Super Soaker Central

Hmm... I'm going to cut the tubing shorter, so I'll see if it still works without the nozzle. If it works and has a double valve then that's less work for me.

The Rattler is piston-powered. That means it only needs one check valve.

EDIT: While it only needs one valve, the way the internal are set-up does pose the threat of air entering the system. I would suspect that the second valve is located in the nozzle. The easiest way to check would be to operate the gun while it is open and see if water moves in that clear tube leading to the nozzle while pumping.

I took the main pump out of the gun, which was attached to the intake tube and the nozzle. If I plugged the intake tube with my hand, I was unable to move the pump forwards to draw water. That means there is a check valve somewhere in the nozzle or the pump.

Wetmonkey, I don't quite understand what you are saying. When pushing the pump back, the water moves forward towards the nozzle, if that's what you mean. I don't think it went back inside the pump.

@wetmonkey- a piston gun needs two check valves unless it is a syringe. it is a regular water gun without the PC. That includes the 2 check valves. If the second one wasn't there, air would just come in the nozzle during pumping instead of water from the reservoir.

Not always^^ If the nozzle is VERY small and the pump-volume is big and the input-pipe from the reservoir is also VERY BIG and water can flow in easily through the check valve AND you move the pump fast when "sucking" water from the reservoir, there will be nearly just water in the pump. the slower you "suck" the more air will come in....

never think about using only one check valve, the worst idea ever...

Well, I got the rest of the pieces today, and the check valve made the assembly a lot longer than I expected. I haven't started assembling it yet so I am experimenting with different layouts. Currently the one I am using awkwardly hangs outside the shell. I'll attach some pictures later of my originally planned layout, and then some other possible layouts.

Edit: @atvan, there is only one check valve. If I pulled the pump slowly I could only draw a few drops of water. When I pull the pump quickly I was able to fill most of the pump with water.

@GJ- now that yo put it that way, that's probably what Hasbro did.

The first photo is of my originally planned layout. I did not included the PC case and the hose barbs as the barbs were still packaged and the PC case is subject to change. The second photo shows another layout I could use, however two 90 degree turns would decrease the range (though I'm not sure by how much, does anyone have an idea of how much feet I would lose?). I also don't have any 90 degree elbows, so just imagine there is one in the gap. The third picture would probably perform the best, though I don't like how high up the valve is.

It is all a matter of what you want- performance or aesthetics. I would recommend you make some sort of structural support like wood or plastic. Search the DR-4 Riptide for an example of what would work well.

My goal in perfomance is for it to be better than a stock Arctic Blast. As for support, once I've cemented and teflon taped everything, I'll lay it in the blaster shell and use hot glue to fill the space between the shell and the PVC assembly. Then later on if it needs support I'll probably make a wood structure underneath the the PVC assembly.

Does anyone have an idea of how much range I would lpse with the two 90 degree bends in the second layout? If it's a significant amount I will go with the third layout.

Use the 1st or 3rd design. The 2nd would lose power, but would still be better than an Arctic Blast. [My guesstimate, not sure.]

You likely won't get that good. I'm guessing MD5k/6k-ish. The 90 degree bends will cause more turbulence that anything, so you could add a laminator to fix most of the problem.

iSoaker states that the MD5k gets about 36', and the highest the 6k can get is 39'. Atvan, you're talking about with the second layout, right? If so, I'll use the second layout, report back here, and if I want more range, I'll K-mod and add a laminator. Only problem would be that I think my Lowe's only sells bushings, not bell reducers.

My Arctic Blast shoots 5+ feet farther than my MD6k. Both were brand new. I think the different designs will all have about 35 feet.

You can improvise a design for a laminator depending on what is available.