First attempt at custom soaker.

Build a homemade water gun or water balloon launcher and tell us about it.
Locked
Inquisitorphil
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:41 pm

First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by Inquisitorphil » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:04 pm

Edit: Note that this is not the latest design: the latest design will be the last one drawn in the topic unless stated otherwise.

Hello SSCentral!

This is my first post here, so please excuse my ineptitude. I've never built a homemade water cannon before, but after my mother decided to throw away two CPS1000s without asking me, I've decided that I won't find that power again without doing it myself.

Below is a slightly rearranged cannon:

Image

1. Would it work in this arrangement?
2. If I'm going for range rather than soaking capacity, should I use a tighter nozzle and wider piping, or a tighter nozzle and narrower piping?
3. Would this format work if I managed to get a rubber air chamber inside the air tank (to mimic CPS technology)?
4. Would a bicycle pump be an alright method for pressurising the cannon? I can't be bothered to faff around with making a custom pump for the moment. For example, this one: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165661 which can get up to 120psi. Or should I go for one which pumps faster but can only get to 50psi?

Thanks in advance!
Last edited by Inquisitorphil on Sun Jun 26, 2011 7:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

BlueCharged
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 7:30 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by BlueCharged » Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:49 pm

1) The Air Chamber needs to be put up like in this diagram:
Image
Apart from that it would work

2) Tight nozzle and narrow piping (Im no expert but it seems to work)

3) Yes

4) I would use this for a bike pump http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... zone=PDPz1

PS: Bike pumps already have a one way valve in so just drill it the hole where the air goes in and put some tubing/piping in there
My Armoury:
Super Soaker Thunderstorm (shoots to 25 ft), Super Soaker 50 (shoots to 50 ft)
To Buy (And Mod) This Year (2012):
Water Warriors Explorer, SS Electrostorm and SS Tornado Strike (REDO)

Inquisitorphil
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:41 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by Inquisitorphil » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:08 pm

With that in mind, would this work (obviously not with a rubber lining unless I'm really clever):

Image

I'm not 100% clear about what you mean in your postscript though. Could you provide an illustration? I don't get where I'd be putting it to take advantage of its own valve.

Thanks for the help already given though!

User avatar
wetmonkey442
Posts: 320
Joined: Sun Jun 22, 2003 12:00 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by wetmonkey442 » Sun Jun 26, 2011 4:35 pm

Just remember that you want to keep your trigger valve as close as possible to the bottom of your pressure chamber. In your picture above, you'll end up with quite a bit of water trapped at the bottom. Here's a link to an APH I constructed earlier this summer to get an idea for the parts you need:http://forums.sscentral.org/t6467/

To save parts, you can opt for a straight PC rather than one tilted at 45 degrees. A simple thread male or female on the back-end will serve to attach your water tank.

And I would not recommend using a bike pump. Bike pumps are designed for air not water, and the seals will not handle long-term exposure to moisture. I would recommend building your own pump instead.
Join the fight! Support water warfare in your area today!

User avatar
C-A_99
Posts: 1502
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:09 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by C-A_99 » Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:14 pm

Perhaps the attached diagram will help.

Wetmonkey, are you sure that bike pump seals deteriorate when exposed to water? They seem to be simply standard O-rings. Plus, I was hoping to find a way to convert bike pumps (particularly foot pumps) to water pumps, which would be easier than building a custom foot pump. (Why a foot pump that pumps water? Well, you could build an excellent turret with such a pump.)
Attachments
nubhalp.jpg

Inquisitorphil
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:41 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by Inquisitorphil » Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:17 pm

Right. Points taken on board. Would the following work?

Image

It's not going to be very ergonomic, but assume I can a) put it together, and b) hold it to work it.

In case it's not clear from the design, the water drains from the tank and is pushed via the pump up through the air tank and drains down into the pipe beneath. This also then compresses the air in the tank.

I believe it's set up correctly so that it would work, but it might not.

Sorry to keep fiddling, but I'm not adept enough to just build and modify until it works. I'd like to know what I'm building *should* work before I try to build it.

