13 replies to this topic

[makeitgo]

Found these in the party section of Dollarama. 4 to a pack for $2.
They're very strong and nest nicely into Stock LS springs. They'll also fit inside TS plunger tubes and NF's.




Don't be fooled by the inferior party poppers that come in packs of 3 and are redish in colour. Look for the baby blue ones. They're quit a bit larger.


Nf spring, TS spring, Party Popper spring.


Approximately 5.25" long. (No, I did not stretch it.)

I don't know the 'specs' but it is quite a bit stronger than all stock springs that I have come across.

[jackrabbit]

First post

The only problem is Dollarama can only be found in Canada from my research, but that doesn't mean they won't be found in the USA, but I have drawn a blank when researching these party poppers.

[andtheherois]

Searching the "Hole in the wall" type dollar stores would probably get you better results in finding these in the US. I find that dollar sore chains tend to not have all the fun modding stuff that we like to look for.

[Pause]

At least you didn't get as much funny looks walking out with a dozen party poppers than you did walking out with a dozen baby bottles, lol.
Nice find

Edited by Pause, 09 July 2012 - 07:02 PM.

[SpokkyLucaz]

At least when you didn't get as much funny looks walking out with a dozen party poppers than you did walking out with a dozen baby bottles, lol.
Nice find

Cashiers probably thinking 'oh, just had a baby!'
Would you say they could fit in a stampede at all? Considering their PT's are pretty similar...

[makeitgo]

Cashiers probably thinking 'oh, just had a baby!'
Would you say they could fit in a stampede at all? Considering their PT's are pretty similar...

These are like a universal spring. They seem to fit in all stock plunger tubes and over all stock plunger rods. The only thing they don't fit are N-Strike reverse plunger tubes. I can't stress enough at how strong these are. They're not overly strong, as that it's impossible to prime. I have a TTG pistol modded by Taer Kitty with a cut down [k26] (not verified). It's just about as strong. The compression rate is great to because it can be compressed a lot. Meaning you can get a lot more draw.

The only negative thing I can say is that they're only 5.25 inches long.

Edited by makeitgo, 09 July 2012 - 09:52 AM.

[pSyk]

I think I might have one of these such springs too, salvaged also from a party popper that was passed to me from another local nerfer.
Over time and constant usage, these springs ended up staying semi-decompressed, resulting in a shorter length.

I'm hoping that yours are different from mine; it would suck if these end up as "temporary spring replacements".

[Curly]

I think I might have one of these such springs too, salvaged also from a party popper that was passed to me from another local nerfer.
Over time and constant usage, these springs ended up staying semi-decompressed, resulting in a shorter length.

I'm hoping that yours are different from mine; it would suck if these end up as "temporary spring replacements".

I personally wouldn't mind at all. At such a low cost it would be certainly viable to replace them every war or two. Precompression is the bane of all springs, but these are short enough that you'd need less precompression.

[Goldie]

Over time and constant usage, these springs ended up staying semi-decompressed, resulting in a shorter length.

This is something I can confirm. Both me and Ugh112 (Zango) had these in our quadshots at one point or another.

Either we (I) got a junk batch or this happens with these springs as they were not meant for prolonged use.

[pSyk]

This is something I can confirm. Both me and Ugh112 (Zango) had these in our quadshots at one point or another.

Either we (I) got a junk batch or this happens with these springs as they were not meant for prolonged use.

I just checked last night.
I dug out a pair of these type of springs, but I'm pretty sure that they're different from MIG's mentioned ones in the first post.
Both these springs warp slightly out of shape once they were compressed... I clamped them down for the night and yes, they "shrunk" and stayed that way since.
I'm in the office now; Will check once I'm home to see if they'll go back to their original length.

They seem to be made of a different metal alloy from the "usual" springs though.

[pSyk]

Okay so this is what I'm talking about. It's just a quick, short video.
I apologize to those browsing on mobiles if you're not able to watch embedded videos.



Ugh... yes those springs are tough.

[Goldie]

Things

/\ /\

Spot on, this is more or less what we were dealing with up in Canada on the west coast two years ago. I’m with you on the idea that these are not made of the same metal that the springs were used to as the spring in the poppers weren’t meant for repeat use.

To MIG, sorry if in anyway you see this as me crapping on your find/idea. Far from it, I’m hoping that people how look at this in the future can no what there in for. I think you’re a BAMF and a true trailblazer in a world moving more and more too homemade blasters.

[Briguy52]

In some write-ups where people stretch springs, they also "heat treat" them to keep them from deforming. Would that make any difference here or is the metal alloy itself far too weak/ cheap to even make any difference, treated or otherwise?

[Daniel Beaver]

In some write-ups where people stretch springs, they also "heat treat" them to keep them from deforming. Would that make any difference here or is the metal alloy itself far too weak/ cheap to even make any difference, treated or otherwise?

Re-annealing a spring is a hell of a lot more involved of a process than just sticking it in an oven for a few hours (as is so often recommended here). And in any case, your oven probably can't reach high enough temperatures to heat treat spring steel (it's a high-carbon steel, so you need 1000+ degrees). Don't do it unless you really understand what you are doing. I get annoyed every time I see it mentioned, because people usually have no fucking idea what they're talking about.

EDIT: here's a good forum post at an airsoft site about this subject. There are some responses from people who are much more expert than I in this subject.

Edited by Daniel Beaver, 13 July 2012 - 02:43 PM.