The Humidifier: Aka the Latex Powered Water Gun
by Kaelessin in Outside > Launchers
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The Humidifier: Aka the Latex Powered Water Gun
Feeling the heat this summer? With temperatures sometimes exceeding 115 degrees (at least where I'm at) a way to cool off is certainly important. With these thoughts running through my arguably fevered mind I decided to do something about it! Behold THE HUMIDIFIER my original design for a latex powered squirt gun. Feel the power and sheer brutality that is latex-power, DIG IT, WHOOOOOO!
Component Acquisition
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or "Grab all the stuff you'll need and bring it to your work bench"
Now there's a good bit of freedom in this design so if you have anything that's "pretty close" to these parts already lying around then by all means use it!
now for the part list:
1: A bottle of NOS energy drink (or more specifically the cap from one)
NOTE! you can use anything here . . .I just like the style of the cap.
2: Two pieces of wood(preferably water resistant wood) about 1" square
3: Two bolts 3.5 inches long
4: Two nuts that fit the bolts
5: A 27 inch piece of ABS or PVC pipe (the only reason i used abs was that black looks cooler . . .PVC is usually cheaper) with a diameter of 2 inches
6:Two end caps for the pipe(obviously the two inch variety)
7: Several zip ties
8: A nylon insert for the nozzle(see pictures . . .experiment with different sizes)
9: A nylon insert that goes from 1/4inch (the insert end) to 1/2inch threads
10: A 1/2 inch PVC ball valve
11: A 1/2 inch to hose attachment(it's got that rotating bit to screw onto a standard garden hose)
12:(optional but highly recommended) a "quick release" hose attachment
AND !!! of course the most important bit, A 17 inch piece of 1/4 inch latex tubing(surprisingly this was rather hard to round up . . . .I've heard that home depot sells it but i went to a couple of em and no one had it . . . i eventually found it at ACE hardware.
Tools Needed:
1: a vise comes in mighty handy for holding things still while you drill holes and cut the fill level slot
2: a drill and bits for it(you'll need a 3/4 inch bit, a bit a tad smaller than your nozzle, and a bit the same size as your bolts.
3:A knife - the sharper the better but do be extra careful . . . lacerations cast some serious shadows on any project . . .
4: A dremel (or other rotary tool with high rpm) tool and a cutoff disc(they're these little ceramic discs that work great for cutting things quickly)
MOST IMPORTANT!!!!! A very generous helping of safety! there are a lot of dangerous tools here so if you are wise you'll have someone there to make sure you aren't going to hurt yourself!
Now there's a good bit of freedom in this design so if you have anything that's "pretty close" to these parts already lying around then by all means use it!
now for the part list:
1: A bottle of NOS energy drink (or more specifically the cap from one)
NOTE! you can use anything here . . .I just like the style of the cap.
2: Two pieces of wood(preferably water resistant wood) about 1" square
3: Two bolts 3.5 inches long
4: Two nuts that fit the bolts
5: A 27 inch piece of ABS or PVC pipe (the only reason i used abs was that black looks cooler . . .PVC is usually cheaper) with a diameter of 2 inches
6:Two end caps for the pipe(obviously the two inch variety)
7: Several zip ties
8: A nylon insert for the nozzle(see pictures . . .experiment with different sizes)
9: A nylon insert that goes from 1/4inch (the insert end) to 1/2inch threads
10: A 1/2 inch PVC ball valve
11: A 1/2 inch to hose attachment(it's got that rotating bit to screw onto a standard garden hose)
12:(optional but highly recommended) a "quick release" hose attachment
AND !!! of course the most important bit, A 17 inch piece of 1/4 inch latex tubing(surprisingly this was rather hard to round up . . . .I've heard that home depot sells it but i went to a couple of em and no one had it . . . i eventually found it at ACE hardware.
Tools Needed:
1: a vise comes in mighty handy for holding things still while you drill holes and cut the fill level slot
2: a drill and bits for it(you'll need a 3/4 inch bit, a bit a tad smaller than your nozzle, and a bit the same size as your bolts.
3:A knife - the sharper the better but do be extra careful . . . lacerations cast some serious shadows on any project . . .
4: A dremel (or other rotary tool with high rpm) tool and a cutoff disc(they're these little ceramic discs that work great for cutting things quickly)
MOST IMPORTANT!!!!! A very generous helping of safety! there are a lot of dangerous tools here so if you are wise you'll have someone there to make sure you aren't going to hurt yourself!
