1 production run?

Also, I noticed that there is a screen in front of the nozzle. It seems that this would break up the flow and reduce range. What happens if I remove this screen?

Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

Sincerely,

Wayne Schmidt

User avatar
joannaardway
Posts: 855
Joined: Mon Feb 20, 2006 10:04 pm

Post by joannaardway » Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:35 pm

That mesh screen does help with range, surprisingly enough. It also stops rubbish getting down the nozzle, so I'd leave it in place.

The serial numbers mean nothing to me - you'll need to wait for someone else to turn up.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

"So many people have come and gone, their faces fade as the years go by. Yet I still recall as I wander on, as clear as the sun in the summer sky" - More than a feeling, Boston

User avatar
Silence
Posts: 3825
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:01 pm

Post by Silence » Sun Nov 12, 2006 7:57 pm

Yup, the serial numbers aren't too important--but congratulations on rediscovering the guns, and welcome to the forums!

I'd suggest asking iSoaker about the serial numbers--he does visit Super Soaker Central, but you could also try the Water Warfare or iSoaker.com forums.

The mesh does help with stream lamination. Physics and flow explains this concept, the idea being that a larger stream tends to have more turbulence than a smaller stream. So the mesh essentially breaks the single stream into many smaller, laminated ones that come together very nicely to form the potent stream.

On some site there was a comparison between the mesh shape of the Mk.1 and the Mk.2. I believe the Mk.2 had two ellipses in the center instead of a circle, and it wasn't as good for lamination.

User avatar
SSCBen
Posts: 6449
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2003 1:00 pm

Post by SSCBen » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:28 am

I think that the serial numbers are only different between marks, but I could be mistaken. No one has had such a large number of CPS 2000s as to actually compare the serial numbers. Perhaps we should start a thread about water gun serial numbers to try to compile the information?

User avatar
isoaker_com
Posts: 458
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 12:00 pm

Post by isoaker_com » Mon Nov 13, 2006 2:24 pm

I replied in the iSoaker.com Forums, but figured I'd reply here, too. From my understanding, the numbers you've given are not serial numbers, rather they are a code used by Larami/Hasbro to identify a soaker by where it was manufactured and year of build. If my memory serves me correctly, the last number of the 4-digits is actually for the year of manufacture (thus 3126 would mean that soaker was made in 1996). I think the first two numbers identify what factory was used to make the soaker, but not sure what the 3rd number is. Lucky find! Wish I stumbled across CPS2000s! *colour me green* :D

:cool:
:: Leave NO one dry! :: iSoaker.com / iSoaker.net ::

Wayne
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:03 pm

Thank you!

Post by Wayne » Mon Nov 13, 2006 7:36 pm

Thanks, everyone, for those quick and useful responses. I'll continue digging into what the serial numbers mean and post anything I discover.

Taking a closer look at the soakers, I noticed a second number up on the carry handle. It says, "Item number 9797-0, 1996.

I tried attaching a picture of one of the guns but the forum asked for the URL of the image, which I don't have, it's saved in my My Documents folder.

I assume the units I have are Mark I guns because the decal says, "Air Pressure Super Soaker." It's my understanding that the Mark I gun's sticker read, "Constant Pressure Super Soaker."

Wayne

User avatar
SSCBen
Posts: 6449
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2003 1:00 pm

Post by SSCBen » Mon Nov 13, 2006 8:52 pm

The attachment feature asks for either a file location or an URL. You can use either. Let me know if you have trouble with it however. If you would prefer to email me the images, I can host them: ben@sscentral.org

User avatar
Silence
Posts: 3825
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:01 pm

Post by Silence » Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:44 pm

techsoaker.com had an article detailing the differences between the two marks, but the site is down. Perhaps it was also at iSoaker.com. At any rate, if the clear gauge showing the fill level is longer, then it's the Mk.1, but I'm not sure of the details. The Mk.1 has greater pressure chamber capacity. The 1996 soaker must be Mk.1, and if they're identical, then both of them might be. Also, a difference was the side that the stickers are on.

Check out the Uploading Images to see how to post images to the forums. Attaching images would greatly increase the size of the forums.
Last edited by Silence on Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
isoaker_com
Posts: 458
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 12:00 pm

Post by isoaker_com » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:47 pm

TAKrogoth gave me permission to repost his article from Techsoaker on iSoaker.com after his interests moved elsewhere. The comparison article from Techsoaker can be found here. He also sold me his CPS2000 Mk.2 which I happily purchased from him for testing *colour me lucky* :p

:cool:
:: Leave NO one dry! :: iSoaker.com / iSoaker.net ::

User avatar
Silence
Posts: 3825
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:01 pm

Post by Silence » Mon Nov 13, 2006 11:57 pm

Ah, thanks for the link...as well as getting reposting permission, and the "resources to test." That's where it went...color me purple! Image [actually, that image is for the post icon...not the smilie]

So I guess the size of the gauge and the sticker facings do matter. Not that the Mk.1 in the comparison picture has its pump slightly out, so don't get thrown off by it. ;) The article also has a ton of other differences that I probably don't need to note since there is a link.

