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Three Repair Problems

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 2:15 am
by AMDAthlon
I have three Super Soakers which are all in various states in disrepair. All are in near mint condition. None of the three operate correctly. :cool:

I found my old CPS 1500 a few weeks back and filled up the reservoir. Went to pump up the gun and it fired water each time I pumped the gun. I suspect yet another check valve. Internals are spotless and most have been cleaned. Does anyone have any insight on this?

After ten long years of possession my XXP 275 has finally quit operating. It holds pressure but does not fire whatsoever after taking it out for its first run this year after a long winter. I have full knowledge on the operation of the gun and have cleaned out most of the inner workings of the gun. Otherwise the gun is clean and pump system is operational. I suspect an internal check valve but don't want to risk destroying the gun without knowledge of it. Need list of components to troubleshoot. I have not found anyone with knowledge of the gun's common problems. Everyone can tell me how to fix a CPS or another XP but not this particular model. Can anyone help me resurrect it?

Now for the infamous one. I have a single red and tan Super Charger 600. The gun works beautifully except for one detail. The Super Charger feature from the hose does not work whatsoever. Matter of fact it has not worked since the day it came out of the box. A few water hoses later, after going to the neighbors' houses of course to make sure my hose pressure was not low, I discovered the feature did not work. No one I can find has ever talked about this one. Everyone always talks about the Super Charger 400 but I failed so far to produce any results for my ill fated 600. Help would be appreciated.

Thanks Much,

AMD Athlon :cool:

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 4:30 am
by Silence
Welcome to SSC...and it looks like we've got yet another Intel enemy :) .

It sounds like your CPS 1500 has the classic trigger valve malfunction...basically, the trigger valve never closes completely. Check out the Open Trigger Valve Repair article for help.

I'm not sure what's wrong with your XXP 275--maybe a bit more detail would help. Sorry.

I'm almost certain that you must not be doing the QFD for the SC 600 correctly. I don't have a QFD, so I wouldn't know, but if it's never worked, then maybe there's some technique problem. I believe you have to open a vent somewhere to allow air to escape, though I'm not sure...

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 1:19 pm
by SSCBen
Yep, we'll need to know more about the XXP 275 before we can offer advice. Sounds initially to be a problem with one of the valves, but I'll need more information to be sure.

As for the SC 600, check if the O-ring is present. The valve itself also might be broken, and if that's the case then you can I suppose make a homemade valve to replace it, but it would be simpler to just leave it as is. Also check to see if there is something blocking the valve from opening.

Posted: Sat Jun 03, 2006 3:55 pm
by Silence
Actually, AMDAthlon did provide quite a bit of detail...so my suggestion is to take several good pictures and post them, if you have a digital camera. Register for picture hosting at a site such as Photobucket, and then create an IMG link to the picture's URL. Also, you said that there were some common problems that people only knew how to fix on other guns--but maybe those might be causing this major problem. What other problems does the gun have? In addition, you could make sure the trigger does open the valve.

Posted: Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:14 pm
by AMDAthlon
Thanks for the support everyone. I have worked on all three guns with suprising results. All three function properly and one shoots farther than before.

CPS 1500: Open trigger valve was the culprit. Took apart the main valve body. Larami Incorporated committed a sin using weak alloy springs in a water ladened/repetitive use environment. I have instituted a two way solution involving the spring modification and an automotive gasket maker called Ultra Blue. The spring modification as posted did not suit my inner engineer and I have made mount for the spring using pieces of soldered brass and two existing screws in the rear plate of the water gun to create a permanent solution. The spring I settled on was a medium tensile 440C stainless steel. Pictures will be coming soon of the assembly. I believe it may be the ultimate solution to the open trigger valve on the CPS 1500 and 1700. There will be another post on the construction of the mechanism.The Ultra Blue gasket maker was used to reseal the main valve body.

SC 600: Open trigger valve was again at fault. Tight quarters within the gun do not allow for a spring modification and there was no evident solution. However multiple wide rubber bands off different brands of broccoli and assorted vegetables worked wonders. The trigger is tight but function is great. Super Charger feature works now.

XXP 275: By far the worst of the three this one had a clog of decomposed organic matter that was previously unseen. I discovered it after removing one of the two pressure chambers. Removing most of the clog the gun should have fired but still failed. Frustration hit fast and I poured in another solution. After two hours with 6M HCl pressurized inside the gun the clog dissolved. The streams that resulted were a putrid blackish grey. I realize hydrochloric acid is not the preferred method of cleaning out a water gun but for something that is composed primarily of plastic it made logical sense.

Always,

AMDAthlon

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:39 pm
by SSCBen
The CPS 1500 repair sounds very interesting. I'm looking forward to the pictures and the article-style thread. Hopefully your better repair can be adapted for other water guns because rubber bands really are a temporary fix until they fall off. :)

Posted: Mon Jun 12, 2006 4:47 pm
by Silence
I'm quite impressed, AMDAthlon...I don't think I've ever (forums-)encountered somebody with such a technical disposition, although this is the right site for it. Congratulations on all your repairs, and I, too, am looking forward to an article on the CPS 1500 and maybe even pictures of the junk in your XXP 275 (though it might be a bit too late)! By the way, which of the three soakers shoots even farther than before?

Re: Three Repair Problems

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 1:25 pm
by C-A_99
Larami's spring problem is not just present in the 1500/1700, it seems like it can happen to any pull valve based soaker. However, such problems have only occured on soakers from a particular friend of mine; none of my own have exhibited such problems. (perhaps he used pool water or something nasty once, which corroded or otherwise screwed up the spring in one way or another) However, it seems like the probability of this problem occuring is much less likely than spring weakenings that occur w/ all ball valve based guns, regardless of whether its WW or Max-D based triggers.

Re: Three Repair Problems

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:22 pm
by cantab
I'm guessing the spring gets corroded when people don't properly empty their blasters after use, leaving water around inside.

Re: Three Repair Problems

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 9:43 pm
by Specter
Maybe you 2 guys didn't notice but this thread is from 2006 and AMD had solved his problems already if you saw post #5. Just a heads up

Re: Three Repair Problems

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:12 pm
by Silence
It's not that big a deal. If anything, it just adds to the discussion in case anybody searches and finds it in the future. :cool:

Re: Three Repair Problems

Posted: Sun Jun 22, 2008 10:17 pm
by cantab
Gah...I only checked the post immediately before and saw it was today.