New to homemades

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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Duface
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 1:04 am

New to homemades

Post by Duface » Wed May 24, 2006 2:15 am

Hi, I'm new here. I have a couple of questions.
1. Is there a reason why mounting PCs on an APH horizontally is bad? Maybe using a right angle fitting or a T fitting?
2. Does anyone use ABS for homemades? I know they aren't rated for pressure, but people use them in spud guns without any problems.

Thanks, I'm anxious to get building but I want to be sure I don't mess my first homemade up too badly.

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

Post by Silence » Wed May 24, 2006 2:23 am

Welcome to SSC. It looks like you're interested in homemades...

1) With APHs, vertical PCs are used to allow the air to float to the top. In horizontal PCs, after half of the water is gone, only air will be high enough to exit and you'll only have mist or pure air coming out of the nozzle. This is also why you can't shoot air pressure soakers upside down.

2) Do not use ABS. If you wanted to save money, you could use it for a reservoir (as the reservoir won't be containing any pressure), but there's a possibility that it will crack if used in a PC.

Duface
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed May 24, 2006 1:04 am

Post by Duface » Wed May 24, 2006 2:31 am

Alright, but wouldn't a design like this work? Image

Since you'd be firing at a 45 degree angle most of the time, and the T connector is placed farther back, the water would funnel down right? Or is there something that I'm missing? :confused:

Thanks for your help :)

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

Post by Silence » Wed May 24, 2006 3:01 am

I believe somebody else and I proposed that method some time back, and it seems okay. One change, however, would be to use one "L" and one endcap (instead of one "T" and two endcaps), with the L at the rear of the PC, to make sure all the water exits first. However, if you're firing at a negative angle (say, from an elevated position on a hill), it's possible that the air will come out. Sure, one can argue that the air doesn't always have to come out instead of the water, but that's a possibility that can be avoided by using several vertical PCs.

Also, you could use multiple vertical PCs and have PVC ball valves leading to several of the PCs. This has been suggested on numerous occasions, and it'll let you use a few PCs for quick pressurization or many for longer-lasting pressure and greater capacity. Another option is to have a slot that allows you to screw on separate PCs, though both the slot and the PC would need a ball valve. These options would add expense but could possibly increase performance and flexibility.

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