Preparation of Parts:
Okay so here's the part where we use all the tools . . . .please be careful . . .
First make sure and get a measurement of your nos cap(id give you mine but due to drill bit mix ups I had to make some enhancements . . .sigh) your nozzle, and here's a trickey one the outside distance of the two bolts if they are laying close enough to touch the latex tube on either side. So if you have bolt tube bolt with no spaces(or compression of the tube) you want the outside distance there. Now that you've got these measurements get your drill bits:
bit #1 is the same size as the butt nylon insert fitting.
bit#2 is the same size as the complicated bolts plus tube measurement(or slightly bigger if you don't have one the perfect size)
and lastly but most importantly bit #3 is a size SMALLER!!! than the nozzle.
now go ahead and put your caps into a vise and drill the nozzle and but-cap-tube-to-valve-interface-fitting holes. using bits 1 and 3
a couple of inches from the end of your 2 inch pipe drill a hole with bit#2
Next, grab a 1/4 inch bit and drill 2 holes in the side of the pipe at either end of where your slot is going to be . . . .they need to be along the same line so what I did was drilled my slot end holes into the printing on the pipe so I didn't have to get all tricky about things. now take the dremel tool and its cutoff disc and cut a slot between the last 2 holes. (this also has the benefit of getting rid of the writing on the tube). The plastic is going to get VERY HOT at this point and will want to melt back together . . .just be careful not to get burned and work slowly and it should turn out alright.
the slot is going to be kind of nasty so take the knife and very carefully clean up all the edges of it so there's no sharp edges . . .DON'T CUT YOURSELF!!!
Now here's another tricky bit: shave off an ever so slight amount of nylon from your nozzle's foremost ridge so that it will *pop* into the smaller hole you drilled. this must be pretty tight so that it doesn't get pulled out by the latex.
Finally, grab a bit the same size as your chosen bolts and drill 2 holes in each piece of 1 inch square wood and the inner nos cap.
First make sure and get a measurement of your nos cap(id give you mine but due to drill bit mix ups I had to make some enhancements . . .sigh) your nozzle, and here's a trickey one the outside distance of the two bolts if they are laying close enough to touch the latex tube on either side. So if you have bolt tube bolt with no spaces(or compression of the tube) you want the outside distance there. Now that you've got these measurements get your drill bits:
bit #1 is the same size as the butt nylon insert fitting.
bit#2 is the same size as the complicated bolts plus tube measurement(or slightly bigger if you don't have one the perfect size)
and lastly but most importantly bit #3 is a size SMALLER!!! than the nozzle.
now go ahead and put your caps into a vise and drill the nozzle and but-cap-tube-to-valve-interface-fitting holes. using bits 1 and 3
a couple of inches from the end of your 2 inch pipe drill a hole with bit#2
Next, grab a 1/4 inch bit and drill 2 holes in the side of the pipe at either end of where your slot is going to be . . . .they need to be along the same line so what I did was drilled my slot end holes into the printing on the pipe so I didn't have to get all tricky about things. now take the dremel tool and its cutoff disc and cut a slot between the last 2 holes. (this also has the benefit of getting rid of the writing on the tube). The plastic is going to get VERY HOT at this point and will want to melt back together . . .just be careful not to get burned and work slowly and it should turn out alright.
the slot is going to be kind of nasty so take the knife and very carefully clean up all the edges of it so there's no sharp edges . . .DON'T CUT YOURSELF!!!
Now here's another tricky bit: shave off an ever so slight amount of nylon from your nozzle's foremost ridge so that it will *pop* into the smaller hole you drilled. this must be pretty tight so that it doesn't get pulled out by the latex.
Finally, grab a bit the same size as your chosen bolts and drill 2 holes in each piece of 1 inch square wood and the inner nos cap.
Assembly
THE TUBE
Insert the nozzle into the latex tube and zip tie it in place i used two ties but I'm sure you could scrape by with just one.
insert the other nylon insert and zip tie it into place as shown.
add one more zip tie on the latex tube near the front (when the tube is in the chamber this will keep the water from going far enough forward to open up your release on accident) placing isn't too crucial but make sure it doesn't pinch too much and that it's behind the hole we drilled all the way through.
Tube is now done!
The butt cap and water insertion assembly
okay so if you're smarter than me you can skip the orange elect. tape but if not go ahead and wrap enough around the threaded fitting to keep it from slipping through the hole in the butt cap. insert it into the butt cap and screw on the ball valve nice 'n tight the water's real low pressure so no need for fancy glue or anything here . . .(plus if your tube bursts or something like that you can take the thing apart and replace it) now screw the hose adapter onto the ball valve and last, if you bought one, the quick release to the adapter.
