Shield Blaster 3000 won't fire

[Evangel]

I followed the instructions and cranked backwards a couple times, but as hard as I crank it won't fire.

What exactly does that one-time back-cranking do?

EDIT: Never mind, I got it to work. I took it apart, and for whatever reason it magically started working. Must've been a pinched pipe or something.



Edited By Evangel on 1179774809

[isoaker]

The standard Shield Blaster system is based on a good ol' peristaltic pump mechanism. Basically, a couple of rollers (or more) squeeze a soft piece of tubing to guide water in one direction (Wikipedia: Peristaltic Pumps).

The problem with peristaltic pumps is that if they are not pumped for awhile, the tubing that is being squeezed by the rollers ends up deformed where the stationary rollers were resting. Pumping it backwards is meant to help "pop" the collapsed tubing and allow water to flow again. However, what really matters is how bad a condition the tubing in the pump is in. While messy, I'd actually recommend trying to push water into the nozzle using a hose or directed faucet head while pumping backwards to try to clear any clogs or dried-up salts from inside the tubing that may be preventing the pump from functioning properly.