Super Soaker Central forums

tpapa · 07-29-2006, 08:36 PM

This is a little off topic but there's only so many places to post questions about supersoakers so apologies in advance.

I have a SuperSoaker Mt. Tiki-Soki sprinkler (not exactly water fight material). Anywho, the cylindical rubber chamber that inflates (fills with water), causing the water to "erupt" from the volcano has ruptured after only a few hours of play. This *seems* to be a purpose-designed bit of rubber tubing, only a few inches long but apparently can hold a fair bit of water.

Does anyone know of a place where this tubing can be had. The outside and inside diameters would need to be similar since there are barb-fittings that go in either end of the tube.

There seems to be a fairly large community of folks who mod their guns so hopefully someone has a suggestion.

Thanks,

Tony

Silence · 07-29-2006, 08:50 PM

Welcome to SSCentral! I moved this from "General" to "Off Topic" and changed the title since this actually isn't off topic at all--we're happy to help with repairs. I'm sure you'll get the hang of the forum layout soon.

It looks like you need to replace the old rubber bladder with latex rubber tubing (LRT), a plumbing material that can be bought at McMaster-Carr. If you get the replacement tubing from them and if you live fairly close to New Jersey, you should recieve it on Monday.

Repairs like this have been done before; see "CPS 2000 Bladder split, help please!" and the related thread "CPS 2000 Bladder repair, how to..." The Super Soaker Central Forums actually has a stickied thread, "CPS Bladder repair," but it really isn't that helpful at this point. Anyway, I hope you get the gist of how to do such a repair.

You pretty much remove the old bladder and use a Jubilee clip (also known as a hose clamp) to secure LRT over where the original bladder was or onto a tubing barb that you epoxy on. The CPS 2000 "required" a far more powerful bladder, but this situation probably doesn't call for more than one layer of LRT. Also, I'm not sure how your "soaker" works--if the hose fills the bladder for you, then too thick a bladder would require too strong a hose.

Perhaps pictures or greater detail in your explanation would help if this doesn't work for you. We're always happy to help, and good luck with your repair

!

Ben · 07-30-2006, 06:59 AM

SilentGuy pretty much hit the nail on the head. All you'll need to do is find the same or a similar replacement tube and replace the chamber. Pretty easy.

Good luck with the repair!

tpapa · 07-31-2006, 01:06 PM

Hi Guys, thanks for the info. I've ordered a section of the LRT that most closely matched the one of the SS which was the largest they sell, 1 1/2" OD, 1" ID, and 1/4" WT. I needed an inside diameter of 7/8" but opted for a thicker wall instead. The Tiki Soki's valve mechanism has the barb fittings integrated so the tubing ID has to be close. Getting LRT that has an ID of 7/8" brings the wall thickness to 1/8" and the rating to 20PSI.

I noticed that the 1 1/2 tubing was only rated for 30PSI. As you correctly surmised, this sprinkler fills using a water hose. Standard house water PSI is higher than this tubing is rated for. I wonder if that'll be a problem? Would doubling the tubing in a way that still provides for the right inside diameter increase the pressure rating? It woudl be tough to find that combo given the choices on the McMaster website.

The way the Mt. Tiki Soki works is it fills the bladder with water until it reaches a certain weight then releases. The weight of water in the bladder pulls down a springloaded mechanism which rotates a ball valve into the open position. After the water is expelled ball rotates to the closed position and the bladder proceeds to fill with water again. I suppose so long as enough water accumulates in the bladder to cause a release before the internal pressure reaches 30PSI I'll be ok. Right? Would putting a section of bike inner tube on the outside of the LRT help? Hurt? Increase the pressure of the release?

If anyone is interested I'll put some pics of the repair up.

Tony

Ben · 07-31-2006, 01:47 PM

I don't know for sure, but I believe the 30 PSI is actually how much pressure it takes for the tube to expand. These tubes never operate on pressure, rather, they work by the expansion and contraction of the rubber. You shouldn't have any trouble using the 30 PSI tube on a hose for those reasons.

The PSI rating of the tubes doesn't seem to correlate much with actual performance. A 35 PSI tube performs similarly to most CPS water guns, and it takes approximately a hose to get that performance. You probably will get similar or better performance with the 30 PSI tube you have.

