Over the weekend I was snowed in and I was bored, so I wanted to try something out. I had my SuperMaxx 1500 (minus the tank; that went into The Howler) which was collecting dust, and an AirTech 2000 tank that was also collecting dust. So I wanted to figure out once and for all if I could swap out the internals of the SM1.5k with AT2k internals.
And it turns out I can. But I didn't stop there. I had a busted Magstrike...
There was a leak in the piston, so I chopped the internals up and took the bladder out. I used a hose clamp to keep the device air-tight on its own and plugged the overpressure valve on the other side of the bladder.
I figured out that I could fit the bladder inside the "reservoir" of the old-style SM1.5k, so I cut the inside of the 1.5k shell to accommodate the bladder.
One issue that came up was that the SM1.5k pump tube had a part that extended into the "reservoir" and poked into the bladder, so I replaced the tube with a pump tube from an AT2k. The shaft is from a SM1.5k; turns out it fits just about perfectly inside the AT2k pump tube. Go figure.
Anyway, I had to fill a bit of dead space to keep the new tube in place.
All I had to do after that was hook up some 1/8" ID 1/4" OD vinyl tubing from the pump to the bladder and from the bladder to the tank, and glue the bladder in place.
That was all there was to it. From the outside it looks like your run-of-the-mill SuperMaxx 1500. I gave it a removable 1/2" CPVC turret to top it all off, though on second thought maybe I should have singled it. I'm not a big fan of the big gaping hole in the front of the blaster when singled.
Last but not least, I gave it a earthy red paintjob and a name.
Close-ups
The removable turret keeps me from having to ramrod, and those of you who know me from the IRC chat know how much I hate ramrodding.
Just a quick one, really. It snowed a boatload over the weekend so I haven't had a chance to test ranges. (Ranges are overrated anyway; this thing packs a punch. Though it takes more pumps to fill the bladder and the tank than just the tank by itself, the increased air output is more than worth it.)
Question/comment/flame away.
Edited by dizzyduck, 03 March 2009 - 12:35 AM.