4 replies to this topic

[loafersofdoom]

I've been lurking around for about six months, and after reading many posts and running many searches, I have a question. I'm a plumber, and thusly deal with pressure systems on a day to day basis. When installing water heaters we often use a thermal expansion tank to regulate changes in water pressure due to temperature canges. I'm curious as to it's usage as a air tank for a homemade nerf gun.

Has anyone tried this? It seems very reasonable given the nature of the tank, it's ability to hold high pressures ( relative to nerf ), and the ease of incoropation ( can be used with copper, brass, and pvc adapters ).

I'm currently working on a design myself and will get back to you guys with results as to it's effectiveness. I makes me wonder what other crap I look at every day that may be usefull.

Also, check out ferguson.com for supplies.

On a side note, thank you all. You guys helped me discover a creative outlet that I really love.

Edited by loafersofdoom, 23 June 2007 - 09:48 AM.

[Carbon]

It's funny you mention that. I work at a print shop, and one of our more regular customers is a water system supplier. We just recently printed a slick for them about expansion tanks, and I was wondering about them as well. They're essentially a rubber bladder inside of a steel tank, right? My main question was how small they came, how much one would cost, and how much they weigh. It may be a nice solution for a continuous pressure homemade.

[Prometheus]

Carbon - kind of like a bigger version of the magstrike bladder, but perhaps a backpack version? That would help reduce the dependency on having a pump available all the time.

[CaptainSlug]

Carbon - kind of like a bigger version of the magstrike bladder, but perhaps a backpack version? That would help reduce the dependency on having a pump available all the time.

They're not really the same. A thermal expansion tank is more like a show absorber. The trapped volume is acting as a compressive force against the filled volume, instead of the compressive force coming from an elastic force.


If you have one to test with it's worth a try to see if it provides a more consistent output pressure than a solid wall tank. A 2 gallon expansion tank (around $40) should be enough for atleast 80 shots (when filled to 70psi), if not more. You could probably substitute an expansion tank in place of the tank made out of pipe in my DIY external tank guide: http://nerfhaven.com...?showtopic=8234

Edited by CaptainSlug, 24 June 2007 - 03:11 PM.

[Trace II]

I saw something at menards that is similar. It's about 6" long and about 1" wide. It was made out of copper and I don't think it had a diaphram. Is this useful?