WaterWar.net

This happened to my CPS 1200 today, the good one. While filming some action shots at the awesome abandoned factory complex, it stopped shooting entirely. Still held pressure, just nothing came out. I figured since we used Hudson River water, it was probably clogged. Pictures and videos to come later.

I've learned so much about this gun and 1200s in general. It is 4:35 AM right now. I've been working this soaker for over 3 hours.

- This soaker is MK1 after all. The nozzle cover has no glue, the only reason it was hard to get off is that I forgot that there is an interior seam in the cap, once you pry a bit on all sides, the whole thing pops right off.

- 1200s may not have a mesh screen in the reservoir intake hole. There wasn't one when I opened it, and I know this gun has never been opened before by anyone. This explains A LOT.

- 1200's have parts of the casing attached with pegs that you need to pry a little bit to get apart.

- A 12" monkey wrench pwns stuck trigger lever rods.

- Earwigs can survive in trigger valves, who knows how long it was in there.

- Shake the pump assembly to get stuff out of the check valves and pump shaft.

- Pour water into the trigger valve with the PC off, then pull the pin and hold it back. Shake vigorously, and pour out the PC tube. Watch stuff fly out.

- Try combos of shaking with the pin pulled or not, pour water into the valve, then pull the pin, and pour more water, then shake and bake.

- Until you see nothing come out except water, that particular section is still clogged.

- When you get the trigger valve clear, you still need to get the nozzle clear. This means sawing, unfortunately.

- A 1200 laminator contains 2 mesh screens, 2 plastic screens, and a divider. By luck or fate I sawed the nozzle off in exactly the right place and still have use of all 5 items within the stock nozzle column.


Things still on the to-do list:

- ADD MESH SCREEN TO RESERVOIR INTAKE HOLE

- Attach an adaptor and make new nozzles. Basically a multi-nozzle mod by necessity.

- Replace all rusty and partly stripped screws with brand new ones.

- Replace rusty trigger lever rod with brand new one.

- Experiment with the order of laminator items. Stock: mesh screen, plastic screen, div, plastic, mesh. Does the order matter?

- Experiment with K-modding. This is already an above average individual soaker, even for an MK1. Will balloons screw it up? Or make it even better?

This is very exciting. I think that this is awesome, everyone should look to take their primary blasters and customize them according to their own needs and seek to take their performance to max levels.

I have always had difficulty getting 1200s apart as well and I had totally forgotten that 1200s do not have screens over their intakes. I think this is absolutely crucial.

Can you explain the difference between mesh screen, plastic screen, div, plastic, and mesh? Show pictures if you can. I just picked up some wire screen from Lowes in order to make a laminator multi nozzle mod for my 2nd XP Pool Pumper Blaster. I will hold off on building my laminator/multi nozzle mod until you're finished with your testing.

What nozzle sizes are you going to be experimenting with? If you can please plug these in on excel. You can compare stock PC vs different nozzle sizes and k modded pc (of various # of balloons) vs different nozzle sizes. For my XP Pool Pumper Blaster I currently have stock (2x) and tapered brass nozzle (10x). I bought some new parts to make what will probably be a 5x nozzle. I will eventually experiment with larger nozzle sizes as well. The stock PPB laminator is great. I want to pull ideas from that, the 2000 laminator, and your experiments to make my new laminator.

This is the kind of modding and repairing that I get really excited about. I want to do a lot of these things to my arsenal, but one step at a time. Documenting how these mods affect performance is critical. I can't wait to find out more. Please post pictures and stats.

I am writing a step by step walkthrough for this project, with lots of pictures and some brief video. It's hard to explain the laminator components, you'll see with the pictures. Basically, there is the seal of the firing valve and the base of the nozzle column. The base has a raised inner seam so that the first mesh screen stays there and won't fall into the valve.

As you move up the column toward the nozzle orifice, the other screens layer in a stack. The first plastic screen sits on top of the first mesh screen. This is where my gun was brutally clogged with gunk, and only opening the nozzle column would have allowed it to be fixed. The composition of it vs the stuff that came out of the valve indicate that the obstruction built up over time.

