iSoaker.net :: Soaking the world!

Well, despite the number of new internal pictures I've managed to take recently, the total number isn't as high as what I had hoped for simply due to problems opening up some water blasters. I figured, though, I'd recount my problems here and see if anyone else has had better luck than I.

Super Soaker Sneak Attack
Things at first seemed okay when removing the various screws on the Sneak Attack. However, upon attempting to separate the pump-grip, it appears that the rear of the pump-grip is snapped together with plastic tab-like connections. Since the pump grip is semi-tracked in a funny way, there is no way to separate the casing without removing the pump grip. I localized the stuck areas to two plastic rods, one on each inside of the pump grip attaching to the top of the pump-grip. While I could have forced the grip apart, that would likely have broken the plastic rods and I wasn't sure of the potential consequences not having those plastic rods may have. Thus, no luck in opening it so far.

Water Warriors Sting Ray
Started off removing the screws on this pistol-sized blaster, psyching myself up to pop off the nozzle and pump caps when, after loosening all the screws, the casing still felt remarkable fixed together. Normally, once all screws are loosened and/or removed, blaster casings should be able to split apart a bit even if a pump or nozzle cap is still in place. For the Sting Ray, virtually nothing budged. Looking a little closer at the seam, particularly along the bottom, I found a long bead of glue sealing the casing together. This is one water blaster that just is not meant to be easily opened for repairs. I opted against forcing the casing apart since, with that amount glued, the plastic casing would likely have been significantly damaged in the process.

Water Warriors Hammerhead
All seemed to at first be going well when attempting to open this blaster. Once all the screws were loosen, parts of the casing began to split from the other. I also managed to slide off the pump cap without too much trouble. However, the nozzle cap has an odd shape and, despite initial prying, did not budge. Furthermore, the Hammerhead also features a rear-side cap that also holds the sides of the casing together. Attempts to pry off the rear-side cap met in failure. After multiple attempts, I can only conclude that the rear cap on the model tested is glued on quite strongly, thus cannot be easily removed.

---------------------------------

All-in-all, as I prefer keeping my water blasters stock, any blaster that requires a lot of effort to open when it still works properly I opt to leave closed. Of course, should any of these blasters require repair in the future, I'd be willing to sacrifice aspects of their aesthetics of it meant being able to correct the problem. Always interesting, of course, to see how various soakers are built. Of course, here's to hoping no one here has to open up any of their own blasters for repair and only for fun/exploration if desired.

Soak on!

I've only opened blasters for modding and/or repair. I've never felt it was worth it just for exploration given the time it takes. Besides, most stuff I have is pretty simple. Also, I've excessively ruined a Flash Flood when I was stupid and thought the nozzle pieces had to be pried off. Not to mention, I forgot to remove a screw behind the flood trigger and snapped that part off, thinking there was glue on there. Even after a successful opening, half of the pump cap I cut in half came off when someone else used it at a war.

I haven't handled any of these blasters extensively, so I'm not sure what the issue would be.

For me, it's typically a matter of exploration or repair. Opening blasters doesn't typically take me too long assuming not too many parts are glued in place. For the above blasters, there were just too many parts glued or stuck together in a way that I've not been able to figure out how to undo without potentially cutting or snapping pieces. Oh well, was fun trying for me, nevertheless! Learned new things, too!

Recently when opening my CPS 3000 I noticed much of the case was glued together. I pried it open carefully and there was no damage. With that being said, realistically you could damage the casing when opening if it's glued very well. I wouldn't recommend opening a water gun that's obviously glued unless you need to repair something or really want to modify something. My CPS 3000 requires some leak repairs so I needed to open it.