Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

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Specter
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Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by Specter » Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:06 am

Is it possible to use a pipe nipple as the pump on a homemade?
It seems like it would be easier and possibly a bit cheaper (for me). When I was at lowes today, they have every length pipe nipple you could possibly want. from 1.5" long to 12" long. I don't remember but I think they also had either 14" or 16" length as well. The 12" long 1"diam nipple was just over $2.
If I remember correctly they had 1/2" diameter pipe nipples. And I remember that it is suggested the diameter of the pump be 1/2".
If I could get a 1/2"diam nipple, what is the suggested length of a pump? (the pipe nipples were all Schedule 80)

I also saw the 1/2" check valves (I never saw any check valves when I was at my home depot but then again I wasn't looking for them so...), and you guys were right, they are the most expensive part of a homemade. They only had 1 on the shelf and it was $5.96. The 3/4" ones were $5.97. the 1" ones were over $6. There were no threaded check valves though.

Lowes also had much more threaded fittings, elbows, tees, plugs, reducers, it was threaded fittings galore in there.

As I said in my other thread, that Lowes I was at has a much much broader selection of PVC parts. My Home Depot doesn't even have threaded end caps, Lowes did. Lowes even had test plugs. (those flat caps that go inside the end of the pipe). I think I might go the extra distance to get some PVC stuff if I can't get it at Home Depot.

I might reconsider building the APH. Would it be reasonable to build it will mostly threaded parts? (threaded tees to the PC's, with pipe nipples between each to the nozzle )

Heres a picture of my design i drew up near the beginning of the summer:
APH-design.jpg
Last edited by Specter on Wed Aug 06, 2008 4:12 am, edited 1 time in total.
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
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CROC
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by CROC » Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:17 am

I wouldn't recommend using pipe nipples for a pump. Mr ldude made an aph entirely,except for the PC. Use a long piece of pipe, it probably costs less than the nipples. With mr dude's permission, I can post what his looks like tomorrow most likely. If not, I will put it up ASAP.
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cantab
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by cantab » Wed Aug 06, 2008 10:08 am

What material are you working in here?

I'd guess threaded fittings are more expensive than glued ones. And buying lots of pipe nipples will also probably be costlier than just getting a length of pipe.

Also, perhaps the larger range of threaded fittings is a result of different male/female combinations?

As for pump length - as long as suits your design. If you end up not using the full length that's no big deal, but everyone agrees too-short pumps are annoying.
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CROC
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by CROC » Wed Aug 06, 2008 11:44 am

The material that was used in mr dude's APH was mostly 1/2" SCH40 PVC. It may have been UPVC,being dark gray and all. Threaded pipe is extremely customizeable, and easy to replace or redesign if you don't like it, or it breaks.
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devvo
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by devvo » Wed Aug 06, 2008 6:49 pm

remember that the pipe will not be totally smooth on the inside as there will be a weld seam which after hard and fast pumping could easily tear the O ring on the dowel.

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Silence
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by Silence » Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:26 am

A pipe nipple would work, though it would be heavy if made out of metal. If you can't use PVC, then you might as well since metal is heavy no matter what material you use. Unfortunately, nobody seems to offer aluminum pipe nipples, at least not locally.
devvo wrote:remember that the pipe will not be totally smooth on the inside as there will be a weld seam which after hard and fast pumping could easily tear the O ring on the dowel.
Your knowledge of manufacturing minutiae continues to impress me. :cool:

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Specter
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Post by Specter » Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:27 am

With the Pipe Nippes being Sch 80 would it have any effect on anything?

Oh another thing I noticed is that schedule 80 caps are nearly 3 times as much as sch 40. (1" cap- sch 80 was nearly $3 when sch40 is under $1)
the pipe will not be totally smooth on the inside as there will be a weld seam
Theres no seam on the 1" x 2" pipe nipple i got yesterday.
Last edited by Silence on Thu Aug 07, 2008 12:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: double post
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

devvo
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by devvo » Thu Aug 07, 2008 4:00 pm

Specter wrote:Theres no seam on the 1" x 2" pipe nipple i got yesterday.
thats quite unusual! what gauge is the pipe? medium or heavy (is the nominal bore small or large in other words)
Unfortunately, nobody seems to offer aluminum pipe nipples, at least not locally
.

aluminium pipe and fittings are rare outside of specialist uses such as dairy and pharmaceutical companies,.

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Specter
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by Specter » Thu Aug 07, 2008 5:13 pm

what gauge is the pipe? medium or heavy (is the nominal bore small or large in other words)
um.. i dont really know what that means, but its a 1" diameter pipe thats 2 inches long.
it looks like this:
Image
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

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CROC
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by CROC » Thu Aug 07, 2008 7:46 pm

OH! that kind of nipple! I thought you were talking about like an NPT kind of thing. Yea, those are fine, as long as they are SCH 40 + or even iron.

Mr. Dude's entire gun is basically this... I was browsing Home Depot, and noticed that they called pipe of certain lengths with threads on one end nipples for some reason. You're fine then.

Here is a picture, ruthlessly stolen from Google Images:

Image
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Specter
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by Specter » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:13 pm

Yea, those are fine, as long as they are SCH 40 + or even iron.
They only come in schedule 80 so that should be ok?
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

aEx155
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by aEx155 » Thu Aug 07, 2008 8:54 pm

Since the schedule denotes the pressure rating, I would see having SCH 80 pipe as a benefit, as it would allow those parts to handle higher pressures. You might see a minimal reduction in flow, though, since the ID of SCH 80 pipe is smaller than that of SCH 40 PVC (usually).

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SSCBen
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by SSCBen » Thu Aug 07, 2008 11:36 pm

I've used pipe nipple before. It's appropriate in some situations. If you want everything to be repairable or replaceable in the future, go with pipe nipple and threaded fittings, You'll have to pay a little more, especially given that they don't seem to make much PVC pipe nipples that are not sch. 80, but they're very convenient.

The schedule refers to some standardized thickness, not pressure rating. There apparently is DWV schedule 80 pipe out there. The thicker the pipe though, the higher the pressure rating for the same diameter, so the trend is correct.

Strangely though, the newer sch. 80 pipes often seem to have sch. 40 dimensions. I remember buying sch. 80 pipe and barrels for Nerf years ago, but now I can't seem to find any sch. 80 pipe with the right sizes any longer. They're all too large.

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Specter
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Re: Pipe nipple as pump shaft?

Post by Specter » Fri Aug 08, 2008 12:38 am

You'll have to pay a little more,
From what I saw at the store, the threaded fittings weren't that much more than non-threaded.

and Like I said before, the 2" long pipe nipple was $0.67. 3" was .70something and the 4" was just under a dollar, if i remember correctly.
My "arsenal": Customizable APH, Storm 600 pistol (still haven't finished fixing this), launcher- Model:AB1.0(Decommissioned), AB1.5, soon AB 1.1(2"rebuild) maybe ill get something else in the future
My site Image My website/forum is back up and running, for the most part after it having been deleted in october

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