Personal debate...

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
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Specter
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Personal dilemma...

Post by Specter » Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:22 pm

Ok so I'm thinking of making a homemade watergun this summer (APH). I have 5 feet of 2" diam and quite a bit of 1" diam PVC leftover from when I made my WBL. I was going to make another WBL with it but with a 2:3 - PC:Barrel ratio this time. (my current one has a 1:4 ratio, except for the 1" barrel I made with a precut leftover piece)

I was wondering what you guys think. Should I use the 2" PVC to make pressure chambers for an APH or use it to make another WBL?

The other thing I was thinking of doing was make the 2nd WBL with 2-foot length precut 3" diam PVC from Home Depot, (1 piece for the PC, 1 for the barrel)
Last edited by Specter on Mon Jun 16, 2008 9:29 pm, 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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aEx155
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by aEx155 » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:49 pm

If you can get a hold of some 3" pipe, I would use that for the PC; 2" seems a bit small unless you make the chambers long. (like sbell did here)

I would put it down to preference; if you feel like you need another WBL, then go ahead and make one. For me, I would go with the gun, but I prefer shooting than launching water...

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Goldfish4209
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Goldfish4209 » Mon Jun 16, 2008 10:56 pm

I don't know much about either, but I would go with the APH. Simply because I prefer water guns to water balloons (even if the water balloons are launched several hundred feet). However you would have to weigh the other factors like cost, etc.

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SSCBen
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by SSCBen » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:41 pm

If you already have a WBL then I think you should broaden your experience by trying a water gun. 2 inch PVC is adequate but you might want some more water capacity, which is what 3 inch is good for. 3 or 4 8-inch long chambers would be plenty adequate. It'll be a little tall but it'll work fine.

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Specter
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Specter » Mon Jun 16, 2008 11:55 pm

well the reason I was asking was because my current WBL doesn't have the best performance when shooting balloons. That's why i wanted to make a 2:3 ratio launcher. But I was also thinking about making a 3" diam launcher because Home Depot sells precut 2-foot sections of 1 1/4 - 4" diameter PVC, and I can get 2 pieces of that to make a much better performing launcher and use the 2" PVC to make a APH or 2. I can use my one ball valve on all my homemade equipment the way I have it attached to my WBL. It's a threaded 1" valve and I have threaded adapters("quick disconnects") for my barrels/PC and can use the valve on another WBL / APH if I make them.

I'm just having a dilemma on whether I should make just the 2" launcher or 3" launcher and APH.
(and the reason I'm choosing an APH to build if i build one is because it seems easiest to make/use).

And I can always have multiple PCs on an APH right? I'll see if i can make a quick mockup in PVC-Designer. (haven't used that program in a while haha)
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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Silence
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Silence » Tue Jun 17, 2008 12:01 am

Killer 7 did a similar thing with his water gun. But instead of a couple long tanks, he used several shorter ones. I prefer wider pressure chambers, but it might not be worth the hassle. I couldn't even get pressure rated 3" PVC at Lowes here.

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Specter
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Specter » Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:14 am

heres my design... any suggestions?
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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: Personal debate...

Post by aEx155 » Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:22 am

Both designs would work fine. The check valve system inn the second design has nothing wrong with it either.

The only thing I would suggest is that you put the chambers onto the main pipe (like Killer7's), rather than having them branch off from a single connection. This would not only increase flow, but strength; imagine, that one 3/4" section of pipe has to support the weight of all three PC.

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Silence
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Silence » Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:24 am

The design looks fine. I would suggest having all the tanks branch of the barrel using tees instead of connecting them above the barrel - you'll get better flow and rigidity if they all come off the barrel. :cool:

The check valve setup will be fine either way. Good luck with the build! :)

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Specter
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Specter » Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:05 am

haha you both said almost the same thing.
@aEx its all 1" and 2" PVC, no 3/4"

Ok so i guess I should have 3 Tees instead of the cross/elbows. Thanks for the tip.
Yeah I asked about that other CV setup because it seems more compact and easier to build, using less PVC which can be used in the future. :)
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

Killer 7
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Killer 7 » Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:52 am

I helped my friend build a gun almost identical to this one. 2" pressure chambers will be fine for an APH, although this is a matter of opinion, I have never had a problem. The only bad thing is that the PCs have to be taller than ones made of 3" or 4" PVC.

the gun my friend built has three PCs, and it works very well. the PCs are all 10" long.

Silent Guy all of the PC's on my APH are sections of 2" PVC that are 12" long.

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Silence
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Silence » Tue Jun 17, 2008 2:28 pm

Heh...we posted at essentially the same time. I didn't see aEx's post. I'm not so sure you can save that much space and PVC with your setup - for example, in the regular APH, you don't need a very long piece between the pump and the barrel. It's just a matter of taste, I guess. (Also, 1/2" and 3/4" PVC is cheap... :) )

Thanks for the dimensions, Killer. 12" is longer than I expected, but fortunately having more chambers helps. I presume your friend's water gun has less PC capacity, unless he did use 3" PVC.

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Specter
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Specter » Tue Jun 17, 2008 4:53 pm

(Also, 1/2" and 3/4" PVC is cheap... )
I already have a LONG piece of 1" PVC leftover from my WBL, thats why I used it for all the rest of my design. As I typed in the caption in the design, the PVC Designer wasn't letting me do exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't plan on making the space between the pump and barrel that large.

The only reason i would go with that second design would be to keep it more streamlined.

I have a question about the check valves. What size do most of you use. There aren't any on the Home Depot website so I can't check/compare prices. And when I look on http://www.usplastic.com the check valves are all over $35 each
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

Killer 7
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by Killer 7 » Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:09 pm

yes Silent Guy he only has three PCs on his gun, and all are 2". He gets decent range on his, but has not taken any range stats yet.

I always use the 1/2" check valves because they are the cheapest.

aEx155
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Re: Personal debate...

Post by aEx155 » Tue Jun 17, 2008 5:59 pm

Specter wrote:I already have a LONG piece of 1" PVC leftover from my WBL, thats why I used it for all the rest of my design. As I typed in the caption in the design, the PVC Designer wasn't letting me do exactly what I wanted. I wouldn't plan on making the space between the pump and barrel that large.

The only reason i would go with that second design would be to keep it more streamlined.

I have a question about the check valves. What size do most of you use. There aren't any on the Home Depot website so I can't check/compare prices. And when I look on http://www.usplastic.com the check valves are all over $35 each
1" PVC would definitely help with flow to the nozzle from the PCs, especially since it's only 1" smaller than the PCs. The only thing I would suggest would be to make sure you get 1/2" for everything up to the last check valve; that helps keep the price lower and the pump has to be 1/2" anyways (unless you can pump with 38 pounds of force for 1").

Also, this might be something for you to look into...

Streamlining matters most between the PCs and the nozzle, where flow is the most important; that's the reason most of us suggested that you keep all the PCs on one pipe rather than branching them. The only thing your second design would do would reduce the overall height of the pump section and make the gun longer; if that's what you wanted, then go ahead wit it.

Most check valves will run for about $5-$10, depending on where you live. Personally, I've never used them; I make my own, which you can see in this post here, and, if I'm correct, they should work pretty well.

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