Super Soaker Central

Yesterday my new latex rubber tubing came in. I ordered the same smaller tube that I ordered last time (McMaster-Carr part number 5234K53). The difference from the last time I ordered this tubing a year ago was the I ordered the correct sized tubing to stack over the smaller tubing (5234K62).

I thought I should let everyone know that these are the correct part numbers for a good, 7/16" wall rubber CPS chamber. LRT homemade water guns are very easy to construct and actually cheaper than their air pressure counterparts. Yes, LRT is expensive as tubing, but when compared to the reducers and endcaps that must be used in a typical APH design, LRT is cheap. The 5 feet of smaller tubing I bought and the single foot of larger tubing was only about $20 and the smaller tubing was enough for several water guns.

Also, I will be sending a foot of the smaller tubing for free to Spinner and possibly joanna because they live in the UK and could make good use of the tubing. I say that as a heads-up to joanna because she hasn't replied to my PM offer yet.

I'll get some pictures of the process as I upgrade my old CPS homemade water gun from it's used tube to new tubes. The process has been eased greatly because the smaller tube slides easily through the larger tube. Previously, I had bought a larger tube with an ID equal to the smaller tube's OD - bad idea.

My hope in that more people will use and advocate LRT homemade water guns and repairs that use LRT in the near future. The tubing has been around for ages and I'm still surprised that I'm one of the few who's actually used it.

Also, I have emailed another LRT company (Primeline Industries). They offer a 7/16" wall tube which would be very convenient. The price per foot of the tube is excellent at $5.29 per foot, but the minimum order is 200 feet. If we can somehow get $1100 together to buy that tubing to resell, we could sell at a price cheaper than McMaster very easily. The problem is that I don't think that there's enough demand for that to be done, so at the moment the two-tube method seems to be ideal.

I actually have given CPS homemades a thought, since the shot time seems more than worth it. But, I am pretty backward when it comes to things such as how to construct the CPS chamber.

Funny that they made the new thread button right next to the new reply one. I meant to make that in a new thread. Splitting right now...

The best way to make a CPS chamber is to use latex rubber tubing. Go ahead and order the tubes I mentioned. You'll find that the tubing is not only easy to use, but very powerful. I'll admit, I was extremely impressred with the tubing when I first got it, more impressed than you'd believe too. I had read that MrPukeOnYourHead believed that the tubing wasn't quite right in terms of power and durability, but from what I'm seeing that has changed since 2000. The 3/16" tube in my CPS homemade is nearly exactly like a CPS 1000 on the same nozzle size. The stacked tube was like a K-modded water gun that had better shot time. With bike inner tubes on top of the stackings, I can only see a good future in LRT.

What I really meant was the actual mechanics in the chamber. How do you attach the end of the tubing to the inside of the PVC?

You do not attach the rubber tubing directly to the PVC. You use a barbed fitting, preferably one that has barbed-side with and OD greater than that of the rubber tubing's ID (because you can stretch the tubing over). The tubing then should be firmly attached with a tubing clamp. Wrapping a layer of electrical tape around the place where the clamp goes would be preferred as well.

Look at the picture of the rubber attachment for help: http://www.sscentral.org/images/dscn0190.jpg

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Hmm, shouldn't this be under the homemade store thread under Feedback? As I've said, I will definitely support the store, and I could use some cheap LRT.

Maybe you could send a lot of LRT to Spinner for a center in the UK, while you distribute the LRT in the US (Charlottesville, VA-Maryland shipping should be cheap ).

I know this isn't the best thread for my question, but if the LRT was clamped the the PVC at both ends, would that remove the length-wise expansion as the bladder fills up? I'm thinking of a soaker where LRT lines the center of a wider PVC tube (for protection--a good idea, I think). The PVC will also make sure the gun doesn't bend .

Are you planning in making a third SuperCannon? That would be pretty cool to have 3 almost identical tubes that each use different technology.

I'm curious as to how CPS performs vs. the piston system in the SuperCanon II.

What actually happened to SuperCannon II? I was following the thread, but then it seemed to disappear after you (Ben) had some problems with the primer freezing.

I don't think I ever really understood what SuperCannon II was all about, so I don't know how it works (if anybody knows, please feel free to tell me, or do so in that thread ).

Funny that you guys go off on a weird tangent. To answer your questions:

SuperCannon II was postponed because I have not been able to make the piston parts. I had ordered the piston seals, but they are not what I was looking for. All other parts are complete. The water gun is not finalized yet and is actually in several pieces at the moment waiting to be completed. There will be no SuperCannon III if SuperCannon II functions well. A water gun on the level of SuperCannon II would be near impossible to achieve via rubber CPS due to the thickness required.

