Do all soakers leak? Is this normal?

Repairs to water guns. Please put repair topics in this forum so that people do not have to sort through so many topics when looking for a repair. If a fix is included in the topic, please add (Fixed) before the topic title to indicate so.
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paintsoaker
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:01 am

Do all soakers leak? Is this normal?

Post by paintsoaker » Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:39 am

Hi soaker heads!

I recently purchased a Water Warriors Tiger Shark and the bloody thing leaks. I don't think there is anything wrong with it, it just leaks as a consequence of poor design. There are holes in the base of the plastic (at the bottom of the gun) which are designed to expel the leaking water. Is this sort of leakage / design element common with the alternative Super Soaker brand?

I think I have localised the source of the problem. The following is a picture of a Piranha, not exactly the same as my Tiger Shark but similar in design.

http://www.isoaker.com/Armoury/Repair/r ... parts.html

One leak occurs when no 3 (the hose). meets no. 2 (the tank). The hose and the tank are not properly secured to one another. I can separate the tank from the hose with ease.
Another leak occurs where no 14 meets no 15. The pressure tank is not properly secured to the valve and can be removed with ease. Is this type of design characteristic of super soakers as well? Or are the bits in super soakers fastened together tightly? I suspect this is a consequence of cost saving more than anything else. Would it be worth binding these elements together with a plastic friendly adhesive? Or is this too much effort and money? Perhaps I should try an alternative brand?


I want to use a whole bunch of water pistols filled with watered down acrylic paint, for an art project. I would prefer a pistol that does not leak, as things will get messy very quickly.

Cheers

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

Re: Do all soakers leak? Is this normal?

Post by Silence » Tue Nov 18, 2008 1:31 am

The first leak definitely shouldn't happen. Ask them for a replacement, or trying fixing it yourself with silicone lubricant, duct tape, or epoxy glue (which is more permanent).

All commercial water guns have loosely attached pressure chambers. You'll find that once the gun is put back together, the internals are all secured and held together. This is probably the case with the reservoir, too.

However, leaking itself is bad. Try holding things together tighter to see if that's the problem (and if it gets solved with a closed case). And what caused the leaks, if you know? Did you just buy the water gun?

paintsoaker
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Nov 18, 2008 12:01 am

Re: Do all soakers leak? Is this normal?

Post by paintsoaker » Tue Nov 18, 2008 2:08 am

Yes, i just purcahsed the gun. the leaks started after the first use.I haven't done anything out of the ordinary to the gun. I pulled it apart as soon as I realized it was leaking. I suspect the water is escaping at the point where the fittings are joined (as i described above) since these appear the weak (as in least sealed) points in the design.

Thanks for the info. I might purchase some epoxy and try to seal her up.

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