I would avoid layering over this tube because I'm not sure most hoses could take the extra pressure. The highest pressure I've built from my hose was 55 - 60 PSI, which is normal, and I've had trouble filling rubber tubing attached to a hose with about four layers of bike tubes over that. You can try layering if you want a bigger splash, but don't layer too much. Trial and error will tell what your hose is capable of.

Get some pictures of this repair too. I'm sure someone in the future will appreciate them.

tpapa · 08-03-2006, 10:42 AM

Just wanted to let you know that the LRT from McMaster arrived in less than 24 hours (even though I didn't choose overnight shipping) and worked beautifully for the repair. The inside diameter was a little larger that the original but the barb-fittings held on. The performance seem superior with the new tubing. I cut it a little longer than the original. The volume and pressure of the water blast is better.

I have about 1.5 feet of the LRT left over (I ordered extra just in case). Maybe I'll try a homemade gun like described in some of the other posts.

Fun stuff.

Thanks again for the advice.

Tony

Silence · 08-03-2006, 01:55 PM

Congratulations! It sounds like McMaster-Carr has a reliably efficient service, so everybody gets their orders quickly. Just remember that you'll definitely want more tubing for layering if you're making a CPH, but since the shipping is quick, that isn't much of a problem.

docoman · 07-08-2008, 02:34 PM

Hello Tony - I have same problem my our Mt. Tiki Soki. Can you post pictures of your repair or at least describe the part of taking about the toy to get to the water bladder?

Thanks
Ron

Silence · 07-08-2008, 04:10 PM

This thread is from 2006 so it's unlikely tpapa will respond. His profile page has a link to his email address, though, so you may want to shoot him an email instead.

07-29-2006, 08:36 PM	#1
tpapa Junior member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3 UserID: 805	Super Soaker [Mt. Tiki Soki] rubber chamber This is a little off topic but there's only so many places to post questions about supersoakers so apologies in advance. I have a SuperSoaker Mt. Tiki-Soki sprinkler (not exactly water fight material). Anywho, the cylindical rubber chamber that inflates (fills with water), causing the water to "erupt" from the volcano has ruptured after only a few hours of play. This seems to be a purpose-designed bit of rubber tubing, only a few inches long but apparently can hold a fair bit of water. Does anyone know of a place where this tubing can be had. The outside and inside diameters would need to be similar since there are barb-fittings that go in either end of the tube. There seems to be a fairly large community of folks who mod their guns so hopefully someone has a suggestion. Thanks, Tony

07-29-2006, 08:50 PM	#2
Silence Administrator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 3,615 UserID: 576	Welcome to SSCentral! I moved this from "General" to "Off Topic" and changed the title since this actually isn't off topic at all--we're happy to help with repairs. I'm sure you'll get the hang of the forum layout soon. It looks like you need to replace the old rubber bladder with latex rubber tubing (LRT), a plumbing material that can be bought at McMaster-Carr. If you get the replacement tubing from them and if you live fairly close to New Jersey, you should recieve it on Monday. Repairs like this have been done before; see "CPS 2000 Bladder split, help please!" and the related thread "CPS 2000 Bladder repair, how to..." The Super Soaker Central Forums actually has a stickied thread, "CPS Bladder repair," but it really isn't that helpful at this point. Anyway, I hope you get the gist of how to do such a repair. You pretty much remove the old bladder and use a Jubilee clip (also known as a hose clamp) to secure LRT over where the original bladder was or onto a tubing barb that you epoxy on. The CPS 2000 "required" a far more powerful bladder, but this situation probably doesn't call for more than one layer of LRT. Also, I'm not sure how your "soaker" works--if the hose fills the bladder for you, then too thick a bladder would require too strong a hose. Perhaps pictures or greater detail in your explanation would help if this doesn't work for you. We're always happy to help, and good luck with your repair ! __________________ Forum rules

07-30-2006, 06:59 AM	#3
Ben Founder Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: College Park, Maryland Posts: 6,243 UserID: 1	SilentGuy pretty much hit the nail on the head. All you'll need to do is find the same or a similar replacement tube and replace the chamber. Pretty easy. Good luck with the repair! __________________ / Please read this before emailing me / #soakertalk I do not sell water guns. If you ask me any general water gun question by PM or email my response will be to post the question at the forum. My free time is limited. If I do have time I will post a reply to your thread. Private or very specific questions are fine and encouraged. Thank you for your consideration.

