CPS 2000 Bladder repair, how to...

Ichabodv · Post by **Ichabodv** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:58 am

I apologise in advance for the size of the pictures. I had photobucket reduce the size and I still get these monster pics. When I figure out what I did wrong I'll fix it.

Well, I was told that nobody had documented this procedure so I will try to do so now.
The sad beginning:

My project and assistant:

After opening the gun just remove the pin that holds the valve release
lever in place, unscrew the feed line and lift out the valve and chamber while twisting it to remove the release lever from the trigger wire. And lift out the whole unit.

Unscrew the clamp holding the tubing to the valve and pry it off. There may be some adhesive holding it on. The end cap on the chamber was glued on so I had to cut it off with a dremel tool. Then just slide out the bladder assembly.

At this point I got busy and forgot to take pictures (Sorry) but all you have to do is tap the clamp assembly out of the plastic plug that has the line on it for the fill gauge. I put it on a roll of electrical tape and tapped it out using a screwdriver and hammer. This clamp comes apart just like the other end except that there is a plug in the end of the bladder tube. You need to order two types of tubing from McMaster Carr. Part numbers 5234K86 and 5234K92. They have minimum lengths you have to order but the whole thing came to $33.59 including shipping.

Using the old bladder cut a piece of the smaller tubing to match. To reassmeble the clamp I would recommend some epoxy glue and vice grips. Make sure the plug and inside of the tube are clean and dry. Put a small amount of epoxy on the inside of the tube and on the plug and put it in. Put the two halves of the clamp together, clamp it together with the vice grips and put the screws back in.

Slide the tubing through the plastic plug and press the clamp into place (Remove the vice grips first). then cut a piece of the larger tubing about 1 1/2" shorter than the small one and slide it over the smaller tube. Put the tubing back through the chamber leaving the longer piece sticking out the other end. Reassemble the clamp at the valve end the same way as other clamp except put it on the valve instead of a plug.

Now put everything back together and give the glue time to dry.
And here are the results:

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 1:05 am

Wow...congratulations, once again. For those looking for the context of this repair, it came from the thread entitled, "CPS 2000 Bladder split, help please!"

Unfortunately, pictures are often poor at displaying the power of soakers. How would you compare this performance to that of the original? Is it better or worse? How easy/difficult is the pumping? etc. I'm not asking for any fine measurements or anything--just your opinion on the results. This is truly amazing, and you should be proud of the work.

Ichabodv · Post by **Ichabodv** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 10:37 am

Pumping is about the same. Performance is nearly the same. It seems like the burst lasts a bit longer

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 8:59 pm

Strange...you'd think the thicker replacement bladder layers would decrease the capacity of the PC, but not so. I suppose that it takes a few more pumps to fill, though.

SSCBen · Post by **SSCBen** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:09 pm

The shot time likely is longer because I don't believe that the CPS 2000's bladder was shorter and the replacement tubes may not be exactly as powerful. I'd lean towards the first potential reason however.

Good guide. I'll likely be reposting this article on the website eventually.

Edit: Yes, that was an error. I meant that the CPS 2000's bladder likely was shorter.

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:31 pm

Ben wrote:The shot time likely is longer because I don't believe that the CPS 2000's bladder was shorter and the replacement tubes may not be exactly as powerful. I'd lean towards the first potential reason however.

Good guide. I'll likely be reposting this article on the website eventually.

If you don't believe that the CPS 2000's bladder was shorter, then do you think the LRT is shorter? If so, how can the LRT hold more water?

Actually, I'm glad you suggested the second reason, and that's what I'm leaning towards. Both guns (original and upgraded) are incredibly powerful, so a slight difference in power is not necessarily noticable. If the LRT solution is somewhat weaker, then the shot time could still be somewhat longer.

Ichabodv, did you use bike tubing around the LRT? If so, how many layers did you use? I'd suggest adding bike tube layers to really experience the power of a homemade--you've earned it by having to put up with a broken CPS 2000, and since you completely replaced the powerful bladder, you might as well make the new one even more powerful.

CROC · Post by **CROC** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 11:14 am

Does anyone know if there are McMaster-Carr stores in Canada or not?
Ichabodv- Does the CPS 2000 shoot the same as it did before or does it shoot more powerful and less shot time?

SSCBen · Post by **SSCBen** » Fri Jun 02, 2006 6:51 pm

McMaster-Carr is not a store, rather they are a catalog and online store. I'm also fairly sure that they will ship to other countries (especially given that you can specify which country to ship to). Canada or Mexico however would likely be the only countries where shipping would not be horrendous. I'd ask McMaster-Carr if you'd want to know for sure and get approximate shipping rates.

Ichabodv · Post by **Ichabodv** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:37 pm

Since the effective wall thickness has gone from the the original 3/16" to 7/16" I would guess that it is more powerful. Since I didn't really think about it until it was broken I can only guess as to a change in the power. I would have made some measurements if it had only announced "Hey! I'm gonna break soon!"
It is at least as powerful but without before and after data...... Oh well.

P.S. My wife says that my SS looks kind of phallic in that last pic.

Silence · Post by **Silence** » Sat Jun 03, 2006 8:40 pm

Maybe the uneven shape of the original bladder prevented it from expanding in a space-efficient way. I believe the original bladder was thin except for a bulb at the end, which may have filled up the space before the rest of the bladder. You should compare the new number of pumps with the number of pumps it takes somebody else to fill up his or her's stock CPS 2000's bladder.

CROC · Post by **CROC** » Sun Jun 04, 2006 12:41 pm

Ben- That would be nice if you could check the price of the shipping and handling, etc. Since I'm in Ontario, i have to apply the annoying GST+PST to whatever cost.
I have no clue how powerful the CPS 2000 (stock) is, as I recieved mine broken.
I just hope the LRT bladder can make it more powerful.