Max-D 6000 Problem

[Pwolfe]

We have a Max-D 6000 Super Soaker that is 3-4 years old. Recently it stopped squirting. When you try to pump it up, the power gauge does not move. And although I can see that the two chambers nearest the nozzle are almost full of water, nothing comes out when I pull the trigger. I have tried all four nozzles with the same result. My guess is that something (maybe mold) has plugged up a tube somewhere. But it may be something else. I am reluctant to take the assembly apart in case I cannot get it together again. Any suggestions about possible solutions to this problem? We have fun playing with the Soaker. Thanks very much.

[Ben]

Welcome to Super Soaker Central!

This problem is not likely a clog due to mold or something similar. There would have to be two clogs for that to happen because the firing valve and pressure gauge lead off different parts.

To identify the problem, the best thing to do would be to open the water gun and take a closer look. Take a picture and post it here if you don't see anything out of the ordinary in your mind.

While there are many known versions of the Max-D 6000, every one I know of is easy to open. The only trouble will be the pump cap (usually orange, but depends on the colors). The pump cap can be pried off with a flat head screw driver or even a pipe wrench. Don't worry about breaking the pump cap because it's completely unnecessary on the Max-D 6000.

Also, don't worry about breaking your water gun during a repair. For most serious problems such as this, the chance of repairing your water gun heavily outweighs the chance it will break. The water gun already is broken - you can only gain from opening.

So basically, open your water gun and get back to us.

[Silence]

EDIT: You can pretty much ignore everything in this post, keeping the two edits in mind...

Welcome to the forums, hope you get this problem resolved.

I certainly agree with Ben's optimistic attitude about opening the gun, and luckily, I found SSC has a picture of the Max-D 6000 internals. It is strange that there is not one, but two problems--perhaps something is clogging up the joint to the pressure gauge, right between the two PCs.

My guess? There might be a hole in both of the PCs large enough for air to exit, but perhaps not large enough to allow water to leak freely--and the air gets displaced when you pump. Alright, I admit it's a bit farfetched--but given the seemingly contradictory facts, there isn't much to suggest.

I do know that the trigger valve won't open if there's too much pressure--but with the pressure release valve in place, there isn't much chance of that unless it has suddenly become faulty. Who knows, if the gun has been sitting in the basement for a while, then maybe there are two problems--say, a trigger valve problem and a messed up pressure gauge.

So in the end, all I can say is the same as Ben. Open 'er up and see if anything is wrong--make sure there aren't any leaks, no shadow of anything clogging up the internals, a freely moving trigger valve, that sort of thing. Good luck, and remember to post pictures if you can! Truly an interesting conundrum here.

EDIT: Does this mean the MD6K is separate-PC, or is it PR? Perhaps I'm overlooking something if it is PR, which I forgot about while writing my post...but at any rate, I'm not rewriting the post.

EDIT again: Argh! It is PR after all! Maybe that affects my logic, maybe not. The pressure gauge is in fact that yellow circle above the trigger, so it must be connected to the reservoir. I'm not sure how the PR system works in commercial soakers due to the complex tubing, so you can pretty much ignore everything I said concerning the layout. You'll still need to open up the soaker, though...

[Pwolfe]

Thank you very much for the helpful advice. I will open up the Soaker, see what I can find, and report back. Thanks again for your help.


Pete

[CROC]

The problem is either a spring that snapped or the long metal wire that connects the trigger to the ball valve, most likely (The wire doesn't seem so strong).