Flash Flood Repair Needed

Repairs to water guns. Please put repair topics in this forum so that people do not have to sort through so many topics when looking for a repair. If a fix is included in the topic, please add (Fixed) before the topic title to indicate so.
laboye
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Flash Flood Repair Needed

Post by laboye » Mon Oct 02, 2006 8:43 pm

Hi,

I've somehow managed to break my Flash Flood gun. The ball valve that releases the top reservoir fails to close. This means that pressure as well as water cannot be stored, making the gun useless. I believe that some dirt has gotten into the mechanism. I'd like to know if anyone has some "easy-to-follow" disassembly/opening instructions.

Thanks in advance,

-Eddie

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Drenchenator
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Post by Drenchenator » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:09 pm

This is commonly known as an "open trigger valve." There are several methods to fix this problem, all being outlined in this article. It may not actually be dirt; this is a pretty common problem. But if it is, you should just be able to clean the dirt out.

There is no real detailed guide on how to open each gun. All that I can recommend is to save every screw and open it carefully.
The Drenchenator, also known as Lt. Col. Drench.

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SSCBen
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Post by SSCBen » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:18 pm

Welcome to Super Soaker Central.

The Flash Flood has a different mechanism. A repair guide for this mechanism is here: http://www.geocities.com/m15399/rubberband.html

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Mon Oct 02, 2006 11:45 pm

Sorry to hear about the problems. It really shouldn't matter what guide you use--they are very general and will usually have to be adapted to each gun, and even on the same gun often for a slightly different problem.

Basically, you should open up the soaker and observe what happens when you pull the trigger to fire. How much water leaks out? Is it a full-force stream or a partial one? Or can you just not generate pressure quickly enough to tell?

Anyway, with the soaker open, you should be able to identify the position the valve must be in when closed. Try to manually close the valve to check out exactly what's happening. That should solve the problem, at least temporarily. If that's the case, then the next challenge is to find a method to mount a spring or rubber band, and ensure that the valve will return to the closed state.

laboye
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Post by laboye » Tue Oct 03, 2006 2:56 am

The Flash Flood has two valves. One of which releases the standard steady stream of water and the other releases the entire top reservior in a split second. They both feed from the same reservoir. The "Flash Flood" ball valve visibly (the hole is large enough to see) stays open, not allowing any pressure build-up in the pressure chamber (top reservoir). When I pump, the water that is normally pulled up from the bottom tank into the pressure chamber simpley spews out of the nozzle. When I managed to close the valve, the gun worked fine until I pulled the Flash Flood trigger.

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C-A_99
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Post by C-A_99 » Tue Oct 03, 2006 6:54 pm

My FF's squirt nozzle's trigger is completely stuck open, the trigger doesn't return and I'm trying (but not doing so well) to take it apart and open it. Something along the large nozzle is keeping it from opening, along with the pump cap. Mine broke when I was simply clicking it, the gun is pretty new and is the '06 MaxI version. I have no clue what the Max-D triggers look like and will have to have a look at it when I get it open, and hopefully I'll be able to reinforce/adjust the trigger to prevent this crap from happening again. IMO the Max-D triggers were pretty stupid (considering how prone they are to breaking), they could get better range with a better designed PC. Though no doubt the Max-D triggers give a better better opening, there is probably another better way to do it.

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:05 pm

@ CA-99: This is probably just a regular old open trigger valve problem, and not a more complex one. As far as I know, the Max-D triggers don't really cause the problem, and they usually don't make a difference when it comes down to breaking and repairs. I can't help you with the opening of the soaker, though.

Plus, both of you should be emailing Hasbro to see if you can't get a replacement. Check out the stickied Hasbro Customer Service thread here at SSC, I believe in the Buy/Sell forum, if you're confused. The Flash Flood is a good gun that's probably still being produced :p , so replacements should actually be available.

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C-A_99
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Post by C-A_99 » Wed Oct 04, 2006 10:53 pm

Eh, too late, already busted my flash flood nozzle cap trying to open it. (it still works fine, it just looks all damaged around it) Either way, if I got a replacement it would just break again in a few weeks, so it's better if I can make any adjustments to the Max-D triggers inside to make them less likely to break. I also used a small screwdriver to make the thin stream nozzle larger, and took off the screen on the larger nozzle.

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Thu Oct 05, 2006 2:15 am

It doesn't matter if you busted the cap--you can still get a replacement, perhaps fixing this one too. I wouldn't be so negative about the triggers, as they aren't universally unreliable, and I would jump at the chance. It's your choice, though.

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C-A_99
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Post by C-A_99 » Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:01 pm

So you can get a replacement without turning in your current gun? I assuming you use the email us function on their site to contact them about it, and I'm sending it after describing the issue and asking for the replacement. I didn't find the link to their customer service in the buy/sell forum so I looked through supersoaker.com and found it there.
Last edited by C-A_99 on Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Thu Oct 05, 2006 11:09 pm

Yup, that's how you would do it. Much has probably changed since the discussion of the thread, and interest and thus updates have probably waned, but it doesn't hurt to try. I'd advise reading through the entire thread if you haven't done so already. Tell us how it goes!

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joannaardway
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Post by joannaardway » Fri Oct 06, 2006 9:29 am

When I tried to get a replacement for the Triple Aggressor (which failed under regular use) from Hasbro UK, they were insistent on the return of the original soaker (which I couldn't then do, because after it broke, I repaired it and modded it).

Don't know about the US, but the same might apply.
"Over the hills and far away, she prays he will return one day. As sure as the rivers reach the seas, back in his arms again she'll be." - Over the Hills and far away, Gary Moore

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C-A_99
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Post by C-A_99 » Thu Nov 02, 2006 9:21 pm

Sorry for bumping the thread, but I finally contacted them. They simply replied to me through email, saying they'll send a new one to me. I didn't even have to send a serial number nor proof of purchase or anything.

In the meanwhile I still have the repairs to do. Plus, a CPS 2700 I won from ebay is taking so long and hasn't come yet for some reason. It ships from ontario, canada to lower michigan and it's had around 5-6 days.

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Silence
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Post by Silence » Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:30 am

Nice. It's good to know that their system still stands, so I'm going to get replacements for my CPS 4100 (broken trigger) and XP 270 (broken reservoir). Both fixable, but surely they could have been built stronger. This isn't even regarding people who do dumb things--it's just regular wear and tear.

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C-A_99
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Post by C-A_99 » Sun Nov 05, 2006 7:32 pm

There was an area by of the frame where the flash flood trigger is that had a screw. (the screw's hole was covered by the trigger) I thought it was glued together because I never saw the screw when I took out the trigger so I've been using screwdrivers to get it apart, and dad managed to bust the screw's connection yesterday. (how could I be so stupid?)

Well at least I know how the Max-D trigger functions now, and I found that the main trigger breakage was because part of the spring snapped apart. (where the spring is bent and connected to the piece) The thin connections where the spring connects the turning pieces is simply atrocious, I wonder what they were thinking. (and now I know why the MD triggers break so easily) I may try to strengthen the connections of the spring on the other triggers later, and maybe eventually to my other guns that use MD triggers if I get them open.

I'm getting quite annoyed by these dealings. If they spent an extra penny on each gun for a better spring, they could've saved so much more money in replacements, have less pissed off customers, and not have people waste their time trying to open up the thing. I didn't notice the screw there by accident, but the spring is just a plain and obvious design flaw.

Edit: The new FF finally came today. Exact thing you buy in the stores. The new gun feels a bit different than the other one I got, due to the manufacturing I think. I did not test it (other than pumping it up and shooting air) to delay the breaking of the trigger.
Last edited by C-A_99 on Wed Nov 15, 2006 11:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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