Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Guides and discussions about building water blasters and other water warfare devices such as water balloon launchers.
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Russ3407
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Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Post by Russ3407 » Fri Jan 02, 2015 11:26 pm

Hey Ya'll,

I've been planning on making a CAP gun for some time, finally went shopping this afternoon. I bought everything but the pipe for the reservoirs and the air lines. Its going to be pretty big so, as the name states, I'm going to mount it into a wagon.

Here's some basic info:
The capacity will be 4.5- 6 gallons (depends on how tall I want to make it).
The air capacity will be either 5 or 7 gallons at 120 psi.
I'm using four 3+ foot lengths of 3" PVC (in parallel) for the reservoir.
The nozzle is a handheld gun (much like the one on the SuperCAP) with 6 ft. of 1-1/2 in. braided vinyl tubing coming off the rest of the unit.
The end of the gun is threaded so different nozzles can be used (thinking about using a shower head for a riot blast type output).
I may mount it in a plywood box for protection (accidental tip-overs, vandalism).

Now I have a question for those with experience. My Lowes carries few 3" fittings, pressure or otherwise. I found some 3" to 1-1/2" ABS fittings on clearance (the only ones of their kind in the store). I know that the only difference between pressure and non-pressure PVC FITTINGS is the size of the glue surface, but can ABS FITTINGS be used for pressure (less than 150 psi)?

Cool? Yes! Impractical? Maybe...

CDMT
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Re: Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Post by CDMT » Sat Jan 03, 2015 3:17 am

I would avoid ABS like the plague. ABS is much weaker than PVC. You can even feel the difference by squeezing the two different pipes in your hand. Do you have a McLendon's or other hardware store you can check? If not McMaster Carr would likely have what you need. Another option is to ask them if they carry the external metal tanks for water heaters that store water and prevent you from being double charged on your water bill. I forget what they are called. But they are the same tanks that are on the super cap. Also I would recommend keeping the pressure under 100 psi. I assume that you are going to use an air compressor for pressure? Also why not ditch the wagon and make something that is more mobile like a two wheel bicycle towed trailer or even more practical mount the pressure bottles on the sides of your bicycle's rear like motorcycle saddle bags and have detachable mount for the nozzle on the handle bars.

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the oncoming storm
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Re: Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Post by the oncoming storm » Sat Jan 03, 2015 7:28 pm

CDMT the problem with bike mounted blasters is the relatively close speeds between bike and blaster. For example a CPS 2000 has a muzzle velocity of 31mph (thank you DX) this means that you will be much to close for comfort when a hit is landed.

As for the piping issue I would avoid non pressure rated parts like the plague, it's just not safe.
If you ever bother reading these, I worry for your mental sanity. :oo:

Russ3407
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Location: North Carolina, USA
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Re: Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Post by Russ3407 » Sat Jan 03, 2015 10:40 pm

Thanks guys, glad I posted on here first. I would hate to see a $200 gun fail before my eyes during testing, or even worse explode during a battle and harm me or one of my friends. So, after searching for a pressure rated replacement I found just one seller. It's on eBay so even though it says pressure rated, it may very well not be, besides that it's expensive. Anything else I can find is DWV rated. What do you recommend?

As for pressure, the most the gun would ever see is about 90 psi, and that would be rare, I imagine the normal operating pressure would be 75 psi.

CDMT
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Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:35 pm
Location: Hawaii

Re: Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Post by CDMT » Sat Jan 03, 2015 11:44 pm

the oncoming storm wrote:CDMT the problem with bike mounted blasters is the relatively close speeds between bike and blaster. For example a CPS 2000 has a muzzle velocity of 31mph (thank you DX) this means that you will be much to close for comfort when a hit is landed.

As for the piping issue I would avoid non pressure rated parts like the plague, it's just not safe.
Oncoming storm you don't do a driveby at 31 mph. :D You need to bear in mind that not everyone uses their blasters for paintball-like capture the flag. Even though that is a tremendous amount of fun. Sometimes it's just about getting up and personal and soaking the heck out of your whole group of friends in one long glorious blast.

3" Schedule 40 PVC in a 5 foot length:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_87671-1814-PVC+ ... facetInfo=

3-in dia PVC Sch 40 Cap:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_23926-1814-PVC+ ... 33057&Ntt=

As to the reducer bushings to bring you down to the proper size I will get back to you. I will look to see what Lasco reducing bushing product numbers are.

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the oncoming storm
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Re: Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Post by the oncoming storm » Sun Jan 04, 2015 9:13 am

CDMT I hate to admit it but I have never been able to attend a full blown league war, the closest one is still an 8 hour drive from Knoxville. (in DC)
If you ever bother reading these, I worry for your mental sanity. :oo:

CDMT
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Joined: Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:35 pm
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Re: Wagon-Mounted Constant Air Pressure Blaster

Post by CDMT » Sat Jan 10, 2015 5:29 am

Russ3407 if you go to this link and scroll down to the pressure chamber part you'll see the parts that you need:

http://www.sscentral.org/homemade/aph/parts.html

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