Adding a pressure gauge

[totokan]

Anybody have any ideas? I have a cps 1000 and i want to know how much pressure is in the thing. I know the cps 2000 uses the bladder as the power meter, and some other guns have a secondary loop with a spring and a cog to show pressure.

[C-A_99]

Count your pumps and your shots, and tap shoot, that always works best.

Well, if you remove the PC case, the bladder can get damaged easier unless you put in another one, but it would be hard to tie into the design. This would probably be the simplest method though. It doesn't show it in a meter obviously, but still gives you just as good of an idea of how filled the PC is.

Hmm... wonder why they never used transparent PC cases and stopped using transparent reservoirs...

[Silence]

Remember that with constant pressure systems, the actual pressure is fairly constant. A fill gauge is what you're looking for. However, while that's easy with cylindrical bladder water guns like the CPS 2000, it's difficult with spherical bladder water guns like the CPS 1000.

You could try a clear PC case, and maybe even use one larger than the original for more space if you want to (especially with a K-mod).

Or maybe there could be a pin that gets pushed up by the bladder as it expands. Probably wouldn't work very well though. No matter what, there's no easy solution.

[totokan]

alright, thanks guys. I figured so much. I guess I'll do something else.
While I'm talking about it, how many balloons would I need before the k-mod is more powerful than the original bladder? I just don't think it's worth it at the current time, but I'd like to make sure

[Silence]

Even a single balloon will make the bladder more powerful. Remember, you're adding balloons to what was already there.

20 balloons should make a noticeable difference - perhaps nearly ten extra feet of range, no matter which water gun you're using. It's also a very easy mod. Doing a light K-mod with few balloons and no PRVD is fairly safe, too.

[Ben]

I would suggest light K-mods of 20 to 30 balloons over the heavier ones of 60 or more. The benefit for the most part is there. There will be diminishing returns on the performance increases associated with additional balloons. The extra balloons also reduce the water capacity of the pressure chamber. An extra 30 balloons might add 10 feet of range, while an extra 60 balloons might add 15 feet of range. It just is simpler and safer to use less balloons unless you want the small increase received with more balloons.

[totokan]

Ok, thank you. At first, I thought you replaced the bladder with balloons, but apparently this is not the case. Good thing I haven't done it yet.

[The Stealthy Panda]

I have a way to tell how full the bladder is, but it only works to near full pressure, unless you have really good vision. Just do the CPS PC Hole Mod. When the PC is nearly full, you can see decently through the enlarged ventilation hole. Here's the link: http://www.sscentral.org/tech/mods/pchole.php
Also, you could attach a dowel to it, if you could figure out a way to steady it.

[DX]

~5 balloons = 1ft of range IFF the amount of pumps remains constant. This mainly applies to the heavier k-mods, but can work with comparing light k-mods if the number of pumps doesn't change. 20 balloons doesn't give you 10ft more of range. Alone, you get about 3-5. The relationship between pumps and balloons gives you the 10ft. If you can get many pumps with many balloons, you'll see the best increase in performance.

It is because of this that I recommend 20-30 balloons, like Ben. That is the middle of a light K and allows you to get the best ratio of pumps to balloons. Something like 10 balloons doesn't provide enough power, while something like 40 doesn't allow you to use all the power, since the PRV kicks in too early.

I have done tests on the matter: http://forums.sscentral.org/t1315/9.html#post35494

All of this also may change based on a gun's high pressure limit [HPL]. The higher the limit, the more pumps the PRV can take. Some guns, like the CPS 1200 have a very strong HPL, while others like the CPS 2700 have a very weak HPL.

While the current trend is to mod light, there are still a couple of advantages to modding heavy. If you want spectacular ranges in normally what would only be homemade territory [60ft+], you need more than 70 balloons. Very heavy K-mods also give you stream speed unmatched by any other gun other than a pneumatic or piston/combo water cannon. Of course, great power comes at great cost: short pc shot time, smaller pc capacity, and potentially fatal trigger valve problems over time. You can also blow out the trigger valve if you overpump the gun. I once owned some of the most powerful K-modded guns ever modded, and they all have broken fatally. You can go sick with power, but it doesn't last long.

Anyway, I though up a crappy and rather makeshift way of a gauge for a spherical bladder gun. What you do is turn the vent holes into a curved track, like a tracked pump, but keeping the exact same distance and angles, so the indicator will slide back and forth. You'd then stick something semi-malleable through them for the indicator, such as a wire that can be bent and then stays in that position. Something would go on the ends to keep it locked on the tracks. When the pc expands, the wire would slide back, eventually hitting the back wall of the case. However, you'd have to angle the cuts up, so the indicator would be less inclined to slide back on its own. There are a ton of problems with this method, which is why I don't advise it be done, at least not on a live soaker. Just for brainstorming purposes.