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My Homemade Backpack Soaker

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 2:33 pm
by Xray
I finally completed my FIRST homemade!

It features: (Hey, that's funny. I sound like an advertisement)

Heavily modified hose-nozzle, /w screw on nozzles I have made so I can adjust output. Pressure guage, reenforced pump from (3 year old) CPS 2700 mounted on the top (has frozen check valve aswell) , CPS chamber made of 2.5" inner tubing. The chamber is ~ 8 inches long and has aprox. 17 layers of inner tube. It produces about 50 PSI within 2 strokes of the pump, reaching about 60 at max, and I get atleast 45+ feet of range - probably closer to 55 feet but its hard to tell. It has obvious kick-back.

Someone's going to mistake it for a paintball gun one of these days, Hey, that's funny..

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 2:39 pm
by Xray
The Backpack -

Is made of 2.5 inch drainpipe. It hold about 5.5 Litres of water and can be filled quickly via quick-connect or when that isnt availiable using the screw-on cap.

The bright yellow tubing im using is pressure washer tubing that my local TSC store has, its only $2 a Metre and has a working pressure of 2600 PSI so I have no worry of blowing it up. I got this tubing because when I put a garden hose to 120 PSI it started streching and expanding - and I'd like to still have my eyes by the end of the summer.

-blake

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 2:49 pm
by Xray
And... a picture of my workspace, nicely cluttered as always!

sorry for the triple-post, but I can't attach more than one image per-post (atleast I Don't think so)

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 3:43 pm
by Spinner
Looks very nice! What's the biggest nozzle size? What's the range for the various nozzles? How much did it cost in total?

Maybe I'm missing something, but is the pump ABOVE the nozzle? Surely that makes it impossible to pump while firing?

Posted: Sat Apr 24, 2004 4:22 pm
by Xray
Yeah, pump is above nozzle... a pump wasnt even in the design plans, so it got added afterwards and thats why its up there. Impossible to pump while firing - yes. Need to pump while firing - no. The CPS holds about 2L+ so I have no worry, everyone else will run out or have to pump long before me! :D

Nozzles are not outrageously big, about 8-10x is the biggest ill use... any bigger than 15x and I get a problem with pressure drop. Ill probably use a 5x nozzle most of the time, this is no supposed to be a 'tank' of a gun - just a long range, fairly small, light, and quick.

I can use it with a smaller 2L tank aswell... instead of the backpack.


Cost ~~ $25

Gun #2 -

My next soaker will feature larger tubing, damnn pressure drop was not expected and messed it up quite a bit. Also, im planning to get rid of the CPS and have just a nozzle attached to a highly pressurized backpack. Im going for a 8L backpack, which will be filled with 5L of water and pressurized to 175-200 PSI via an air compressor quick-connect or a tire-valve. It will be pressurized and should get to about 50 PSI when the water runs out, which would still provide enough kick. I can just have my dads air compressor on stand-by already at the desired pressure, just klick the valve in and give it 10 secs for the air to go from the compressor tank to my tank - then back to soaking!

-blake

[Longest post I ever made... feel free to NOT read it all] :rolleyes:

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 4:36 pm
by RacerSoaker445
Do you know how far it shoots? I'd like to make one.

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 4:52 pm
by Xray
Originally posted by Xray@Apr 24 2004, 09:33 AM
and I get atleast 45+ feet of range
- From my original post :P

... Just say 45 feet for now. I originally thought 55, but it might not be THAT far.

My pool is 30 feet long so I use it to judge distance, it looks to be 1.5 times my pool (which seems extremely far) so I have no idea how you guys (doomsoaker mainly) hit 60+ feet in range. The more pressure I get, the spray just 'fans' out like when you use a pressure washer.

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 5:00 pm
by RacerSoaker445
I didint see that part, oops.

I would DEFINETLY want to make one!

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 7:43 pm
by Xray
Well you must like it then, good.

BTW my neigbours thought I had a flame thrower Hey, that's funny. and one even commented with "you look like a terrorist" ... its going to be FUN! :rolleyes: :D

-blake

Another correction: Cost = $35 canadian dollars meaning about $28 US

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 8:06 pm
by Spinner
It still sounds awesome. How about you post the instructions on SSCentral, and the saga on ISS: Soaker Sagas? B)

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 9:58 pm
by Xray
If I do make 'instructions' or a guide, ill probably host it on my own server - but you could link to it.

I might make a small thing for your site and SSCentral, but don't plan on a huge write-up. I have other things to do :P

Posted: Mon Apr 26, 2004 11:23 pm
by BlueSmudge
That looks awesome. Can yo pump it over 60 PSI?

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:05 am
by blaze
yeah..can you?

Hey, that's funny. I need posts I hate being a sponge.

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:07 am
by SSCBen
The pressure is determined by the thickness of the chamber in CPS, so kinda yes and no, yes it can go up to 60 psi, but no, not in it's current config.

Good job on that, looks good, messy but good. I haven't made any homemades that shoot over 60 feet yet, however I do have plans for things that should shoot over 70 feet. I haven't made them yet due to the cost, I am nearly broke. Being my age doesn't make you money, maybe you could make some of my ideas. My 27000 did shoot mid 50s, but it is constantly needing repair so I really never use it.

Btw, triple posting is welcome from you. Great pics, feel free to do that to attach files.
Im going for a 8L backpack, which will be filled with 5L of water and pressurized to 175-200 PSI via an air compressor quick-connect or a tire-valve.
You're going to have to use like schedule 80 PVC to make that, the pressure is so dang high it needs thicker PVC. Expect that to cost a ton, you have to buy it in bulk practically, pepper and I made a deal and when we both get the money we are going to buy a stock of it, maybe I could resell a smaller amount. Try the CPS tubing too, it should work better then the bike tubes you have now, you could even stack the bike tubes over it, I do.

I see that you use many parts that I do, great minds think alike. Especially with the garden hose XPBackfire-esque, it's great stuff. Try putting a laminating device in the nozzle, a few straws, maybe 4, on my modded Vaporizer it gave it an extra 2 or so feet, more on larger nozzles. Then see what the range is, it should be better.

Do you have AIM, I'd like to talk to you, give you a few plans too.

Posted: Tue Apr 27, 2004 12:42 am
by Neuro
whats the link for cps tubing on mcmaster?