A
water gun (or
water pistol,
squirt gun, or
water blaster) is a type of
toyA toy is an object used in play. Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-domesticated animals to play with toys. Many items are manufactured to serve as toys, but goods, or services produced for other purposes can also be used as toys...
designed to shoot
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
. Together with water balloons, these devices are the primary tools used to soak another during a
water warfareA water fight is a type of mock combat using various water-dispensing devices to soak opponents. Everything from buckets to balloons to water guns and even cupped hands cradling water can be applied in a water fight...
game.
Historically, water guns were made of metal and used rubber squeeze bulbs to load and propel water through the nozzle
Many small water guns work on the same principle as a
sprayAtomization or Atomizer can refer to the following:* In atomic spectroscopy, the conversion of a vaporized sample into atomic components...
bottleA bottle is a container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth." Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft drinks, beer, wine, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, ink and chemicals...
.
A
water gun (or
water pistol,
squirt gun, or
water blaster) is a type of
toyA toy is an object used in play. Toys are usually associated with children and pets, but it is not unusual for adult humans and some non-domesticated animals to play with toys. Many items are manufactured to serve as toys, but goods, or services produced for other purposes can also be used as toys...
designed to shoot
waterWater is an ubiquitous chemical substance that is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and is essential for all known forms of life.In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or state, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam. Water covers 71%...
. Together with water balloons, these devices are the primary tools used to soak another during a
water warfareA water fight is a type of mock combat using various water-dispensing devices to soak opponents. Everything from buckets to balloons to water guns and even cupped hands cradling water can be applied in a water fight...
game.
Historically, water guns were made of metal and used rubber squeeze bulbs to load and propel water through the nozzle
Many small water guns work on the same principle as a
sprayAtomization or Atomizer can refer to the following:* In atomic spectroscopy, the conversion of a vaporized sample into atomic components...
bottleA bottle is a container with a neck that is narrower than the body and a "mouth." Bottles are often made of glass, clay, plastic, aluminum or other impervious materials, and typically used to store liquids such as water, milk, soft drinks, beer, wine, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, ink and chemicals...
. The body of the toy is essentially a container for water, and the
triggerTrigger may refer to:* Trigger , a mechanism that actuates the firing of firearms* Trigger pad, a device used in electronic percussion* Image trigger, a device used in highspeed cameras* Schmitt trigger, an electronic circuit...
is attached to a pump which squirts water out of a tiny hole at the muzzle or nozzle. However, many modern water guns employ more complex technologies to provide more power and water output than their predecessors.
In the
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, for several years, import regulations and domestic laws have required
squirt guns to be made of clear or tinted transparent
plasticPlastic is the general common term for a wide range of synthetic or semisynthetic organic amorphous solid materials suitable for the manufacture of industrial products...
. This is to make them harder to mistake for actual firearms.
Modern variations of the design include using compressed air, rubber chambers, springs, peristaltic pumps, or hydraulic pressure to propel the water or an electric pump powered by batteries. Some employ a combination of technologies to produce better stream performance. A more common term for larger water guns is
water blasters.
Squeeze Bulbs
Akin to water droppers, the oldest known manufactured water guns utilized a simple rubber squeeze bulb into which water could be drawn, then forcibly expelled out the nozzle by squeezing the bulb rapidly. This design has inherent limitations regarding the amount of pressure that one can achieve (fully dependent on the user's hand gripping strength) as well as the need to refill after each shot.
Trigger Pump / Spray Bottle
Many early small water guns used the same trigger based pumping mechanism as on
spray bottleA spray bottle is a bottle that can squirt, spray or mist fluids. A common use for spray bottles is dispensing cool cleaners, cosmetics, and chemical specialties. Another wide use of spray bottles is mixing down concentrates such as pine oil with water...
s. Basically, the trigger would actuate a positive displacement pump shaft. With the aid of two check valves, often using small ball bearings, fluid could be drawn into the pump from a reservoir, then forced out the nozzle upon squeezing the trigger. The simplicity of the spraying mechanism let these types of water guns be manufactured cheaply, and allowed the majority of the body could be used as the reservoir. The primary limitation with this design is the volume of water that could be effectively moved per pump. Increasing pump volume would require more user effort to push the fluid out, making larger designs impractical. However, this technology remains widely used today both in spray bottles as well as small water guns that can be found in a wide variety of shapes and colors.