Wayne
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:03 pm

MK1 or MK2?

Post by Wayne » Tue Nov 14, 2006 5:00 am

I read the Techsoaker article about how to tell the difference between MK1s and MK2s and from that determined that both of the 2000s I found are MK1s. Specifically: they have the longer pressure gauge, no logo on the strap and no string on the fill cap. However, one of them has its sticker on the left side rather than the right. This suggests that sticker location isn't a sure-fire way of determining which Mark model you have.

I sent Hasbro an email asking them what the serial numbers mean and how many MK1s were made. If I hear back from them I'll post their response.

I double checked how to post an image and it only asks: "Script Prompt, Please enter the URL of your image." The info block has http:// started in it. There doesn't appear to be an option for opening the My Documents folder in my computer as in attaching images to an email. I'm sure I'm missing something about this because I'm so new to the forum routine.

These guns have proved so interesting that I've decided to create a page about them on my multi-topic information website at: http://www.waynesthisandthat.com. I'll be posting both external in internal images of them as well as a the results of a few experiments. I hope to have the page posted around Christmas.

Sadly, I was pumping up one of the guns tonight and when it got to 1/4-pressure something popped inside and water started leaking out several places. I'm open it up and see if it can be saved.

Wish me luck!

Wayne

User avatar
SSCBen
Posts: 6449
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2003 1:00 pm

Post by SSCBen » Tue Nov 14, 2006 11:26 am

Hasbro usually is no help with older water gun information. Whoever answers those customer service emails only knows about their current products.

As for that attachment problem, I'll have to check it out. Are you using the "Manage Attachments" button below the text field when you are posting? I get two options from there. It seems you get one option. Might be that I set up the permissions for the members usergroup wrong and they can only attach images from a URL (which would be redundant because you can just link to the URL). Either way, I'll have to check it out later today.

The most unrepairable thing would be a crack in the plastic, however it is much more likely on a CPS 2000 that the bladder either popped off or popped itself. If it popped off, you should be able to reattach it easily. If it popped itself, you can replace it. Luckily, the single person we know to have performed this repair has made a nice guide for popped bladders that I'm working to add to the website in our next update: http://forums.sscentral.org/t3710/

User avatar
Silence
Posts: 3825
Joined: Sun Apr 09, 2006 9:01 pm

Post by Silence » Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:52 pm

Are you sure you've got the tags right? Either that, or you might be using attachments as Ben said...I don't know. By the way, for some reason my link in the previous post had a closing tag of "[/thread]"--don't ask me why. I just wasn't thinking. It's fixed now, though.

IGM]http://forums.sscentral.org/avatars/sil ... 1163467477[/IMG]

^ That's an example of what the tag should look like. But in the first tag, I used "IGM" instead of "IMG"--use "IMG." I just changed it so it wouldn't actually refer to the image.

Great site, by the way! Bookmarked. ;) I just checked out the miscellaneous projects page for now, though.

Interesting note about the sticker...wonder if anybody else has come across it. Wonder if iSoaker knew about it...

Anyway, the break shouldn't be too bad...shouldn't. Basically, open up the soaker, dry off the internals if everything is wet, fill it up with water, and slowly pump. You should be able to see the water shooting out of the leak wherever it is, unless it's something different like a bladder or valve problem.

User avatar
SSCBen
Posts: 6449
Joined: Sat Mar 22, 2003 1:00 pm

Post by SSCBen » Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:25 pm

He's emailed me that it was a popped bladder. Here's my response at iSoaker.com:
A popped pressure chamber is not very serious at all.

A Colossus modification would not fix anything. That doesn't seal against rubber, and even if it did, it would apply force unevenly and would either break or work really poorly.

No one knows this really because they assume the worst, but you can replace the pressure chamber. A few months ago we actually had someone come on SSC with this problem and we led them through what to do. They replaced the bladder and kindly made a guide for everyone to follow in this situation: http://forums.sscentral.org/t3710/

This is just a general note to people. A popped bladder is by no means a lethal problem. It might actually be a good thing in some water guns, giving you an opportunity to replace what was weakening after many expansions. I would recommend replacement not only for water guns that have popped bladders, but those that are losing power.
A note to Wayne too: if you could take any pictures, make your own guide, or even post a few tips for those performing this repair, everyone would appreciate it.

I've suggested this repair to people in the past, but people were reluctant to perform it without repairs (I don't know why - the water gun's already broken and they have nothing to lose). It is becoming more common as good CPS water guns age. I am sure it will be a common request at our forum next year.

Wayne
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:03 pm

SS 2000 picture

Post by Wayne » Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:08 am

Ben's been very patient helping me figure out what I'm doing wrong when I try to atach a picture. This is a test post to see if I finally got it right.

Wayne

Locked