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daviddillman
Joined: 04 Dec 2010
Posts: 51
Location: Texas
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Posted: Aug 28, 2016 15:27 Post subject: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Hello everyone. I have owned two water guns. I used the first water gun for about 30 hours of operation and it just stopped working. The water gun made the usual noise but no water would come out. I took it apart and was not able to see anything obviously broken. I bought another water gun and the same thing as happened after about 20 hours of operation. I can tell that the hole through the nozzle and the 1.5" connection to the nozzle is not blocked since water will drip through it. Again nothing appears to be broken.
So my questions are:
1. Is there a brands or types of water guns that are more reliable?
2. Any troubleshooting advice?
3. What can I do to prevent this in the future?
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Joseph DOliveira
Joined: 29 Jan 2012
Posts: 306
Location: Hanmer, Ontario
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Posted: Aug 28, 2016 16:19 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Hi David,
The water guns are pretty finicky usually the problem is a broken spring but I have had the electrical coil fail on another. The first one had a coil issue so it was a write off, it would hum but the flapper that drives the piston would not move. The second had a broken spring which I replaced but I was never able to get it to spray effectively again.
I am currently on my third water gun but have since read the supplied instructions and have corrected my abuse of the gun. The key is to use very short pulses of spraying and allowing the gun to rest a little, if it gets warm to the touch, time to set it down. I also drop a little oil into the hole above the piston to help with lubrication. My current gun has been around for about a year and I do use it frequently although I have noticed a small pressure drop in the spray.
When reassembling the water gun after repairs, I think the alignment of the various holes is critical and it doesn't take much to prevent it from working. You might try pulling everything apart and having another go at putting it back together.
_________________ Joseph D'Oliveira
Hanmer, Ontario
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daviddillman
Joined: 04 Dec 2010
Posts: 51
Location: Texas
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Posted: Aug 28, 2016 17:16 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Thanks. Now that I think about it I have let the gun get warm and used it for about an hour straight.
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bob kerr
Joined: 13 Nov 2011
Posts: 538
Location: Monroeville PA
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Posted: Aug 28, 2016 19:00 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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are you using CLEAN, DISTILLED water?? even the smallest thing in the water can cause clogs - and you would probably not be able to see it
bob
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Joseph DOliveira
Joined: 29 Jan 2012
Posts: 306
Location: Hanmer, Ontario
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Posted: Aug 28, 2016 19:53 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Hi Bob,
The water where I live is fairly hard and I use straight tap water, the volumes that I use would be cost prohibitive to substitute distilled water. Clogging is not usually an issue,there is an electrical coil that runs the piston on the pump, over heating can damage it. Once it quits the cost is too prohibitive to repair. The most common problem is a broken spring, usually the units come with extra springs for replacement.
_________________ Joseph D'Oliveira
Hanmer, Ontario
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bob kerr
Joined: 13 Nov 2011
Posts: 538
Location: Monroeville PA
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Posted: Aug 28, 2016 20:19 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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you live in a fairly humid area - get distilled water from where i get mine - out of a room dehumidifier - and i still filter it to get out any small stuff. rainwater is another option - but still filter it.
bob
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elois
Joined: 22 May 2014
Posts: 1
Location: Blanes
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Posted: Aug 29, 2016 06:20 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Hello David,
I recommend you to get a Kärcher, I've used and abused mine during hours having never a single problem.
_________________ Eloi S.
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bob kerr
Joined: 13 Nov 2011
Posts: 538
Location: Monroeville PA
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Posted: Aug 29, 2016 06:37 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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and one more item - after you're done, run a little alcohol thru the gun.
bob
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GneissWare
Joined: 07 Mar 2008
Posts: 1287
Location: California
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Posted: Aug 29, 2016 08:43 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Most have a small port on top. Put a drop of light machine oil (3 in 1 or sewing machine oil) into it before each use. That makes them last longer.
I have had Krebs ($300+), Italian ones, and Chinese ones (<$50). All fail after some time, and are hard to reliably repair. I just buy 2 or 3 Chinese ones, and throw them away when they break.
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Joseph DOliveira
Joined: 29 Jan 2012
Posts: 306
Location: Hanmer, Ontario
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Posted: Aug 29, 2016 12:27 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Excellent advice about the oil port for lubrication GneissWare. I buy mine from India (I get them cheaper than the Chinese guns) and currently have 2 brand new ones as back up when the current one fails. I do have one that should be good but after repairing a broken spring, I have never been able to get it to work properly.
