Water guns that can be fired angled up or down

Discussions of all varieties of stock water guns and water blasters.
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zarquan
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Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 2:55 pm

Water guns that can be fired angled up or down

Post by zarquan » Thu May 19, 2022 4:29 pm

I like to use my water guns for water fights and shooting my dog (who loves water guns). I take water guns on walks on hot summer days and shoot her when it is too hot or when shes thirsty or just for fun. Unfortunately, since most water guns are designed to shoot other people from a distance, they are designed to draw from the lowest part of the water reservoir when the gun is angled slightly up. That means that I will be shooting air much sooner than I should be if I am angled down, which I am naturally when I am playing with the dog.

Is there a water gun designed to work properly when angled up or down?

I am trying out the Zuru XShot watergun (the bigger one, non-pressurized), which on paper is great (not too heavy, multiple nozzle sizes), but has this problem probably more than any other watergun I've used. It draws water in from the very back of the reservoir, which draws from the reservoir almost perfectly if angled upwards, but doesn't draw at all if angled downward. As long as I remember to angle the gun up before the loading "stroke", it's fine, but it is annoying.

I think this is less of a problem with 2 chamber pressurized water guns (which I used to use), but those don't seem to exist anymore.

SSCBen
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Re: Water guns that can be fired angled up or down

Post by SSCBen » Thu May 19, 2022 11:57 pm

CPS blasters use a rubber bladder, which allows for shots at any angle. The most powerful CPS blaster on the market today is by Spyra: https://spyra.com/

It's expensive and I don't think it would be particularly good for spraying a dog as it only shoots bursts of water. But I could be wrong about that. I haven't fired their blaster, and I don't know off-hand how large the blasts are.

Otherwise, you might want to look to pick up an older blaster second-hand, or try building a homemade water gun.

Someone else might have a better suggestion.

zarquan
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Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 2:55 pm

Re: Water guns that can be fired angled up or down

Post by zarquan » Fri May 20, 2022 3:29 pm

Yeah, I don't believe in paying more than ~$40 for a fancy water gun. And I would generally avoid paying that much.

My dog likes jumping in to and biting the stream of water, so I also don't know how well these would work from what I can see.

I don't know if I am crafty enough to make my own water gun, but perhaps I could look in to that as an option.

I would add one thing to the statement that CPS systems can be fired in any angle. In my experience, they can be fired at any angle, but you have to pump them angled up. This isn't as much of a problem, as you can pump them up a bunch at the right angle and get a lot of shots off before you need to pump them again.

James G.
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Re: Water guns that can be fired angled up or down

Post by James G. » Mon Jun 06, 2022 8:45 pm

I have some similar usage cases to yours, so I've thought about the problem a fair amount. I'm curious if the Super Charger line (500/600) would be suitable for your (or my) case. They're light, have good firing times, are CPSes, and seem to go for fairly reasonable prices (well, compared to any other good Super Soaker you can find on eBay). In a world where the layman considers an Equalizer a 'big gun', I suspect they would be satisfactory in any non-enthusiast waterfights you're likely to run into as well.

My main concern at this point would be whether they're likely to require maintenance in the future, being 20+ years old. There don't seem to be too many broken ones up for sale, which may be an encouraging sign. I'm not sure why they get so little respect compared to other Super Soakers, but the price may be right.

UPDATE (6/10/22): I bought a SC 600 the other day and got it today. Based on this thread and your other one, I think it'd be a wonderful fit, except that the price is slightly higher than you like.

"1. large reservoir (as large or larger than my Vaporizer at about a liter)"
check; the reservoir holds 1.1 liters, and with the PC charged, you can hold nearly 2 liters
"2. Shoots a single, moderately small stream of water"
check; the SC 600 mk 2's output is rated at around 1.7 ounces per second, slightly more than 1x; if you have a mk 1, it is 1x
"3. Does not leak"
check - assuming it's in good condition.
"4. Is reasonably durable and reliable?"
check - everybody in reviews, even the blaster's critics (Aqua-Flash), seem to agree it is both. I haven't had mine long enough to vouch for it, but it seems to work well so far, as the seller claimed.
"5. Can shoot angled down"
check - I specifically tried this, because one of my use cases is to help clean things off of the sidewalk. It works well.
"6. Can shoot angled up"
half-check - it does well overall, but there were a couple of angles where it was shooting mist. However, this might be user error, so take it with a grain of salt. I think you could hit a squirrel with it if you tried.
"7. Not more than $40, and would generally avoid paying that much"
maybe, but it's location-dependent. I got mine for a little over $40 (counting tax) and that seems to be what most of them are going for in total price. However, for me, that price tends to be somewhere from 33% to 50% shipping cost. If you happen to live near someone who is selling one, and can get a lower price, or even do pick-up, it's likely to be a much more affordable mid-20s or 30s deal.

The SC 500 is implied in reviews to have all of the same qualities, except that its reservoir and PC aren't as large as the 600's (but the total water capacity, reservoir + pressure chamber, is still over 1 liter). It tends to sell for a bit less than the 600 and shouldn't be unduly hard to get for under $40, if you're buying on a good day.

In either case, if you try to get one of these, make sure that you get the "Mark 2" version of the blaster. The Mark 1s both have 'air pressure' on the label, instead of 'constant pressure', and although they're not really air pressure weapons, they are said to have quirks that are more likely to result in underperformance compared to the next generation.

It's worth noting that both the SC 500 and 600 are bigger and heavier than the Vaporizer, and I expect the Zuru blaster too. They still aren't heavy burdens by any means; they can be cradled in one arm or wielded with one hand. It is a factor worth considering on a long walk, though, since you don't want to risk dropping an expensive blaster.

zarquan
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue Aug 11, 2020 2:55 pm

Re: Water guns that can be fired angled up or down

Post by zarquan » Fri Jun 10, 2022 4:47 pm

Thank you. I will certainly look in to this.

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