BlueCharged
Posts: 53
Joined: Tue May 31, 2011 7:30 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by BlueCharged » Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:44 pm

It's own valve is in a different place in every different pump. It shouldn't be that difficult to find because it's just a hole.
My Armoury:
Super Soaker Thunderstorm (shoots to 25 ft), Super Soaker 50 (shoots to 50 ft)
To Buy (And Mod) This Year (2012):
Water Warriors Explorer, SS Electrostorm and SS Tornado Strike (REDO)

User avatar
C-A_99
Posts: 1502
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:09 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by C-A_99 » Sun Jun 26, 2011 7:18 pm

Just remember that the water is ALWAYS level regardless of how the gun is positioned, unless you add a piston to separate the air and water. This applies to BOTH the pressure chamber and reservoir. If your intake (where the water exits the container) is not on the very bottom of the container, you will need an intake tube which is a mess to build and negatively affects performance if you're using an intake tube for the pressure chamber.

Angling the pressure chamber (what you currently have in your latest drawing) has been done a few times, and there are a few good reasons for it, one being that the blaster will often be held up at an angle for longer range shots. Any angle between 0° and 45° will work, but you want to think through how the final product will come out because angled PC's may not be as structurally sound in many cases.

You can take a lot of liberties when designing the reservoir for the sake of ergonomics. You'll just need to build an intake tube as mentioned above, but the improved ergonomics will be worth it. You can also use just about any water container as the reservoir instead of PVC; all that really matters is that the whole thing seals reliably.

You can also use a backpack container as a reservoir, if you wish to do so.

Inquisitorphil
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:41 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by Inquisitorphil » Sun Jun 26, 2011 7:30 pm

C-A_99 wrote:Just remember that the water is ALWAYS level regardless of how the gun is positioned, unless you add a piston to separate the air and water. This applies to BOTH the pressure chamber and reservoir. If your intake (where the water exits the container) is not on the very bottom of the container, you will need an intake tube which is a mess to build and negatively affects performance if you're using an intake tube for the pressure chamber.
Yep, the pictures don't really show it, but the exit is supposed to be right against the corner to minimise trapped water at any angle between 0 and 45 degrees.
C-A_99 wrote:Angling the pressure chamber (what you currently have in your latest drawing) has been done a few times, and there are a few good reasons for it, one being that the blaster will often be held up at an angle for longer range shots. Any angle between 0° and 45° will work, but you want to think through how the final product will come out because angled PC's may not be as structurally sound in many cases.
I can tighten the structure later, especially when I'm building out of copper. Again, the angle is supposed to help firing at range.
C-A_99 wrote:You can take a lot of liberties when designing the reservoir for the sake of ergonomics. You'll just need to build an intake tube as mentioned above, but the improved ergonomics will be worth it. You can also use just about any water container as the reservoir instead of PVC; all that really matters is that the whole thing seals reliably.

You can also use a backpack container as a reservoir, if you wish to do so.
Noted. I'll probably fiddle with the water input after all the rest is together, as it's frankly the least complicated part of the whole design. I will probably just end with a screw-cap so that I can put a platypus or any size standard water bottle on there. It would also make reloading easier.

So, would the latest design work? I don't know whether pumping the water through the pressure chamber is something which has been tried or whether it would work.

User avatar
C-A_99
Posts: 1502
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2006 11:09 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by C-A_99 » Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:13 pm

Not exactly sure what you're asking, my guess is that it's regards to the water source of the pressure chamber coming in from in front of the PC instead of from behind it, i.e. as the water is shot out, the water will go past where the water comes in from pumping.

This is actually how all CPS's work, as far as I'm aware. The bladder (pressure chamber) goes behind where the water comes in from the pump and the water is shot past it when the valve is opened and shooting.

From what I know, that setup introduces a negligible disturbance on stream performance, that is, it theoretically reduces performance by an insignificant amount. In practice, it doesn't matter at all and will work fine.

Inquisitorphil
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2011 1:41 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by Inquisitorphil » Sun Jun 26, 2011 8:16 pm

Excellent. I shall go to Screwfix tomorrow and build it after work. You will know the results in a day or so when it's all stuck together. Fingers crossed!

atvan
Posts: 451
Joined: Mon May 23, 2011 10:52 pm

Re: First attempt at custom soaker.

Post by atvan » Mon Jun 27, 2011 2:22 am

If you plan to convert the design to CPS, you must drill holes in the PC container, where the rubber tube/bladder is. Otherwise it will act funny.

Also, the pump would need to be reduced in size.

Locked