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Post by socoj2 on May 7, 2008 11:59:40 GMT -5
Awesome... Ahh, Spudfiles, I haven't been there in a long time. Outstanding source of information. A neat thing to do in the winter (below freezing) (especially if you have kids in grade school) is to fill your barrel up with water (after pressurizing the air chamber) then shoot the launcher. Put the pressure to something fairly high, in your case, probably 60-70psi, so that it can push all the water out and atomize the water. When the water atomizes, it freezes rapidly in freezing temps and you create a cool little snow blower.... This makes for a great demonstration at your local elementary school. Should never pressurize PVC <50 degrees...
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Post by ducttape on May 7, 2008 13:15:50 GMT -5
50 degrees??? what you talkin bout willis
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Post by spudcrazy on May 7, 2008 13:30:34 GMT -5
Should never pressurize PVC <50 degrees... I've done tons of testing, you are safe up to 100psi!!! No more than a small bang and a crack, NOT catastrophic failure... But you can never be too safe, I'm just speaking strictly from experience and extensive testing...
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Post by drdoom on May 7, 2008 19:23:49 GMT -5
I'm glad Josh is OK.
IMHO there is no excuse for not having an over pressure safety valve. Even with good components things fail - or just need servicing. The D-III recently went into a pop-off cycle as the Palmer jammed open. Good Reg. I got the pop-off valves part of the MXS requirements a long time ago when working through approvals for the D-II
I don't consider PVC particularly doomed to failure from "paintball hits" or being dropped. At 90-100PSI it's 1/3 under pressure ratings - and also has to deal with water hammer in it's normal service. And look at Dan Thame's test results - he eventually had to shoot his test cylinder with a .22 to get it to fail. Who's had one fail that didn't over-pressure theirs? I know of zero cases and would challenge anybody to document one.
Steel is an overreaction, cumbersome, heavy, and, hey, can rust. Cast iron can fragment and is arguably more dangerous than PVC
Nobody's mentioning AL though it's indireclty spec'd via "commercial launchers". Arguably better than steel in most regards.
Commercial launchers? Expensive for one - and also there is very little innovation in commercial launchers. Every one I've shot is inferior in range to the better home-engineered ones.
I think it's reasonable and produent for Splatbrothers to temporarily disallow homemade laws until they understand the situation. But hopefully to not issue an edict based on case involving a violation of rules already in place.
I think it's up to the cannonsmiths to hold the line, demonstrate that the failure was due to a violation of commensense, and in fact an item already covered by the rules. Further to show how easily and simpe it is to pre-qual any LAWS at a game for compliance to the rules.
Josh - All the best!
Cannonsmiths - hold the line in a constructive and productive way - or lose your game.
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Post by VooDoo on May 7, 2008 22:54:34 GMT -5
In all honesty.....we all run roughly the same probability of a failure from some unseen damage to a fibre wrapped marker air tank, or loose threading at the regulator, or good old fashioned abuse. What we do for fun can be potentially dangerous, if the proper amount of respect is not present at all times. We have rules and checks in place to safeguard against "accidents" (be it chrono speeds, air tanks, markers, gear, or LAW weapons), and when those are used correctly, they do in fact become an effective deterrent against mishaps....but the possibility of something happening while on the field still exists with the level of activity involved in this sport in regards to any given equip. failure. Human error is normally the blame in each case, not the item.
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wop
Newbie
Posts: 4
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Post by wop on May 9, 2008 23:10:24 GMT -5
Aluminum that is all I will use for a tank, welded, inspected and tested by me. I have decided to install 2 pop valves on all launchers I build from this point on. Also construction is a very important aspect, you can use titanium and put it together crappy and it will still be unsafe. Take a look at the wop1 at I built ( www.wopworks.com )and you can see the way I have constructed all the high pressure componants, that is the way to go. Commercial launchers can fail also due to poor maintenance and no regular inspection, no launcher is full proof and I agree it is up to the smiths to hold the line.
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Post by spudcrazy on May 10, 2008 13:56:03 GMT -5
VERY WELL DONE and quite ingenius. 2 blow-off valves is overkill IMHO. In my years of experience, I have NEVER had a blow-off valve fail in the CLOSED position (meaning it didn't pop when the pressure reached the limit). I have had it fail in the open position (meaning it popped prematurely, get your minds out of the gutter). You're right, maintenance and regular inspection is key to safety and a PVC launcher can be made every bit as safe as any other material launcher. So if you don't have the metal lathes and such, don't fret, PVC is still the option!!! Dang, our WOP1 is almost identical in principle to my LAW with the exception of the aluminum components... Great minds think alike !!! I still prefer spudlaunchers over the limited aspects of the paintball LAW . MORE POWER!!!! No need for light weight, you can make MONSTER chambers and super long barrels and launch things that you will NEVER see or find again!!! YAY!!!
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wop
Newbie
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Post by wop on May 10, 2008 17:36:09 GMT -5
launch things that you will NEVER see or find again!!! YAY!!! LOL That is a good feeling statement
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Post by mikeypoopoo on Sept 10, 2008 7:59:36 GMT -5
nive very nice
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