Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Guides and discussions about building water blasters and other water warfare devices such as water balloon launchers.
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CDMT
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Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by CDMT » Sat Jul 18, 2020 11:11 pm

Side profile view of the starting elements: a accumulator tank water gun and compact WBL

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/501 ... 4319_c.jpg

Two views of the somewhat finished gun.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/501 ... a102_c.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/501 ... 37cb_c.jpg

While the gun is outlandish, it is a lot of fun to shoot an intimidating thomp of a water balloon and follow it up with a high powered water blast.

cantab
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by cantab » Sun Jul 19, 2020 10:30 am

Nice.

Am I right in thinking the water gun part is a standard separate PC design using the accumulator tank for the PC? How's the launcher pressurised?

CDMT
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by CDMT » Sat Jul 25, 2020 2:16 pm

Yes you are right that the main pc is an accumulator tank. The smaller accumulator tank on the gun’s left side is the pressure chamber for the water balloon launcher. It can be pressurized using either a CO² powerlet or a bicycle air pump.

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Tim
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by Tim » Sat Jul 25, 2020 3:50 pm

That looks like a lot of fun! [banana]

What is the sabot made from?

CDMT
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by CDMT » Fri Jul 31, 2020 12:53 am

The sabot is merely a Styrofoam cup with 4 wedges cut out and reinforced with 2 strips of package tape.

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Tim
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by Tim » Fri Jul 31, 2020 6:20 am

Ah! After 73 years, someone finally found a use for spent, unrecyclable Styrofoam cups!

Why Styrofoam? Does the cushioning property of the foam provide a better seal?

CDMT
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by CDMT » Mon Aug 03, 2020 2:42 am

Styrofoam mainly because it's soft and if it failed to release the balloon it would be less likely to cause injury. Also being soft it does provide a much better seal. I am also glad that I used an accumulator tank since it cuts down on the size of the launcher. The next thing I want to do is make the whole gun more ergonomic and get rid of the long trigger tube for the launcher. I also want to integrate a paintball tank to allow for multiple water balloons to be charged successively. Lastly I want to make the water balloon launcher bolt action.

SSCBen
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by SSCBen » Fri Aug 07, 2020 6:11 pm

Great work. I've been planning a blaster with an air source, and I had wondered what to do with the air when the water runs out. A water balloon launcher would be reasonable there. Nice to hear that you've found the combination to be effective.

Also, a 1.05 L accumulator tank blaster outranges a CPS 2000? That's making me want to build an accumulator tank blaster, though my time is too limited these days. Next year...

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SEAL
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by SEAL » Sun Aug 09, 2020 6:36 pm

Wow, great work. I remember people would always talk of building water guns with built in WBLs, but as far as I know you're the only one to actually do it. How does it perform? I know one of the concerns with having an integrated WBL is that it might not shoot balloons far enough to be worth it, because high-range launchers are typically quite long and have large PCs.
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CDMT
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by CDMT » Tue Sep 22, 2020 3:54 pm

Sorry for the late reply. I wanted a short range launcher from the get go and it is definitely short range. At 45 psi it goes 200 feet. Which gives you one shot beyond the range of other players. It can definitely go farther but given where I live there hasn't been a huge motivation to shoot it farther as it will sail into someone else's yard.

CDMT
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Re: Watergun with an integrated water balloon launcher

Post by CDMT » Sat Sep 26, 2020 2:21 pm

If you end building one like the one I made in constructing your sabot I would use smooth packing tape (the type that is really smooth and has string on the inside). Electrical tape is too grippy and will negatively affect range. I would also spray some water down the barrel as well. Those two things helped give me the most range so far.

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