Soaker Balls!

[martianshark]

Wow... that sounds impossible. Are you sure it was the cheap, super-soft kind? I'll think about making a WBL/SBL, but it would mean buying more pipe.

[JuchTurtles]

I'd say just build a 3" Douchenator, and you could shoot both Soaker Balls and WBs. You can really shoot anything solid in a WBL anyway.

[martianshark]

But the hardware store only goes up to 2" pipe in PVC sizes.

[zeda.beta]

I don't mean that it caused permanent damage, it just left a slight bruise. That is a pretty serious injury for throwing a foam football at someone. Sorry for the confusion, but imagine what the damage would be if the football had the force of gravity behind it. You could get up to a high speed. And about the pipe, maybe you can search around for an ace hardware or a home depot, both would never fail to stock 3" PVC.

Because all of the energy you first put into the football stays in the system, at the end of your shot you should have over 75% KE, almost 25% GPE, and a little bit lost to the environment in the form of heat energy, or Q. (KE stands for kinetic energy, and GPE stands for gravitational potential energy.) If you were to shoot a .5kg football, then because KE=1/2mVsquared, and you would fire the football at approximately 30m/s squared, you would transfer almost 225 joules into the person you were firing at. This is for a football launched at 90fps, you can adjust for the speed differential.

-Zeda

[martianshark]

Are you sure we're talking about the same thing? It sound's like you're talking about something like a foam Nerf football. I'm talking about one of those super soft and squishy peices of sponge wrapped in some sort of fabric.

And I did go to home depot, and the biggest PVC pipe they had was 2".

[C-A_99]

Regardless of whether you're at a home improvement or hardware store (and regardless of which one), different stores carry different pipes. I got 3" pressure rated pipe from Home Depot several years ago, while another Home Depot store was very understocked on PVC and didn't even have pressure rated 2" fittings. I go back to the original Home Depot later and next thing I find is that they switched to cellcore pipe. Lowe's has always been well stock with PVC from my experience (with perhaps one exception) and is fairly consistent. (they always carry cellcore for 3" and above) Still, it's not always completely consistent; some Lowe's have plastic nipples and others do not, for example.

[JuchTurtles]

Well, you could probably make it with 2" pipe, too, but you'd have to fire smaller artillery. I don't know how nerf footballs got into the mix, but those could work if they absorb water, which I don't know if they do or not. If you're talking about these you'll definately need 3" or 4" or even like 5" PVC. Most of the stores I know have these sizes (2 out of 3). martianshark, just make sure you look around in different places. You'll find them eventually.

[cantab]

Basically, a WBL is just an air cannon right? So it can shoot anything that fits down the barrel.
Those nerf footballs would be dangerously heavy. Stick to either things designed as soakerballs, or just use a bog-standard cleaning sponge.
There are other sorts of foam footballs. Proper ones, that are round. The foam used in them tends to be fairly dense, I don't think they'd be very suitable either. You want a low density foam that easily absorbs and releases water. The best way to get such is by choosing things DESIGNED to absorb water, ie actual soakerballs or cleaning sponges.

[JuchTurtles]

The other thing about american footballs is that they have pointy edges. I wouldn't go with those because they can hurt if hit with the pointy edge, even if it isn't fired out of a cannon. Out of a cannon, I think, would be harsh and would hurt. I'd just not do it.

Cleaning sponges I think are a good choice. They can absorb a lot of water.

[martianshark]

I didn't say I was shooting nerf footballs. It just sounded like that's what Zeda was talking about.

[zeda.beta]

Sorry about the confusion, it was one of those water footballs, where if you squeeze it in a bucket it absorbs water. It was actually kind of large, and it was made out of this stiff foam, so that probably contributed to the damage. They might not make them like that anymore, it was only from my experience, and they sort of hurt depending on who was throwing it, and if it actually hit. Accuracy would be the key here, and how high the water ball flew. IF you were able to fire it out of a WBL, then it would definately be effective at soaking, because it spins and dispenses water in midar. For maximum effect you could fire it over a group of people at another, more distant person.
-Zeda

[martianshark]

The soaker balls I have are really soft and I can easily squeeze it. It's a lot like a soft cleaning sponge.

[JuchTurtles]

Cleaning sponges absorb a lot of water. They would probably soak well upon contact.

martianshark, I have to say. It's not that bad of an idea.

[zeda.beta]

You could cut the sponge to fit the barrel too! It would be the most efficient shell possible without using a sabot. That would also work a lot better then most water balls, because it might not dispense as much water when flying through the air.
-Zeda

[martianshark]

Good idea. Now the only problem is that mauler valves cost nearly $100! D: