APH dilemma?

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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Goldfish4209
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Joined: Thu Jun 05, 2008 12:45 am

APH dilemma?

Post by Goldfish4209 » Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:26 pm

I am building my APH now, and so are a few of my friends. I had planned to follow SSC's APH guide word for word and build a traditional APH, but some of my friends decided to customize theirs. I got a few ideas from what they did, and now I have several design options that I can't decide between.

Option 1: The standard APH (the one Ben wrote a guide about)

Option 2: A version I came up with. It is exactly the same as the standard APH, but the pump and the rest of the lower segment of the gun is rotated upwards so the pump is right next to the PCs. Also, the ball valve is on the left side. Picture below.

Option 3: A version my friend came up with. It has the PCs in a kind of V-shape and the pump is rotated upwards too. Then the pump shaft is placed between the PCs. Again, picture below.

I'm sure they all have roughly equal performance, so I'm basing my choice purely off comfort and durability. Which do you recommend?

BTW the first 2 pictures are Option 2 and the last 3 are Option 3.
Attachments
option3b002.jpg
Option3a001.jpg
Option3001.jpg
option2a001.jpg
option2001.jpg

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SSCBen
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Re: APH dilemma?

Post by SSCBen » Wed Jun 11, 2008 3:35 pm

Interesting variations. Both of the variations would make the gun more compact and shouldn't affect durability or performance. If you want my personal opinion I'd go with the original design or your second one because pumping is parallel to the nozzle and valve. I've done your second design before and I have no complaints about it. The third one seems a little twisted and might be uncomfortable, but I don't know if it is uncomfortable because I haven't used it.

Also, would you mind if I use these pictures in my APH guide on the customizations page?

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Silence
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Re: APH dilemma?

Post by Silence » Wed Jun 11, 2008 7:53 pm

I'll agree that it probably won't matter. For durability, just make sure you lash together all the parts that stick out. For example, on the original, you may need a piece to connect the pump and the barrel. But other than that, there shouldn't be a problem.

Comfort is probably up to you. You've put the water gun together in each of these ways, which nearly perfectly replicates actual use. The only difference might be when the reservoir is full. As long as you have a way to hold the rest of the gun steady with one arm and your body (so the other hand can pump), any design should work.

I personally like symmetrical designs the best, or failing that, I at least like parallels and perpendiculars. I'd prefer the original air pressure homemade or your option 2 with the tanks coming off of elbows to the side of the barrel. Or, as I suggested before, the pump lined up down the center of the tops of the tanks. :cool:

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