As for how SuperCannon II works, there are no secrets, in fact, I have explained the design on several occasions. It's a very straightforward and simple air-pressure piston water gun design with a few improvements such as the use of conical nozzle. Simplicity is part of the design after all. If you'll need a more in-depth explanation or a drawing, ask about it and I'll see what I or someone else can do to help you.

SilentGuy wrote:Hmm, shouldn't this be under the homemade store thread under Feedback? As I've said, I will definitely support the store, and I could use some cheap LRT.

Actually this is the place this would go. I mainly intended for the LRT store to only sell LRT if I could get a substantial discount or a superior tubing, and as I mentioned in my first post here, I would have to order 200 feet to even get the superior tubing. I'd also have to order a massive amount of McMaster-Carr tubing to get a discount, and I don't intend to do that. I made no mention at all of any LRT-store in this thread.

It would be more worth your time to just go directly to McMaster-Carr. Forget the middle-man. I even said that I only ordered 5 feet of tubing, so obviously distribution was not on my mind. Right now I'm starting to believe one reason why LRT is relatively unpopular is because people assume that you have to order it specially or something.

I know this isn't the best thread for my question, but if the LRT was clamped the the PVC at both ends, would that remove the length-wise expansion as the bladder fills up? I'm thinking of a soaker where LRT lines the center of a wider PVC tube (for protection--a good idea, I think). The PVC will also make sure the gun doesn't bend .

That sounds like a bad idea. The tubing would be very constricted and probably would either fold in half and somewhat expand or warp around and pop as it keeps filling. You must let the tubing expand length-wise. If the tubing was stretched, you might be able to achieve what you are looking for, but the tubing would require considerable strength to get into the position you'd want and also would probably bend the plastic because of it's strength.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with clamping off one side of LRT and using it as did Larami in their cylindrical PC water guns.

More of a reply in the morning...

I love weekends--you can post all day and all night . As for "More of a reply in the morning," it is, actually, morning .

Anyway...

Okay, I'll take another look at SuperCannon II. I guess I was too lazy earlier, but I do seem to remember the emphasis on simplicity (especially after SuperCannon I).

For now, I don't mind (and I will) use McMasters, but I'm just saying that I would support a store if you ever wanted to start one. And you're right, of course--we did pull you into this. Sorry about that.

As for my relatively early concept of LRT with two open ends, I am a bit uninformed as to the workings of LRT. I haven't used any, and I haven't opened any soakers with cylindrical CPS bladders, so I never really realized that the tubing will expand in all directions--and according to physics, it should. I never really had a problem with CPHs like the one you linked to, and if Super Soaker used a similar method, then I guess I have to submit .

Thanks for the information this late at night, though ...

Morning means nothing over here in the UK - you americans get up around 8 hours later than I do. (yes, and it changes depending on where you are in the states - really confusing)

I hope you get Supercannon II finished there Ben.

How do you actually plug the other end of the LRT? - I can't actually tell very well - the only picture I have seen for ages appeared to use a bolt.

Look at the post time at the top of each post if you're confused. And our time on the East Coast is only about 5 hours behind (I think...).

Have there actually been any new projects since SuperCannon II began? Maybe Ben has some new ideas...

Yes, I do understand where post times are - I don't really care about when replies are in the day. My current issue with the forums is for some reason the mod tool bar will only open if the thread only runs on for one page - I'm confused on that one.

Your post count is something like 12.5/day... I manage 4 or 5 per day - so I have no idea how long you must spend on the forums - I applaud you for actually making your posts contain so much good content.

Will any one explain my question? I assume I could find my own method, but I'd like to know what others do.

I actually posted that past midnight where I lived... weird stuff actually.

How do you actually plug the other end of the LRT? - I can't actually tell very well - the only picture I have seen for ages appeared to use a bolt.

You can use whatever you'd like to plug up the open end. I used a bolt because I thought it was convenient. I have also used a barbed fitting threaded onto a threaded endcap. It doesn't matter at all how you close the other end. I have read that others using LRT for other uses tie the end off as well, but I wouldn't suggest that because we buy this by the foot.

Have there actually been any new projects since SuperCannon II began? Maybe Ben has some new ideas...

I'm working on an alternative piston idea and I'll let you guys know which method works when I finished Supercannon II. As for my other ideas, you'll see once I finish my next water gun.

The mod-menu problem I have noticed as well, but the only work-around I know of is to switch the board style. I've been looking for the problem in the code, but I can't put my finger on it.

@ joannaardway: I'm assuming the mod tool bar is only for moderators, so I wouldn't know. Thanks for the compliment (I think that's what it was). I keep a Forums tab open in my browser at all times, and it's always loaded, so I post now and then throughout the day.

Now to your question...

Ben's barbed fitting sounds good--just make sure you don't damage the LRT. If I ever make a CPH (after or with my PCgH), I'll either use that or a fitting without barbs. I'm just hoping the pressure won't blow the fitting right out the end of the LRT...

@ Ben: How does a bolt plug up the hole?