Hydroblitz mods

Threads about water gun modifications.
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JLspacemarine
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Hydroblitz mods

Post by JLspacemarine » Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:39 am

Having two hydroblitzs in possession, I was thinking about doing some mods to one of the two. This is what I plan to do:

-Multi nozzle mod on the stream nozzle - done
-Fill gauge on the main PC
-Collossus on the main bladder
-Collossus on the secondary bladder
-Studying the pulsing mechanism for possible improvements
-Improving the intake tube to reach the unused water remaining in the reservoir

Only the multi nozzle mod is completed so far. With the secondary PC beeing so weak, the mod must be done to the stream nozzle to be worthwhile.

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I found it more useful to use a female adapter for the mod. Then I can screw in any custom barrel I want (like a laminator). I didn't took any pictures of the process since it was as straight forward as the guide on the website. The only different thing I saw is the fact that the hydroblitz's barrel was much smaller than the 2100 barrel shown in the article, and also there weren't any screen mesh. Actually the HB's barrel is a little bit smaller than 1/2 inch CPVC, so the CPVC fitting I used was perfect. I just glued it there with marine epoxy for a permanent result. Oh, I also had to cut some plastic of the inner casing to make space for the adapter so now there are two screws missing. Not a big deal since it has so many screws already.

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This is the HB's stream shot when stock.
Shot time: 20 sec
Max range: 30 ft
Output: ~1x

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This is the HB's stream shot with a Laminator and an endcap drilled to 7/32".
Shot time: 3.5 sec
Max range: 40 ft
Output: Between 5x and 10x

As you can see, the Hydroblitz's main PC has some power to give. You just need to do the right mod to enjoy it. This blaster has been negatively identified by it's weak riot blast too much, and it's only because the secondary bladder is half powerful as the main PC. Actually, it has as much PC capacity and range as a CPS 3000 or 1500, so I think the Hydroblitz is respectable among recent water guns. Of course, most people don't like the gun because of it's unusual design, but this can be less problematic for some people (like me).

Anyway, more mods on the way! ;)
Last edited by JLspacemarine on Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
Armory: AS Hydroblitz (x2), MI FlashFlood, STE TripleShot, XP Backfire, XP 215, XP 105, XXP 175, Big Bottle BLaster(x2), SC Power Pak, SpeedLoader1000, SpeedLoader 1500, SpeedLoader Double-Cross 3000, CPS Splashzooka (x2), CPS 1200, CPS 1500,CPS 2100, CPS 2000 Mk2, CPS 1-3-5

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cantab
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by cantab » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:24 am

Have you tried a main PC riot blast? Just unscrew your nozzle completely and fire. I bet it could be devastating; the main PC is almost 3 times that of the Flash Flood! OTOH there's not the linear design.

I'm impressed. Like most, I'd knocked the Hydroblitz, but it looks like there's a true CPS cannon in there waiting to be let out.

Colossus could certainly be good. And yes, you want to colossus both bladders.

It looks like the pulsing mechanism is activated by the expanding PC pulling a trigger. Consequently, if you change the length of the trigger wire you should be able to change (within limits) the rate of fire vs size of each blast.

For the fill gauge, that's best accomplished by replacing the PC case with a clear one,

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Silence
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by Silence » Thu Jul 24, 2008 4:56 pm

I fear there's not much you can do to the pulse system besides removing it completely (which would make the second bladder useless, unless colossused to meet the other bladder's pressure).

If you've got an actual pressure gauge, screw that into your nozzle to find the full and near-empty pressures of the bladder. From there, a bit of math and a well-selected spring should work to make a custom gauge that shows the exact range of pressures. A fill gauge may take up too much space unless you cut a slit in the PC case and replace it with Lexan. Finally, an actual pressure gauge itself might work.

cantab, it looks like you lost part of your post.

Edit: The ratio of first bladder pressure to second bladder pressure determines how quickly the pulse charges.

