Opening your blasters - Prelude to an article

[isoaker]

Just wanted to post up some general (some would say obvious) thoughts on opening up soakers after opening up 4 of them yesterday and planning to pop open more in the coming days.

i) use the right type of screw driver - you don't want to shred screw heads and you want to be sure that the tip can actually properly reach the screw to begin with
ii) keep track of screw positions - either ensure that removed screws don't fall out of the hole they are in and/or tape them to the casing or to a sheet of paper so you know which screw goes where. Soakers use different lengths and sometimes thicknesses of screws for different holes
iii) typically the hardest thing to remove on soakers is the end cap found around the pump-piston. A vice-grip can help, but will often damage the plastic. Unfortunately, end-caps are often glued in place making plastic damage almost impossible to avoid. I have noted that if the case can be gently pryed open apart from the end-cap, one can sometimes use the added leverage from the casing to dislodge the glue or let you get a flat-head screwdriver into a crack to help pop off the cap
iv) when splitting apart the halves of the casing, be gentle and use a flathead screw driver or similar tool to ease the casing apart evenly as opposed to prying open one side before the other. Many cases I've opened prefered to be open all at once and would catch if one side was being opened faster than the other
v) work on a flat surface (I worked on the floor) so that in the event some piece falls out of place (i.e. a screw or cap), it won't fall too far or get out of sight. Many who open soakers want to still be able to close them up again and still have a working soaker.

Just some thoughts.. I've got more, but would rather work on a full-fledged article for that. For the modders out there, I know this stuff seems trivial. For others who want to get into modding or need to do repairs, I hope this helps.

[LtDan64]

...This may seem even more obvious to anyone... but could be overlooked. Before you go forcing things apart, make sure they can't come apart in another way, like screwing off. (pun(s?) not intended) The XP70, for one, (I'm not sure if there are others) has an end cap (around the pump piston) that is on screw threads, rather than being glued in place. ...not that I had to almost break it to find out. (I forget how I did come to notice that...) It also has a piece (decoration only) that goes around the nozzle that actually snaps into place. Try different methods of removing parts and pieces, etc, before you resort to brutal force.



Edited By LtDan64 on 1113024041

[isoaker]

Wow! Thanks for bringing this topic back to light. So many articles I've been meaning to develop, but lacked time to develop properly, thus never made it into full form.

Well, gotta do a few more reviews first, then start increasing (and re-organizing) the articles on iSoaker.com.

[hunter]

you should also add that old/rusty screws are easier to strip...as I found out on my new MXL..someone gave it to me free because it broke...I fixed it, but anyway...yea...and sometimes the crack where they are connected being caked with mud is a prob...

edit: and it was the mk. 1 MXL...it did have a hole in the PC casing, though...



Edited By hunter on 1113088546

[Commander_Gaunt]

The XP 110 also has a screw-on pump cap.

Oh, also, some of the nozzle guard things may seem glued on but aren't... like th CPS 1000.

[hunter]

and the cps 2100 mk. 1

[LtDan64]

Sweeeet, look what I did!! lol :laugh:



Edited By LtDan64 on 1113160577

[Commander_Gaunt]

Er... what did you do exactly?