Looking for APH pieces

[kronos90]

Hello everybody, I'm from Italy!
Last summer me and my friend decided to build a homemade soaker.
We went to a big store and we bought the pieces to build the aph soaker (that on super soaker central site).
We were unable to find all the pieces, nor in pvc, nor in copper, and we used different material pieces. We bought materials for about 40€ (55$).
Using so different kind of material didn't help us and we couldn't make the aph.

Now I'm looking for an international online and cheap store to buy all the PVC aph pieces I need.
Can you suggest me any place to buy them? I'm thinking about alibaba site. Do you recommend it?
Are there any alternative to aph soaker?
Thank you

[kronos90]

up!

[martianshark]

Mcmaster.com sells just about everything you could possibly need. Try them.

http://www.mcmaster.com/

[HBWW]

McMaster Carr doesn't ship internationally, so you'll need a courier to use their service. You may have to look for how to build one with copper or some other material.

[SSCBen]

Hi kronos90!

What sort of material did you manage to find? Can you take a photo of the parts you did buy or the plumbing section at the store you visited?

[kronos90]

Thank you!
Ben!! I'm looking for the materials you used in your APH guide on super soaker central.
Last summer I tried to build it using the material I could find (polypropylene http://www.risen.it/it/components/com_v ... a440dc.gif; copper http://www.sanha.it/uploads/pics/02_02_ ... ngs_06.jpg; this kind of valve http://pneumatica-it.timmer-pneumatik.d ... 00-msv.jpg, other plastic materials, and also pvc cement but without primer) but it didn't work very well..

It's very difficult (and expensive) to find every pvc or copper materials I need here, so I need help to find them on some online store!
I am from Italy
Thank you

[SSCBen]

Looks like copper and PVC are not good options. What sort of pipe is used for common plumbing applications where you live? This is what will be easiest to find and cheapest. You do not need to use the exact same parts. The important part is the layout, not so much the material.

You may have to do some hard research to figure out what is available. I remember back in 2002 and 2003 when what materials to use didn't seem so clear, and then a few people in the US had success with PVC pipe and fittings, so that because what we used. Us in the US don't know what's available elsewhere.

Also, what specifically do you mean by that you tried building a water gun but "it didn't work very well"? The most I can glean from what you wrote is that you did not use PVC primer, but PVC cement may not be appropriate for polypropylene pipe. Can you provide a photo of this water gun? Perhaps you were close.

[HBWW]

^ Following your reply, I'm thinking that we really, really need good separation of component recommendations from design theory when introducing new people to homemades.

@kronos: So with that said, the theory is all the same no matter where. It's all about finding parts, and unfortunately, few if any of us can really help in that aspect. Ben's advice is good: look around your local stores and see what's around and what you can use. The key components (being check valves, firing valves, pressure chambers, pumps, and reservoirs) may be built or bought. For example, if you can't find reasonably priced check valves, you may be able to build them. If you don't understand a component or how something works, always ask. Unfortunately, we seem short on animated diagrams and very good introductions to laymen that prevent misconceptions on how water guns work. Perhaps what we really need is video footage of homemades made out of clear pipe, but that would be a very expensive undertaking.

[kronos90]

Thank you very much for your replies.
Unfortunately it is very difficult to me to think about a material I could use. Most of all because it's hard and expensive to find every component of one single material.
The water gun didn't work because the two soda bottles slightly blew up and immediaterly after they lost the pressure.
Also every component tended to separate from others.
For example the two check valves I bought (the ones I found were really expensive, these: http://www.mondeovalves.com/ita/images/ ... tone_b.jpg) were always turning on the pipe and were not stable with other materials altough I was applying cement all the time.

So I was thinking about buying everything on the net to save money and be almost sure it will work.
Any ideas?
Sorry if I make any english mistakes!

[SSCBen]

Unfortunately it is very difficult to me to think about a material I could use. Most of all because it's hard and expensive to find every component of one single material.

Basically all of the components used in the APH guide are standard plumbing components. If you have running water, you should be able to find the right components. Perhaps they'll be expensive, but I can't help much with that. If you can not think of the right material, go to a plumbing store or the plumbing section of a hardware store (or the equivalent where you are) and ask an employee or merchant what they suggest.

Alternatively, I would suggest asking about where to buy pipe and valves at SpudFiles, an online forum about potato guns. They have a much larger and very international audience that may be able to help you better. If you do find something out, please post it here so that we can tell others in the future what you ended up doing.

For example the two check valves I bought (the ones I found were really expensive, these: http://www.mondeovalves.com/ita/images/ ... tone_b.jpg) were always turning on the pipe and were not stable with other materials altough I was applying cement all the time.

In the US at least, threaded valves like that are supposed to use pipe thread tape, not cement. Cement will not keep them attached. (You can get a thread sealer that can be painted on, but it's fairly rare and harder to use.)