4 gallon high powered water cannon

[mchaos]

I got my self 2 2 gallon well pressure tanks, rigged them together with 3/4 fittings.

I have not built the gun part yet, there is only a water tank with a valve. You connect it to a faucet to fill it, and the water pressure from the house expands the bladders.once filled, I can close the valve, and then open it...

the blast of water is like a fire hose !!!! its like 4 gallons of water in 4 seconds!!! a gallon a second of blast. Its enough to slide a cinder block with force across the driveway.

Plans..

To build a gun and narrow down the spray so it lasts longer and is more directed. A back pack harness to carry it. pressure gauge to see how much pressure is in the tanks. I may have to put some sort of a regulator on it if the stream is too powerful.

When its done I will post pics.

[soak master 2000]

that seems very powerful, how much kickback is there? also a gallon a second? that seems a little high. also, what range are you getting?
and to slide a cinderblock with some force, that would hurt a lot!

[The Stealthy Panda]

Have you tested this on a person yet? Even if it is too painful, you can just reign it in a bit and have the best gun ever. Yessiree, you should definitely keep us posted.

[Silence]

Welcome to the forums!

It sounds like you haven't built the water gun yet. I don't think it would be able to move a cinder block though. If a hose can't do it, then this probably can't either, even with more flow.

I would consider using latex rubber tubing (LRT) for constant pressure bladders. Air pressure has dropoff, which usually isn't good for hose-filled systems. When you're out fighting, as the pressure drops, you can't repressurize because you have to have a hose! That's why the only commercial hose-filled water guns that use air pressure are ones that have pumps for regular pumping as well.

Anyway, I hope to see the final product! I'd still suggest rubber tubing, but I'm sure there will be equal output with your system.

[The Stealthy Panda]

Hey, how did you get that much force with the pressure of a hose (40 psi) and an ID of 3/4"? Is there some special thing that you did?

[soak master 2000]

I'd like to see a video of it moving a cinder block

[Drenchenator]

4 gallons of water in 4 seconds!

that seems very powerful, how much kickback is there? also a gallon a second? that seems a little high. also, what range are you getting?

This output is high but not unbelievable. Based on the fact that there are 128 ounces per gallon, this gun has an output of about 128X. A fire hose shoots about water at about 130X. Not at all unbelievable as Ben has built two guns that get this kind of output. SuperCAP outputs about 130X and SuperCannon II outputs at least 500X.

Please, remember output is not at all hard to achieve. I can easily get about the output of a fire hose with only a bucket full of water. Once filled, it can be inverted so that 1 gallon of water leaves the bucket, the nozzle in this case, in 1 second due to gravity.

Don't worry; I'm looking forward to a finished gun as well.

Have you tested this on a person yet? Even if it is too painful, you can just reign it in a bit and have the best gun ever.

As the accident recipient of a riot blast from Ben's SuperCAP, I can tell that it is not nearly as painful as previously thought. I was standing about 10 to 20 feet away when I was hit. The blast impacted my leg, specifically my right quad. It felt very much like an extremely hard slap. This feeling is understandable because the stream had some time to break apart but would not be the case at closer ranges. In the end, outputs like this should not be used for water fights. 40 to 50X would get just about anyone drenched anyhow.

[mchaos]

I suppose I embellished a bit. It didn't slide the cinder block across the driveway, it did move it pretty good tho for a water gun Hey, that's funny!.

I have done no literal calculations. I know that the tanks hold 2 gallons each. Total of 4 gallons, it takes roughly 4 to 5 seconds to deplete when open full out of the 1/2" barb. It is 3/4 pipe up to that point. I have not time it with a watch or anything. these are rough observations.

It does push back a bit. I suppose enough that if i put it down, it would slide across the ground.

I also have to put a pressure gauge on it so I can see the water pressure.

I have put a smaller barb on it. 1/4" brass barb. I have a feeling that the power of the cannon was so strong because of the low resistance of it leaving the tanks. I do get a good strong stream, but it does not hurt. The force was much greater with the half inch barb.

Im not looking to make something that will knock some one over, or hurt them. I just have always wanted to build an awesome water cannon. with a backpack tank and gun.

I am probably going to step the stream down to 1/8th, because I want the tank last. it lasts much longer with the 1/4 inch barb, but I would like to get the most out of it.


With the 1/2 inch barb, I was able to reach across the yard and hit the fence, I will have to measure to see exactly how far it is.


I got the pressure tanks for 23 cents a piece. I lucked out. They were clearance at lowes and it was 90% off Hey, that's funny!. I couldn't say no. I spent about $24 dollars total so far. It works much better then I could have imagined when buying the tanks. It is by far the easiest way to build a back pack cannon.
Edit/Delete Message

[mchaos]

Here are some pics of the cannon so far...