Syringe / Piston
Another simple method employed in a number of water guns to push water is a
syringeA syringe is a simple piston pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
or
pistonA piston is a component of reciprocating engines, pumps and gas compressors. It is located in a cylinder and is made gas-tight by piston rings. In an engine, its purpose is to transfer force from expanding gas in the cylinder to the crankshaft via a piston rod and/or connecting rod...
type system. In essence, the water gun is made up primarily (sometimes exclusively) of the pumping mechanism that comprises an outer pump shaft with an inner pump-rod and water-tight seal. This allows water to be drawn into the pump as the pump is extended, then forcibly ejected out as the pump is compressed. Stream performance is dependent on the user's strength. Some models, like the Super Soaker Power Soaker Jr. and Stream Machines draw in and expel water out of their nozzles. This design requires a bucket-type filling source to fill and refill the water gun. Other models, like the Super Soaker Power Soaker Mighty Cannon and Water Warriors Steady Stream, have check valves and a reservoir for true portability.
Motorized Small Piston
During the 1980s, the motorized water gun was perhaps at its most prolific. Companies such as Entertech Inc. and Larami Inc. were creating replica-type water guns modeled after guns popularized in movies such as Rambo. At the heart of these blasters was a small motor and crank shaft that would convert the rotary motion into a forward-backwards pumping motion to drive a small pump akin to those found in the small spray bottle-type squirt pistols. Stream performance was often not particularly better, but the motor taking away the user's need to pump made them more popular although these water guns typically burned through four AA batteries during two water fights. However, their main strength and consequent reason for dismissal was their realistic styling. After some of these realistic-shaped water guns caused accidental shootings by police, stricter rules regarding shapes and coloring of water guns were drafted in the United States.
Air Pressurized Reservoir
This system was made famous by the
Super SoakerSuper Soaker is a brand of recreational water gun, first sold in 1990, by Larami. The first Super Soaker, the Super Soaker 50, was actually originally called the Power Drencher...
brand of water guns, but actually was first employed by the Cosmic Liquidator. In this case, a pump is used to push air into a partially water-filled reservoir. The reservoir is otherwise air-tight, but has one valve to let the incoming air in from the pump as well as a manually controlled valve operated by the user, commonly activated by pulling on a trigger. As more air is pumped in, the air in the reservoir is compressed, increasing in pressure; the water is also pressurized by the now compressed air. Upon opening of the nozzle valve, the pressurized water is then pushed out through the nozzle as the air attempts to re-equilibrate with atmospheric pressure. This system allows pumping energy to be stored and used as needed. As well, unlike the methods noted above, this air pressure system allows production of a solid, continuous stream of water.
The limitation of this design is the need for a large number of strokes to pressurize a larger reservoir. As well, poorly sealed reservoirs would render a water gun useless. Moreover, these water guns cannot be refilled unless emptied and depressurized. Opening a pressurized reservoir blaster while there is pressure remaining in the system can result in copious local water spray or even an unexpected launch of the water gun and/or reservoir out of one's hands.
Air Separate Pressure / Firing Chamber
The air-based separate pressure chamber or firing chamber system works on the same physical principle as the pressurized reservoir system, but instead of pressurizing the reservoir, a separate, fixed volume chamber is included on the water gun into which water is pumped, compressing the air inside. This technology was first used on the Super Soaker SS 100. What this allows is for the reservoir to be removed/opened at any time for refilling since the reservoir is not pressurized. As well, the typically smaller size of the pressure chamber and the fact that water is typically pumped as opposed to air reduces the average number of pumps needed to achieve functional pressure. For improved performance, some users opt to pre-pressurize the firing chamber by pumping in some air first. This increases the starting pressure within the chamber, thus increases the overall average pressure experienced by the water when it is pumped into the pressure chamber.
Split Air vs Water Pressure Chamber
While air based, the split air vs water pressure chamber has a sliding plunger that separates the compressed air from the water. This technology has so far only been seen on the Water Warriors Aqua Master PreCharger Series. A button is used to toggle whether the pump is priming/pre-pressurizing the pressure chamber with air or whether the pump is moving water into the pressure chamber. Akin to pre-pressurizing the Separate Pressure Chamber water guns, the split air vs water pressure chamber takes this one step further by preventing the accidental, undesired release of the pre-pressurized air by keeping it separated from the water by a sliding piston divider. After all the water is expelled from the pressure chamber, the sliding piston prevents loss of the pressurized air, thus reducing the number of times the water gun must be pumped with water in order to achieve optimal firing pressure.
