APH concept

[SEAL]

Okay, this time it actually is a concept.

Here ya go:


Yes! I got my image to appear in my post.

I know, my paint skills leave something to be desired... Maybe I'll get my brother to do it next time. But you get the general idea. (This is NOT to scale, by the way.)
I'm probably going to make quite a few changes by the time it's built. It's pretty much based of Ben's original APH. I decided to add an onboard reservoir, which will probably be a gallon water jug or something of the like. I'm not sure if gallon water jugs have threaded openings though. If not I could always use a 2L, I'm going to make a hole in the top of the bottle/jug, and use a cork with a hole though it as a cap. If I'm using bottles, I could go Bottle Shot/Blitz style, and have extra tanks.

It will be going into production as soon as I get the parts. I think I'm gonna go to Lowes on Monday, I'll get the parts then.

[martianshark]

Flaws I see:

-Check valves aren't in great places.
-That pipe next to the trigger is going to mess up the pump system.
-How are you going to attatch the trigger?
-The trigger probably won't be strong enough to turn the valve.
-No spring to close the valve when you let go of the trigger.
-Reservoir is way to small although you'll probably fix that.

[SEAL]

Okay...

Someone on SSC has already told me about the check valves, I have fixed that.
The pipe next to the trigger is just going to slide over the other pipes.
I didn't draw how I was going to attach a trigger in this picture, but trust me, I will find a way. (The alpha version might not even have a trigger yet.)
I am going to lubricate the valve as suggested on SSC.
I didn't draw the spring.
And as I said in my original post, it's not to scale, so the reservoir is not going to be that small in real life.

This drawing is kinda outdated. I'm not going to make a new one because I have the parts now, and I will start building the real thing.

[HBWW]

Lubricating the valve won't help that much (and sometimes may not even work); you will need a good set distance that the trigger can operate, as well as a good spring and something strong to hold it in place.

For the supporting connection, you can't do it just by putting over a tee. Both joins must be fittings that are designed to grip and snap to the pipe externally; interfering with the design where extra water gets routed will not work properly for various reasons.

[SEAL]

Alright guys, I got all the parts out yesterday, and I even assembled the front part that attaches to the ball valve.
Here are some pictures:

Here are almost all the parts. Not shown in this pic, are the long sections of 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch pipe. (Some of the parts shown here are spares.)


This is the front assembly. This was taken before I glued it.


I'm going to use a bike pump for the pump. I have one that I think I can use.
Today I will try to assemble the rest. I hope to have it almost complete by tonight. Unfortunately, I appear to be missing a part or two, so it may not get done on schedule.
I also found out something, I laid all the parts out, and it looks like this is going to be a pretty big gun. I brought some extra parts to make it so I could unscrew the check valves, in case I wanted to make another more improved blaster, I wouldn't have to buy more check valves. The problem is, all these extra parts have added on to it's length. I have been trying to figure out little ways to shrink it a little bit.

@C-A_99: I came up with something for the trigger, it's kind of complicated, so I'll post pictures of it later.
As for the supporting connection, I've already figured that out. I brought bigger sized tees for both ends, and I already tried fitting them together, and I have a perfect plan. (Pics will be posted soon!)

I got some new pictures:
Here is the pump. People on SSC say that bike pumps will let air in through the handle, so I'm not sure if I will use it or not. Do they?


This is what my blaster looks like at the moment. It had just been glued when this pic was taken.


I'll work on it some more tonight...

[martianshark]

A bicycle pump won't work on an APH. An APH's pump needs to pump water. Bicycle pumps pump air.

[SEAL]

Yeah that's what they said on SSC, oh well, I'll have to take another trip into town...

Regarding the construction, I haven't done anymore work on it because of the all-star game yesterday. I'm definitely going to work on it some more today.

[SEAL]

UPDATE: I got some new pictures, but for some reason I can't post them here. You'll have to go to My thread on SSC to view them.

[HBWW]

Bike pumps need to be modified to pump water. I haven't done it so I wouldn't know; it may not even be possible within reason.

Make sure that tee that supports the pump and top section doesn't let water through it. I'm assuming that to avoid that problem, the tee at the top will only be supported by the other tee while the pipe stays seperated.

[SEAL]

Hey guys, I've almost completed the blaster, everything except the PC's have been glued. I would have done the PC's, but it started to rain before I had a chance.

Unfortunately, my camera ran low on batteries, so I couldn't take any pictures. I'll recharge it, and take some pictures tomorrow. I hope to have the blaster complete and ready by then.

[SEAL]

It's complete and it works! I repeat, it's complete and it works! Took a little longer then expected, but I finished it just a little while ago and it works great!
Well... Sort of. It's range is not the greatest, and it's very heavy. Here are some pictures:

Here is a pic of the blaster right after I filled it for the first time.


I have 2 nozzle sizes, 1/8", and 1/4". Here they are. They're basically caps with holes drilled through them. You can also leave off the nozzles and have a riot blast which is 1/2".


Here are some shot pics. Now my little brother had the camera when I was firing from the 1/8" nozzle, and I guess he forgot to take the picture, so I only have pics of the 1/4" nozzle and the riot blast. Oh well, I'll take some pics later.
Here's the 1/4" nozzle:


And the riot blast. (It looks like it's shooting a lot farther then it really is.)


Here are the range test results: (I haven't done output or soakage tests yet.)
1/8" nozzle: 21 feet. That's the same range as my 2L.
1/4" nozzle: 34 feet. This is the best in terms of range.
Riot blast: 25 and a half feet.