The first pic is of the whole unit. 2 2 gallon tanks. 3/4 pipe, pvc ball valve x2, one for the fill point which will eventually be replaced by a check valve. Right now I fill with a hose on the half inch barb on the bottom with a hose and clamp, I am going to put a quick disconnect on it. there is a 1/4" ball valve after the ball valve after the pvc ball valve with a 1/4" quick connect as the spray tip. it has a much more steady stream of water.

I also have to make the tanks closer, build a gun and make the tanks so that they are able to be strapped onto some ones back. I have been toying with many ideas for the gun end. I would like to make something that can be adapted to different streams quickly, and possible a spray mode that just blasts from all sides as something you can use when cornered.



Then here are some pics of the valves.





here is a vid.

I am shooting it in the bathroom because Its too dark out right now to video it.

http://mindskewed.com/S4010022.AVI

I fire it from the nozzle then I fire it out of the fill end to show it fire with the 1/2" barb.

You really cannot tell by the vid, but the noise of it hitting the tub surround is thunderous when I hit it with the 1/2" barb.

EDIT by SilentGuy: Merged the two posts. In the future, if there's something you forgot to add to a post you've just made, you should just edit the information into the first post to reduce clutter. Thanks!

[soak master 2000]

WOW! thats amazing. you should put the tank attachment and tanks in a backpack and get some 3/4 tubing and connect it to the 3/4 ball valve and nozzle. that might make it a lot easier to carry just throwing that out as a suggestion. also how long does it take to fill?

[Specter]

wow... that is amazing. you really got to get that into a backpack, and connect it to the gun. Thats going to be hella sweet.

one question. how is it pressurized? is it just from filling it with water where it gets the pressure? i dont understand.

[C-A_99]

^I believe the hose barb on the other end, through a series of fittings, etc. goes into a hose, then both the hose and the gun's valve are opened, so the hose fills up. Close the valve, then open the firing valve, and the air pressure fires the stream.

[Silence]

Nice...you have one powerful water gun right there. Glad to hear you'll be using a backpack, as those are massive water tanks, plus it looks like you have metal tubing in places. However, I would suggest using a 1" hose if possible, as hose barbs have fairly narrow inner diameters and a 3/4" barb could restrict flow quite a bit.

I'm a bit surprised that there's a bit of turbulence in the stream, even though you're using hose barbs. Perhaps you could try using pipe nipples screwed into narrower fittings - pipe nipples generally have very smooth and straight bores. I believe hose barbs might have bores that flare slightly just at the end, which probably isn't a good thing.

Anyway, good luck with the rest of the build process!

[mchaos]

how it works...

It is a pressure tank for a well system. The tank has a bladder inside it. As you fill it with water the rubber bladder inside expands, But, it is not only pressurized by the bladder/ the metal tank is sealed, and there is normally 2 lbs of pressure in the tank end on the other side of the bladder. as you fill the bladders the pressure is increased, so you have air pressure and the pressure from the bladder squeezing the water out.

You fill it by simply hooking it to a faucet and opening the valves.

A 2 gallon will run you between $35 and $50. As I said earlier in the thread, I got lucky and got both the tanks new for less then $1

I do have plans to make it a back pack. I and welding a frame together and I am going to put straps on it, and the tanks will be mounted to the frame.

I am going to use 3/4 hose. I am gonna use the clear poly hose that is pressure rated, it has the fiber glass strands in it. I was even thinking of using a sprinkler valve for the firing mechanism if I want to spend the $$ for it.

this project is a for pennies project. I want to spend as little as possible on it.

EDIT: It takes seconds to fill, and I think the reason it is so turbulent is because of the amount of pressure...

[double-post]

Originally Posted by SilentGuy

Nice...you have one powerful water gun right there. Glad to hear you'll be using a backpack, as those are massive water tanks, plus it looks like you have metal tubing in places. However, I would suggest using a 1" hose if possible, as hose barbs have fairly narrow inner diameters and a 3/4" barb could restrict flow quite a bit.

I'm a bit surprised that there's a bit of turbulence in the stream, even though you're using hose barbs. Perhaps you could try using pipe nipples screwed into narrower fittings - pipe nipples generally have very smooth and straight bores. I believe hose barbs might have bores that flare slightly just at the end, which probably isn't a good thing.

Anyway, good luck with the rest of the build process!

The only place that will have a bar if any will be the nozzle, unless I find something better.

It will be 3/4 hose and I will prolly use compression fittings to secure the hose. I don't want to use hose clamps if I can manage.
[/double-post]

[triple-post]
Ok, I wanted to show every one just how fast this thing fires a full tank of water. Both tanks are full, 2 gallons of water each. I open it and let it go until empty....

http://mindskewed.com/S4010025.AVI


There you go....

As you can see its about 4 seconds exactly. You also get to see my blazer which is dropped 4 inches.

Now I am thinking of a single 5 gallon tank.. what do you think ? muhahaha

EDIT:

Here is what I am thinking about the gun....

[/triple-post]

EDIT by SilentGuy: Merged the posts again. In the future, please edit in new information to reduce clutter. Thanks!

[soak master 2000]

where did you get the bladder? how much did it cost?