DIY bladder

Guides and discussions about building water blasters and other water warfare devices such as water balloon launchers.
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Jacopo
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2025 7:14 pm
Location: Italy

DIY bladder

Post by Jacopo » Thu Jan 30, 2025 5:11 am

Hi,
I’d like to build a water gun based on the CPS system, and I’ve been wondering for a while: why not make the bladder at home?

After doing some research online, I haven’t found anyone who has tried it (perhaps for a good reason), but in theory, by using liquid latex and pouring it into a mold, I could create the bladder I need directly, avoiding the need to layer multiple membranes or struggle to find one. Living in Europe, from what I’ve seen, the available options are quite limited; the nearest thing i found are the elastic tubes for spearguns, but they are too small.

Based on your experience, is this a feasible solution? What would be the best material? Do you know of anyone who has attempted this before?

Thanks in advance!

SSCBen
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Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 4:15 pm
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Re: DIY bladder

Post by SSCBen » Thu Jan 30, 2025 8:38 am

Hi, welcome to WWN. I don't recall anyone making a bladder from liquid latex before, but I do recall discussion of the idea. I would suggest trying it and reporting the results. As for the material, latex is probably used because it expands a lot and can return to essentially how it was before. Other rubbers may work fine, but I don't know enough about the specifics because ordering latex tubing has worked well for me.

If I were in your situation, however, I would expect layering balloons to make a "spherical" bladder to be much easier than making a "cylindrical bladder" mold and pouring in liquid latex. I do not have any guides for this on SSC but I recall it has been successfully done. Layering rubber condoms may work similarly if a cylindrical shape is desired, though I don't think condoms are desired to expand as much as balloons so they might have durability issues. I would encourage you to report the results if you do try balloons or condoms.

Also, as with many industrial products, what you find online is probably not everything that can be purchased. Over a decade ago I ordered some valves over the phone from a local distributor of the company Clippard and received excellent service at a price well below what could be found online. I would suggest asking some companies that produce latex tubing or even rubber products in general if they sell latex tubing and how to obtain their products. That's essentially how I learned about the distributor. I think Clippard had a page explaining how they usually sell through distributors.

Jacopo
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jan 29, 2025 7:14 pm
Location: Italy

Re: DIY bladder

Post by Jacopo » Fri Jan 31, 2025 6:43 am

Yes, I would like to create a cylindrical bladder, so I will try to make one using latex (or similar materials). Following your advice to contact local manufacturers, I found some companies that produce resins and silicones to pour into molds. I contacted them, describing my idea and asking if they could recommend the most suitable product.

In any case, I will keep you updated, because it could be useful to someone in the future. If I don't get the desired result, I will definitely try to make a cylindrical bladder using balloons; actually, I might test it anyway out of curiosity to see how it turns out.

Thanks for the advice!

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