The divider is like a mini coupler and provides a seam-like ridge for the next plastic screen to rest on. The spacing out probably helps vs just having them in a back to back stack. Then there is the second mesh screen on top of that, and the nozzle orifice. Hopefully I can find a PVC or CPVC adaptor that tapers early enough or has a shelf so that the last mesh screen stays in place.

One thing I am really excited about is that these small plastic screens are removable pieces and thus can be mixed and matched and 3D printed. One goal of this project is to create a template for a homemade laminator that is actually as good as the manufactured ones. However, the real breakthrough will be when we can 3D print the pull valves with material that can withstand pressure. The 1200 valve is a good initial candidate since it is small and simple.

Luckily I have data from this soaker before it broke, so I know what the stock range, shot time, tap shot capacity, etc were for comparison. The only thing I don't have is the output or PC capacity, but that can still be measured later with a homemade nozzle of the same size as the stock orifice.

Weird, my 1200 that I K-modded had a screen on the reservoir intake (not on the reservoir itself, but the pipe that it connects to); I actually had to cut it out because a piece of the PRV had fallen in after I sawed it off, and was jamming the check valve. I replaced it of course.

Anyway, good luck with your project. You've made me never want to fill guns from dirty water sources again, haha.

Umm why didn't you just unscrew the trigger valve, and dump all of the gunk out? Did it have a really gnarly glue job, or something?
But hey. Good job, and now you get to improve the nozzle +laminator.

1200 mk1 trigger valve is not attached with screws at all, it's only glued. It made more sense to hack into the nozzle column than into the firing valve.

I may try this next time I fix a broke pull valve with glued pull valve assembly. I've actually had a nozzle/laminator piece fall off before (on 2100) and I had to epoxy it up to get it to stop leaking from there when shooting.

Use straws instead of the lamination plates! DO IT MAN it's awesome. And use this as the nozzle:http://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/Aqual ... p/hn-2.htm. I did this to my CPS 1200 and it's getting 50 feet!

I'll have to go to McDonalds and get straws. Also bought two of those nozzles tonight. Lots of experimentation coming soon or when the rain goes away.

Edit: The brass nozzles were delivered today! Also got straws, I'm very excited to start these tests!

Results on best configuration so far:

Firing valve --> plastic screen --> mesh screen --> 6 Mcdonalds straws --> plastic screen --> brass nozzle

Range: 42' 7" to 43' 6" (needs retesting due to interference with low hanging tree branches)
Output: 12.5x (Ave output, 525 mL in 1.4 sec)
Full shots: 5 and 3/4
Tap shots: 102
Pump/Tap Shot ratio: 8:5

Stats when it was stock:

Range: 42' 5" to 44' 10"
Output: 5.5x (Ave output, 525 mL in 3.2 sec)
Full shots: 6
Tap shots: 159
Pump/Tap Shot ratio: 4:5

Right now I'm kind of at a loss for what to do next. The output of the brass nozzle is excessive for a medium CPS, it kills the shot time, tap pump ratio, and reduces field life to the level of a CPS 1000. However, when I tried a PVC endcap nozzle the same size as stock, those stats were restored, but the range fell to 39-41ft, with most shots landing in the upper 39s to low 40s. I can K-mod it to raise the range and tap shot count, but that will make the shot time fall even more. At 1.4 seconds, I suppose it could go to 1 sec, but it was really nice having 3.2 sec when stock. This 1200 may need to be used in a whole different style than I was doing before. The funny thing is, this gun could have had even higher output if it were "normal". Most 1200s can deliver 620+ mL from their PC. The one I got from Ben holds some 660 mL. I remeasured several times and this one only holds around 525 mL.

I still have to call BS on 50ft of range for a stock 1200 with this nozzle. With improved lamination, the range held steady/fell slightly.

well he also gave his a 30 balloon K mod

and if you don't like that nozzle on your 1200 you might give it a try on your 3000/3200 and hopefully clear 45'