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JLspacemarine
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by JLspacemarine » Thu Jul 24, 2008 9:44 pm

cantab wrote:Have you tried a main PC riot blast? Just unscrew your nozzle completely and fire. I bet it could be devastating; the main PC is almost 3 times that of the Flash Flood! OTOH there's not the linear design.
Unfortunately the non-linear design added with a lack of power ruins the possibility of a riot blast. Shooting with no nozzle launches a large underpowered stream. I didn't measured the maximum range, but it is somewhere between 15 and 20 feet. Actually, any nozzle too large won't get as much range as the 7/32" nozzle shown above.
cantab wrote:It looks like the pulsing mechanism is activated by the expanding PC pulling a trigger. Consequently, if you change the length of the trigger wire you should be able to change (within limits) the rate of fire vs size of each blast.
Yeah that's the type of modification I was thinking about. Something like a PC expansion/integration for the secondary bladder might be an improvement to consider as well.... I wonder if a FlashFlood PC can fit in there...

Well, I think I'll start with a colossus on the main PC.
Armory: AS Hydroblitz (x2), MI FlashFlood, STE TripleShot, XP Backfire, XP 215, XP 105, XXP 175, Big Bottle BLaster(x2), SC Power Pak, SpeedLoader1000, SpeedLoader 1500, SpeedLoader Double-Cross 3000, CPS Splashzooka (x2), CPS 1200, CPS 1500,CPS 2100, CPS 2000 Mk2, CPS 1-3-5

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cantab
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by cantab » Thu Jul 24, 2008 10:13 pm

My last post was fine, I just did a comma at the end by mistake.

I wonder if you could 'linearise' the gun somehow. Reorient the PC so it's in a direct line with the main nozzle. Hopefully that would improve main nozzle performance. It would also probably make the gun longer but less tall.

Colossusing both PC's to match pressures as closely as possible, and then rigging the blitz nozzle valve to be opened by the trigger, with the nozzle itself customized, could work. You would then I think basically have two nozzles, the blitz one possibly with a larger PC capacity (depending on whether there is a check valve between the PCs), selectable by the side switch.

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Drenchenator
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by Drenchenator » Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:04 pm

I don't think trying to put one of the chambers in line with the valve would be worth it. The gun is already underpowered in my opinion, and doing all that work for a slight power boost may not be worth. Then again, I don't know how much of a power boost it would get, so perhaps it would be worth the effort.

@JLspacemarine--nice nozzle mod! That's an interesting idea, having the nozzle adapter being female instead of the usually male. It certain goes well with the gun's aesthetics (especially the orange nozzle), and doesn't look out of place really. Nice work.
The Drenchenator, also known as Lt. Col. Drench.

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Silence
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by Silence » Fri Jul 25, 2008 6:22 pm

I forgot to mention that. The female threaded nozzle selector is slick and has a low profile; it's definitely a clean-looking mod. I suppose it's a good excuse for using a laminator - you need something to get the male threads that the nozzles screw on to. :cool:

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JLspacemarine
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by JLspacemarine » Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:36 pm

Drenchenator wrote:I don't think trying to put one of the chambers in line with the valve would be worth it. The gun is already underpowered in my opinion, and doing all that work for a slight power boost may not be worth. Then again, I don't know how much of a power boost it would get, so perhaps it would be worth the effort.
I don't think it would be worth it as well, but I understand the idea. Actually I've just accessed the main bladder of the hydroblitz today by prying off the cap at the end of the PC casing. The idea of testing the bladder on my CPH was somewhat tempting... :p

Seems like a lot of power is lost because of the HB's flow problems. Because with the same bladder, a linear design and a larger ball valve the riot blast is much better:

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I'm trying to colossus it right now. It seems to be very hard to add bike tubes over the bladder. Its original size is too big..... and it also has two sections (one a the beginning and one at he end) which are wider than the rest of the bladder. Any ideas?
Last edited by JLspacemarine on Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Armory: AS Hydroblitz (x2), MI FlashFlood, STE TripleShot, XP Backfire, XP 215, XP 105, XXP 175, Big Bottle BLaster(x2), SC Power Pak, SpeedLoader1000, SpeedLoader 1500, SpeedLoader Double-Cross 3000, CPS Splashzooka (x2), CPS 1200, CPS 1500,CPS 2100, CPS 2000 Mk2, CPS 1-3-5

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Silence
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by Silence » Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:42 pm

If it's too large for bike tubes to work, then honestly there's not too much you can do. Using talcum powder over the rubber as a lubricant and sliding the inner tubes on is the closest you'll get. As for the large sections, those may actually have thinner rubber and they may compress as you slide the tubing over. I'm not sure why they're in two places, though.

