Arctic Blast flood nozzle repair / mod

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.
Locked
User avatar
cantab
Posts: 1492
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:35 pm

Arctic Blast flood nozzle repair / mod

Post by cantab » Sat Sep 13, 2008 7:44 pm

I mentioned a while ago that my Arctic Blast's flood nozzle wasn't closing properly, resulting in the gun being unable to build pressure. Well, I opened it up today and fixed it. Sort of.

Basically, it's been de-Max-Ded, and is operated by a 'ripcord' coming out of the back of the gun. Even harder to use than the original trigger, but that's how it is.
Also it's not quite fully opening, which will weaken the blast :-(

No photos sadly as I have no camera currently, old one broke. When I get a new one I should be able to take some (I'll likely colossus the gun at the same time).

Still, I'll try and write a rough walkthrough.

Diagnosis

You have the same problem as me if:

* The gun won't build pressure
* When pumping, air or water comes out of the flood nozzle. To check which nozzle is leaking, I suggest pumping air while putting your ear to each nozzle in turn, and seeing where the noise comes from.

Tools

Essential:
* Suitable screwdriver, #1 phillips, maybe #2
* Rubber bands
* String or wire

Recommended
* #0 or #1 phillips precision/jewellers screwdriver (additional to the normal driver)
* Stanley knife

Opening the gun

Remove all 18 screws on the face of the gun.
The screw in the middle of the gun, just right of the 'caution' notice is the most deeply buried. Make sure your driver can reach that.
The lower screw at the rear of the PC is long. The three screws in the black trigger grip area are short. The rest are medium.

In the front face of the black pump cap (the cap not the grip) there are two tiny screws. Remove these, with the precision screwdriver if you have one - it should be able to get in without having to remove the pump grip
Slide the pump cap forward, exposing a (extra short) screw. Remove it.

You should now be able to remove the cover of the gun.

Simple repair

Try this first. Where you see the spring on the flood nozzle's mechanism, add rubber bands around it. This might work, and leaves the gun as close to stock as possible.
If not, continue.

Complicated repair/modification

Remove the orange nozzle cover. This may require freeing the internals (I forgot), done by removing the four gold screws just behind the stream nozzle.

Remove the Max-D mechanism. There are four screws; three silver, one gold. You need to remove the gold and the correct two silver. Do not remove the one that fixes the lever to the valve. This is the one that does not move when you pull the trigger. Then pull away the blue trigger, the (roughly) rhomboidal plastic piece, the small black wire and the spring.

Wrap some rubber bands over the nozzle and around the end of the lever. Only use just enough to fully close the valve from open; more will just make for a harder trigger pull.

Tie the string or wire to that same point. Round turn through the bands and two half hitches.

Route the wire somewhere to outside the gun. I cut a small notch at the top rear of the hand grip, just below the PC case, and ran the wire backwards, just above the normal trigger, and out the notch. However, it doesn't open fully like that, so I suggest you do something different.
You could quite happily attach it to the main trigger, but then what do you do with the main nozzle?

Test, and then close up the gun. I didn't put the nozzle cover back and am not sure if it will fit around the bands.

Anything else?

Well you could readily make the flood nozzle take threaded caps. I made mine take coke bottle caps. Cut off the neck of a bottle and glue it over the flood nozzle, it should be a perfect fit. Then I can drill whatever I like in bottle caps, which are basically free. Glue's still drying so results are pending.

Update

Grrr....it's not properly fixed, still leaks. I guess I didn't put enough rubber bands on.
I'm wondering if I'd be better off fixing a rigid torque arm, and having it poke out the top where the trigger used to be.
Last edited by cantab on Sun Sep 14, 2008 10:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

User avatar
cantab
Posts: 1492
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:35 pm

Re: Arctic Blast flood nozzle repair / mod

Post by cantab » Tue Sep 16, 2008 11:38 am

It seems to be sealed with water, but not air...

More importantly, I'd tested some nozzles, and it's not too great so far. I'm having trouble getting the holes centred.

I have 2 thus far.
The 6.5 mm seems perhaps too large. Lamination isn't great either.
The 4 mm has burrs and sprays a lot.

I think bottle tops may not work as well as I'd hoped, possibly because they're so thin. I reckon the length of pipe of nozzle diameter needs to be at least said diameter for a good flow.
Still, I'm sure just drilling centred and finding the right size should help. I could try adding a laminator, but there's not really enough length for it.

Also, one snag is there's quite a lot of dead space between the valve and nozzle. This results in a lot of water coming out when changing nozzles.
I work on Windows. My toolbox is Linux.
Arsenal:
Super Soaker: XP215, 2xXP220, Liquidator, Aquashock Secret Strike M(odded), Arctic Blast M, CPS1200, CPS2100, SC Power Pak, 3l aquapack, 1.5l aquapack
Water Warriors: Jet, Sting Ray M, Shark, Argon M, Tiger Shark, PulseMaster
Others: Waterbolt, The Blaster, Storm 500, Shield Blaster 2000, generic PR gun, generic backpack piston pumper (broken), 3l garden sprayer M, 10l water carrier:

Locked