2L homemade

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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SEAL
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2L homemade

Post by SEAL » Mon Jul 05, 2010 1:33 am

Yo what's happening people?
This is my first post here, although I've been an iSoaker.net member for about a month.
I figure I'll start off by showing you guys my first homemade.

*This is cut-and-pasted and slightly edited from my other article on iSoaker.*

Following the instructions in the Homemades section, I slapped together a little something for use as a back-up. It's slightly different then the one that Ben made.

I pretty much built this whole thing today, although I did gather the parts 2 days before.
The parts list:
A 2L bottle.
Some 1/4 inch tubing.
A short wooden dowel with a small hole through it. (It originally started out as a square piece of wood. :cool: )
A short piece of hose with a male adapter(I think adapter is the right word.) on one end.(About 3 or 4 inches.)
A ball valve.
A shower head hose attachment.
A short hose with a female adapter on one end, and male on the other.
A 3-way hose adapter.

Here's how it works: The reservoir is an old soda bottle with a small hole in the cap where the 1/4 inch tube is pushed though, and is secured in by some sticky glue called Goop. The 1/4 inch tube is connected to the nozzle through an old piece of garden hose with a male adapter on one side. So how did I attach a small 1/4 inch tube into a 5/8 inch hose without letting any air or water out? Take a look at Image 5, cause I can't really explain it that well. The old hose piece, has a ball valve attached to it, which in turn, also has the shower head attached to it.
You also need a hose for refilling. (I'm not sure whether or not Ben's original modal needed one, but mine does.)

I didn't take any pictures of the construction, but I have plenty of pics of it completed.

Here is a picture of my blaster after I tested it:
Image

Here is the shower head type hose attachment. It has a few different settings, but the Jet setting is the only one that's really useful for combat.
Image

Here is a view of the nozzle selector from the front.
Image

Here is a pic of the ball valve connected to a piece of hose.
Image

This is how the 1/4 inch tubing attaches to the old hose piece. (It may be slightly fuzzy.)
Image

Here is the reservoir, an old 2L soda bottle.
Image

This is the refilling hose.
Image

Here is a close-up of the hose connector. The reason this is here, is so you can let out all the remaining water out of the hose, so you don't get sprayed when you unscrew the refilling hose. (This pic is also rather fuzzy.)
Image

Here is the end of the refilling hose. You unscrew the shower head, and attach it to the valve.
Image

Here is a pic of the hose hooked up to the valve. This is how it must be configured if you want to refill it.
Image

Here's one final pic of the blaster and it's refilling hose.
Image

NEW PICTURES:
Here is the blaster hooked up to the hose for refilling.
Image

Here is a pic of the blaster getting filled.
Image

This pic shows the excess water being emptied out after refilling. (Note: The hose was accidentally left on when this pic was taken, normally a lot less water would have been emptied. :p )
Image

Shot pic of the blaster on Jet setting. The only setting that's really useful.
Image

Shot pic of the blaster on Mist setting. This setting is pretty much useless. (The pic is kinda fuzzy too.)
Image

Shot pic of the blaster on Soaker setting. This setting just sorta leaks out of the nozzle. (Good for watering plants, bad for combat.)
Image

Shot pic of the blaster on Vertical setting. It's basically a vertical fan blast.
Image

Shot pic of the blaster on Flat setting. It's just a fan blast.
Image

Shot pic of the blaster on Shower setting. This might be useful for showering the opponent from above. (Hmm... this pic is rather fuzzy as well.)
Image

Stats:
Range: 21' 4". This is on the Jet setting. Pretty crummy, I know.(I wonder how Ben got his to do 40-45'. Different superior design I guess.)
Output: I'm not sure what the exact measurement would be, all I know is that it gets 1 and a half cups in about 9 seconds.
Soakage: About 6 and a half inches in diameter. Here is a pic.
Image

PROS:
No pumping required.
Very easy to build. (I will probably build a whole bunch of them for my team.)

CONS:
Takes a long time to refill, and a refilling hose is needed.
Often leaks when filling.
You have to hold the bottle in your other hand.
Doesn't have great range.
Range becomes even worse the less water you have in the reservoir.

So it's not the greatest blaster on earth, but it's just a start. I will be building many more homemades in the future, now that I have gained some experience. Next time I will post pics of the actual construction.

EDIT: Okay! Pictures are back!

~SEAL
Last edited by SEAL on Sun Jul 11, 2010 4:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Shot pics and stats posted!
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Fredcompany
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Re: 2L homemade

Post by Fredcompany » Mon Jul 05, 2010 7:26 pm

If you added a bike pump to that, you could top it up with air once the range starts to decrease.

The stream lamination can't be much good with that hose handle though.

In fact, it would probably have better lamination if you used the ball valve below the hose handle as a trigger, and added a better nozzle, because the water wouldn't have an extra curve to go round

EDIT: I just read C-A_99's post on isoaker - I pretty much just repeated it here
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SEAL
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Re: 2L homemade

Post by SEAL » Mon Jul 05, 2010 9:06 pm

Ehh, I'm really not gonna do much in terms of modification to this blaster. It was mainly built for fun. I'm mostly going to focus on building an APH now.
Captain of the Catskill Mountain S.E.A.L.s (Soaker Elite Assault Legion.)

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cantab
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Re: 2L homemade

Post by cantab » Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:08 pm

Fredcompany wrote:In fact, it would probably have better lamination if you used the ball valve below the hose handle as a trigger
I reckon that's more than offset by the fact it would be a disaster ergonomically. The current setup gives one hand to hold the bottle, and the other to aim and pull the trigger. With a ball valve you'd need one hand to hold the bottle, one hand to aim the nozzle, and one hand to operate the valve. Most people don't have three hands.

Also, the hose handle gives lots of spray patterns. OK most will be gimmicks with limited use, but hey, it's something.
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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SEAL
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Re: 2L homemade

Post by SEAL » Mon Jul 05, 2010 11:54 pm

Besides, the ball valve is very stiff. I had to give it some WD-40, but it still is pretty hard to turn.

Actually, regarding using one hand to hold the bottle, I've come up with a solution.
If I can find an old backpack somewhere, I'd poke a hole slightly wider then a 1/4 inch in the bottom, so that way I could put the bottle in the backpack, and have the 1/4 inch tube sticking out through the hole to the nozzle in my hand. And if I made another 2L, and added another hole in the backpack... Well, you get the idea. ;)
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Fredcompany
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Re: 2L homemade

Post by Fredcompany » Tue Jul 06, 2010 4:43 pm

It's a great idea for a cheap, easily reproducible water gun though.
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SEAL
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Re: 2L homemade

Post by SEAL » Wed Jul 07, 2010 12:17 am

Update: Alright! I got the statistics down and some more pictures posted!

Enjoy!
Captain of the Catskill Mountain S.E.A.L.s (Soaker Elite Assault Legion.)

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