Mcmaster Tubing

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
Locked
Vintage
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 7:58 pm

Post by Vintage » Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:28 pm

Hey guys, this is Vintage from Nerfhaven.com.

I am here today, because I need some help with the latex rubber tubing on the McMaster website. I plan on making a CPS system for a homemade nerf gun, allowing multiple shots on one priming. Exactly like the concept of the RapidFire 20 (still sold) and Powerclip.

Here are my questions: On McMaster's site, each latex tubing size has a max PSI rating. Does the tubing expand until it hits that PSI, then snaps? Or does the tubing start to expand when it hits that PSI? And finally, is that PSI the maximum the tube will hold (meaning multiple layers are needed to gain a better strength)?

Thanks much
~Vintage

User avatar
Hunt_and_Annoy
Posts: 404
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 1:00 pm

Post by Hunt_and_Annoy » Sat Feb 12, 2005 8:33 pm

if I'm not to much mistaken, you don't need to pay attention to the PSI because water is not compressible on the terms we're using it.

User avatar
Spinner
Posts: 1337
Joined: Tue Feb 10, 2004 12:00 pm

Post by Spinner » Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:07 pm

Welcome to SSCentral Vintage. Sounds like an interesting project you have there, I'm afraid I'll have to leave your query to someone like Doom to answer (he's got more Nerf experience than I have and he's also used the McMaster tubing).

[at]hunter: He's not using water, he's using air.
ISS: Soaker Sagas

Submit your saga and see it up with other titans of water warfare.

User avatar
Hunt_and_Annoy
Posts: 404
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 1:00 pm

Post by Hunt_and_Annoy » Sat Feb 12, 2005 11:54 pm

Originally posted by Spinner@Feb 12 2005, 01:07 PM
[at]hunter: He's not using water, he's using air.
[snapback]22191[/snapback]


Oh he is? oops... I'm a newbie
well... it says max. psi on the site, so I would guess that's how much it can be before bursting.

Vintage
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Feb 12, 2005 7:58 pm

Post by Vintage » Sun Feb 13, 2005 1:04 pm

Originally posted by hunter+Feb 12 2005, 06:54 PM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hunter @ Feb 12 2005, 06:54 PM)</div><div class='quotemain'>well... it says max. psi on the site, so I would guess that's how much it can be before bursting.
[snapback]22202[/snapback]

[/b]

I figured as much. My most important question, though, is whether the tubing can inflate. I would need the tubing to stretch in order for enough air to store in it for a decent number of shots.

<!--QuoteBegin-Spinner

I'm afraid I'll have to leave your query to someone like Doom to answer (he's got more Nerf experience than I have and he's also used the McMaster tubing).[/quote]
Yeah, Doom visited Nerfhaven and provided some input on McMaster's site. He explained how we could use their latex tubing to create CPS. (At the time, we were just using layered bike tubing.) Well now I have a debit card and can finally order online. I just need to know whether the tubing will inflate like bike tubing. I can always work out the PSI issue later.

~Vintage

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

Post by SSCBen » Sun Feb 13, 2005 2:41 pm

Welcome to SSCentral Vintage!

The PSI actually does matter, but essentially it's the thickness that determines the PSI. I'd just go with the thickest they have. The tubing inflates. In fact, I feel it inflates much better than bike tubes. You'll feel right at home using LRT.

As for the max PSI meaning how much it will take before bursting... did you even think about that before you posted hunter? The tubing expands and only bursts when it's too full of whatever's pump in it. In the case of pumping air in, you'll have to be pumping a long time to overpump a good foot-long length. This tubing can hold a lot of air (a fully expanded one foot segment has over 3 liters of uncompressed air space).

Vintage, check out my recent TechLog entry about LRT if you haven't yet. There's a few other manufacturers that you may want to check out. It would be great if a bunch of people could buy that 7/16" thick tubing as well (you need a minimum order of 3 different tubes, 50 feet of each). The water gun equivalent of PETG?

If the tubes ever are too powerful, all you would need to do is put some sort of restriction on them. There's a bunch of simple valves that will do something similar.

I'd recommend the McMaster tubing if you're looking for a proven source of good tubing (the only advantage to other manufacturers/distributors is the thickness). As always, buy a larger tube to slide over the smaller center one for more thickness. ;)

Locked