Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

For questions, articles, and discussions regarding water blaster modifications.
HBWW
Posts: 4110
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:12 pm
Location: MI
WWN League Team: Havoc

Re: Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

Post by HBWW » Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:46 am

If there's no meaningful amount of pressure going on in those tubes (i.e. just water/air shifting about from pumping), zip ties should suffice. (I simply use nothing.) In fact, you just gave me an idea to try out. Zip ties are much cheaper anyway.
HydroBrawl Water Warfare

Discord: m0useCat

marauder
Posts: 3975
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: Charleston
WWN League Team: Havoc
Contact:

Re: Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

Post by marauder » Mon Oct 14, 2013 12:47 pm

Awesome! I just used a zip tie and it's good and snug. It does appear that a hose clamp would be even more secure, but this zip tie seems more than enough to prevent the hose from coming off from crashing through the woods or something.

Now I'm just looking for an old backpack for cheap that I can take the straps off. I am trying to make an extremely lean and comfortable backpack so that it has the least possible impact on my maneuverability. Speaking of which, I've got the hose coming out of the backpack in such a way that I can turn the hose 360 degrees. For now I have it coming out of the pack at a right angle to the right, since I'm right handed. If I lend it out to a left handed person they will be able to rotate the spout/hose so that it comes out of the pack to the left. Pretty awesome. I'll post pics later.

What's your idea?
https://hydrowar.wordpress.com/
SEAL wrote:If you ain't bloody and muddy by the end of the day, you went to a Nerf war.

marauder
Posts: 3975
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: Charleston
WWN League Team: Havoc
Contact:

Re: Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

Post by marauder » Wed Oct 14, 2015 9:43 pm

This weekend I got my PPBs welded. I was so proud of the job that I wanted to take a picture with a high quality camera outside before it got dark. Everything was dry functioning perfectly. With the plastic joint that came with the PPB you could pull the trigger (with the shell open to see) and you could see that there was a great deal of lag in pulling the firing pin/opening the firing valve; and of course this translated into not opening the firng valve when the gun was put together and pressurized thus my whole quest to weld/find a remedy. With the new mod there was no slack in the cable as the two pieces were seemlessly welded together (with a small metal joint enveloping the 2). Pulling the trigger opened the firing valve quickly. Since I was getting home so late and it was always either cloudy or almost dark I decided, what the hell, let's put this together and try her out before taking a picture.

I pumped her up all the way, probably too much as there is no PRV to my knowledge, and pulled the trigger. I felt something happen, but I didn't see anything.

I took everything apart -
1014152205.jpg
1014152205.jpg (316.54 KiB) Viewed 5817 times
1014152203.jpg
1014152203.jpg (317.7 KiB) Viewed 5817 times
The force of the moment actually broke the welding job somehow. I have absolutely no idea how.

Not to be defeated I put a second together, one that, instead of being simply welded together had a much much larger metal joint welded over top of it. This faired only slightly better. When I pulled the trigger I felt something slip and water began to slowly pour out of the nozzle as if the valve was halfway open. It continued to pour out even after I released the trigger. The welding job held admirably but it didn't shoot right which was the whole point.

I have a few ideas of what the issue might be. In the following picture you'll see that where the trigger loops over the cable/rod/firing pin there is nothing in front of it keeping it tight against the spring behind it. The part of the trigger that slips over the firing rod is shaped like a C from the side, not an O where you have to slide the rod through it. Kind of like a lego hand, you can slide a lance/whatever through the hand but you can also clip it on from the side. Except that this piece doesn't clip, it is too large for that, so you kind of just slip it on.

Image

At this point you may think I should just give up, but I'm only more determined because A) this seems insanely f****** simple. I tried everything with minimal pressure and simply pulled the rod/firing pin before the joint and the firing valve opened and released the pressure and then snapped back into place. B) There is simply no other gun that carries nearly 1500 ml worth of PC power that handles this well. This is lighter and easier to use than a 270 yet has the range of a Colossus stock and greater than that of a 2500 when nozzle modded. and C)I love rare s****

Any ideas?