Yes I know, that was terrible. I was expecting 50 or more feet. I think the reason for this is that the bike pump doesn't have that much volume. (If it did, it would probably blow up bike tires.) It gets impossible to pump after 15 pumps. Oh well, maybe I'll make my own pump next time.

The whole thing is very heavy. I am going to add a strap to it.
I also put some pads on the shoulder stock. here is a pic.


I haven't added a trigger yet, and I don't know if I will. I'm going to oil the ball valve later, and if it gets nice and loose, then I'll add a trigger. I'm also gonna paint the whole thing black when I'm done making modifications to it.

PROS:
It actually works.
It's kind of intimidating.

CONS:
Terrible range when compared to other APH's, probably due to low pump volume.
Very heavy when loaded.
Ball valve is very stiff, making it impossible to add a trigger. (I hope to fix this.)
Capacity is rather low.

Output and soakage tests coming soon! I will also get shot pics of the 1/8" nozzle.

And, just for your entertainment, I will show you a picture of my crazy brother pretending to be a mad scientist.
Here you go: This was taken a while back. My workbench is in the background.


So I wouldn't call it a failure, I mean, it works and all that, but I have to make some serious adjustments before I can use it for combat. (Trigger, strap, etc.)
Even though this didn't turn out like I hoped, it still might be useful for a base defense or something like that.

My next project will be a CPH. I won't start building it until the winter or possibly next spring. It will most likely have a backpack reservoir, and I think I'll make my own pump.

So there you go.
~SEAL

[SEAL]

UPDATE:

I added a strap, and made a new improved nozzle.

First off, here's the blaster with the strap attached. I know what you're thinking, it looks too small doesn't it? It is rather snug, but it suits me just fine.


I took the front off so I could try and lubricate the valve from both ends and do some other things with it.
Here's one of the things I did. It actually turns pretty smooth now, but not enough to add a trigger though.


Here is the modification I made to the nozzle. I found a short metal tube thing(I forgot what it was called.) that mushrooms out on one end, drilled out the smallest nozzle, and squeezed it into the hole.
Picture:


The effect was great! It now gets around twice the range of the original nozzle, and the stream has better lamination too!
I didn't do any tests on it, nor did I get any shot pics, 'cause my brothers were acting immature and stupid at the time, and I didn't want to ask them for help. I think it got around 40 or so feet. It shot about as far as our Vanquisher and Equalizer. The nozzle is bigger then my 1/4 nozzle though. (I forgot exactly what size it was.) I hope to find a smaller tube thing for my 1/4 inch nozzle. It got plenty of shot time, but it only shoots 40 feet for about half a second before the stream drops off.

Here is a picture of the whole thing as of now.

I may or may not add a trigger. I'm gonna go to Home Depot tomorrow and look for the valve lubricant again. If I can't find any, or if it doesn't work that well, then I'll go to plan B. (Add a lever onto the valve handle.)

That's all for now! I'm very happy with the new results.

~SEAL

[SEAL]

UPDATE: Okay, I finally got shot pics and stats. I've been busy these past few days.
It was a long wait, but I have a ton of pictures to make up for it.

First of all, here is the equipment I used to measure output. I couldn't shoot directly into the measuring cup, because the water would just splash out. So I fired into a rabbit drinking bottle, and then poured it into the measuring cup.
Picture:


Let's start with the 1/4 inch nozzle.
Here is a picture of the 1/4" nozzle on the gun next to the original modified nozzle.


The range on this nozzle is about 51 feet.
The output is 1 cup in 1 second.
Picture: (The cup is on a bit of a sloped surface.)


The shot time is 8 seconds.
Here is a shot pic of the 1/4" nozzle.


And the soakage is 15 inches in diameter.
Here's a pic.


Now for the bigger nozzle. I forgot the size, but it used to be the 1/8" nozzle. This was the first one I modified.
The range on this is 49 feet.
The output is 3 cups in 1 second.
Here is an output pic.


The shot time is 5 seconds.
Here is a shot pic.


The soakage is 19 inches in diameter.
Picture:


And last but not least, the riot blast.
The range is 25 and a half feet.
The output is a whopping 4 cups in 1 second. It may be more though. The rabbit bottle that I used overflowed when I was shooting into it before 1 sec. It filled up the cup to just below 4 cups, so I figured it's around 4 cups.
Here is a pic of the cup.


The shot time is only about 2 and a half seconds.
Here is a shot pic. I already got a shot pic of it, but here's another one.


The soakage is 27 inches in diameter.
Here is a picture.


Here is one final picture of the blaster with a CPS 2700 next to it for comparison. Huge, isn't it?


Here are the new pros and cons.

PROS:
Better range then almost every stock soaker except possibly the CPS 2000.
Rather intimidating.
It's good for my first blaster.

CONS:
Kind of heavy and very bulky.
No trigger due to stiff ball valve. (But I may add a lever, SS300 style.)
Hard on your arms after a while.
Takes a substantial amount of pumps for full pressure.

Well, that's that. I'm pretty much done with this blaster. I might add a handle to the valve to make it easier to turn.

So long for now!
~SEAL

[v0vanu4]

A good work has been done with the APH concept in mind. Your first simple model of the water gun was good. Now the next model has become more efficient. It can be even compared with the company made guns. That is quite wonderful. Keep up the hard work. Those pictures are really very nice. The range of the blaster is very impressive because it being a home made blaster. The pump to be used in the blaster is a water pump. Anyway want to see you here with lots of other innovations.