07-31-2006, 01:06 PM	#4
tpapa Junior member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3 UserID: 805	Tiki Soki Repair Hi Guys, thanks for the info. I've ordered a section of the LRT that most closely matched the one of the SS which was the largest they sell, 1 1/2" OD, 1" ID, and 1/4" WT. I needed an inside diameter of 7/8" but opted for a thicker wall instead. The Tiki Soki's valve mechanism has the barb fittings integrated so the tubing ID has to be close. Getting LRT that has an ID of 7/8" brings the wall thickness to 1/8" and the rating to 20PSI. I noticed that the 1 1/2 tubing was only rated for 30PSI. As you correctly surmised, this sprinkler fills using a water hose. Standard house water PSI is higher than this tubing is rated for. I wonder if that'll be a problem? Would doubling the tubing in a way that still provides for the right inside diameter increase the pressure rating? It woudl be tough to find that combo given the choices on the McMaster website. The way the Mt. Tiki Soki works is it fills the bladder with water until it reaches a certain weight then releases. The weight of water in the bladder pulls down a springloaded mechanism which rotates a ball valve into the open position. After the water is expelled ball rotates to the closed position and the bladder proceeds to fill with water again. I suppose so long as enough water accumulates in the bladder to cause a release before the internal pressure reaches 30PSI I'll be ok. Right? Would putting a section of bike inner tube on the outside of the LRT help? Hurt? Increase the pressure of the release? If anyone is interested I'll put some pics of the repair up. Tony

07-31-2006, 01:47 PM	#5
Ben Founder Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: College Park, Maryland Posts: 6,243 UserID: 1	I don't know for sure, but I believe the 30 PSI is actually how much pressure it takes for the tube to expand. These tubes never operate on pressure, rather, they work by the expansion and contraction of the rubber. You shouldn't have any trouble using the 30 PSI tube on a hose for those reasons. The PSI rating of the tubes doesn't seem to correlate much with actual performance. A 35 PSI tube performs similarly to most CPS water guns, and it takes approximately a hose to get that performance. You probably will get similar or better performance with the 30 PSI tube you have. I would avoid layering over this tube because I'm not sure most hoses could take the extra pressure. The highest pressure I've built from my hose was 55 - 60 PSI, which is normal, and I've had trouble filling rubber tubing attached to a hose with about four layers of bike tubes over that. You can try layering if you want a bigger splash, but don't layer too much. Trial and error will tell what your hose is capable of. Get some pictures of this repair too. I'm sure someone in the future will appreciate them. __________________ / Please read this before emailing me / #soakertalk I do not sell water guns. If you ask me any general water gun question by PM or email my response will be to post the question at the forum. My free time is limited. If I do have time I will post a reply to your thread. Private or very specific questions are fine and encouraged. Thank you for your consideration.

08-03-2006, 10:42 AM	#6
tpapa Junior member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 3 UserID: 805	Back in business Just wanted to let you know that the LRT from McMaster arrived in less than 24 hours (even though I didn't choose overnight shipping) and worked beautifully for the repair. The inside diameter was a little larger that the original but the barb-fittings held on. The performance seem superior with the new tubing. I cut it a little longer than the original. The volume and pressure of the water blast is better. I have about 1.5 feet of the LRT left over (I ordered extra just in case). Maybe I'll try a homemade gun like described in some of the other posts. Fun stuff. Thanks again for the advice. Tony

08-03-2006, 01:55 PM	#7
Silence Administrator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 3,615 UserID: 576	Congratulations! It sounds like McMaster-Carr has a reliably efficient service, so everybody gets their orders quickly. Just remember that you'll definitely want more tubing for layering if you're making a CPH, but since the shipping is quick, that isn't much of a problem. __________________ Forum rules

07-08-2008, 02:34 PM	#8
docoman Junior member Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3 UserID: 1647	Re: Super Soaker [Mt. Tiki Soki] rubber chamber Hello Tony - I have same problem my our Mt. Tiki Soki. Can you post pictures of your repair or at least describe the part of taking about the toy to get to the water bladder? Thanks Ron

07-08-2008, 04:10 PM	#9
Silence Administrator Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 3,615 UserID: 576	Re: Super Soaker [Mt. Tiki Soki] rubber chamber This thread is from 2006 so it's unlikely tpapa will respond. His profile page has a link to his email address, though, so you may want to shoot him an email instead. __________________ Forum rules

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