Constant Pressure System
The Constant Pressure System (CPS) was first introduced by the
Super SoakerSuper Soaker is a brand of recreational water gun, first sold in 1990, by Larami. The first Super Soaker, the Super Soaker 50, was actually originally called the Power Drencher...
CPS 2000The Super Soaker CPS 2000 was a CPS class water gun released in 1996 by Larami. Today, it is arguably the most sought-after and revered soaker by enthusiasts and members of the online community. It presently remains the most powerful stock water blaster sold in stores in terms of water output per...
in 1996. Instead of relying on pressurized air to push water out the nozzle, CPS uses rubber elastic chambers to power the water gun. There are two common shapes of CPS chambers used: cylindrical and spherical. While the physics behind the system remains the same, there is a slight advantage for the cylindrical shape to push water in a linear direction since, upon expansion, it has more elastic force vectors pointing in the desired direction of flow compared to a spherical pressure chamber. However, because of how they expand, cylindrical pressure chambers also have more stress points than spherical ones. Nevertheless, use of the elastic materials typically offers improved power performance, particularly since pressure does not drop off as quickly as water is expelled from the pressure chamber as is seen in air-pressure-based systems. CPS-based water guns are perhaps some of the most sought after due to their improved performance and lack of firing angle limitations.
Rubber Diaphragm / Hydro Power
"Hydro Power" is a term coined by Buzz Bee Toys Inc., referring initially to their series of water guns that employed an elastic rubber bladder to pressurize water. Akin to the CPS system, the rubber diaphragm system can be considered basically half of a CPS-pressure chamber. A sheet of elastic material (typically rubber) is clamped against a housing unit. Water is pumped into the chamber, expanding the bladder that pressurizes the water within. However, due to the shape of the bladder, its expansion is not as uniform as in the CPS system, thus it experiences more significant pressure dropoff as the pressure chamber empties.
Springs
Another means of pressuzing or propelling water used in some water guns is the use of metal
springsA spring is an elastic object used to store mechanical energy. Springs are usually made out of hardened steel. Small springs can be wound from pre-hardened stock, while larger ones are made from annealed steel and hardened after fabrication...
. The Waterball series has a spring-based catapult mechanisms for launching balls of water out of its nozzle. The Water Warriors Steady Stream uses a spring-based mechanisms as a sort of water capacitor to allow this otherwise piston-based water gun to produce a constant stream of water so long as the user pumps quickly enough. Additionally, the
Super SoakerSuper Soaker is a brand of recreational water gun, first sold in 1990, by Larami. The first Super Soaker, the Super Soaker 50, was actually originally called the Power Drencher...
Quick Blast employs a spring-based firing chamber to propel its stream forward.
Peristaltic Pumps
Peristaltic pumpA peristaltic pump is a type of positive displacement pump used for pumping a variety of fluids. The fluid is contained within a flexible tube fitted inside a circular pump casing . A rotor with a number of "rollers", "shoes" or "wipers" attached to the external circumference compresses the...
systems have also been used in some water guns models, most notably the original Shield Blaster water guns by Mattel Inc. In this system, a rotary pump is used to move rollers along a compressible piece of tubing. As the rollers move along the tubing, they push water along. The force exerted by the pump is dependent both on the speed of rotation as well as the thickness of tubing used. True continuous streams cannot be produced since the physical presence of the rollers means there will be partial gaps in the flow. However, if pumping is done quickly enough, the end result is a virtually smooth stream. .
Hybrid Systems
There are also a number of water guns that employ a variety of pressurization systems to propel water.
See also
- Water warfare
A water fight is a type of mock combat using various water-dispensing devices to soak opponents. Everything from buckets to balloons to water guns and even cupped hands cradling water can be applied in a water fight...
- Water balloon
A water balloon or water bomb is a latex rubber balloon filled with water. Because of how water balloons' latex breaks under stress, they are often thrown and launched at targets, resulting in wetness...
- Assassin
Assassin is a live action game...
- Super Soaker
Super Soaker is a brand of recreational water gun, first sold in 1990, by Larami. The first Super Soaker, the Super Soaker 50, was actually originally called the Power Drencher...
- Entertech
Entertech was a brand of battery powered motorized water guns sold in the United States from 1986 to 1990 by the now-defunct LJN Toys. Unlike the colorful designs of many of the simple hand powered pump water guns of that time, most of the Entertech water guns were manufactured from black plastics...
- Water Warfare (video game)
Water Warfare is a first-person shooter video game by Hudson Soft for WiiWare. It is the second game in the genre to be released by Hudson Soft for WiiWare ....
External links