XP 110 Pressure Fades Quick and Leaks Out

[marauder]

I just bought a NIB XP 110. I was pretty excited about this. Now, since the 110 was released in 1998 it's obviously been sitting in its box for a long time. I filled it up and started to pump, but pressure was building up rather slowly and it was making a soft hissing sound. After a good 15 pumps or so I had generated about 3/4 pressure but water started leaking out from around the pistol grip/pump area/bottom of the gun. I pumped about 3 more times, had full pressure, squeezed the trigger, and let loose a nice powerful stream like it should.

Of course, the problem I'm concerned about is that it takes much longer than it should to build up pressure, the hissing sound, and the leaking. I do not have my screw driver at school, so I can't open it up until 3 weeks from now. For now, I'm left speculating and asking you guys. I highly doubt anything could be broken since this is the first time it has ever been used.

My guess is that it has something to do with the individual pipes that make up the blasters internals. More specifically, they may have gotten loose. I do not have a picture of the internals of any of the 98s, but from experience I know that the different pipes are fitted together with rubber O-Rings. The best picture I have to explain what I mean is from my XP 105:



Do you see where the pipes are different colors and how they are sorta twist locked into place? I know that on the 98 XP line those are fitted together using rubber O-rings on the end of the pipe that fits inside the other pipe. Hopefully that has come loose and an O-ring hasn't rotted. I don't know why it would have though, because it wasn't used until now.

What do you think the problem might be?

[soakernerd]

Open it up, and pump it under water. Watch for the bubbles.
Then, dry it off, and slather the leaking area with epoxy putty.
I have fixed many leaky areas like this.

[martianshark]

He can't open it though.

The picture isn't working.

[Nitro123PG]

My CPS 1000 had this exact same problem. It took 40 pumps to pressurize, leaked from the handle, and made a werid noise when I pumped it. When I opened it up, I found a nice big crack in the tubing next to the resovoir. I slathered some expoxy on it, and now it takes 19 pumps to pressurize, is pretty quiet when pumping, and it doesn't leak.

[HBWW]

I doubt that's not going to last long; I'd strongly advise replacing the tubing if possible. Tubing is flexible and if it bends, it can undo the epoxy easily.

[wetmonkey442]

^The tubing inside of your case is not going to be moving at all if the case is closed and in one piece.

Two-part epoxy solves pretty much everything in these scenarios. Buy lots and use lots! Good luck on getting this "vintage" soaker working again.

[marauder]

I opened my 110 up today. The joint where the pressure gauge connects to the rest of the blaster's internals had cracked. This must have happened as soon as I tried out the gun. The plastic is so thin at that joint (there is a rubber o ring inside it). The crack was around 3/4 of the joint's circumference, and it crumbled away in my hand as I took a look at it.

This was a pretty simple repair. I just coated the inside of the joint with heavy duty waterproof silicone sealant, stuck the joint back together, and then coated the outside in a layer. I let that dry, and then I coated the outside in another layer. I could not find any epoxy for pvc type material, so I used the silicone with resistance of up to 320 psi. I hope this works long term, it held up to my initial post repair testing. No leaking, and the gun shot 34 feet on my range testing area.

I also picked up a wooden dowel rod and placed that inside the pump to prevent it from snapping. 5/16ths " works perfectly for the 110. I will probably post pics later.

[isoaker]

Cool! Glad you got your XP110 working again!

Pics would be great; while your described things very well, pics just that extra bit o' detail words can't. Sounds like the plastic got brittle with age. That's the thing that worries me about older water blasters, particularly since I have a fair number of them. Optimally, for storing things, want to have a decent temperature, decent humidity levels, and minimal fluctuations.

[marauder]

Sounds like the plastic got brittle with age. That's the thing that worries me about older water blasters, particularly since I have a fair number of them. Optimally, for storing things, want to have a decent temperature, decent humidity levels, and minimal fluctuations.

From what I've experienced, some guns are more prone to breaking than others. You probably heard about my legendary 1500. It sunk to the bottom of a lake in the mountains of South Carolina. A year later, the people that owned the lake house picked it up off the muddy lake bottom, when the lake had its annual draining. I got it back, it was fully pressurized, it had been fully pressurized for a year. Four years later it still works incredibly well. I'm still shocked.

[GJIV]

wow! Being pressurized for such a long time would theoretically make the bladder stay expanded or break after some time.

But as praxis is often different from the theoretical thing, I can only say, congratulation, you really have a great Soaker, which might can go through everything without damage