Hello

General water gun discussion.
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Psychonitrous
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Apr 03, 2009 3:44 am

Hello

Post by Psychonitrous » Wed Apr 08, 2009 10:22 pm

I stumbled across this site while trying to find out where all of the decent water guns are since I have been out of the realm since the early 2000s and the super soaker website almost made me cry.. not really but I was sad, very sad, ok I wept a little but it was a manly weep. Anyway...
I live in Gunnison, Colorado where there are no giant box stores and the population is around 6kish + 3k or so college students. My point is finding a decent watergun is pretty much impossible so I decided to build my own APH and lucky for me one of the hardware stores is going out of business so everything is 30% off (well sad about the store but great for me). The plans are well laid out and I screwed up a bit by ordering 3/4" check valves instead of 1/2" and either our pvc here is thicker or wooden dowls are thicker because I had to sand my dowel down to get a smooth movable fit, although I think it aided in creating a good seal. Due to weight and this being my first build and the expense of building pressure tanks ( I had to go to the other store in town for those pieces which are $5 for the endcap and $5 for the reducer) I opted to use one tank with an extra T junction and end cap for expansion. I fired it up today and everything works to my surprise everything works (not surprised at the plans just at the fact something I build actually works) although I don't think I am getting quite the range or throughput you are on your model.

My arsenal:
APH
xp310

I had a SS150 (I think orange body green tanks) a few months prior to this but I threw it away when it was no longer functional. I wish I had found this site a few months back before I knew current supersoakers were complete crap and I could have repaired it.. oh well
A long time ago I also had a zx2000 (I think that is what it was called basically a backpack simple manual plunger gun) but I tried to get a pebble out of the nozzle by smacking it against a tree and broke the gun in half.

For the future I plan on making a few more APHs and possibly a SupercannonII to mount to my friend's raft.. or maybe my truck... we shall see

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WaeV
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 4:01 am

Re: Hello

Post by WaeV » Thu Apr 09, 2009 2:41 am

the super soaker website almost made me cry
Same. I haven't bought a gun since the 2000s either. They don't even have ones with separate PCs anymore!
although I don't think I am getting quite the range or throughput you are on your model.
I thought the same thing. Max range is very different from normal range i think. Remember, maximum range would be reached with the perfectly drilled nozzle, a clean cementing job on the inside of the pipes, a good air / water ratio, high enough pressure, etc.

Plus max range is usually reached with a stream that is incapable of being sustained for very long, according to what I've heard. 30 ft is a very good sustainable range.

Building waterguns is definitely and interesting hobby. I finished my first APH within the week, and I'm planning to build either a CPH or a CO2 powered one next. Keep reporting!
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cantab
Posts: 1492
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:35 pm

Re: Hello

Post by cantab » Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:01 am

WaeV wrote:Same. I haven't bought a gun since the 2000s either. They don't even have ones with separate PCs anymore!
Err, yes they do. The (Aquashock) Secret Strike has a seperate air PC. It's too small though. The Arctic Blast, Flash Flood, and Hydroblitz all have CPS chambers, but again they're smaller than the true CPSes of old.

I'd say the Arctic Blast is a damn good gun (and am told the Flash Flood is a little better). For its size, they're probably the best, though of course outclassed by older bigger stuff.

In my view, the biggest problem with Supersoakers these days isn't performance, but reliablity. Damn Max-D valves break if you look at them. My Arctic Blast, Max-D 2000, Liquidator - all malfunction, if not completely broken. (I kind of fixed the AB, but not very well, the riot blast lacks its former potency).
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

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DX
Posts: 1780
Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2004 1:00 pm

Re: Hello

Post by DX » Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:25 pm

Eh, most guns face reliability issues. My list of broken guns is longer than most peoples' entire arsenals [ :p ] and it's almost entirely pre-2003 soakers. Only a select handful of guns seem to last forever, mostly in the Storm line and the mid-size CPS trio. Newer BBT guns tend to last though.
Mess With the Best, Get Soaked Like the Rest!

2004 Red Sox - World Series Champions
2007 Red Sox - World Series Champions!

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WaeV
Posts: 29
Joined: Sun Mar 29, 2009 4:01 am

Re: Hello

Post by WaeV » Fri Apr 10, 2009 3:03 am

Oh, I didn't know they still had some with PCs. The only ones I saw at Walmart had either a PR or "No need to pump beforehand! Just point and pump!!!"
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cantab
Posts: 1492
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:35 pm

Re: Hello

Post by cantab » Fri Apr 10, 2009 8:32 pm

DX wrote:Eh, most guns face reliability issues.
True, but there's 'issues', and then there's breaking having been used less than half a dozen times.
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

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