Biocides, anticorrosives, and dishwasher soap

For support, refilling, personal, strategic, and misc. equipment used during a water fight.
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marauder
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Biocides, anticorrosives, and dishwasher soap

Post by marauder » Mon Jun 22, 2015 4:31 pm

I'm getting down to the finishing touches on my first homebuilt computer and I have been reading a lot about liquid cooling lately. In liquid cooling biocides are used to prevent the growth of microorganisms, anti corrosives are used to prevent rusting metal parts, and a little dish soap can be added to help lube pumps.

Sooo... obviously the question is, would this not work for waterguns? Everyone that has ever opened up any old blaster knows that internals can get black or brown with microorganism growth, metal parts can rust, and pumps can get stuck. I'm not saying that this is the be all end all cure for aging waterguns, but would this not prolong the life of our blasters? Plus, this stuff is pretty cheap!
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soakinader
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Re: Biocides, anticorrosives, and dishwasher soap

Post by soakinader » Mon Jun 22, 2015 9:28 pm

Would that mean you have to add those three things to your reservoir before you start shooting? Properly drying out your gun's internals by draining the water and pumping air is pretty important. Most of the rust and mold I see is on the OUTSIDE of the tubes, not the inside. Because hey, people dunk their guns underwater and those parts are exposed underneath the shell.
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HBWW
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Re: Biocides, anticorrosives, and dishwasher soap

Post by HBWW » Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:32 pm

Would definitely be nice if we knew of a good standard additive (aside from soapy water?) for cleaning and preventing growth and what not. I left a filled solar shower in a hot car for a few days, and it stunk up and some sort of bacteria grew in it. Might have to shake it up with some soapy water, I guess.

Perhaps another additive for preserving rubber seals would be good.

Rust generally happens outside of internals, with exception of check valves. Either way, I think it's a problem with the metals used, as opposed to the lack of additives. Not sure though.
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marauder
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Re: Biocides, anticorrosives, and dishwasher soap

Post by marauder » Tue Jun 23, 2015 12:04 am

I have had a lot of old blasters with gunk on the inside, not just the outside, of tubing.
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SSCBen
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Re: Biocides, anticorrosives, and dishwasher soap

Post by SSCBen » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:14 pm

iSoaker has some tips on cleaning water guns.

As for which cleaners to use, I don't know much about how well different ones work, but you can check a chemical compatibility chart to make sure the components can handle the cleaner. Here's a chart for latex tubing which should be the same as the bladders. Soap gets a B rating. Salt water gets an A. Isopropyl alcohol gets an A (seems pretty harsh to me, though). You should check these charts for every component the cleaner will come in contact with. It's not exactly clear what the o-rings are made from, but I'd assume Buna-N. I'm also not sure what types of plastic are generally used, so this is something I would figure out before cleaning.

Unfortunately, manufactured water guns probably were not designed to last as long as they have, so these problems might be unavoidable. You should consider replacement of components if they have degraded too much, e.g., tubing, O-rings, and bladders (with balloons or latex tubing).

HBWW
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Re: Biocides, anticorrosives, and dishwasher soap

Post by HBWW » Tue Jun 23, 2015 6:39 pm

Therein lies the problem: water blasters have tons of seals and springs: temporary parts that cannot be replaced with a reasonable level of effort. Still, it's interesting that bladders have lasted this long and will continue to: the fatal failures are the pull valve leaks and check valve leaks that practically require a completely custom solution to replace them. (Unless you want to go through a hacksaw blade, 2 tubes of epoxy, and countless hours of fumes-inhaling labor every year.)
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