*spoiler alert*

This just goes to show how finicky modding/repairs can be. You can be so close and still not even remotely achieve what you're trying. I created a mini laminator and 5x nozzle for my 310 that shot a perfectly smooth powerful 5x beam of water as perfect as you could ever imagine. Only one problem - it was too long and the nozzle cone no longer fit. Wanting everything to be perfect before I put the guide on Hydrowar I shaved down the end of the laminator to fit under the nozzle cone. Huge mistake. It ruined all lamination. So, I made a new laminator. This time I was all out of nylon spacers and Lowes here lookes to no longer carry them. So I thought, what the hell I'll use a washer at the end of a straw with coffee stirrers, since that was what the nylon spacer was superglued on top of anyway. Did not work out at all.

The fact that it was actually working perfectly gives me encouragement for that mod and the PPB repair. I have to be close on this.
https://hydrowar.wordpress.com/
SEAL wrote:If you ain't bloody and muddy by the end of the day, you went to a Nerf war.

HBWW
Posts: 4110
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 7:12 pm
Location: MI
WWN League Team: Havoc

Re: Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

Post by HBWW » Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:08 pm

Check for friction and that the entire rod is able to effortlessly return. You might need to use silicone grease. The rubber band fix would help here, but I don't know of any rubber bands of sufficient size. Putting a compression spring behind the extended pin might work out instead.
HydroBrawl Water Warfare

Discord: m0useCat

marauder
Posts: 3975
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: Charleston
WWN League Team: Havoc
Contact:

Re: Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

Post by marauder » Wed Oct 14, 2015 10:35 pm

Just had a small victory. I made a quick trigger slip prevention mod out of electrical tape for the third and final PPB (which has a small weld like the first vs the large weld of the 2nd) and it fired at half pressure with quick tap shots.
1014152323.jpg
1014152323.jpg (304.12 KiB) Viewed 5813 times
The electrical tape squeezed the trigger between it and the spring behind it, preventing the trigger from moving forward and then off the rod. I suppose I could have made it completely of waterweld, but that would have taken too long to dry for my patience at the moment.

I have no idea if this was because of the trigger slip prevent mod I improvised or if it was something else, but when I opened it back up the trigger was still firmly in place.

I had actually previously placed a compression spring behind the trigger, like you suggested, but with a dime JB welded to the end. I don't know if it worked or not because at that time I had the loose plastic rod connector and it wouldn't shoot at all. I may add that mod back later, but first I will try this at full pressure tomorrow after the water weld is all dried.

If the trigger slip prevention mod on top of the welding job was really the trick it just goes to show how one poorly designed piece can bring down an otherwise flawlessly engineered blaster. Hasbro could have just made the firing pin out of one metal rod and then placed some type of lock in front of the trigger to prevent it from sliding forward and falling off to the side.
https://hydrowar.wordpress.com/
SEAL wrote:If you ain't bloody and muddy by the end of the day, you went to a Nerf war.

marauder
Posts: 3975
Joined: Tue Jul 20, 2004 9:29 pm
Location: Charleston
WWN League Team: Havoc
Contact:

Re: Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

Post by marauder » Sat Oct 24, 2015 9:06 am

The repair held and combined with the welding the trigger doesn't slip off the firing rod anymore.
rsz_pa240027.jpg
rsz_pa240027.jpg (390.04 KiB) Viewed 5799 times
I'm going to get some footage of it in action, but I am very happy with the results. It hits between 38 and 40 feet consistently. The only, minor, issue is that one PC seems to drain faster than the others. The pumping is super smooth and shots are powerful. Very 'Zook like, but in AP.
https://hydrowar.wordpress.com/
SEAL wrote:If you ain't bloody and muddy by the end of the day, you went to a Nerf war.

c0chise
Posts: 28
Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2015 6:10 pm

Re: Modding My XP Pool Pumper Blaster!

Post by c0chise » Mon Oct 26, 2015 1:42 pm

Get a video up! Also, you need a name for this beast. PPB is pretty rare as far as I can tell. I never see them on ebay, never seen them IRL either.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 18 guests