2011 APH-mini

[wetmonkey442]

Hello,

So my first project for the summer is 90% complete: I built an APH following the standard design. My focus was on minimizing overall size and improving ergonomics. I also used a tilted PC so that the gun could fire water for longer at 45 degrees. For nozzles I'm using a male quick-disconnect fitting for air compressors as well as a small barbed tube fitting. Both of these are 1/4" NPT male threaded, so I am just swapping them out of a single tapped end cap for now. I will probably be making a trip to Home Depot later this week to pick up the pieces to make extended laminators for both nozzles.

It's a little hard to take pictures while firing, so I don't have any shot-pics today (plus there was a pretty strong headwind), but I will get some later this week as well. The pump is off of a CPS 1000. The only thing left to create is a backpack tank.

Performance-wise, this thing turned out really well. It pressurizes in about 20 pumps which is a lot better than my previous APH. The shots are very laminar and shot-time exceeded my expectations. With the small nozzle, I get about 8-10 seconds, with the larger nozzle 2-3 seconds. I measured off range for the large one at 45 feet, but that was into a considerable headwind, and with no external lamination devices (mesh, straws, etc.).

All in all a very successful homemade. With a strap and a backpack, this will probably be my primary during future wars. Its very comfortable to hold, lightweight, and completely outstrips all of my other guns in range and power.





And a picture of Sean with the Flash Flood for scale.

[isoaker]

Your APH Mini looks pretty cool! I suppose the things that has always bugged me, though, about homemade water guns is that many don't look too stable. While I'm sure that the PVC tubes and joints are actually fairly strong and rigid, the overall appearance looks like it'll put stress on some of the connectors, especially if accidentally dropped. Stock blasters have their shells to give more security, but I'm wondering whether some additional bits of non-active tubing should be considered in homemade designs to give the overall build more strength. I know I've seen some homemades that do this, but not sure how often it is done.

[wetmonkey442]

^I will certainly be looking into that for my next one. My APH from last summer featured a contained design with no extending free pipes, which certainly made it feel more rigid. An important thing to keep in mind though is that SCH40 PVC is many times thicker than the plastic they use in stock Super Soakers. So while the gun might appear not very stable, it is in fact quite strong and certainly feels that way when you hold it.

Thanks for the feedback!