What Does One Mean By The Pump Getting "Hard"?

[rinkydinkysplat]

because after a cvf and on homemades, it says "pump until the pump shaft gets hard"
if it means that it gets hard to pump, then that has happened many times to my unmodded guns...

[NiborDude]

All guns when you are pumping get to a point where they get harder to pump. This usually means the PC is full. In modded guns, you might think that since it seems you have pumped a little under the normal amount you want to pump more. Never do that with a modded gun. I know Dux has pumped over the limit several times on his 21K and valves blew. That's basically what that is saying.

[isoaker]

^ basically what NiborDude said.

Doing a CVF is basically removing a part of the water blaster needed to meet safety requirements for manufacturers. Blasters without their CV can thus get pressurized higher for potentially better output and range, but also up to the point where a different part of their assembly not design to take that sort of pressure will give up and burst. This is usually below the 'pump gets hard' threshold so that's been a general safety mark for modded soakers. Non-modded soakers may also feel stiff to pump when their PC's are full, but the CV prevents real damage since it'll release additional pressure even if you force the pump.

[Soakologist]

^^ iSc's post gives me an idea:
Could there be a way to damage a check valve intentionally in a manner which would weaken it to give the gun more strength, but still keep it in check enough so that overpressurizing would not be a possibility.



Edited By Soakologist on 1114429222

[isoaker]

^ What you're referring to isn't a check-valve freeze, rather a check-valve replacement or adjustment. Since the check-valves on most soakers are pretty well sealed, the only way to get at them is to break/dismantle that section. Stock soakers just weren't intended to be modded, thus increasing the difficulty. It may be possible to adjust the pressure, but that'd involve a lot more delicacy than currently used by the mods I've seen done.

[Soakologist]

Maybe we'd need a jeweler to do something like that. I doubt it would be too hard. Or maybe some sorta weird third-party type thing, where you tell a mechanic what to do, and then the mechanic tells a fine jeweler which parts to move how under a microscope or magnifier. That would be a cool project!

[NiborDude]

You can break the check valve. I believe Blue Smudge had this happen to his CPS 1500. He was pumping it as normal when he heard a loud pop. From then on the soaker performed better. He figured that the check valve may have just broken down. I think, under a lot of stress, you can do the same to any check valve. But this might be dangerous to your soaker. If you continuously pump, when the PC is full, you can put the check valve under a lot of work. If you continue to do it, maybe it will break down and stop working. Just a theory.

[isoaker]

Interesting anecdote, Nibordude.

However, breaking check valves isn't quite what Soakologst had in mind, I think. At least, it's not what I had in mind. Check valve freezing is done pretty much to enable higher pressures to be achieved. However, the thing that I tend to fear is some other part of the system giving up since there is no outlet if one is pumping really forcefully. If I knew a cheap and available source, instead of check-valve freezing, I'd personally recommend a check-valve replacement for a valve at a higher, but not 'dangerously high' release pressure. However, both a check-valve source and a 'safe' PSI rating are two things I can't say for certain.