Just curious...how compatible are the HydroBlitz's parts with threaded fittings? Ie, how did you attach nozzles to the bladder?

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SSCBen
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by SSCBen » Mon Jul 28, 2008 2:43 am

Hmm... I seem to have missed this thread.

Nice modification. Looks clean and sounds promising. Dragonclass over at iSoaker.net did some similar stuff with the HydroBlitz but didn't have the same success. He did some modifications to reroute the PCs from what I know... that must have been what reduced performance.

Try looking for wider diameter bike tubes. They exist but might be a little harder to find. Condoms as previously discussed should work too.

Take some pictures of the PC. I've seen one wider segment but not two... weird.

Oh, by the way, I'm going to get your LRT shipped to you either tomorrow or Tuesday. Sorry for being a little slow.

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cantab
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by cantab » Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:25 am

You could look for some larger cylindrical balloons. There is a size called "646q" ; when inflated, 64 inches long and 6 in diameter. Those should work just fine. Number or layers will be more like for a k-mod than a bike-tube colossus. The length should mean you can get several layers out of one balloon.
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SSCBen
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by SSCBen » Tue Jul 29, 2008 2:48 am

Promising find. I just did some research and that balloon size should work. I didn't know there were different terms for different balloon sizes... this is worth researching but it's getting late so I'm going to go to bed. I'll see what I can find out tomorrow.

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Specter
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by Specter » Tue Jul 29, 2008 5:15 am

http://www.larocksmagic.com/balloon/646 ... 6_Standard

i found this. Maybe this would work (it seems cheap enough) $7.65 for a bag of 50 of one color.

Edit: Maybe not. I put it in the cart and checked the shipping, It's $7.95 shipping so it comes out to $15.60 total which is crazy for 50 balloons.
I'll check ebay. You can get thousands of balloons for real cheap.

Edit2: ok maybe not thousands (water balloons- yes) I found one seller the only problem is that they're only 350Q balloons I couldn't find any 646Q balloons http://cgi.ebay.com/350Q-RUBY-RED-QUALA ... 18Q2el1247
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Last edited by Specter on Tue Jul 29, 2008 5:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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cantab
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by cantab » Tue Jul 29, 2008 10:09 am

Well done with finding the chart.

Measure how big the PC case is. That's the size of the PC when fully inflated. If it's less than 3 inches diameter then the 350Q's should be fine. You also want a secure fit when the PC is empty, so don't use too large balloons. Additionally, balloons are thinner and stretchier than bike tubes, so a similar uninflated diameter will prove easier to handle with the balloon.

Basically, first number is the diameter, next two are the length. Size is fully inflated.
If shipping seems expensive you could always look for a bricks and mortar store. I'm not sure what types of store would sell them mind.

Slightly off topic - you could possibly use these for a homemade cylindrical PC if you can't get hold of LRT.
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:

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Silence
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Re: Hydroblitz mods

Post by Silence » Tue Jul 29, 2008 4:08 pm

Cantab, I'm guessing 646q is 6" in diameter and 46" in length. If it were 64 and 6, then the 350q would be 35" long and 0" in diameter. And Specter, the smaller size would be more powerful per balloon but it may wear out much quicker (since the rubber is stretched closer to the breaking point each time).

Balloons look neat but they probably wouldn't be a very good substitute for LRT. Even if they were powerful enough, imagine redoing the bladder - with balloons - every time it wears out. And you'll need smaller diameters to get more pressure without wasting too much space, and LRT is perfect for that.

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