Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Threads about how water guns work and other miscellaneous water gun technology threads.
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martianshark
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Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by martianshark » Tue Apr 13, 2010 7:55 pm

I never really knew how the Hydro-Power system worked, but one day I said,"Hey, I have a brilliant new pressure chamber idea!" And then I realized this is probably how Hydro-Power works. Is it?
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cantab
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by cantab » Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:15 pm

Yes. Rubber diaphragm stretched just taut across a flat plate, bulges outwards creating pressure when water is pumped in. The hemispherical case should not be airtight.

The main drawback to the design is the stress put on the flat plate, as well as where it joins to the diaphragm. I believe in the WW blasters it's held between the plate and the hemispherical case by an impressive number of screws.

The advantage is there's no way Hasbro have patents on it. But it's thought their CPS patents are limited, such that a simple cylindrical bladder is not covered (and indeed has prior art).

If you can easily and cheaply get rubber sheeting it may be worth using in a homemade. Otherwise I'd say stick with cylindrical or spherical CPSes.
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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C-A_99
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by C-A_99 » Tue Apr 13, 2010 9:04 pm

I can easily say that this is not a very good PC system. Performance and dropoff suffers much more than with traditional air pressure where you can pump in extra air to offset the dropoff. The proof of this is the 2L mod on the Piranha; it performs somewhat better w/ the 2L soda bottle PC.

Good air pressure chambers would, I'd think, be the best way to avoid patent issues. Then again, Hasbro could fall back on their XP designs and what not and has the Piranha be released like it is w/ the 2L mod (though they'd make it smaller and much safer) Hasbro might have harped onto it. (you never know)

I don't think a diaphragm PC would ever be a good choice for a homemade.

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soakernerd
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by soakernerd » Wed Apr 14, 2010 2:32 am

what about a hydro-power chamber perpendicular to the nozzle? this was proposed somewhere on isoaker's forums.

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martianshark
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by martianshark » Wed Apr 14, 2010 4:41 am


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soakernerd
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by soakernerd » Wed Apr 14, 2010 12:49 pm

Yeah, that was what I was thinking of. The design should increase the lamination of the stream.

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C-A_99
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by C-A_99 » Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:29 pm

The Tiger Shark's PC is nearly perpendicular, probably as practical as possible for the HP design. However, laminar flow is not the main issue here. The main problem is that the stress exerted by the HP PC means that it simply cannot push out enough water for better blasters. It's not worth it for homemades, period.

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martianshark
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by martianshark » Wed Apr 14, 2010 6:49 pm

Against air pressure, Hydro-Power has another pro: You can fire it in any direction.

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C-A_99
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by C-A_99 » Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:02 pm

If you need that ability, you can obviously just use piston based air pressure. (though pre-pumping is required, you can get much better results from that system than from any HP system)

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martianshark
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by martianshark » Wed Apr 14, 2010 7:35 pm

I think making/getting right sized pistons and stuff is a pain to do, but then again, making a Hydro Power chamber could be just as hard. :/

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C-A_99
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Re: Is This How Hydro-Power Works?

Post by C-A_99 » Thu Apr 15, 2010 1:13 am

Well considering the fact that no one has made a HP PC before, I'd imagine it's a lot harder than pistons. Pistons are pretty easy to find on McMaster, and they come in sizes like 2" and 3" and I don't think it's really that hard hard to match those sizes to the pipe you're using. The main problem with pistons is sealing, but they seem to seal fine at lower pressures.

Just stick to CPS if you want the firing angle without the bulkiness of an air piston system, or stick to air pressure for big water guns with lots of power. (or small PRH's) Nobody's built a HP PC not just because the materials aren't readily available, but also because there's absolutely no reason to build one at all.

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