_________________ Joseph D'Oliveira
Hanmer, Ontario
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daviddillman
Joined: 04 Dec 2010
Posts: 51
Location: Texas
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Posted: Aug 29, 2016 21:06 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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Thanks to everyone who has replied.
I have not been using distilled tap water so I think I will start doing that and then not use the gun for long periods of time. In the past I have not used the water gun until I have quite a few specimens to clean and then tried to do them in one long stretch. Bad idea on my part.
I suspect accidental contamination of the water bulb could have been an issue with the first gun. One time when I noticed the bulb was about empty I started to refill it and I noticed a small black speck in the bottom of the bulb. At the time I had removing thin black iron scale from minerals. I think tiny bits of the material got on my fingers and then found their way into the bulb when I refilled it.
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Les Presmyk
Joined: 06 Dec 2007
Posts: 372
Location: Gilbert, AZ
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Posted: Aug 30, 2016 09:06 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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I don't think you need to use distilled water. If you are going to use filtered water I would buy it from a water store which is filtered and a lot cheaper than bottled distilled water. I have no problem using tap water for my water guns as long as you make sure the water is clean. The hardness of the water does not come into play unless you do not clean the gun properly after each use. I run all of the water out, then run alcohol through the gun. If there is no water left in the mechanism there is no chance of water evaporating and leaving any mineral deposits.
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vic rzonca
Joined: 18 Nov 2008
Posts: 820
Location: MA
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Posted: Aug 30, 2016 10:24 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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I agree with Les. Filtered tap water works for me. I've had my Krebs for 10 years and have had to replace the piston spring one time. I've also chopped and channeled the thing to suit my needs. Never liked running out of water, so I cobbled together a simple constant feed with regulator that will bypass when you let off on the trigger in order not to blow your hose connections or over pressurize the gun. Also, as different from Les, I never dry the gun out. I'm sure that this is not recommended practice, but I've never had a problem with corrosion. You CAN try this at home.
Description: |
Ya, I know. Cable tie hose clamps? |
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27941 Time(s) |
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High tech, by-pass regulator. Feed to the left, by-pass dumps right. It can be finely tuned to by-pass a very small amount of water and what water it does pass can be collected and used for other science projects. |
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27926 Time(s) |
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Bob Harman
Joined: 06 Nov 2015
Posts: 765
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Posted: Sep 12, 2019 15:47 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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I am now replying to this older thread as I have recently made an interesting finding.
I have often used a hi pressure cleaning gun for years. As previously discussed, there is a small hole in the gun's top where I have put a couple of drops of sewing machine oil into about 3x/year. Only 1, 2 or 3 drops of oil! Recently I did a simple experiment to see exactly where this oil goes. I put 1" distilled water into a clean shallow pan. Then holding the pan at various angles in sunlight, I could see nothing at all on the water's surface.
Then using the recently oiled gun on the lightest "misting" setting. I sprayed water into the water already in the shallow pan. Now, again holding the pan at various angles in the sunlight, I could see a patchy very very thin sheen of oily iridescence on on the water's surface.
It seems, with the gun normally oiled, minute amounts of the machine oil are coming thru with the spraying water! For most, not a big deal, but who wants oily water of any amount on the specimens when trying to clean them. Try this simple experiment for yourselves.....I guess that makes all of us who have cleaned specimens with hi pressure cleaning guns guilty of having "oiled specimens".......;) Any comments? BOB
GneissWare wrote: | Most have a small port on top. Put a drop of light machine oil (3 in 1 or sewing machine oil) into it before each use. That makes them last longer.
I have had Krebs ($300+), Italian ones, and Chinese ones (<$50). All fail after some time, and are hard to reliably repair. I just buy 2 or 3 Chinese ones, and throw them away when they break. |
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Joseph DOliveira
Joined: 29 Jan 2012
Posts: 306
Location: Hanmer, Ontario
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Posted: Sep 12, 2019 19:30 Post subject: Re: Unreliable Water Guns? |
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That's a bit of a stretch calling that oiling specimens. I put two drops in before every session and while I have burned through a couple, the current one is over 2 years old and has cleaned a couple thousand specimens. Personally, I think the oil is essential and if you're concerned about oil on the specimen, a simple cleaning with dish detergent after will fix that.
The critical thing with these guns is using it intermittently and not letting it over heat.
_________________ Joseph D'Oliveira
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