Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

General water gun discussion.
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cantab
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Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by cantab » Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:18 pm

The other day I fell in the river with my Tiger Shark. Is that likely to damage the gun at all?

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SSCBen
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by SSCBen » Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:34 pm

There might be some dirt (or chemicals, depending on the level of pollution) inside of the water gun. Aside from what I don't think there would be any damage to the water gun.

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C-A_99
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by C-A_99 » Sun Jun 22, 2008 12:59 am

You may wish to open it up and clean it a bit, as well as flush the internals w/ clean water if necessary.

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Silence
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by Silence » Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:41 am

It's probably not a big deal. If anything, the only concern would be hygiene, and seeing as people swim in lakes and rivers all the time, it shouldn't be a big deal unless you live in northern New Jersey (sorry, DX and Specter).

According to DX and a few other reports, there's no actual damage to water guns. You may want to watch out for buildup of organic matter in the water gun's internals, though.

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Drenchenator
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by Drenchenator » Sun Jun 22, 2008 2:41 am

It really isn't a problem. As long as you wash the gun out and clean its exterior, just about any body of water can be used in a gun. And as SilentGuy said, look for organic matter in the inner workings of the gun. This could be hard to detect, but if the gun breaks for no apparent reason and fails to pressurize, it sounds like something is clogging the pipes. But as long as all of the screens are in place, this shouldn't happen.
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Specter
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by Specter » Sun Jun 22, 2008 3:29 am

it shouldn't be a big deal unless you live in northern New Jersey (sorry, DX and Specter).
No offense taken. I know how bad the waters are around this area. I once had to hold a tether for my inflatable boat in the Raritan River, and that water is not fun to be in. The water just feels slimy or something while standing in it, and a couple times I slipped on the rocks in the water and got some water in my mouth. Nearly threw up. The water doesn't smell good either. Smells like gas/oil mixed with dead fish and chemicals.
The Raritan River was subject to pollution/dumping for a long time and stuff like that which happens in the past, sticks around in the future...(literally)
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cantab
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by cantab » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:01 pm

Yeah...it wasn't in for very long and probably nothing really got inside the gun since the cap was shut. It's a notoriously horrible river though (the River Cam), but it is clean enough for fish at least. I've shot clean water through the gun and will probably rinse the outside when I get the chance. 'sides, it's not like I like the gun very much anyway.
Good thing I didn't lose it though! Someone told me that gun sinks on a full reservoir (many will I suppose), but I had it on the shoulder strap. Can't remember if it actually floated or not, I was too busy getting it and myself out of the water!

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DX
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by DX » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:28 pm

If you are fighting on a body of water, it is a good idea to tie a line to the gun and attach the other end to the boat, unless you fell off a dock or something. You're lucky that it didn't sink - Iceman once lost a 1500 or something in a reservoir. Like a year later it was drained and he found the soaker again lol.
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cantab
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by cantab » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:38 pm

Yeah...I don't think anyone's ever thought of doing that. Possibly because punts virtually never sink or capsize (you have to put some effort to make them do so), and in most places (though sadly not where I fell in!) the river's shallow. Plus people tend to want to move freely in the boat or even get out onto the bank; lines would get in the way. Shoulder straps will probably suffice (and did in my case) especially if you wear them like a satchel ie diagonally across the body.

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SSCBen
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by SSCBen » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:50 pm

Attaching a float might be a better idea. It's lightweight and shouldn't be too large, though I'm unsure how large it would have to be to make the water gun float. I'm sure the math to figure that out is straightforward.

A strap works too, just be sure that the clips are solid. ;)

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Specter
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by Specter » Mon Jun 23, 2008 7:53 pm

I think what he means is just have a safety tether just in case. It can be a 10-20 foot rope (or depending on how big your boat is) with a carabiner on the end so it can be quick-released from the gun when getting off the boat.
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isoaker_com
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by isoaker_com » Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:08 pm

The biggest problem (apart from sinking) with a blaster falling into a river, lake, or being immersed in water is that some internals that aren't meant to get too wet get wet and end up rusting or having things growing inside due to the prolonged damp environment. Of course, now that this thread is a few days old, not much else can be done. If ever a blaster does get submerged, attempting to dry its internals as quickly as possible is recommended to reduce the risk of rusting and buggy growth. In the case of Water Warriors blasters with electronic pressure gauges, the electronics can handle water to some degree, but are also not meant to be fully submerged. By now, I presume you've tested your blaster and assume it works as it did before. The only other potential problem is that some dirt may end up gumming up some of the internal moving parts, but that is less likely unless you happen to have dropped your blaster into a particularly dirty body of water.

:cool:
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SSCBen
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by SSCBen » Mon Jun 23, 2008 8:30 pm

Here's another tip I just remembered that was recommended by wetmonkey:

If you're afraid of the screws rusting, remove each one and cover their thread in something like vaseline. Cover all the metal parts in a wet lubricant like vaseline. This will prevent them from rusting.

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Drenchenator
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Re: Gun fell in a river - is any damage likely?

Post by Drenchenator » Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:54 pm

I second iSoaker's points. Good blaster maintenance will keep your gun working for a long time, and that means that if you're afraid it's dirty inside, you'll have to open it up and clean it out. Preventive maintenance like what's said by wetmonkey and Ben should protect your gun before problems arise. Good tips all around here.
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