Take some strong string or shoelace or something and tie it to the nozzle end of your tube. Insert this into the pipe (in the end farthest from the hole that goes all the way through and out the other end) now as you pull it through press the end cap onto the pipe but not so firmly that you can't get the thing back off in case of tube replacement. Pull the string and stretch the latex tube so it comes out the other side with a fair amount of slack. whilst holding the latex, untie the string and then fold the latex tube over the edge of the pipe and wrap the string around it to keep it in place. *POP* the nozzle into the front cap and untie the latex from the side.
Careful here, the latex has a tendency to snap back and you could pinch your fingers. if you didn't shave off too much, everything will hold and you can push the front cap on; again not too tight.
THE NOS CAP RELEASE SYSTEM
thread the 2 bolts through the nos cap(inner one) and one of the pieces of wood. glue the outer cap to the inner cap and then thread the 2 bolts through the top(the side with the slot) big hole on either side of the tube and out the other hole. put the other piece of wood onto the bolts and screw the nuts onto the ends of the bolts nice 'n tight(we want a fair amount of friction here to keep the thing from untwisting.(see firing the humidifier)
This concludes the assembly of The Humidifier.
Insert the nozzle into the latex tube and zip tie it in place i used two ties but I'm sure you could scrape by with just one.
insert the other nylon insert and zip tie it into place as shown.
add one more zip tie on the latex tube near the front (when the tube is in the chamber this will keep the water from going far enough forward to open up your release on accident) placing isn't too crucial but make sure it doesn't pinch too much and that it's behind the hole we drilled all the way through.
Tube is now done!
The butt cap and water insertion assembly
okay so if you're smarter than me you can skip the orange elect. tape but if not go ahead and wrap enough around the threaded fitting to keep it from slipping through the hole in the butt cap. insert it into the butt cap and screw on the ball valve nice 'n tight the water's real low pressure so no need for fancy glue or anything here . . .(plus if your tube bursts or something like that you can take the thing apart and replace it) now screw the hose adapter onto the ball valve and last, if you bought one, the quick release to the adapter.
Take some strong string or shoelace or something and tie it to the nozzle end of your tube. Insert this into the pipe (in the end farthest from the hole that goes all the way through and out the other end) now as you pull it through press the end cap onto the pipe but not so firmly that you can't get the thing back off in case of tube replacement. Pull the string and stretch the latex tube so it comes out the other side with a fair amount of slack. whilst holding the latex, untie the string and then fold the latex tube over the edge of the pipe and wrap the string around it to keep it in place. *POP* the nozzle into the front cap and untie the latex from the side.
Careful here, the latex has a tendency to snap back and you could pinch your fingers. if you didn't shave off too much, everything will hold and you can push the front cap on; again not too tight.
THE NOS CAP RELEASE SYSTEM
thread the 2 bolts through the nos cap(inner one) and one of the pieces of wood. glue the outer cap to the inner cap and then thread the 2 bolts through the top(the side with the slot) big hole on either side of the tube and out the other hole. put the other piece of wood onto the bolts and screw the nuts onto the ends of the bolts nice 'n tight(we want a fair amount of friction here to keep the thing from untwisting.(see firing the humidifier)
This concludes the assembly of The Humidifier.
Using the Humidifier
Hook the back end up to a hose and open up the ball valve.
Twist the release assembly at least a half turn(remembering which way you turn it)
turn the hose on slowly and watch for the latex to fill up. Don't go too far as you risk bursting the tube.
IMPORTANT: close the ball valve before disconnecting from hose
now disconnect the gun from the hose and hold it whilst admiring its latexey omniscience.
turn the release the opposite direction from the way you turned it before and spray as many unsuspecting victims as possible and then remark "My but it's humid today" then cackle mischievously and fill it up again.
Twist the release assembly at least a half turn(remembering which way you turn it)
turn the hose on slowly and watch for the latex to fill up. Don't go too far as you risk bursting the tube.
IMPORTANT: close the ball valve before disconnecting from hose
now disconnect the gun from the hose and hold it whilst admiring its latexey omniscience.
turn the release the opposite direction from the way you turned it before and spray as many unsuspecting victims as possible and then remark "My but it's humid today" then cackle mischievously and fill it up again.